مختصر صحيح مسلم
Mukhtasar Muslim
Repentance, Its Acceptance, and Allah's Mercy
True repentance and explanation of “And the three who were left behind.”
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Hadith 1918
Ibn Shihab, may Allah have mercy on him, says: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) undertook the expedition of Tabuk, and his intention was to wage jihad against the Romans and the Arab Christians of Syria. Ibn Shihab said: ‘Abdur Rahman bin ‘Abdullah bin Ka‘b bin Malik informed me that ‘Abdullah bin Ka‘b, who used to guide our master Ka‘b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) due to his blindness, said: I heard our master Ka‘b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrating the incident of his staying behind from the expedition of Tabuk. Our master Ka‘b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I did not stay behind from any expedition except the expedition of Tabuk, though I also stayed behind from the Battle of Badr. But in that, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not express anger at anyone who stayed behind. And at Badr, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had set out with the Muslims to intercept the caravan of the Quraysh, but Allah, the Exalted, suddenly made the Muslims confront their enemies (and the caravan escaped). And I was also present with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the night of ‘Aqabah (the night when the Prophet took the pledge from the Ansar for Islam and to support him, and this pledge took place twice at Jamrat al-‘Aqabah in Mina; the first time there were twelve Ansar, and the second time seventy Ansar). And I do not wish that in exchange for that night I had participated in the Battle of Badr, even though the Battle of Badr is more famous among the people than that night (i.e., people consider it superior). And the story of my staying behind from the expedition of Tabuk is that at the time of this expedition, I was never as strong and prosperous as I was then. By Allah! Never before had I possessed two camels together, and at the time of this battle, I had two camels. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out for this battle in the intense heat, the journey was long, and there were deserts on the way (far-off places where water was scarce and there was fear of destruction), and there were many enemies to face. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) clearly informed the Muslims that he was going for this battle (whereas it was his habit in other battles, for reasons of wisdom, not to state his intention clearly so that the news would not spread), so that they could make their preparations. He told them which direction to go, and at that time there were many Muslims with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and there was no register in which their names could be written. Our master Ka‘b said: Very few would be those who, thinking that their absence from this expedition would remain hidden until revelation came, would intend to stay behind. And this jihad was undertaken by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at a time when the fruits had ripened and the shade was pleasant, and I was very fond of these things. Eventually, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made preparations, and the Muslims also prepared with him. I too began to go out every morning with the intention of preparing with them, but every day I would return and make no decision, and I would say to myself that I could go whenever I wished (because I had the means for the journey). I kept thinking this way until the Muslims had prepared their travel provisions, and one morning the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out with the Muslims. And I had made no preparations. Then I went out in the morning and returned, unable to make any decision. This was my state until the people hurried and all the fighters went ahead. At that time, I also intended to set out to join them. Alas, if only I had done so, but it was not decreed for me. After the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had left, whenever I went out, I felt grief, for I found no one to follow except a person suspected of hypocrisy or among the weak and helpless. Anyway, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not remember me anywhere (on the way) until he reached Tabuk. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting among the people when he said, “Where is Ka‘b bin Malik?” A man from Banu Salamah said, “O Messenger of Allah! His garments have detained him, he is looking at both his sides (i.e., he is engrossed and occupied with his clothes and self).” Our master Mu‘adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) heard this and said, “You have spoken badly. By Allah, O Messenger of Allah! We only know good of Ka‘b bin Malik.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent at this. Meanwhile, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a man dressed in white coming, raising dust as he walked. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “That is Abu Khaythamah.” And it was indeed Abu Khaythamah, the man who had given a sa‘ of dates in charity and the hypocrites had mocked him for it.
Our master Ka‘b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When I heard that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was returning from Tabuk towards Madinah, my grief increased. I began to fabricate false excuses, thinking of something to say to avoid the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) displeasure upon his return, and I sought advice from every wise person among my family regarding this matter (i.e., what excuse to make). When people informed me that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was about to arrive, all falsehood vanished from my mind, and I realized that I could not escape from him by lying. Finally, I resolved to speak the truth. In the morning, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived, and whenever he returned from a journey, he would first go to the mosque and pray two rak‘ahs, then sit to meet the people. When he had done this, those who had stayed behind began to present their excuses and swear oaths. They were more than eighty. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted their outward statements, took their pledge, and prayed for their forgiveness, leaving their inner intentions to Allah. When I came and greeted him, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled, but in a manner as if he was angry. Then he said, “Come here.” I walked over and sat before him. He said, “Why did you stay behind? Did you not buy a mount?” I said, “O Messenger of Allah! If I were sitting before anyone else in the world, I would think I could escape his anger by making an excuse, for Allah has given me eloquence (i.e., I can speak well and make a good case). But by Allah! I know that if I were to tell you a lie today to please you, soon Allah would make you angry with me. And if I tell you the truth, though you may be angry, I hope Allah will bring about a good outcome for me. By Allah! I had no excuse when I stayed behind. By Allah, I was never stronger or wealthier than at that time.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Ka‘b has spoken the truth.” Then he said, “Go until Allah decides concerning you.” I stood up, and some men from Banu Salamah hurried after me and said, “By Allah! We do not know that you have ever committed a sin before this. Why did you fail and not present an excuse to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as the others who stayed behind did? The Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) seeking forgiveness for your sin would have been sufficient.” By Allah, they kept blaming me until I almost returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to retract my statement and make an excuse. Then I asked them, “Is there anyone else in the same situation as me?” They said, “Yes, two other men said what you said, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them what he said to you.” I asked, “Who are they?” They said, “Murarah bin Rabi‘ and Hilal bin Umayyah al-Waqifi.” They named two righteous men who had been present at Badr and were worthy of emulation. When they mentioned them, I remained firm in my original stance. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the Muslims from speaking to any of us three who had stayed behind, so the people avoided us, and their attitude towards us changed completely, so much so that the earth itself seemed changed, as if it was not the same earth I knew. This continued for fifty nights. My two companions became so distressed that they stayed in their homes, weeping, but I was the youngest and strongest among them. I would go out, attend prayers, and walk in the markets, but no one would speak to me. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would finish the prayer and sit in his place, I would come and greet him, and in my heart, I would wonder whether he moved his lips in response or not. Then I would pray near him and look at him stealthily. When I was in prayer, he would look at me, but when I looked at him, he would turn away. When the Muslims’ harshness towards me became prolonged, I climbed the wall of Abu Qatadah’s garden, who was my cousin and the dearest of people to me. I greeted him, but by Allah, he did not even reply to my greeting (SubhanAllah, this is how the followers of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) are, that in the face of his command, they do not care for brother or son; if there is no such love for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), what is the use of faith? When it is known that a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is authentic, the opinion of the scholars and jurists that contradicts it should be discarded, and the hadith should be followed). I said to him, “O Abu Qatadah! I ask you by Allah, do you not know that I love Allah and His Messenger?” He remained silent. I asked him again, and he remained silent. I asked him a third time, and he said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” (He did not speak to Ka‘b, but spoke to himself.) My eyes filled with tears, and I turned away and climbed down the wall.
I was walking in the market of Madinah when a farmer from Syria, who had come to sell grain in Madinah, was asking, “Who will show me the house of Ka‘b bin Malik?” People began to point towards me until he came to me and handed me a letter from the king of Ghassan. Since I could read, I read it, and it said: “To proceed: We have learned that your companion (i.e., the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him) has treated you harshly, and Allah has not made you to live in a place of humiliation, nor where your right is lost. So come to us, and we will honor you.” When I read this letter, I said, “This too is a test from Allah,” and I burned the letter in the oven.
When forty out of the fifty nights had passed and no revelation had come, suddenly a messenger from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me and said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commands you to separate from your wife.” I said, “Should I divorce her, or what should I do?” He said, “No, do not divorce her, just separate from her and do not approach her.” My two companions (who had stayed behind) received the same message. I said to my wife, “Go to your family and stay there until Allah decides concerning this matter.” The wife of Hilal bin Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with him) went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Hilal bin Umayyah is an old, weak man, and he has no servant. Do you dislike if I serve him?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “No, I do not dislike your serving him, but he must not approach you.” She said, “By Allah, he has no interest in anything, and by Allah, he has been weeping since that day.” My family said to me, “Why don’t you ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission for your wife to stay with you, as he has allowed the wife of Hilal bin Umayyah to serve him?” I said, “I will never ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission for my wife, for I do not know what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would say if I asked, and I am a young man.” Then I remained in this state for ten more nights, until fifty nights had passed since the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had forbidden people to speak to us.
On the morning of the fiftieth night, I prayed on the roof of one of my houses. I was sitting in the state that Allah, the Exalted, described about us, that my soul was constricted and the earth, despite its vastness, seemed narrow to me. Suddenly, I heard the voice of a caller from the mountain of Sal‘, calling out at the top of his voice, “O Ka‘b bin Malik! Rejoice!” When I heard this, I fell in prostration, realizing that relief had come. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) announced after the morning prayer that Allah had accepted our repentance. People came to give us glad tidings; several people went to my two companions, and a man came to me on horseback, and another from the tribe of Aslam ran to me, and his voice reached me before the horseman. When the man whose voice I had heard arrived, I took off my two garments and gave them to him as a reward for his glad tidings. By Allah, at that time, I had only those two garments. I borrowed two garments, put them on, and set out to meet the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Groups of people met me, congratulating me on the acceptance of my repentance by Allah. When I entered the mosque, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting there with people around him. Talhah bin ‘Ubaydullah (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up, ran to me, shook my hand, and congratulated me. By Allah, none of the Muhajirun stood up except him, and our master Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) never forgot this favor of Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him). Our master Ka‘b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When I greeted the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), his face was shining with joy, and he said, “Rejoice! This is the best day for you since your mother bore you.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah! Is this glad tidings from you or from Allah, the Majestic and Glorious?” He said, “From Allah, the Majestic and Glorious.” And whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was happy, his face would shine as if it were a piece of the moon, and we would recognize his happiness by this. When I sat before him, I said, “O Messenger of Allah! In gratitude for my forgiveness, I give all my wealth in charity for Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Keep some of your wealth, for it is better for you.” I said, “Then I will keep my share in Khaybar.” And I said, “O Messenger of Allah! Truthfulness has saved me, and as part of my repentance, I will always speak the truth as long as I live.” Our master Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! I do not know that Allah has ever bestowed such a favor upon any Muslim for speaking the truth as He did upon me since I mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). By Allah! Since I said this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I have never intentionally told a lie to this day, and I hope that Allah will protect me from lying for the rest of my life. Our master Ka‘b said: Allah revealed these verses: “Indeed, Allah has forgiven the Prophet, the Muhajirun, and the Ansar who followed him in the hour of difficulty…” until He said, “He is Most Kind and Most Merciful. And [He also forgave] the three who were left behind, until the earth, despite its vastness, became constricted for them and their souls were constricted, and they realized that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him. Then He turned to them so they could repent. Indeed, Allah is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful. O you who believe! Fear Allah and be with those who are truthful.” (Surah at-Tawbah: 117-119). Our master Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! Since Allah guided me to Islam, He has not bestowed upon me any favor greater in my view than that I spoke the truth to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and did not lie, otherwise I would have perished as the liars perished. And when Allah revealed verses about the liars, He mentioned such evil about them as He did not mention about anyone else. He said: “When you return to them, they will swear to you by Allah so that you may turn away from them. So turn away from them; indeed, they are impure, and their abode is Hell as recompense for what they used to earn. They will swear to you so that you may be pleased with them, but if you are pleased with them, Allah is not pleased with the defiantly disobedient people.” Our master Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The matter of us three was deferred from those whose excuses the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted. When they swore oaths, he took their pledge and sought forgiveness for them, but he left our case pending until Allah decided. For this reason, Allah said: “And [He also forgave] the three who were left behind, until the earth, despite its vastness, became constricted for them…” And by this word (i.e., “left behind”), it is not meant that we stayed behind from jihad, but rather that our case was left pending and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) deferred our matter, unlike those who swore oaths and made excuses, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted their excuses.
Our master Ka‘b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When I heard that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was returning from Tabuk towards Madinah, my grief increased. I began to fabricate false excuses, thinking of something to say to avoid the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) displeasure upon his return, and I sought advice from every wise person among my family regarding this matter (i.e., what excuse to make). When people informed me that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was about to arrive, all falsehood vanished from my mind, and I realized that I could not escape from him by lying. Finally, I resolved to speak the truth. In the morning, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived, and whenever he returned from a journey, he would first go to the mosque and pray two rak‘ahs, then sit to meet the people. When he had done this, those who had stayed behind began to present their excuses and swear oaths. They were more than eighty. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted their outward statements, took their pledge, and prayed for their forgiveness, leaving their inner intentions to Allah. When I came and greeted him, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled, but in a manner as if he was angry. Then he said, “Come here.” I walked over and sat before him. He said, “Why did you stay behind? Did you not buy a mount?” I said, “O Messenger of Allah! If I were sitting before anyone else in the world, I would think I could escape his anger by making an excuse, for Allah has given me eloquence (i.e., I can speak well and make a good case). But by Allah! I know that if I were to tell you a lie today to please you, soon Allah would make you angry with me. And if I tell you the truth, though you may be angry, I hope Allah will bring about a good outcome for me. By Allah! I had no excuse when I stayed behind. By Allah, I was never stronger or wealthier than at that time.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Ka‘b has spoken the truth.” Then he said, “Go until Allah decides concerning you.” I stood up, and some men from Banu Salamah hurried after me and said, “By Allah! We do not know that you have ever committed a sin before this. Why did you fail and not present an excuse to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as the others who stayed behind did? The Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) seeking forgiveness for your sin would have been sufficient.” By Allah, they kept blaming me until I almost returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to retract my statement and make an excuse. Then I asked them, “Is there anyone else in the same situation as me?” They said, “Yes, two other men said what you said, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them what he said to you.” I asked, “Who are they?” They said, “Murarah bin Rabi‘ and Hilal bin Umayyah al-Waqifi.” They named two righteous men who had been present at Badr and were worthy of emulation. When they mentioned them, I remained firm in my original stance. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the Muslims from speaking to any of us three who had stayed behind, so the people avoided us, and their attitude towards us changed completely, so much so that the earth itself seemed changed, as if it was not the same earth I knew. This continued for fifty nights. My two companions became so distressed that they stayed in their homes, weeping, but I was the youngest and strongest among them. I would go out, attend prayers, and walk in the markets, but no one would speak to me. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would finish the prayer and sit in his place, I would come and greet him, and in my heart, I would wonder whether he moved his lips in response or not. Then I would pray near him and look at him stealthily. When I was in prayer, he would look at me, but when I looked at him, he would turn away. When the Muslims’ harshness towards me became prolonged, I climbed the wall of Abu Qatadah’s garden, who was my cousin and the dearest of people to me. I greeted him, but by Allah, he did not even reply to my greeting (SubhanAllah, this is how the followers of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) are, that in the face of his command, they do not care for brother or son; if there is no such love for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), what is the use of faith? When it is known that a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is authentic, the opinion of the scholars and jurists that contradicts it should be discarded, and the hadith should be followed). I said to him, “O Abu Qatadah! I ask you by Allah, do you not know that I love Allah and His Messenger?” He remained silent. I asked him again, and he remained silent. I asked him a third time, and he said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” (He did not speak to Ka‘b, but spoke to himself.) My eyes filled with tears, and I turned away and climbed down the wall.
I was walking in the market of Madinah when a farmer from Syria, who had come to sell grain in Madinah, was asking, “Who will show me the house of Ka‘b bin Malik?” People began to point towards me until he came to me and handed me a letter from the king of Ghassan. Since I could read, I read it, and it said: “To proceed: We have learned that your companion (i.e., the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him) has treated you harshly, and Allah has not made you to live in a place of humiliation, nor where your right is lost. So come to us, and we will honor you.” When I read this letter, I said, “This too is a test from Allah,” and I burned the letter in the oven.
When forty out of the fifty nights had passed and no revelation had come, suddenly a messenger from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me and said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commands you to separate from your wife.” I said, “Should I divorce her, or what should I do?” He said, “No, do not divorce her, just separate from her and do not approach her.” My two companions (who had stayed behind) received the same message. I said to my wife, “Go to your family and stay there until Allah decides concerning this matter.” The wife of Hilal bin Umayyah (may Allah be pleased with him) went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Hilal bin Umayyah is an old, weak man, and he has no servant. Do you dislike if I serve him?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “No, I do not dislike your serving him, but he must not approach you.” She said, “By Allah, he has no interest in anything, and by Allah, he has been weeping since that day.” My family said to me, “Why don’t you ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission for your wife to stay with you, as he has allowed the wife of Hilal bin Umayyah to serve him?” I said, “I will never ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission for my wife, for I do not know what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would say if I asked, and I am a young man.” Then I remained in this state for ten more nights, until fifty nights had passed since the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had forbidden people to speak to us.
On the morning of the fiftieth night, I prayed on the roof of one of my houses. I was sitting in the state that Allah, the Exalted, described about us, that my soul was constricted and the earth, despite its vastness, seemed narrow to me. Suddenly, I heard the voice of a caller from the mountain of Sal‘, calling out at the top of his voice, “O Ka‘b bin Malik! Rejoice!” When I heard this, I fell in prostration, realizing that relief had come. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) announced after the morning prayer that Allah had accepted our repentance. People came to give us glad tidings; several people went to my two companions, and a man came to me on horseback, and another from the tribe of Aslam ran to me, and his voice reached me before the horseman. When the man whose voice I had heard arrived, I took off my two garments and gave them to him as a reward for his glad tidings. By Allah, at that time, I had only those two garments. I borrowed two garments, put them on, and set out to meet the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Groups of people met me, congratulating me on the acceptance of my repentance by Allah. When I entered the mosque, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting there with people around him. Talhah bin ‘Ubaydullah (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up, ran to me, shook my hand, and congratulated me. By Allah, none of the Muhajirun stood up except him, and our master Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) never forgot this favor of Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him). Our master Ka‘b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When I greeted the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), his face was shining with joy, and he said, “Rejoice! This is the best day for you since your mother bore you.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah! Is this glad tidings from you or from Allah, the Majestic and Glorious?” He said, “From Allah, the Majestic and Glorious.” And whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was happy, his face would shine as if it were a piece of the moon, and we would recognize his happiness by this. When I sat before him, I said, “O Messenger of Allah! In gratitude for my forgiveness, I give all my wealth in charity for Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Keep some of your wealth, for it is better for you.” I said, “Then I will keep my share in Khaybar.” And I said, “O Messenger of Allah! Truthfulness has saved me, and as part of my repentance, I will always speak the truth as long as I live.” Our master Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! I do not know that Allah has ever bestowed such a favor upon any Muslim for speaking the truth as He did upon me since I mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). By Allah! Since I said this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I have never intentionally told a lie to this day, and I hope that Allah will protect me from lying for the rest of my life. Our master Ka‘b said: Allah revealed these verses: “Indeed, Allah has forgiven the Prophet, the Muhajirun, and the Ansar who followed him in the hour of difficulty…” until He said, “He is Most Kind and Most Merciful. And [He also forgave] the three who were left behind, until the earth, despite its vastness, became constricted for them and their souls were constricted, and they realized that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him. Then He turned to them so they could repent. Indeed, Allah is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful. O you who believe! Fear Allah and be with those who are truthful.” (Surah at-Tawbah: 117-119). Our master Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah! Since Allah guided me to Islam, He has not bestowed upon me any favor greater in my view than that I spoke the truth to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and did not lie, otherwise I would have perished as the liars perished. And when Allah revealed verses about the liars, He mentioned such evil about them as He did not mention about anyone else. He said: “When you return to them, they will swear to you by Allah so that you may turn away from them. So turn away from them; indeed, they are impure, and their abode is Hell as recompense for what they used to earn. They will swear to you so that you may be pleased with them, but if you are pleased with them, Allah is not pleased with the defiantly disobedient people.” Our master Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The matter of us three was deferred from those whose excuses the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted. When they swore oaths, he took their pledge and sought forgiveness for them, but he left our case pending until Allah decided. For this reason, Allah said: “And [He also forgave] the three who were left behind, until the earth, despite its vastness, became constricted for them…” And by this word (i.e., “left behind”), it is not meant that we stayed behind from jihad, but rather that our case was left pending and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) deferred our matter, unlike those who swore oaths and made excuses, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted their excuses.
