[Machine] We set out in the month of Hajj that we had pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ , at Al-Aqaba, with the polytheists of our people. With us was Al-Bara' bin Ma'rur, our elder, and our leader. When we reached the outskirts of the desert, he said, "O people, you know that I have seen a vision, and I don't know if you agree with me on it or not." We asked, "What is it, O Abu Al-Bashar?" He said, "I saw that I was praying towards this structure (the Kaaba) instead of facing my back to it." We said, "No, by Allah, you should not do that, for we have heard that our Prophet, ﷺ , only prays towards the Sham (the Levant)." He said, "By Allah, I will always pray towards it." Whenever the time for prayer came, he would face the Kaaba, and we faced the Sham, until we reached Makkah. Al-Bara' bin Ma'rur said to me, "O cousin, come with us to the Messenger of Allah so that we may ask him about what we have done on this journey. For I have found something different in myself compared to all of you." So we went to the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ , and we met a man near Al-Abtah, and we said to him, "Show us the way to Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Abdul-Muttalib." He asked, "Do you know him if you see him?" We said, "No, by Allah, we don't know him, nor have we seen the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ ." He asked, "Do you know Al-Abbas bin Abdul-Muttalib?" We answered, "Yes, we know him, for we used to trade with him." He said, "When you enter the mosque, look for Al-Abbas, for he is the man with him." So we entered the mosque, and the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ , and Al-Abbas were sitting on one side of the mosque. We greeted them and sat down. The Messenger of Allah, ﷺ , asked, "Do you know these two men?" When they hesitated, he said, "This is Al-Bara' bin Ma'rur, the leader of his people, and this is Ka'b bin Malik." Al-Bara' bin Ma'rur said, "O Messenger of Allah, I have seen a vision on this journey that I wanted to ask you about, so that you may tell me what I should do." The Prophet, ﷺ , asked, "What is it?" He replied, "I saw that I should not turn my back on this structure (the Kaaba) while praying, so I prayed towards it." The Prophet, ﷺ , said, "You were on the right direction, and if you had been patient with it, it would have been enough for you." Then he returned to the direction the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ , used to face (towards the Sham), and his family kept saying that he died facing it, but we know better. He went back to the direction the Messenger of Allah, ﷺ , used to face, and he prayed with us towards the Sham.
خَرَجْنَا فِي الْحِجَّةِ الَّتِي بَايَعْنَا بِهَا رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ الْعَقَبَةَ مَعَ مُشْرِكِي قَوْمِنَا وَمَعَنَا الْبَرَاءُ بْنُ مَعْرُورٍ كَبِيرُنَا وَسَيِّدُنَا حَتَّى إِذَا كُنَّا بِظَاهِرِ الْبَيْدَاءِ قَالَ يَا هَؤُلَاءِ تَعْلَمُونَ أَنِّي قَدْ رَأَيْتُ رَأَيًا مَا أَدْرِي أَتُوَافِقُونِي عَلَيْهِ أَمْ لَا؟ قُلْنَا مَا هُوَ يَا أَبَا الْبَشَرِ؟ قَالَ رَأَيْتُ أَنِّي أُصَلِّي إِلَى هَذِهِ الْبَنِيَّةِ وَلَا أَجْعَلُهَا مِنِّي بِظَهْرٍ قُلْنَا لَا وَاللهِ لَا تَفْعَلُ مَا بَلَغَنَا أَنَّ نَبِيَّنَا ﷺ لَا يُصَلِّي إِلَّا إِلَى الشَّامِ قَالَ فَإِنِّي وَاللهِ لِمُصَلٍّ إِلَيْهَا وَكَانَ إِذَا حَضَرَتِ الصَّلَاةُ تَوَجَّهَ إِلَى الْكَعْبَةِ وَتَوَجَّهْنَا إِلَى الشَّامِ حَتَّى قَدِمْنَا مَكَّةَ فَقَالَ لِي الْبَرَاءُ بْنُ مَعْرُورٍ يَا ابْنَ أَخِي انْطَلَقْ بِنَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ حَتَّى نَسْأَلَهُ عَمَّا صَنَعْنَا فِي سَفَرِنَا هَذَا فَلَقَدْ وَجَدْتُ فِي نَفْسِي مِنْهُ بِخِلَافِكُمْ إِيَّايَ فَخَرَجْنَا نَسْأَلُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ فَلَقِيَنَا رَجُلٌ بِالْأَبْطَحِ فَقُلْنَا لَهُ تَدُلُّنَا عَلَى مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ قَالَ وَهَلْ تَعْرِفَانِهِ إِذَا رَأْيُتَمَاهُ؟ قُلْنَا لَا وَاللهِ مَا نَعْرِفُهُ وَلَمْ نَكُنْ رَأَيْنَا رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ قَالَ فَهَلْ تَعْرَفَانِ الْعَبَّاسَ بْنَ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ؟ قُلْنَا نَعَمْ وَقَدْ كُنَّا نَعْرِفُهُ كَانَ يَخْتَلِفُ إِلَيْنَا بِالتِّجَارَةِ قَالَ فَإِذَا دَخَلْتُمَا الْمَسْجِدَ فَانْظُرَا الْعَبَّاسَ فَهُوَ الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي مَعَهُ فَدَخَلْنَا الْمَسْجِدَ وَرَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ وَالْعَبَّاسُ فِي نَاحِيَةِ الْمَسْجِدِ جَالِسَانِ فَسَلَّمْنَا وَجَلَسْنَا فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ «هَلْ تَعْرِفُ هَذَيْنِ الرَّجُلَيْنِ؟» فَلَمَّا انْفَتَلَ قَالَ نَعَمْ هَذَا الْبَرَاءُ بْنُ مَعْرُورٍ سَيِّدُ قَوْمِهِ وَهَذَا كَعْبُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ فَوَاللهِ مَا أَنْسَى قَوْلَ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ «الشَّاعِرَ؟» قَالَ نَعَمْ فَقَالَ لَهُ الْبَرَاءُ بْنُ مَعْرُورٍ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ إِنِّي قَدْ كُنْتُ رَأَيْتُ فِي سَفَرِي هَذَا رَأَيًا قَدْ أَحْبَبْتُ أَنْ أَسْأَلَكَ عَنْهُ لَتُخْبِرَنِّي عَمَّا صَنَعْتُ فِيهِ قَالَ «وَمَا ذَلِكَ؟» قَالَ رَأَيْتُ أَنْ لَا أَجْعَلَ هَذِهِ الْبَنِيَّةَ مِنِّي بِظَهْرٍ فَصَلَّيْتُ إِلَيْهَا فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ «قَدْ كُنْتَ عَلَى قِبْلَةٍ لَوْ صَبَرْتَ إِلَيْهَا» فَرَجَعَ إِلَى قِبْلَةِ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ وَأَهْلُهُ يَقُولُونَ قَدْ مَاتَ عَلَيْهَا وَنَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِهِ قَدْ رَجَعَ إِلَى قِبْلَةِ رَسُولِ اللهِ فَصَلَّى مَعَنَا إِلَى الشَّامِ