The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 3 of 4

IMAM ABU AL-FIDA' ISMA'IL IBN KATH~R 391
this must be Khuznca fired up by war!' Aba Sufynn answered, 'But Khuz$a are
too weak and few in number for these to be their fires and encampment.'
"Having recognized his voice, I called out, 'Is that you, Aha Han-la?' He
knew my voice and replied, 'Is that Aba al-Fadl?' 'Yes,' I replied. 'Well what are
you up to, may my father and mother be your ransom!' he exclaimed.
"I told him, 'Woe on you, Aha Sufym! That is the Messenger of God (SAAS)
and his forces!' 'Then woe on Quraysh, by God,' he burst out. 'What should
we do?' I replied, 'If he conquers you, he'll cut off your head! Ride (with me) on
the back of this mule, so that I can take you to the Messenger of God (SAAS),
and I'll ask him to guarantee your safety.'
"He rode behind me and his two companions returned home."
Wrwa said this was not so, and that the other two men had gone to the Prophet
(SAAS) and accepted Islam and he had asked them for news about the people in
Mecca.
Al-Zuhri and Masa b. Wqba said that they went with alLCAbb% to the
Messenger of God (SAAS).
Al-'Abbns went on, "So I set off with hi. And whenever we passed by one of
the fires of the Muslims, they asked, 'Who is that?' When they noticed the mule
of the Messenger of God (SAAS) they said, 'Oh, it's the uncle of the Messenger
of God (SAAS), riding his mule.' Eventually I passed by the fire of Wmar b.
al-Khatpb and he asked who I was and came over to me. When he saw Aba
Sufym on the rear of the mule, he exclaimed, 'It's Aba Sufym, the enemy of God!
Thanks be to God who has handed you over without any pact or agreement!"'
Wrwa b. al-Zubayr claims that Wmar stabbed Aba Sufynn in the neck,
intending to kill him, but al-'Abbss prevented him.
Similarly, Mas% b. Wqba narrated from al-Zuhri that the scouts of the
Messenger of God (SAAS) took hold of the bridles of their camels and asked
who they were. They replied that they were a delegation for the Messenger of
God (SAAS). AlLCAbbns met them and took them in to the Messenger of God
(SAAS), who talked with them in the course of the night and then invited them
to wimess that there is no god but God. They did so and he then asked them to
bear wimess that "Muhammad is the Messenger of God". Hakim and Budayl
testified to this, but Aba Sufysn said, "I do not know this." After morning
came, he did accept Islam. They then asked him (the Prophet (SAAS)) to grant
Quraysh safety. He replied, "Those who enter the house of Aha Sufy~
shall
be safe," his house being in the heights of Mecca. He went on, "Whoever enters
the house of Hakim h. Hizm shall be safe," his house being in the lower part
of Mecca. And he added, "Whoever locks his own door shall he safe."
AlLCAbbns's account states, "Then Wmar hurried off towards the Messenger
of God (SAAS), while I rode the mule and anived before him, but only by the
amount that a slow-moving mule can outpace a slow-moving man. I jumped off
the mule and went in to see the Messenger of God (SAAS). Wmar did the