378 — “Proceed toward this mountain pass and remain at its summit, so that we are not taken by surprise from your direction tonight.”

This is part of the hadith of Sahl ibn al-Hanzaliyya, who related that they travelled with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the day of Hunayn. They journeyed long until evening came and the time for prayer arrived. Then a mounted man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, “Messenger of Allah, I went ahead of you until I ascended such-and-such a mountain, and there I found Hawazin gathered at Hunayn, all of them together with their women, camels, and sheep.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ smiled and said, “That will be the Muslims’ spoils tomorrow, if Allah Most High wills.” He then said, “Who will guard us tonight?” Anas ibn Abi Marthad al-Ghanawi said, “I will, Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Mount up.” So he mounted one of his horses and came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said to him the words cited above.

When morning came, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out to his place of prayer and performed two rak‘ahs. He then said, “Have you had any sign of your rider?” They said, “Messenger of Allah, we have not had any sign of him.” The call commencing the prayer was then given, and while praying, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ kept looking toward the mountain pass. When he had completed his prayer and pronounced the salutation, he said, “Rejoice, for your rider has come to you.”

We began looking through the trees in the mountain pass, and there he was: he came until he stood before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and greeted him. He said, “I proceeded until I reached the top of this mountain pass, as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had commanded me. When morning came, I climbed both sides of the pass and looked, but I did not see anyone.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him, “Did you dismount at all during the night?” He replied, “No, except to pray or relieve myself.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him, “You have secured it; it will not matter if you perform no further deeds after this.”

It was narrated by Abu Dawud (1/391–392) and al-Hakim (2/83–84), through Abu Tubah al-Rabi‘ ibn Nafi‘ al-Halabi, who said: Mu‘awiyah ibn Salam narrated to us; Zayd ibn Salam informed me; Abu Kabshah al-Saluli narrated to us that he heard Sahl ibn al-Hanzaliyya relate it.

Al-Hakim said: