Sahih Muslim — Hadith #14579

(Abu't-Tahir Ahmed b. Amr b. Abdillah b. Amr b. Sech, a freed slave of the Banu Umayya, narrated to me:) Ibn Wahb informed me:) Yunus informed me, quoting Ibn Shihab. Ibn Shihab said: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went to the Tabuk campaign. However, he wanted to go against the Romans and the Christian Arabs in Syria. Shihab said: Abdurrahman b. Abdillah b. Ka'b b. Malik informed me that when Ka'b, one of the sons of Abdullah b. Ka'b, became blind, he became his deputy. (I heard Ka'b b. I heard Malik recounting his experience when he lagged behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Battle of Tabuk. Ka'b ibn Malik said: I did not miss any of the battles that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) participated in, except for the Battle of Tabuk! I was also absent from the Battle of Badr. But he never rebuked anyone who was absent from that battle. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims had only set out to target the caravan of the Quraysh. In the end, Allah brought them and their enemies to a place unexpectedly. Indeed, I was with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the night of Aqaba when we made a covenant with him on Islam. Although Badr is more famous among people than Aqaba, I do not wish that the Battle of Badr had taken place instead of Aqaba. My story from when I parted from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) during the Battle of Tabuk is this: I have never been stronger or richer than when I parted from him during that battle. By Allah, I had never before gathered two packs of camels together. Finally, during that battle, I gathered two camels together. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) conducted this battle in intense heat. He went on a long journey into the desert. He faced a large enemy force and clearly explained to the Muslims what they were to do so they could prepare for their battle. He informed them of where he intended to lead them. The number of Muslims with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was so great that even a guard's book could not record their number. (He is referring to the army register with this statement.) Ka'b continued his account: There were few who wanted to desert (from the army) and did not think that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would not know about it unless a revelation came from Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) undertook this campaign when the fruits and shade were in full bloom. I was the one who most eagerly participated in this campaign. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims with him prepared themselves. I started to stay up all night to prepare with them. But I returned without doing anything; I said to myself: I am capable of this whenever I want. This continued with me. The people continued to work. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), with the Muslims with him, stayed up all night to set out. I had done nothing in terms of preparation. Then I stayed up all night and returned again having done nothing. This state continued. Even the Muslims hastened to their destination, and the warriors advanced. I felt the urge to set out and catch up with them. I wish I had done so. But then this was not destined for me. After the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) left and went out among the people, it began to grieve me that I had not followed him. Only those accused of hypocrisy or those weak whom Allah excuses could be exempted from this. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not mention me until he reached Tabuk. While sitting among the congregation in Tabuk, he asked, "What did Ka'b ibn Malik do?" A man from the Banu Salima tribe said, "O Messenger of Allah! His garment and the way he looked at the collar of that garment prevented him." Upon this, Mu'adh ibn Jabal said to him, "What a terrible thing you have said!" "By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, we know nothing but good about him," he said. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent. While he was in this state, he saw a man in white clothes with whom the mirage disappeared. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "You must be Abu Haysema!" And they saw that it was Abu Haysera'at al-Ansari. This is the man who, when the hypocrites criticized him, gave a measure of dried dates in charity. b. Malik continued his story: "When I heard that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was returning from Tabuk, I was filled with sorrow. I began to think of lying. I was thinking, 'How can I escape from his relatives tomorrow?' I sought help from every knowledgeable person in my family regarding this matter." When I was told that the arrival of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was approaching, false thoughts left me. I understood that I could never escape from them in any way. And I decided to tell him the truth. The arrival of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was in the morning. When he returned from a journey, he would first begin his work in the mosque. There he prayed two rak'ahs. Then he sat down to meet with the people. When he did this, those who had not gone on the battle came and began to apologize to him and swear oaths to him. There were over eighty of them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted their open declarations. He took allegiance with them and asked forgiveness for them. He also entrusted their hidden aspects to Allah. Finally, I came here. When I greeted him, he smiled with the smile of an angry person. Then he said: I came walking and sat in his presence. He said to me: You stayed behind from the battle? "Didn't you buy your animal?" he asked. I replied, "O Messenger of Allah! By Allah, if I were sitting with anyone other than you from the people of the world, I think I would have escaped the wrath of Allah with an excuse. I have been given eloquence. But by Allah, I know that if I tell you a lie today that would please you, I will soon face the wrath of Allah. If I tell you the truth, you will be offended by me. I seek Allah's reward for my words. By Allah, I have no excuse. By Allah, there has never been a time when I was stronger or richer than when I was lagging behind you." When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived, he said, "Indeed, you have spoken the truth. Now, get up (go) until Allah gives His judgment concerning you!" So I got up. A group of men from Banu Salima also got up and followed me, and they said to me, "By Allah! We do not know of any sin you committed before this." They said, "Indeed, you were unable to offer the same excuse to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that those who did not go to the battle offered. It would have been enough for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to seek forgiveness for your sin." He replied, "By Allah! They rebuked me so much that I almost went back to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and lied to him. Then I asked them, 'Did anyone else suffer the same fate as me?' They said, 'Yes! Two men suffered the same fate as you. They said the same thing you said, and they were told the same thing as you.' I asked, 'Who are they?' They said, 'Murarah ibn Rabi'ah al-Amiri and Hilal ibn Umayyah al-Waqifi.' And they told me about two righteous men who had participated in the Battle of Badr and were worthy of being followed. After they told me this, I left." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the Muslims from speaking to the three of us who had separated from him. Because of this, the people avoided us. Their attitude towards us changed. Even the place I knew changed in my eyes. It was no longer the place I knew. We remained in this state for fifty nights. My two companions sat in their homes, bowing their heads and weeping. As for me: I was the youngest and most steadfast of the people. I would leave my house, come to prayer, and walk in the markets. But no one would speak to me. After prayer, while sitting in my place, I would approach the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and greet him; and I would think to myself, "Did I move my lips to return the greeting or not?" Then I would pray near him, secretly looking at him. When I turned towards my prayer, he would look at me; when I looked towards him, he would turn away from me. When this persecution by the Muslims continued for a long time, I gradually climbed over the wall of Abu Qatada's garden. Abu Qatada is my uncle and the person I love most. I greeted him. By Allah, he did not return my greeting. I said to him: "O Abu Qatada! For God's sake, tell me, do you know that I love Allah and His Messenger?" Abu Qatada remained silent. I asked him again, for God's sake, to tell me. He remained silent again. I asked again (this time): "Allah and His Messenger know!" Upon this, my eyes filled with tears, and I turned back. I climbed over the wall. Later, while walking in the market of Medina, I met a fellah from the Persian fellahs of Damascus who had come to Medina to sell food. He was asking, "Who will show me Ka'b ibn Malik?" People began pointing to me and indicating me to him. Finally, he came to me and gave me a letter from the King of Ghassan. I was a scribe. I read the letter. I saw that it contained the following: "Then (it should be known) we heard that your wife has wronged you. Allah did not create you in a land of humiliation, nor in a place where your rights would be lost. Join us immediately so that we may help you." When I read this, I said, "This is also a kind of calamity," and I went to the oven and burned the letter there. Finally, after forty of the fifty nights had passed and the revelation had ceased, the messenger of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) suddenly came to me. And he said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commands you to distance yourself from your wife." I said, "Should I divorce her, or what should I do?" He said, "No! Just distance yourself from her and never approach her again!" He had sent similar messages to two of my companions. Thereupon I said to my wife, "Return to your family and stay with them until Allah gives a ruling on this matter!" Subsequently, Hilal b. Umayya's wife came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said to him: "O Messenger of Allah, indeed Hilal ibn Umayya is a wasted old man; he has no servant. Would you disapprove of me serving him?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "But he should never approach you!" The woman said: "By Allah, he has no time to do anything! And by Allah, he has been weeping continuously since this matter happened to him." Then one of my family members said to me: "Why don't you ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission regarding your wife? (See) Hilal ibn Umayya's wife, he gave permission for her to serve Hilal." I said: "I cannot ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about her. I am a young man." When I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission regarding him, I said, "What will he say? Who knows?" And I remained in this state for ten nights. In this way, fifty nights were completed from the time we were forbidden to speak. Then, on the morning of the fiftieth night, I performed the morning prayer on one of our houses. And while I was sitting in the state that Allah Almighty had declared for us, I was overcome with distress. The place, despite its vastness, felt narrow to me. I heard the voice of someone shouting from atop Mount Sel'. He was shouting in a loud voice: "Ka'b ibn Malik, good news!" I immediately prostrated myself. And I understood that Shadumani had come. Then, after the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed the morning prayer, he informed the people that Allah had accepted our repentance. Upon this, the people went to give us the good news. Two of my companions went to bring the good news. A man spurred his horse to come to me. A man from the Aslam tribe came running towards me. And he went up the mountain. His voice was faster than a horse. When the person whose voice I heard came to me with the good news, I immediately took off two of my garments and gave them to him to celebrate his good news. By Allah, I did not possess anything else that day. And I borrowed two garments and wore them. I immediately set out on the road, wanting to see the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). People came out in groups to meet me, congratulating me on my repentance and saying, "May Allah's acceptance of your repentance be blessed upon you!" Finally, I entered the mosque. And I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sitting in the mosque, surrounded by people. Then Talha ibn Ubaydillah rose and quickly came to me. He shook my hand and congratulated me. By Allah, no one else from the Muhajirin rose except him, and Ka'b never forgot what Talha had done. He said: When I greeted the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), his face would shine with joy and he would say: "Glad tidings to you, this is the best day that has passed since I gave birth to you!" I said: "Is this from you or from Allah, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Rather, it is from Allah!" When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) rejoiced, his face would radiate, as if his face were like a piece of the moon. We knew this. When I sat down, I said: "O Messenger of Allah! One of my acts of repentance is to give up some of my wealth as charity for Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Keep some of it! This is better for you." I said: "I am keeping my share from Khaybar," and I added: "O Messenger of Allah! Indeed, Allah saved me through righteousness." One of my vows is to never speak the truth again for as long as I live. Since I told this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I do not know of any Muslim who has been granted a greater favor than Allah in granting me the ability to speak the truth. By Allah, since I told this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I have never intentionally told a lie. I pray that Allah will protect me for the remainder of my life. Ka'b said: Thereupon Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) revealed verses 117-118 of Surah At-Tawbah: "Indeed, Allah accepted the repentance of the Messenger and of the Muhajirun and Ansar who followed him in times of difficulty—a group of whom had almost gone astray. Indeed, He accepted their repentance, for Allah is Kind and Merciful to them. And He also accepted the repentance of the three who were left behind, and who felt confined by their own selves, despite the vastness of their world." It went as far as the verse: "Those who believe, fear Allah and be with those who speak the truth!" And then, "By Allah, after He guided me to Islam, He has not bestowed upon me any greater blessing than the truth I spoke to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The matter of me being destroyed as liars are destroyed for lying to him! Indeed, when Allah sent down revelation concerning liars, He said the worst thing that could be said to anyone. Allah says: 'When you return to them, they will swear by Allah that you should not say anything to them. So turn away from them! For they are impure, and their abode is Hellfire for what they earned. They swear to you that you may be pleased with them. But if you are pleased with them, then surely Allah is not pleased with the wicked people.'" (Surah At-Tawbah, verses 95-96) He said: "We were three people who were left behind from the affairs of those with whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) swore an oath, and he accepted their oaths and made a pledge of allegiance for them, and he sought forgiveness for them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) postponed our affairs until Allah gave His judgment. It is for this reason that Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) said: 'And the repentance of the three who were left behind...' Our being left behind as mentioned by Allah is not our being left behind from the battle. It is only that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) postponed us and left our affairs until after those who had sworn an oath and made an excuse to him, and he accepted their excuses."