It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrating that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a cavalry expedition, and they brought back a man from the tribe of Banu Hanifah, who was called Thumamah bin Uthal. He was the chief of the people of Yamamah. They tied him to one of the pillars of the mosque. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to him, then narrated a long hadith, and said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Untie Thumamah." He went to a date-palm garden near the mosque, performed ghusl (ritual bath), then entered the Prophet's Mosque and said: «‏‏‏‏أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ» ‏‏‏‏ "I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and His Messenger." Then the rest of the hadith was narrated.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that Thumamah al-Hanafi was taken captive (and was tied to a pillar in the Prophet’s Mosque). The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would go to him every morning and say,“Thumamah, what do you have (to say)?”He would reply,“If you (peace be upon him) kill me, you will be killing someone whose blood will be avenged, and if you show kindness, you will be showing kindness to one who is grateful. And if you (peace be upon him) want wealth and riches, we will give you whatever you (peace be upon him) want.”The Noble Prophet’s (peace be upon him) companions preferred to take ransom and would say,“What will you (peace be upon him) do by killing him (i.e., there will be no benefit)?”So, one day the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) showed kindness to him (and released him), and he became a Muslim. The Prophet (peace be upon him) untied him and sent him to the garden of Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him), and the Prophet (peace be upon him) ordered him to perform ghusl (ritual bath), so he performed ghusl and offered two rak‘ahs of prayer. Then the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) said:“The Islam of your brother is very good.”