did not alter the Prophet’s words by so much as a single letter—neither in wording nor in meaning. He conveyed them exactly as they were and, when Kaʿb pressed him, simply replied, “I do not know.”
Such was the refinement of the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them. He did not add, “I think he wants you to divorce her,” nor, “I think he wants you to keep her.” He offered no opinion at all; he merely said, “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said this.”
So Kaʿb said to his wife, “Go back to your family,” and she went to them.
“As for my two companions,” he narrates, “they stayed inside their homes, subdued and weeping, because they could not bear to walk in the markets. The people had boycotted them: no one looked at them, no one greeted them, and if they offered salām, no one returned it. Unable to endure the situation, they remained indoors, weeping.”
He adds, “I, however, was the youngest and strongest of the three, the most resilient. Because of my youth I would still attend the congregational prayers with the Muslims and stroll through the markets of Madinah, yet not a single person spoke to me. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had ordered that we be shunned, and the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—were the most obedient of people to the Messenger of Allah.”
“I would come to the mosque, pray, and greet the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—while he was sitting with the people after the prayer, then wonder to myself, ‘Did he move his lips in response to my greeting or not?’”
That is, he gave no audible reply—despite being the most courteous of all people. Yet, in obedience to what Allah had revealed to him—that these men be boycotted—he carried it out fully.
He continues, “While praying I would steal glances at the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him. I would look at him now and then, and when I focused on my prayer he looked at me; but when I turned my gaze toward him he turned away from me.”
All of this was part of the severity of that boycott.