Mujahid, ‘Ikrimah, al-Kalbi, and Ibn Yasar, on the authority of his men, said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent al-Mundhir ibn ‘Amr al-Sa‘idi—one of the leaders appointed on the night of al-‘Aqabah—with thirty mounted men from among the Emigrants and the Helpers to Banu ‘Amir ibn Sa‘sa‘ah. They set out and encountered ‘Amir ibn al-Tufayl at Bi’r Ma‘unah, one of the water sources of Banu ‘Amir. They fought, and al-Mundhir ibn ‘Amr and his companions were killed, except for three men who had gone in search of a lost animal belonging to them, one of whom was ‘Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri.

Nothing alarmed them but birds circling in the sky, with clots of blood falling from between their beaks. One of the men said, “Our companions have been killed.” He then rushed off until he encountered a man, and the two exchanged blows. When the blow struck him, he raised [his head] (1) toward the sky, opened his eyes, and said, “Allahu akbar (Allah is greatest)! By the Lord of the worlds, it is Paradise!”

His two companions then returned and encountered two men from Banu Sulaym, whose people had a treaty with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. They identified themselves to the two men as belonging to Banu ‘Amir, and so killed them both. Their people then came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, demanding blood money. He went out with Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, ‘Ali, Talhah, and ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf, may Allah be pleased with them, until they entered upon Ka‘b ibn al-Ashraf and Banu al-Nadir, seeking their assistance in paying the blood money for the two men.

They had made a covenant with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, not to fight him and to assist him with blood money. They said, “Yes, O Abu al-Qasim. The time has come for you to visit us and ask us for something you need. Sit down until we give you food and give you what you have asked for.” 103/b The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his Companions sat down. Then some of them conferred privately with others and said, “You will never find Muhammad any closer than he is now. So who will climb onto this house and throw a rock down upon him, thereby relieving us of him?” ‘Amr ibn Jahhash said, “I will.”

He went to fetch a large millstone to cast it down upon him, but Allah, Most High, restrained his hand. Gabriel came and informed him, so the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, left and returned to Medina. He then summoned ‘Ali and said, “Do not leave your place. If any of my Companions comes to you and asks about me, say: ‘He has set out for Medina.’” ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, did so until they learned where he had gone, and then followed him. Thereupon Allah, Most High, revealed this verse and said: “But He restrained their hands from you. And fear Allah; and upon Allah let the believers rely.” (2)

“And Allah had already taken a covenant from the Children of Israel, and We appointed from among them twelve leaders. And Allah said, ‘Indeed, I am with you. If you establish prayer, give zakah, believe in My messengers, support them, and lend Allah a goodly loan, I will surely remove from you your misdeeds and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow. But whoever disbelieves after that among you has certainly strayed from the right way.’ (12)”

His saying, exalted is He: “And Allah had already taken a covenant from the Children of Israel, and We appointed from among them twelve leaders”—this was because Allah, exalted is He, promised Moses, peace be upon him, that He would make him and his people inherit the Holy Land, namely the Levant. It was inhabited by the mighty Canaanites. Once the Children of Israel had become established in Egypt, Allah, Most High, commanded them to journey to Jericho in the land of the Levant—the Holy Land. It had a thousand villages, and each village had a thousand orchards.

He said, “O Moses, I have decreed it for you as a homeland and a place of settlement. Go forth to it and fight the enemy who dwell therein, for I will grant you victory over them. And take from among your people twelve leaders,”