Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed in Makkah for ten years. During the seasons of ‘Ukaz, Majannah, and Hajj, he would go to Mina and say to the people:“Who will give me refuge? Who will help me, so that I may convey the message of my Lord to the people and he will be granted Paradise?”When someone from Yemen or Mudar would come to Makkah, the people of your (the Prophet’s) tribe would meet him and say: Beware of such-and-such man of Quraysh (meaning Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him), lest he lead you astray. You (the Prophet) would be walking among their houses, and they would point towards you and identify you, until Allah Almighty sent us to you from Yathrib (Madinah). We gave you shelter and affirmed you. Our man would come to you, believe in you, and you would teach him the Noble Qur’an. Then he would return to his home, and through him, people would enter the fold of Islam, until in every neighborhood of the Ansar there was a considerable number of Muslims.

One day, all of them (the Ansar) consulted together and said: How long will we leave the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in this state, wandering in fear among the mountains of Makkah? After this consultation, during the Hajj season, seventy of us set out towards the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It was agreed with him to gather at the pass of ‘Aqabah. We kept gathering there in pairs, until all of us were assembled. We said: O Messenger of Allah! Shall we pledge allegiance to you? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Pledge allegiance to me on the condition that you will listen and obey in both activity and inactivity, spend in both hardship and ease, enjoin good and forbid evil, speak for Allah’s sake and not fear the blame of any blamer regarding Him, and when I come to you, you will help me and protect me from (the harms) from which you protect yourselves, your wives, and your children. (If you do so) you will be granted Paradise.”

Upon hearing this, we stood up to pledge allegiance to you, but Sa’d bin Zurarah, who was the youngest among us, held your hand and said: O people of Yathrib! Wait a moment. We have come to him (the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him) considering him to be the Messenger of Allah, but remember, if you take him out of Makkah, the whole of Arabia will turn against you, your chiefs will be killed, and you will be devoured by swords. If you are patient in these trials, then fine; but if you fear cowardice, then clarify now, so that you may present your excuse before Allah.

We said: Sa’d! Move aside now. By Allah! We will neither leave nor break this pledge. We stood up, pledged allegiance to you, and you took the pledge from us, imposed some conditions upon us, and in return, granted us Paradise.