Suraqah’s pursuit and the Prophet’s ﷺ arrival in Madinah during the Hijrah
[AI] Messengers from the disbelievers of Quraysh came to us, offering a blood-money reward for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and for Abu Bakr—each of them—whoever killed or captured them. While I was sitting in a gathering of my people, Banu Mudlij, one of them came up and stood over us as we sat and said, “O Suraqah, I have just seen some figures on the coast; I think they are Muhammad and his companions.” Suraqah said: I knew they were them, so I said to him, “They are not them; rather you saw so-and-so and so-and-so—they set out under our watch.” Then I stayed in the gathering for an hour, then I got up and went inside and ordered my slave-girl to bring out my horse from behind a hillock and hold it for me. I took my spear and went out with it from the back of the house, lowering its upper end and striking the ground with its tip, until I came to my horse and mounted it.
I urged it on at a swift pace until I drew near them, and my horse stumbled and I fell from it. I got up and reached for my quiver and brought out the divining arrows, and cast lots with them: would I harm them or not? The result I disliked came out, yet I mounted my horse and disobeyed the arrows, urging it on until, when I could hear the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reciting—while he did not turn around, whereas Abu Bakr kept turning around—my horse’s forelegs sank into the earth up to the knees, and I fell from it. Then I rebuked it and it rose, but it could hardly pull its forelegs out. When it finally stood upright, there rose from the traces of its forelegs a shining dust in the sky, like smoke. I cast lots with the arrows again and the result I disliked came out, so I called to them offering safety.
They stopped, and I mounted my horse and came to them. And it occurred to me, when I experienced what I experienced of being held back from them, that the affair of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would surely prevail. I said to him, “Your people have set a reward for you,” and I informed them of the news of what people intended for them. I offered them provisions and goods, but they did not take anything from me and did not ask me for anything, except that he said: “Keep us concealed.” Then I asked him to write me a guarantee of safety. He ordered Amir b. Fuhayrah, who wrote it on a piece of leather, and then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went on.
Ibn Shihab said: ‘Urwah b. al-Zubayr told me that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ met al-Zubayr among a group of Muslims who were merchants returning from Syria, and al-Zubayr clothed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Abu Bakr in white garments. The Muslims in Madinah heard of the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ departure from Makkah, and they would go out every morning to the Harrah and wait for him until the heat of midday drove them back.
One day they returned after waiting a long time. When they had gone back to their houses, a man from the Jews climbed up on one of their fortresses for something he was looking at, and he caught sight of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his companions, whitened (in their garments), with the mirage wavering around them. The Jew could not help but cry out at the top of his voice: “O company of Arabs, this is your grandfather whom you are waiting for!” The Muslims sprang to their weapons and went out to meet the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at the edge of the Harrah. He turned with them to the right until he lodged among Banu ‘Amr b. ‘Awf, and that was on Monday in the month of Rabi‘ al-Awwal.
Abu Bakr stood among the people, while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sat silent. Those of the Ansar who came—who had not seen the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—began greeting Abu Bakr, until the sun fell upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Then Abu Bakr came forward and shaded him with his cloak, and at that point the people recognized the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stayed among Banu ‘Amr b. ‘Awf for some ten-odd nights, and the mosque that was founded upon piety was established, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed in it.
Then he mounted his she-camel, and the people walked with him until it knelt at the site of the Messenger’s Mosque ﷺ in Madinah—where at that time some Muslim men used to pray—and it had been a date-drying yard belonging to Suhayl and Sahl, two orphan boys under the guardianship of As‘ad b. Zurārah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said when his mount knelt: “This, Allah willing, is the dwelling.” Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called the two boys and bargained with them for the yard so that he could make it a mosque. They said, “No; rather we give it to you as a gift, O Messenger of Allah.”
Then he built it as a mosque, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ began carrying bricks with them in its construction, saying as he carried the bricks: “This load is not the load of Khaybar; this is more dutiful to our Lord and purer.” And he would say: “O Allah, the reward is only the reward of the Hereafter, so have mercy on the Ansar and the Muhajirun.” In doing so he quoted verses of a Muslim man’s poetry whose name was not given to me. Ibn Shihab said: We have not learned in the reports that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ever quoted a complete line of poetry other than these words.
جَاءَنَا رُسُلُ كُفَّارِ قُرَيْشٍ، يَجْعَلُونَ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَأَبِي بَكْرٍ دِيَةَ كُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا مَنْ قَتَلَهُ أَوْ أَسَرَهُ. فَبَيْنَمَا أَنَا جَالِسٌ فِي مَجْلِسٍ مِنْ مَجَالِسِ قَوْمِي بَنِي مُدْلِجٍ، أَقْبَلَ رَجُلٌ مِنْهُمْ حَتَّى قَامَ عَلَيْنَا وَنَحْنُ جُلُوسٌ، فَقَالَ: يَا سُرَاقَةُ، إِنِّي قَدْ رَأَيْتُ آنِفًا أَسْوِدَةً بِالسَّاحِلِ، أُرَاهَا مُحَمَّدًا وَأَصْحَابَهُ. قَالَ سُرَاقَةُ: فَعَرَفْتُ أَنَّهُمْ هُمْ، فَقُلْتُ لَهُ: إِنَّهُمْ لَيْسُوا بِهِمْ، وَلَكِنَّكَ رَأَيْتَ فُلَانًا وَفُلَانًا، انْطَلَقُوا بِأَعْيُنِنَا. ثُمَّ لَبِثْتُ فِي الْمَجْلِسِ سَاعَةً، ثُمَّ قُمْتُ، فَدَخَلْتُ، فَأَمَرْتُ جَارِيَتِي أَنْ تَخْرُجَ بِفَرَسِي، وَهْيَ مِنْ وَرَاءِ أَكَمَةٍ، فَتَحْبِسَهَا عَلَيَّ، وَأَخَذْتُ رُمْحِي، فَخَرَجْتُ بِهِ مِنْ ظَهْرِ الْبَيْتِ، فَحَطَطْتُ بِزُجِّهِ الْأَرْضَ، وَخَفَضْتُ عَالِيَهُ، حَتَّى أَتَيْتُ فَرَسِي، فَرَكِبْتُهَا.
فَرَفَعْتُهَا تُقَرِّبُ بِي، حَتَّى دَنَوْتُ مِنْهُمْ، فَعَثَرَتْ بِي فَرَسِي، فَخَرَرْتُ عَنْهَا. فَقُمْتُ، فَأَهْوَيْتُ يَدِي إِلَى كِنَانَتِي، فَاسْتَخْرَجْتُ مِنْهَا الْأَزْلَامَ، فَاسْتَقْسَمْتُ بِهَا، أَضُرُّهُمْ أَمْ لَا؟ فَخَرَجَ الَّذِي أَكْرَهُ، فَرَكِبْتُ فَرَسِي وَعَصَيْتُ الْأَزْلَامَ، تُقَرِّبُ بِي، حَتَّى إِذَا سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَةَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ، وَهْوَ لَا يَلْتَفِتُ، وَأَبُو بَكْرٍ يُكْثِرُ الِالْتِفَاتَ، سَاخَتْ يَدَا فَرَسِي فِي الْأَرْضِ، حَتَّى بَلَغَتَا الرُّكْبَتَيْنِ، فَخَرَرْتُ عَنْهَا، ثُمَّ زَجَرْتُهَا، فَنَهَضَتْ، فَلَمْ تَكَدْ تُخْرِجُ يَدَيْهَا. فَلَمَّا اسْتَوَتْ قَائِمَةً، إِذَا لِأَثَرِ يَدَيْهَا عُثَانٌ سَاطِعٌ فِي السَّمَاءِ، مِثْلُ الدُّخَانِ. فَاسْتَقْسَمْتُ بِالْأَزْلَامِ، فَخَرَجَ الَّذِي أَكْرَهُ، فَنَادَيْتُهُمْ بِالْأَمَانِ،
فَوَقَفُوا، فَرَكِبْتُ فَرَسِي حَتَّى جِئْتُهُمْ، وَوَقَعَ فِي نَفْسِي، حِينَ لَقِيتُ مَا لَقِيتُ مِنَ الْحَبْسِ عَنْهُمْ، أَنْ سَيَظْهَرُ أَمْرُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ. فَقُلْتُ لَهُ: إِنَّ قَوْمَكَ قَدْ جَعَلُوا فِيكَ الدِّيَةَ، وَأَخْبَرْتُهُمْ أَخْبَارَ مَا يُرِيدُ النَّاسُ بِهِمْ، وَعَرَضْتُ عَلَيْهِمِ الزَّادَ وَالْمَتَاعَ، فَلَمْ يَرْزَآنِي، وَلَمْ يَسْأَلَانِي، إِلَّا أَنْ قَالَ: «أَخْفِ عَنَّا». فَسَأَلْتُهُ أَنْ يَكْتُبَ لِي كِتَابَ أَمْنٍ، فَأَمَرَ عَامِرَ بْنَ فُهَيْرَةَ، فَكَتَبَ فِي رُقْعَةٍ مِنْ أَدِيمٍ، ثُمَّ مَضَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ.
قَالَ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ: فَأَخْبَرَنِي عُرْوَةُ بْنُ الزُّبَيْرِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ لَقِيَ الزُّبَيْرَ فِي رَكْبٍ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، كَانُوا تُجَّارًا قَافِلِينَ مِنَ الشَّأْمِ، فَكَسَا الزُّبَيْرُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَأَبَا بَكْرٍ ثِيَابَ بَيَاضٍ. وَسَمِعَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ بِالْمَدِينَةِ مَخْرَجَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ مِنْ مَكَّةَ، فَكَانُوا يَغْدُونَ كُلَّ غَدَاةٍ إِلَى الْحَرَّةِ، فَيَنْتَظِرُونَهُ، حَتَّى يَرُدَّهُمْ حَرُّ الظَّهِيرَةِ.
فَانْقَلَبُوا يَوْمًا، بَعْدَ مَا أَطَالُوا انْتِظَارَهُمْ. فَلَمَّا أَوَوْا إِلَى بُيُوتِهِمْ، أَوْفَى رَجُلٌ مِنْ يَهُودَ عَلَى أُطُمٍ مِنْ آطَامِهِمْ، لِأَمْرٍ يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِ، فَبَصُرَ بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَأَصْحَابِهِ مُبَيَّضِينَ، يَزُولُ بِهِمُ السَّرَابُ، فَلَمْ يَمْلِكِ الْيَهُودِيُّ أَنْ قَالَ بِأَعْلَى صَوْتِهِ: يَا مَعَاشِرَ الْعَرَبِ، هَذَا جَدُّكُمُ الَّذِي تَنْتَظِرُونَ. فَثَارَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ إِلَى السِّلَاحِ، فَتَلَقَّوْا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ بِظَهْرِ الْحَرَّةِ، فَعَدَلَ بِهِمْ ذَاتَ الْيَمِينِ، حَتَّى نَزَلَ بِهِمْ فِي بَنِي عَمْرِو بْنِ عَوْفٍ، وَذَلِكَ يَوْمَ الِاثْنَيْنِ مِنْ شَهْرِ رَبِيعٍ الْأَوَّلِ.
فَقَامَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ لِلنَّاسِ، وَجَلَسَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ صَامِتًا، فَطَفِقَ مَنْ جَاءَ مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ، مِمَّنْ لَمْ يَرَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ، يُحَيِّي أَبَا بَكْرٍ، حَتَّى أَصَابَتِ الشَّمْسُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ، فَأَقْبَلَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ، حَتَّى ظَلَّلَ عَلَيْهِ بِرِدَائِهِ، فَعَرَفَ النَّاسُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ. فَلَبِثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِي بَنِي عَمْرِو بْنِ عَوْفٍ بِضْعَ عَشْرَةَ لَيْلَةً، وَأُسِّسَ الْمَسْجِدُ الَّذِي أُسِّسَ عَلَى التَّقْوَى، وَصَلَّى فِيهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ.
ثُمَّ رَكِبَ رَاحِلَتَهُ، فَسَارَ يَمْشِي مَعَهُ النَّاسُ، حَتَّى بَرَكَتْ عِنْدَ مَسْجِدِ الرَّسُولِ ﷺ بِالْمَدِينَةِ، وَهْوَ يُصَلِّي فِيهِ يَوْمَئِذٍ رِجَالٌ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَكَانَ مِرْبَدًا لِلتَّمْرِ، لِسُهَيْلٍ وَسَهْلٍ غُلَامَيْنِ يَتِيمَيْنِ فِي حِجْرِ أَسْعَدَ بْنِ زُرَارَةَ. فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ، حِينَ بَرَكَتْ بِهِ رَاحِلَتُهُ: «هَذَا، إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ، الْمَنْزِلُ». ثُمَّ دَعَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ الْغُلَامَيْنِ، فَسَاوَمَهُمَا بِالْمِرْبَدِ، لِيَتَّخِذَهُ مَسْجِدًا، فَقَالَا: لَا، بَلْ نَهَبُهُ لَكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ.
ثُمَّ بَنَاهُ مَسْجِدًا، وَطَفِقَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَنْقُلُ مَعَهُمُ اللَّبِنَ فِي بُنْيَانِهِ، وَيَقُولُ وَهُوَ يَنْقُلُ اللَّبِنَ: «هَذَا الْحِمَالُ لَا حِمَالَ خَيْبَرْ، هَذَا أَبَرُّ رَبَّنَا وَأَطْهَرْ». وَيَقُولُ: «اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّ الْأَجْرَ أَجْرُ الْآخِرَهْ، فَارْحَمِ الْأَنْصَارَ وَالْمُهَاجِرَهْ». فَتَمَثَّلَ بِشِعْرِ رَجُلٍ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ لَمْ يُسَمَّ لِي. قَالَ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ: وَلَمْ يَبْلُغْنَا فِي الْأَحَادِيثِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ تَمَثَّلَ بِبَيْتِ شِعْرٍ تَامٍّ غَيْرِ هَذِهِ الْآيَاتِ.
Sign in from the top menu to add or reply to reflections.