by his two cloaks and his habit of admiring himself.’

Muʿādh ibn Jabal retorted, ‘What a wretched thing you have said! By Allah, Messenger of Allah, we have only ever known good of him.’ The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) kept silent. While he was in that state, he glimpsed a man wearing dazzling white, the heat-haze of the mirage shimmering around him. The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Let it be Abū Khaythama!’—and sure enough, it was Abū Khaythama al-Anṣārī, the very man who had given a sāʿ of dates in charity when the hypocrites had mocked him.

Kaʿb continues: When word reached me that the Messenger of Allah was heading home from Tabūk, my anguish grew intense. I began turning over lies in my mind, saying, ‘How will I escape his anger tomorrow?’ I sought the advice of every sensible person in my household. Yet when it was announced that the Messenger of Allah was about to arrive, falsehood left me, and I realized there was no way to be saved by it at all; so I firmly resolved to speak the truth.

The Messenger of Allah arrived the following morning. Whenever he returned from a journey, his custom was to go first to the mosque, perform two cycles of prayer there, and then sit with the people. After he had done that, the men who had stayed behind came forward with their excuses, swearing oaths before him. They numbered a little over eighty. He accepted their outward professions, took their pledges, and sought forgiveness for them, leaving their inner secrets to Allah the Exalted—until I came.

When I greeted him, he smiled the smile of a displeased man and said, ‘Come here.’ I walked up and sat before him. He asked, ‘What kept you back? Did you not buy yourself a mount?’

I replied, ‘Messenger of Allah, were I sitting before anyone else in this world, I would think I could escape his anger with some excuse, for I have been granted an eloquent tongue. But, by Allah, I know that if today I were to tell you a lie that pleased you, Allah is sure to…’