63 – “Pledge yourselves to me: that you will hear and obey, whether energetic or weary; that you will spend in the cause of Allah in hardship and in ease; that you will enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong; that you will speak for Allah, fearing no reproach from any critic; and that you will support me and protect me, once I arrive among you, with the same zeal with which you protect your own lives, your wives, and your children—and Paradise shall be yours.”

It was reported by Aḥmad (3/322, 323–339) through several routes from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUthmān ibn Khuthaym, from Abū al-Zubayr Muḥammad ibn Muslim, who related that Jābir said:

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ remained in Mecca for ten years, following people to their dwellings at ʿUkāẓ, Majannah, and during the pilgrimage seasons at Minā, saying, ‘Who will shelter me? Who will support me so that I may convey my Lord’s message, and he shall have Paradise?’ A man would even set out from Yemen or from Muḍar—as he said—and when he reached his own people they would warn him, ‘Beware of the youth of Quraysh, lest he mislead you!’ He would walk among their camps while they pointed at him with their fingers, until Allah sent us to him from Yathrib; we sheltered him and affirmed his truthfulness. One of us would go out, believe in him, and learn the Qur’an from him; then he would return to his household and they would accept Islam through his Islam, until no house among the Anṣār remained without a group of Muslims openly professing the faith.

“Then we all consulted together, saying, ‘How long shall we leave the Messenger of Allah ﷺ driven about the mountains of Mecca and living in fear?’ So seventy men of us travelled to him and met him during the pilgrimage season. We set an appointment with him in the ravine of al-ʿAqabah and gathered to him, one and two at a time, until we were all present. We said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, shall we give you our pledge?’ He replied—mentioning the words of the ḥadith—so we rose and pledged allegiance to him.

“Ibn Zurārah, who was the youngest of them, took hold of his hand and said, ‘Gently now, people of Yathrib! We have not spurred our camels’ flanks except while fully aware that he is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and that bringing him out today means breaking with all the Arabs, the killing of your nobles, and that the swords will bite you. Either you are a people who will endure that—your reward