Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Suraqah bin Malik, he says: (When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and Abu Bakr Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, set out after migrating,) the envoys of the disbelievers came to us and informed us about the blood money (one hundred camels) for each of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, that whoever kills or captures them will receive this blood money. I was sitting in the assembly of my tribe Banu Mudlij when a man came and stood before us and said: O Suraqah! I have just seen some people near the coast; I think they are Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and his companions. Suraqah said: I recognized that it was them, but I outwardly pretended that these people were not them. I said: You have seen so-and-so, they were passing by a little while ago. I remained sitting in that assembly for a while, then I got up from there, entered my house, and ordered my slave girl to bring out my horse; it was behind a hill, and to keep it restrained until I arrived. Meanwhile, I took out my spear and left from the back of the house. I drew a line on the ground with my spear and turned its shiny side towards the ground (so that anyone watching from afar would not notice by its shine). Then I mounted my horse and made it run until I began to see those figures. When I got so close to them that my voice could reach them, my horse slipped and I fell down. I put my hand into my quiver, took out an arrow, and tried my luck to see if I could harm them or not. The arrow that came out was the one I disliked, meaning I would not be able to harm them. But I mounted my horse again and disobeyed the arrows. I made the horse run again. When I got close to them, my horse slipped again and I fell down. I stood up, put my hand into my quiver, took out an arrow, and tried my luck again. Again, the same arrow came out, the one I disliked, that I would not be able to harm them. But again, I disobeyed the arrows, mounted my horse, made it run, and got so close to them that I began to hear the recitation of the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not pay any attention to me, but Abu Bakr kept looking at me again and again. When I got close to them, the front legs of my horse sank into the ground, up to its knees. I fell again and scolded the horse, so it stood up, but it seemed as if it could not pull out its legs. When it stood up, there was no effect on it, but there was smoke rising into the sky like the smoke of fire, without any fire. I asked Abu Amr: What is meant by ‘Uthān’? After remaining silent for a while, he said: It means smoke without fire. Imam Zuhri said in his narration: Suraqah said: When I tried my luck with the arrows, the arrow that came out was the one I disliked, meaning I would not be able to harm them. So I called out to them with a guarantee of safety, and they stopped. I mounted my horse and reached them. The way I was forced to stop made me realize that soon the matter of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would prevail. I said to him, peace and blessings be upon him: Indeed, your people have set a blood money for you. Then I told them all the events of the journey and also informed them what people wanted regarding them. Then I offered them provisions and supplies, but they did not take anything from me nor did they ask me for anything. They only said that I should keep their matter hidden. Then I requested them to write me a message of reconciliation through which I would be granted safety. So the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered Sayyiduna ‘Amir bin Fuhayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, to write this guarantee for me on a piece of leather. Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, moved on.