1420 — ‘Isa ibn ‘Ali informed us. ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Baghawi informed us. He said: Khalaf ibn Hisham narrated to us. He said: Dawud ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-‘Attar narrated to us. He said: ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Uthman ibn Khuthaym narrated to us, from Abu al-Zubayr Muhammad ibn Muslim, to whom Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah related. Another chain:
1421 — Ahmad ibn ‘Ubayd informed us. ‘Ali ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Mubashshir informed us. Ahmad ibn Sinan narrated to us. ‘Abd al-A‘la ibn Hammad narrated to us. Dawud ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-‘Attar narrated to us. Ibn Khuthaym narrated to us, from Abu al-Zubayr Muhammad ibn Muslim, to whom Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah related that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, remained for ten years—in Khalaf’s version, “stayed”—going after the pilgrims at their encampments during the season, at Majannah and ‘Ukaz, and at their dwellings in Mina, saying: “Who will grant me shelter and support me, so that I may convey the messages of my Lord? Paradise shall be his.”
Yet he found no one to grant him shelter or support him. Indeed, when a man came from Egypt or Yemen, his people or relatives would come to him and say, “Beware of the young man of Quraysh, lest he lead you astray.” He would walk among their men, calling them to Allah, while they pointed at him with their fingers. Then Allah sent us to him from Yathrib. A man from among us would come to him and believe in him. ‘Abd al-A‘la added: “He would teach him the Quran, and the man would return to his family, who would embrace Islam through his Islam, until there was not a single house in Yathrib without a group of Muslims openly professing Islam.
“Then Allah sent us forth, and we consulted one another. Seventy men from among us gathered, and we said, ‘How long are we to see the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace’”—‘Abd al-A‘la added—“‘wandering through the mountains of Mecca and living in fear?’ So we set out until we came to him during the season. He appointed for us the mountain pass of al-‘Aqabah ⦗843⦘, and we gathered there in ones and twos until we had all joined him.
“We said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, upon what are we to pledge allegiance to you?’ He said: ‘You pledge allegiance to me that you will listen and obey, whether eager or reluctant; that you will spend in hardship and in prosperity; that you will enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong; that you will speak for the sake of Allah, without being deterred by the blame of any blamer; and that you will support me when I come to you in Yathrib, defending me from that from which you defend yourselves, your wives, and your children. And Paradise shall be yours.’
“We rose to pledge allegiance to him, but As‘ad ibn Zurarah took hold of his hand. He was the youngest of the seventy men except for me, and he said, ‘Wait, people of Yathrib! We have not driven our camels all this way to him without knowing that he is the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Yet bringing him out today means breaking with all the Arabs, the killing of your best men, and the swords biting into you. So, if you are prepared to endure the bite of the swords when they strike you, the killing of your best men, and separation from all the Arabs, then take him in, and your reward rests with Allah.’ In ‘Abd al-A‘la’s version: ‘Your reward rests with Allah.’ ‘But if you fear for yourselves out of fear, then leave him, for that will be an excuse for you before Allah.’
“They said, ‘Take your hand away from us, O As‘ad ibn Zurarah. By Allah, we shall not abandon this pledge, nor shall we seek release from it.’ We then rose and pledged allegiance to him, man by man. He took from us its conditions and, in return, granted us Paradise.”