It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) that for ten years the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would follow the people to their lodgings during the Hajj seasons, at the fairs of Majannah and Ukaz, and at Mina, saying: "Who will give me shelter? Who will help me so that I may convey the messages of my Lord? For him is Paradise." But he would find no one who would help him or give him shelter, to the extent that when a man came from Egypt or Yemen to one of his relatives, the people of his tribe would come to him and say: Beware of this young man of Quraysh, lest he lead you into trial. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) would walk among their saddles, calling them to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, while they pointed at him with their fingers. Then Allah sent us from Yathrib. A man from among us would come to him and believe in him, and he would teach him the Qur'an; then he would go back to his family and, through the blessing of his Islam, they would all accept Islam too, until there was not a house among our houses left without a group of Muslims in it who openly professed Islam. Then Allah sent us to him. We consulted one another and gathered, and we said: Until when will the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) be driven away in the mountains of Makkah and live in fear?! So we set out until we came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) during the Hajj season, and he promised us the pledge of Aqabah. His uncle Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: O my nephew! I do not know who these people are who have come to you, for I know the people of Yathrib well. So we gathered with him, one or two at a time. When Abbas looked at our faces, he said: These are people we do not know; these are mere youngsters. We said: O Messenger of Allah! On what shall we pledge allegiance to you? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Pledge allegiance to me that you will listen and obey in times of energy and of laziness; that you will spend in the way of Allah in hardship and in ease; that you will enjoin good and forbid evil; that you will speak the truth in the matter of Allah without caring for the blame of any blamer; that you will help me when I come to you in Madinah; and that you will protect me just as you protect your own selves, your wives and your children. And for you is Paradise." So we stood up to pledge allegiance, and As'ad bin Zurarah (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the youngest of those seventy, took hold of his hand. He said: O people of Yathrib! Wait a moment. We have wearied our mounts to come to him only because we are certain that he is the Messenger of Allah. Taking him away from here today means incurring the enmity of all the Arabs, the killing of your best people, and enduring the bite of swords. Now if you are people who can endure these hardships, the killing of your leading men and the opposition of all the Arabs, then take him with you, and your reward is with Allah. But if you feel even a little fear in your hearts, then leave him, for that will be a more acceptable excuse before Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. The people said: O As'ad! Take your hand away from us. By Allah! We will neither abandon this pledge nor ask to be released from it. Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) says: So we went forward to him one by one, and he took the pledge from us on these terms, so that he would grant us Paradise in return for it. The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic), and it comprises all the details of the pledge of Aqabah, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri that he said: Between the night of Aqabah and the emigration of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) there was a period of three months or thereabouts. This pledge of Aqabah by the Ansar to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took place in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Madinah in the month of Rabi' al-Awwal.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the chiefs (representatives) of the Ansar: "Will you give me shelter and protect me?" They said: Yes; so what (reward) is there for us? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Paradise." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna al-Bara' bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The first of the Muhajirun to come to us in Madinah were Sayyiduna Mus'ab bin Umayr and Ibn Umm Maktum (may Allah be pleased with them both). They used to teach us (the Qur'an). Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came, and by then I had already learned "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High" and several surahs of the Mufassal. Then Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Malik and Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with them both) came, then Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) came with twenty people, then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived. We were never as happy with anything as we were at the arrival of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so much so that the women and children were running through the streets calling out: "This is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); this is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it with this wording.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Urwah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him). Amr bin Dinar states: I asked him: How long did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stay in Makkah? He said: "Ten years." I said: Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that he stayed for ten-odd years. Urwah said: "He took that from the words of a poet." Sufyan says: Yahya bin Sa'id narrated to us that he said: I heard an elderly woman of the Ansar say: I saw Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) going to Sirmah bin Qays to learn these verses: "He stayed among Quraysh for ten-odd years, reminding the people (of Allah), hoping he might find a sympathetic friend; and he would present himself to the people during the Hajj seasons, but found no one who would give him shelter, nor anyone who would invite (him). Then when he came to us and his abode of emigration became settled, and he became happy and content in Taybah (Madinah), and the time came when he no longer feared the oppression of any distant oppressor, nor any transgressor among the people, we spent on him the best of our wealth, and offered our lives and our devotion at the time of battle. We take as enemies all those people who took him as an enemy, rightfully, even if it be a close and beloved friend of ours. And we know that there is no god but Allah, and that the Book of Allah has now become our guide." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it; and this narration is the most fitting one for establishing proof of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) stay in Makkah of ten-odd years. It also has a sahih supporting narration (shahid) on the condition of Muslim.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed in Makkah for fifteen years, seven or eight of which were such that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would see light and hear an unseen voice, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed in Madinah for ten years. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Kitab al-Hijrah (The Book of the Emigration): Most of its reports are sahih according to the two Shaykhs, and both of them recorded the difference among the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) regarding the length of the stay of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in Makkah.