tribes, tahabbush meaning “gathering together”—and that they would fight him and bar him from the House, he consulted all his Companions qualified to advise him: should he turn against the dependants of the Ahābīsh, or proceed to Mecca? Abū Bakr advised him not to initiate hostilities against anyone, saying, “We have set out only to perform ‘umrah, not to fight. If anyone (1) prevents us from (2) reaching the House, we shall fight them for obstructing our intended purpose, without initiating (3) hostilities against them.” The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, “Then set off.”

Then, [when] ‘Urwah ibn Mas‘ūd al-Thaqafī, one of the leaders of Thaqīf and an ally of Quraysh, spoke (4) with the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—as mentioned earlier, he began saying to him about his Companions, “They are a motley crowd”—that is, a mixture of people; al-Musnad has “rabble”—and saying that they would flee from him and abandon him. Al-Siddīq—may Allah be pleased with him—said to him, “Suck al-Lāt’s clitoris! Would we flee from him and abandon him?”

‘Urwah said to him, without answering that insult, “Were it not for a favour you did me that I have yet to repay, I would have answered you.” Al-Siddīq had previously shown him kindness, so he respected the obligation this placed upon him and did not answer that insult.

For this reason, some scholars have said that this indicates the permissibility of explicitly naming the private parts when there is a need and a benefit, and that this does not constitute the obscenity that is forbidden.

Similarly, in the hadith narrated by Ubayy ibn Ka‘b from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—he said:

“Whoever you hear invoking a tribal rallying cry (5) of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, tell him to bite his father’s penis, and do not use euphemisms.”

Narrated by