Musnad Ahmad

Abdullah bin Rabah says that once, during the blessed month of Ramadan, several delegations—including myself and Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him)—arrived at the place of Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), and we used to prepare food for each other. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) would often invite us to eat at his place. I said, "Should I not cook food and then invite them to my house?" So I ordered food to be prepared. In the evening, I met Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) and said, "O Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), tonight there is an invitation at my place." He said, "You have preceded me." I said, "Yes, I have invited everyone." Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "O group of Ansar, shall I not inform you of a hadith about yourselves?" Then he mentioned the conquest of Makkah and said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out (from Madinah) and reached Makkah. He sent Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) to one side and Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him) to the other, and sent Abu Ubaidah (may Allah be pleased with him) as the commander over those without armor. They passed through the valley, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) remained with a separate military detachment. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) looked up at me and said, "Abu Hurairah!" I replied, "At your service, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." He said, "Let no one come to me except the Ansar. Call the Ansar to me." So they all gathered around the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Quraysh also gathered their supporters and followers and said, "We will send them forward; if they gain any benefit, we will join them, and if anything happens to them, we will give whatever is demanded from us." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said (to the companions), "Do you see the supporters and followers of Quraysh?" Then he struck one hand on the other and said, "(You go), and meet me at Mount Safa." We set out, and whoever among us wanted to kill someone could do so, and none of them could face us. Hazrat Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) came and said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the leadership of Quraysh has ended; after today, there will be no Qurayshi left." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Whoever closes the door of his house is safe, and whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyan is safe." So the people closed their doors. Then the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) touched the Black Stone, performed the circumambulation of the Ka'bah, and at that time, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had a bow in his hand. He pricked the eye of the idol which the polytheists used to worship and which was placed in a corner of the Ka'bah, and recited this verse: "Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished." Then the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) climbed Mount Safa, from where the Ka'bah could be seen, and raised his hands and continued to remember Allah and supplicate for as long as Allah willed. The Ansar were below, and they began saying to each other, "Love for his city and kindness to his relatives has overcome him (the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him)." Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Revelation came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and when revelation would descend upon him, no one could look up at the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) until the revelation ended." When the revelation was complete, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "O group of Ansar, did you say that love for his city has overcome this man?" They replied, "That is indeed what happened." He said, "Never! I am Allah's servant and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). I migrated towards Allah and towards you. Now my life is with your life, and my death is with your death." So the Ansar, weeping, came forward to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and began to say, "By Allah, whatever we said was only out of eagerness for the love of Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Indeed, Allah and His Messenger confirm you and accept your excuse."