The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 2 of 4

116 THE I.IFF. OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
"'"All right," the Messenger of God (SAAS) agreed.
"'The man then left, and in the month of Rajab the delegation of the anp,
(the Helpers), arrived."'
This hadirh is reported, by various paths, by scholars of all four of al-sunan
al-arba'a,3° from Isra'il. Al-Tirmidhi stated, "lt is hasan, ~ahih, good and
authentic."
On the arrival of the delegation of the an$&-, the Helpers, year after year, and
their pledging their loyalty to him time after time. And thereafter the Messenger
of God (SAAS) moved away to them in Medina, residing there among them, as
will he explained in detail, if God wills it and in Him is all trust.
An Accountfrom Suwayd b. Sarnit, the Answi.
His full name was Suwayd h. al-Sarnit b. 'Atiyya h. Hat h. Hahib b. 'Amr b.
'Awf b. Malik b. al-Aws; his mother was Layla, daughter of 'Amr al-Najariyya,
the daughter of Salma, daughter of 'Amr, the mother of 'Ahd al-Murfalib b.
Hashim. This Suwayd was the son of the maternal aunt of 'Abd al-Mutfalib, the
grandfather of the Messenger of God (SAAS).
Muhammad h. Ishaq b. Yasa stated, "The Messenger of God (SAAS) continued
as he had for some time; whenever people met for the festival, he would
go to them and invite the tribes to God and into Islam, presenting hiiself to
them and the message of guidance and mercy he brought. Whenever he heard of
any Arab of good repute coming to Mecca, he would meet him, invite him to
God Almighty and present him his message."
Ibn Ishaq continued, "'Asim b. 'Amr h. Qatada informed me that the sheikhs
of his tribe said that Suwayd h. al-Sbt, a brother from the Bann 'Amr b. 'Awf
came to Mecca, either for the haj, the 'greater pilgrimage:, or the Cumra, the
'lesser pilgrimage'. Suwayd was known among his people as al-Kzmil, 'the perfect',
for his strength, his poetry, his honour and his fine lineage. It was he who
spoke the lines,
'Many men there are you call friends who would shock
you to see the lies they tell of you in your absence.
There before you his words may be sweet as honey, while
in your absence they are an old sword at the base of your
neck!
What he shows you pleases you, while under his skin he's
an amulet of deceit exploding behind your hack.
30. A technical term used to identify the four compilers of the tahih traditions, excluding al-
B u h and Muslim.