in Kufa, so Ibn Mas‘ūd killed him and reminded him of these words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace (1).
Musaylimah had (2) come to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with the delegation of Banū Hanīfah and had professed Islam. Then, when he returned to his homeland, he told his people:
“Muhammad has granted me a share in this matter with him.”
He called upon two men to testify (3), one of whom was al-Rahhāl ibn ‘Unfuwah, who testified to that effect. It is reported concerning the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:
“He said to three men—one of whom was Abū Hurayrah, and another this al-Rahhāl—‘One of you will have a molar in the Fire larger than such-and-such.’”
The third man was martyred in the cause of [Allah] (4), while Abū Hurayrah remained afraid until al-Rahhāl testified that Musaylimah was a prophet and followed him. Abū Hurayrah then knew that al-Rahhāl was the one intended by the Prophet’s statement, may Allah bless him and grant him peace (5).
Musaylimah’s caller to prayer used to say:
“I testify that Muhammad and Musaylimah are both Messengers of Allah.”
(1) Ibn Kathīr recounts these reports in detail in al-Sīra al-nabawiyya, 4:97–99. See also Sīrat Ibn Hishām, 4:247; Imtāʿ al-asmāʿ, pp. 508–509; Zād al-ʿimād, 3:610–613.
(2) Qad (“had”) is omitted in (s) and (b).
(3) s, b: rajulayn (“two men”).
(4) The name “Allah” is absent from (n).
(5) Ibn Kathīr writes in al-Sīra al-nabawiyya, 4:97: “Al-Suhaylī and others mention that al-Rahhāl ibn ʿUnfuwa—whose name was Nahār ibn ʿUnfuwa—had embraced Islam, learned some of the Quran, and accompanied the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for a time. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by him while he was sitting with Abū Hurayra and Furāt ibn Hayyān and said to them: ‘One of you will have a molar in the Fire as large as Uhud.’ The other two remained afraid until al-Rahhāl apostatized and joined Musaylima, falsely testifying that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had granted Musaylima a share in the matter alongside him. He also conveyed to Musaylima some of the Quran he had memorized, which Musaylima claimed as his own. This brought a grave trial upon Banū Hanīfa. Zayd ibn al-Khattāb killed al-Rahhāl on the day of al-Yamāma.”