The beginning of the affair of the Ansar, and the pledge to fight

Urwah narrates: When the season of Hajj came, some people of the Ansar from Banu Mazin bin al-Najjar came for Hajj, among them Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Afra (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna As'ad bin Zurarah (may Allah be pleased with him); from Banu Zurayq, Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Dhakwan bin Abd al-Qays (may Allah be pleased with him); from Banu Abd al-Ashhal, Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham bin al-Tayyihan (may Allah be pleased with him); and from Banu Amr bin Awf, Sayyiduna Uwaym bin Sa'idah (may Allah be pleased with him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to these men and told them that Allah Almighty had chosen him for His prophethood and honor. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited the Noble Qur'an before them. When they heard the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), they listened in silence, and their hearts were reassured by the call of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They realized that the attributes of the one whom they used to hear mentioned by the People of the Book were found in him. They affirmed his truthfulness regarding what he was calling to, they believed in him, and they became among the means of good. Then they said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "You know that there is enmity between the Aws and the Khazraj. We would love that, when Allah Almighty brings your matter to success, we should be among those who strive for Allah Almighty and for you. We settle with you whatever you consider appropriate. Remain here with the name of Allah; we will go to our people, tell them about you and invite them to Allah and His Messenger. Perhaps Allah Almighty will bring about reconciliation between us and unite our affair. Today we are separated from one another and hold enmity towards one another; if you were to come to us now while we have not reconciled among ourselves, we would not be able to support you collectively. We will meet you again at the Hajj season next year." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was pleased with what they said, and they returned to their people. They kept inviting them secretly, telling them about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and about the teachings with which Allah Almighty had sent him, and they kept inviting them to the Qur'an, until in almost every quarter of the Ansar some people became Muslims. Then they sent a message to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Send to us someone from among your people who will invite the people according to the Book of Allah, for that is more likely to be followed." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent to them Sayyiduna Mus'ab bin Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him), who belonged to Banu Abd al-Dar. He stayed in the area of Banu Ghanm with Sayyiduna As'ad bin Zurarah (may Allah be pleased with him) and began inviting people secretly; Islam began to spread and its followers increased. While these people were still living in concealment on account of their call, on one occasion Sayyiduna As'ad bin Zurarah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Mus'ab bin Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the well of "Mirri", or near it, and sat there. They had sent a message to some people, who came to them secretly. While Sayyiduna Mus'ab bin Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him) was talking with them and telling them about the Qur'an, Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) was informed about them. He came to them at once wearing his armor and carrying a spear. He came and stood by Sayyiduna Mus'ab (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "Why has this stranger, alone and far from his homeland, come into our area? So that he may make fools of our weak people through falsehood and invite them to falsehood? After this, let me not see you in our area." So they went back. Then they came again to the well named "Mirri" or near it, and Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) was informed about them a second time. He threatened them severely again, but it was less than the first time. When Sayyiduna As'ad bin Zurarah (may Allah be pleased with him) saw softness from him, he said: "O my maternal cousin! Listen to what he says. If you hear anything objectionable from him, reject it; and if you hear something good, accept the word of Allah Almighty." Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "What does he say?" So Sayyiduna Mus'ab bin Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him) recited these verses before them: "Ha Mim. By the clear Book, We have made it an Arabic Qur'an so that you may understand." Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I hear nothing but what I recognize (as true)." Then he went back, and Allah Almighty had granted him guidance, but he did not disclose the matter of Islam until he returned. Then he went back to his people and invited Banu Abd al-Ashhal to Islam and made his Islam public. He said about this: "Whoever, young or old, man or woman, has any doubt about this, let him bring us something more rightly guided than it, and we will adopt it. By Allah! A matter has come concerning which necks will be grieved." So Banu Abd al-Ashhal accepted Islam at the time Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted Islam and called them, except for someone not worth mentioning. This was the first clan of the Ansar that became Muslim in its entirety. Then Banu al-Najjar expelled Sayyiduna Mus'ab bin Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him) and dealt harshly with Sayyiduna As'ad bin Zurarah (may Allah be pleased with him). So Sayyiduna Mus'ab bin Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him) moved to the home of Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) and continued inviting, and Allah Almighty guided so many people at his hands that in every clan of the Ansar some individuals became Muslims; their nobles became Muslims, Sayyiduna Amr bin al-Jamuh (may Allah be pleased with him) became a Muslim, and their idols were broken. So the Muslims became the most prominent of its inhabitants and their affair was set right. Then Sayyiduna Mus'ab bin Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him) returned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); he used to be called "the Reciter" (al-Muqri).
Al-Tabarani recorded it as a mursal narration; its chain contains a narrator, Ibn Lahi'ah, in whom there is weakness, but he is hasan al-hadith (fair in hadith); the rest of its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Ibn Ishaq narrates: When Allah Almighty intended to make His religion prevail, to grant dominance to His Prophet and to fulfil His promise, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out at the time of Hajj. This concerns the Hajj in which the group of the Ansar met him; according to their account, they were six people, one of whom was Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah bin Ri'ab (may Allah be pleased with him).
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Ka'b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When twelve men came from al-Aqabah (that is, the Pledge of al-Aqabah), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered them that seventy men should come the following year. So we remained for a year in such a way that one of us would go to his companion with obedience, raml and food, until seventy of us were complete.
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Ya'qub bin Muhammad al-Zuhri, whom Hajjaj bin al-Sha'ir declared thiqah (trustworthy), while the majority declared him da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: At the time of Hajj, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to go to the tribes one by one and invite them, until Allah Almighty brought this group of the Ansar, when Allah Almighty decreed good fortune for them and brought honor to them. They promised to shelter him and also promised to help him, so may Allah Almighty reward them with good on behalf of their Prophet. By Allah, we did not fulfil what we had agreed with them as it should be. We used to say to them: "We will be the rulers and you will be the ministers." If I remain alive for a year, no ghulam of mine will remain, except that the case of an Ansari is different.
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good); its chain contains a narrator, Abdullah bin Shabib, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: Every year the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to present his call before various tribes of the Arabs, and he would say that they should take the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to their people so that he could convey the speech of Allah and His message, and then Paradise would be theirs. Not a single tribe of the Arabs accepted this offer of his, until, when Allah Almighty intended to make His religion prevail, to help His Prophet and to fulfil His promise, a group of the Ansar came to him. They accepted the call of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah Almighty made for His Prophet a place of emigration (Madinah).
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Abdullah bin Umar al-Umari, whom Ahmad and a group declared thiqah (trustworthy), while al-Nasa'i (may Allah have mercy on him) and others declared him da'if (weak); the rest of its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Ka'b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who was one of those who took part in the Pledge of al-Aqabah and who also gave the pledge of allegiance to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), narrates: We set out with the pilgrims of our people who were idolaters. We used to pray, and with us was Sayyiduna al-Bara bin Ma'rur (may Allah be pleased with him), who was our elder and our chief. When we set out on our journey and left Madinah, Sayyiduna al-Bara (may Allah be pleased with him) said to us: "O people! By Allah, I have an opinion, and by Allah, I do not know whether you will agree with me on it or not." They said: "What is it?" He said: "I think that I should not turn my back on this building, that is, the Ka'bah, and that I should pray facing it." We said: "By Allah, the information that has reached us is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prays facing Syria, and we would not want to act contrary to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." Then we said: "We will not do that." The narrator says: When the time of prayer came, we would pray facing Syria and he would pray facing the Ka'bah, until we came to Makkah. My brother said: We even expressed our displeasure at his conduct, but he insisted on his view. When we came to Makkah, he said: "O my nephew! Come with me to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) so that I may ask him about what I have been doing during the journey. By Allah! Because of your opinion contrary to mine on this matter, there is some unease in my mind about it." The narrator says: We set out and began asking about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). We did not recognize him, because we had not seen him before. A man from the people of Makkah met us, and we asked him about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: "Do you two recognize him?" We said: "No!" He said: "Do you two recognize Sayyiduna al-Abbas bin Abd al-Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him), who is his uncle?" They replied: "Yes!" For we knew Sayyiduna al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him); he used to come to us for trade. He said: "Enter the mosque (that is, near the Ka'bah); he is the man who will be sitting with Sayyiduna al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him)." The narrator says: We entered the mosque, and there Sayyiduna al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was sitting, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting with him. We greeted them with salam and then came and sat with him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked Sayyiduna al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): "O Abu al-Fadl! Do you know these two men?" He replied: "Yes! This is al-Bara bin Ma'rur, the chief of his people, and this is Ka'b bin Malik." Sayyiduna Ka'b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says: By Allah! I have not forgotten (even today) the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); he said: "The one who is the poet?" He replied: "Yes!" Sayyiduna Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Sayyiduna al-Bara bin Ma'rur (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Prophet of Allah! I set out on this journey, and Allah Almighty had guided me to Islam, but I did not turn my back on this building (that is, the Ka'bah); I kept praying facing it. My companions opposed me in this, until unease arose in my mind about it. O Messenger of Allah! What is your view about this?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The qiblah you were on before, if you had remained on it, that would have been better." The narrator says: So Sayyiduna al-Bara (may Allah be pleased with him) turned back to the qiblah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and began praying with us facing Syria. His family continued to pray facing the Ka'bah until he passed away. It is not as people narrate it; we know more about him than those people do. The narrator narrates: We set out for Hajj, and we agreed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that we would meet at al-Aqabah on the middle day of the days of Tashriq. When we had finished the Hajj and the night came which we had promised the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin Haram (may Allah be pleased with him), the father of Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), was with us; he was one of our chiefs. We were keeping our affair hidden from the idolaters of our people. We spoke with him and said to him: "O Abu Jabir! You are one of our chiefs and one of our nobles. Our wish for you is that, in the condition you are in, you do not become fuel for the Fire tomorrow." Then I invited him to Islam and told him about the arrangement made with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So he accepted Islam, and he too took part with us in the Pledge of al-Aqabah, and he was a naqib (leader). The narrator says: That night we slept with our people at our lodging place, until, when a third of the night had passed, we came out of our lodging place, because a promise had been made with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). We came out quietly, slipping away secretly, just as the bird called "qata" slips along, until we gathered in the valley near al-Aqabah. We were seventy men, and with them were two women: Nusaybah bint Ka'b, Umm Umarah, who belonged to Banu Mazin bin al-Najjar, and Asma bint Amr bin Adi bin Thabit, who belonged to Banu Salimah, and she is Umm Mani'. We gathered in the valley and were waiting for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) until he came to us. That day his uncle, Sayyiduna al-Abbas bin Abd al-Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him), was with him; at that time he was on the religion of his people, but he liked to be present in the matter of his nephew so that he could make it firm. When we sat down, Sayyiduna al-Abbas bin Abd al-Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him) began the conversation and said: "O people of Khazraj!" (At that time it was the custom of the Arabs to call this tribe of the Ansar by the name Khazraj, and it included both the Khazraj and the Aws.) He said: "Muhammad is from us, as you know, and we have kept him protected from our people, those people who hold the same view about him as ours, and he holds a prominent position among his people and a prominent position in his city." The narrator says: We said: "We have heard what you have said. O Messenger of Allah! Now you speak, and settle whatever you consider appropriate regarding your Lord and regarding yourself." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began to speak; he began reciting, invited to Allah Almighty, encouraged towards Islam and said: "I take your pledge that you will protect me just as you protect your wives and children." The narrator says: Sayyiduna al-Bara bin Ma'rur (may Allah be pleased with him) took hold of his hand and said: "Yes! By the One who sent you with the truth, we will protect you just as we protect our households. O Messenger of Allah! Take our pledge. By Allah! We are a people of war and people of arms, and this has been passed down to us as an inheritance generation after generation." The narrator says: While Sayyiduna al-Bara (may Allah be pleased with him) was speaking with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham bin al-Tayyihan (may Allah be pleased with him), who was an ally of Banu Abd al-Ashhal, interrupted and said: "O Messenger of Allah! There are treaties between us and other people, and in that case they will come to an end. If we do this, it may also be that when Allah Almighty grants you victory, you will go back and leave us?" The narrator narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No! Rather, blood will be blood and destruction will be destruction; you will be from me and I will be from you; whomever you fight, I will fight, and with whomever you are at peace, I will be at peace." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Bring me twelve leaders (nuqaba) from among yourselves who will be overseers of their people." So they chose twelve leaders from among themselves, nine of whom belonged to the Khazraj tribe and three to the Aws tribe. The narrator narrates: In the hadith which Ma'bad bin Ka'b narrated to me, which he narrated from his brother, from his father Sayyiduna Ka'b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), he narrates: The first to give the pledge at the blessed hand of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was Sayyiduna al-Bara bin Ma'rur (may Allah be pleased with him); then the people gave the pledge one after another. When we had given the pledge to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Satan called out in a loud voice from the top of the valley: "O people of the dwellings! Are you interested in the blameworthy one and the irreligious people with him, who have gathered to wage war against you?" Ali bin Ishaq says: The enemy of Allah did not call him (the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him) "Muhammad". The narrator narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is the Azabb (a devil) of al-Aqabah; this is Ibn Azyab. O enemy of Allah! Listen! By Allah! Now I shall soon be free to deal with you." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Get up and go back to your lodging places." Sayyiduna al-Abbas bin Ubadah bin Nadlah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "By the One who sent you with the truth, if you wish, tomorrow we will take our swords and attack all the people of Mina." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have not been commanded to do that." The narrator narrates: When we came back and slept, and morning came, the leading men of Quraysh came to us; they came to us at our lodging places and said: "O people of the Khazraj tribe! The information has reached us that you went to this companion of ours, that you want to take him away from among us, and that you have pledged to fight against us. By Allah, creating a situation of war with any of the Arabs would not be more hateful to us than that such a situation should arise between us and you." The narrator says: At that time we sent the idolaters of our people, and they swore by Allah before those people that there was nothing of the sort and that they knew nothing about it; and they spoke the truth, because they knew nothing about what we had done. The narrator says: They began looking at one another. Then those people stood up; among them was al-Harith bin Hisham bin al-Mughirah, who was wearing two new sandals. The narrator says: I said a word by which I wished to show myself as sharing in what my people had said; I said: "O Abu Jabir! Are you not able, being one of our chiefs, to wear two sandals like the two new sandals of this young man of Quraysh?" The narrator says: When al-Harith heard this, he took off the sandals and then threw them towards me and said: "By Allah! You will certainly wear them." Sayyiduna Abu Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "By Allah! You have angered the young man; return his sandals to him." I said: "By Allah! I will not return them." He said: "By Allah, if this omen proves true, I will strip him (of his belongings)." This is the hadith narrated by Ibn Malik concerning the Pledge of al-Aqabah and those who were present at it.
Ahmad recorded it, and al-Tabarani recorded something similar; the narrators of Ahmad are the narrators of the Sahih, except for Ibn Ishaq, and he has explicitly stated that he heard it directly. Al-Tabarani recorded these words in his narration: We set out in search of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and at a place called "al-Abtah" we met a man. We asked him: "Will you guide us to Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Abd al-Muttalib?" He asked: "When you see him, will you recognize him?" This narration also contains these words: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke, recited the Noble Qur'an and encouraged towards Islam, and we accepted his call by believing in him and affirming him. This narration also contains these words: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Choose twelve leaders (nuqaba) from among yourselves." So they chose them. The leader of Banu al-Najjar was Sayyiduna As'ad bin Zurarah (may Allah be pleased with him); the leaders of Banu Salimah were Sayyiduna al-Bara bin Ma'rur (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin Haram (may Allah be pleased with him); the leaders of Banu Sa'idah were Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna al-Mundhir bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him); the leader of Banu Zurayq was Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Malik bin al-Ajlan (may Allah be pleased with him); the leaders of Banu al-Harith bin al-Khazraj were Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Sa'd bin al-Rabi' (may Allah be pleased with him); the leader of Banu Awf bin al-Khazraj was Sayyiduna Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him); the leaders of Banu Abd al-Ashhal were Sayyiduna Usayd bin Hudayr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham bin al-Tayyihan (may Allah be pleased with him); and the leader of Banu Amr bin Awf was Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Khaythamah (may Allah be pleased with him).

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: For ten years the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kept going to the people at their lodging places at (the fairs of) Ukaz and Majannah, and at Mina during the Hajj season, saying: "Who will give me shelter? Who will help me, so that I may convey the message of my Lord? Paradise will be his." It reached the point that when a man set out from Yemen or from the Mudar tribe of such-and-such a place, the people of his tribe would go to him and say: "Beware of this young man of Quraysh, lest he put you to trial." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would walk among their lodging places, and they would keep pointing at the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with their fingers, until Allah Almighty sent us from Yathrib. We gave him shelter and affirmed him. A man from among us would go out, believe in him, and he would teach him the Qur'an; he would return to his family, and his family would also become Muslim because of his Islam, until in every quarter of the Ansar there were some Muslims who displayed their Islam. Then all of them consulted together and said: "How long will we leave the Messenger of Allah in this state, that he remains among the mountains of Makkah and lives in fear?" So seventy of us rode and came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at the Hajj season. We agreed that we would meet in the valley of al-Aqabah. People began gathering there one by one and two by two until we had all gathered. We said: "O Messenger of Allah! On what shall we give you the pledge?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Pledge to me that you will listen and obey in every state, in energy and in laziness; that you will spend in every state, in hardship and in ease; that you will enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil; that you will speak according to the command of Allah Almighty and not fear the blame of any blamer regarding Allah Almighty; and that you will help me, and when I come to you, you will protect me just as you protect yourselves and your families. Paradise will be yours." The narrator says: We got up, came to him and gave him the pledge. Sayyiduna As'ad bin Zurarah (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the youngest of them, got up and took hold of his hand and said: "Wait, O people of Yathrib! We have travelled to him only because we know that he is the Messenger of Allah. Taking him away today amounts to separating from all the Arabs; your best people will be killed, and swords will cut you. If you are a people who will be patient in such a situation, then your reward rests with Allah Almighty; and if you are a people who fear for yourselves, then state it! That will be more fitting for you in presenting your excuse before Allah Almighty." Those people said: "O As'ad! Move aside! By Allah! We will never abandon this pledge and will never give it up." So we got up and went towards the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and gave him the pledge. He (peace and blessings be upon him) took the pledge from us and laid down the condition, and in return for it Paradise would be granted to us. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: The compilers of the Sunan have recorded part of this narration.
Ahmad and al-Bazzar recorded it; he recorded these words in his narration: "By Allah! We will never abandon this pledge, and we will never take it back." The narrators of Ahmad are the narrators of the Sahih.

In a narration of Ahmad there are these words: He said: "If you have any fear regarding yourselves."

In a narration of his there are also these words: "Until a man would ride out from Mudar, from the region of Yemen."

Urwah narrates: The first to give the pledge of allegiance to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham bin al-Tayyihan (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: "O Messenger of Allah! There are some treaties between us and the people, and it may be that we have to break them; let it not happen that you go back to your people after we have broken the treaties with the people and fought against them." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed at what he said and said: "Blood will be blood, and destruction will be destruction." When Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) was satisfied with the answer the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had given him, he turned to his people and said: "O my people! This is the Messenger of Allah. I bear witness that he is truthful. Today he is in the Sanctuary of Allah, under His protection, and among his own people and family. Know that if you take him away from here, the Arabs will unite against you. If you are content with fighting in the path of Allah and content with losing your wealth and children, then invite him to come to your land, for he is truly the Messenger of Allah. And if you fear being forsaken, then excuse yourselves right now." At that point they said: "We accept from Allah and His Messenger whatever they give us, and we give ourselves to you (peace and blessings be upon him). O Messenger of Allah! Settle whatever you (peace and blessings be upon him) wish. O Abu al-Haytham! Move from between us and the Messenger of Allah! We will give him the pledge." Sayyiduna Abu al-Haytham (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I will be the first to give the pledge." Then all the rest gave the pledge. Satan screamed from the top of the mountain and said: "O people of Quraysh! These people of the Khazraj and the Aws are pledging to Muhammad to fight against you." They became disturbed and frightened at this. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Let this voice not disturb you, for it is the enemy of Allah, Iblis; none of those whom you fear has heard what he said." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and called out loudly to Satan: "O Ibn Azabb! This is your doing; I shall soon be free to turn to you."
Al-Tabarani recorded it thus as a mursal narration; its chain contains a narrator, Ibn Lahi'ah, whose hadith is hasan (good), though there is weakness in him.

Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) promised to meet us on the day of Eid al-Adha at the foot of al-Aqabah. We were seventy men. Sayyiduna Uqbah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I was the youngest of them all. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us and said: "Keep your talk brief, for I fear the disbelievers of Quraysh on your account." We said: "O Messenger of Allah! Settle with us whatever you wish for your Lord, for yourself and for your companions, and tell us what reward we will receive from Allah Almighty and from you." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Regarding my Lord, I say this: Believe in Him and do not associate anyone with Him. As for my own self, I say to you: Obey me, and I will guide you to the right path. And regarding myself and my companions, I say this to you: You are to treat us well from what you have, and protect us just as you protect yourselves. If you do this, then it is upon Allah Almighty and upon me that Paradise will be granted to you." The narrator says: So we extended our hands and gave him the pledge.
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Mujalid bin Sa'id, whose hadith is hasan (good), though there is weakness in him. Ahmad recorded it similar to a mursal narration that will come later; its chain also contains the narrator Mujalid, but he did not record its wording. After this he
mentioned this narration, and that (narration) is this (that is, the one that follows).

Imam al-Sha'bi narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went with his uncle Sayyiduna al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) to those seventy men of the Ansar who were at al-Aqabah beneath the tree. He said: "Let one of you speak, and let him not speak at length, for there may be spies of the idolaters watching you; if they come to know about you, they will cause you trouble." One of them, namely Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him), said: "O Sayyiduna Muhammad! Settle whatever you wish for your Lord, and settle whatever you wish for yourself and your companions, and then tell us what reward we will receive from Allah Almighty and from you if we do so." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Regarding my Lord, I say this to you: Worship Him and do not associate anyone with Him. And regarding myself and my companions, I say this to you: You are to give us shelter, help us and protect us from everything from which you protect yourselves." They asked: "If we do this, what will we receive?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You will receive Paradise." They said: "Then this is settled."
Ahmad recorded it thus as a mursal narration, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih. After it, Ahmad recorded a chain up to Imam al-Sha'bi, from Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud Uqbah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him), and then recorded a narration similar to it. He narrates: Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) was the youngest of them. Its chain contains a narrator, Mujalid, in whom there is weakness; if Allah wills, his hadith is hasan (good).

Imam al-Sha'bi narrates: No old man or young man would ever have heard a speech like it.
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Abu al-Zubayr narrates: I asked Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) about the Pledge of al-Aqabah. He said that seventy men were present at it; they made a covenant with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Sayyiduna al-Abbas bin Abd al-Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him) was holding the hand of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have taken and I have given (that is, the matter is settled)."
Ahmad recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Ibn Lahi'ah, whose hadith is hasan (good), though there is weakness in him.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When the leaders (nuqaba) of the Ansar met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them: "You will give me shelter and protect me." They said: "What will we receive?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You will receive Paradise."
Abu Ya'la recorded it, and al-Bazzar recorded something similar; the narrators of Abu Ya'la are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyiduna Thabit bin Qays (may Allah be pleased with him) delivered a speech on the arrival of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "We will protect you just as we protect ourselves and our children. O Messenger of Allah! What will we receive?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You will receive Paradise." They said: "We are pleased with that."
Abu Ya'la recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: My maternal uncle, Sayyiduna Jadd bin Qays (may Allah be pleased with him), included me among the seventy riders who came as a delegation on behalf of the Ansar to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on the night of the Pledge of al-Aqabah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us, and with him was his uncle, Sayyiduna al-Abbas bin Abd al-Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O uncle! Take the covenant from your maternal relatives." Those seventy men said to him: "O Sayyiduna Muhammad! Settle whatever you wish regarding your Lord and regarding yourself." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "As for my Lord, I enjoin that you worship Him and do not associate anyone with Him. As for my own self, I say to you: Protect me from everything from which you protect yourselves." They said: "When we do this, what will we receive?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Paradise."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in all three of his books, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: On the night of the Pledge of al-Aqabah we were with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) says: My two maternal uncles took me along, although I was not even able to throw a stone.
Al-Tabarani recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Urwah narrates: Sayyiduna al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! When the seventy men of the Ansar came on the night of the Pledge of al-Aqabah, Sayyiduna al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) took hold of the hand of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and settled the conditions with them on behalf of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). This was in the early period of Islam, before anyone worshipped Allah Almighty openly.
Abu Ya'la recorded it in the middle of a hadith narrated by Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her); its chain contains a narrator, Abd al-Rahman bin Abi al-Zinad, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyiduna As'ad bin Zurarah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O people! Do you know on what you are giving the pledge of allegiance to Sayyiduna Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)? You are pledging to him that you will fight the Arabs and the non-Arabs, the jinn and mankind." Those people said: "Whomever he fights, we will fight; and with whomever he is at peace, we will be at peace." The people said: "O Messenger of Allah! Lay down a condition." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Pledge to me that you will bear witness that there is no deity except Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah, that you will establish the prayer and give zakah, that you will listen and obey, that you will not dispute with those entitled to authority in matters of government, and that you will protect me from everything from which you protect yourselves and your families." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Part of this narration is recorded in the Sahih.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Ali bin Zayd, who is da'if (weak), though he has also been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Imam al-Husayn bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: On the night of al-Aqabah, the Ansar came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to give the pledge of allegiance. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ali! Get up. O Ali! Take the pledge from them!" He said: "O Messenger of Allah! On what shall I take the pledge from them?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On this: that Allah Almighty will be obeyed and not disobeyed, and that you will protect the Messenger of Allah, his family (Ahl al-Bayt) and his offspring just as you protect yourselves and your children."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat through a narrator named Abdullah bin Marwan, who is da'if (weak), though he has also been declared trustworthy.