Sayyiduna Wa’il bin Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: When we learned of the appearance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), I came to him in Madinah as a delegate on behalf of my people. Before meeting the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), I met his companions, and they said to me: Three days before your arrival, he gave us glad tidings about you and said:“Wa’il bin Hujr will come to you.”(Wa’il says) Then I met the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he welcomed me, seated me close to him, spread his cloak for me, and made me sit on it. Then he called the people, and when they gathered around him, he ascended the pulpit and made me ascend it as well, and I was behind him. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) praised Allah and said:“O people! This is Wa’il bin Hujr. He has come to you from very distant cities, and he has come willingly; no one compelled him. He is among the remaining descendants of kings. O Wa’il! May Allah bless you and your offspring.”Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) descended from the pulpit and brought me down as well, and hosted me in a place far from Madinah, and ordered Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) to host me. I set out, and Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) was with me. When we had traveled some distance, he said to me:“Wa’il! The heat has reached the soles of my feet, so let me ride behind you.”I said:“I am not stingy with this she-camel, but I am not from the buttocks of kings, and I do not want to be reproached that I let you ride it.”Then Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:“Then give me your sandal so I can protect myself from the sun’s heat.”I said:“I am not stingy with these sandals, but if I give you the clothing of kings, I will be reproached that I am letting lowly people wear royal garments.”When I wanted to return to my people, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave me three letters of honor. One was for me, in which I was given special distinction; one was for my family, in which their property was specified for them; and one was for me and my people. The letter that was only for me stated:“ «بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ» From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), to the emigrants of Abi Umayyah: Wa’il will collect the charities and so on, and will be the chief of the people; wherever he is in Hadramawt, he will be the chief.”The letter for me and my family stated:“ «بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ» From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), to the emigrants of Abi Umayyah, who are the chiefs of Ma’shar, Dham’āj, and Shanwah: for them is kingship and the roads, as well as the settlements, the sea, the salt, and the protected places. Their wealth will be inherited by their heirs, and whatever property is in the upper or lower part of Hadramawt is theirs. This is my covenant and protection. O Allah! You are their neighbor, and the Muslims will be their helpers.”And the letter concerning them and their people stated:“ «بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ» From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), to Wa’il and to the chiefs and elders of the emigrants of Abi Umayyah who are in Hadramawt: establish prayer and pay zakat, which is to be taken from the herds of camels and goats and their young. The official and governor should not forcibly take the wealth, nor should the official summon people to himself. Nikah shighar (exchange marriage without dowry) is not permissible, do not deceive or cheat anyone, for this is not allowed in Islam. For every ten in the military expeditions, whatever they carry, the dates are to be divided equally. Whoever sells crops before they ripen has engaged in usury, and every intoxicant is forbidden.”

Then, when Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) became king, he sent a man from Quraysh named Busr bin Artat with an army and said:“I have taken control of this region. Take your army and leave from the mouths of Syria. When Syria is behind you, see whoever refuses to obey me, kill him. When you reach Madinah, whoever refuses to obey me, kill him. Then go to Hadramawt, and whoever refuses to obey me there, kill him. If you see Wa’il, bring him to me.”Busr bin Artat did as instructed, and when he saw that Wa’il was alive, he brought him to Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), who summoned him for a meeting, granted him permission, and seated him with him on the throne. Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:“Is my throne better or the back of your she-camel?”I said:“O Commander of the Faithful! I had just embraced Islam from ignorance, and the custom of ignorance was as such. Now Allah has honored us with Islam, and you treated me in this way because of the character and method of Islam.”Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked:“Then what prevented you from helping us, and why did you trust ‘Uthman and make him your in-law?”I said:“You fought a man who was more deserving than you compared to ‘Uthman. And who could be more deserving of ‘Uthman than me? I am more deserving because a brother is more entitled than a cousin. And I do not fight the emigrants.”He said:“Are we not emigrants?”I said:“That is why we kept apart from all of you. And another reason: I went to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he raised his blessed head towards the east, and many people were there. Then he lowered his gaze and said: ‘There will come to you tribulations that will shatter the darkness of the night.’ Then he spoke very strongly about these tribulations, their imminence, and their evil. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Who will be those people and what will be those tribulations?’ He said: ‘O Wa’il! When two swords are drawn against each other in Islam, keep away from both.’”Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:“You have become a Shi’ite.”I said:“No! Rather, I have become a well-wisher of the Muslims.”Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:“If you knew this and heard this, then what brought you to me?”I said:“Did you not see what Muhammad bin Maslamah said at the time of the killing of Sayyiduna ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him)? He took his sword, struck it on a rock, and broke it.”Then he said:“These people attack us.”I said:“Then what will you do about the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): ‘Whoever loves the Ansar, it is because of loving me, and whoever dislikes the Ansar, it is because of disliking me.’”He said:“Now I will not send you to Hadramawt, so choose any city you like, I will send you there.”I said:“My tribe is in Syria and my family is in Kufa.”He said:“One of your family is better than ten of your tribe.”I said:“I do not go to Hadramawt willingly, and it is not appropriate for a Muslim emigrant to return to his place of migration, unless there is a reason.”He asked:“What is your reason?”I said:“My reason is the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about tribulations. So wherever you differed, we kept apart from you, and when you united, we joined you. That is the reason.”Then he said:“I appoint you as governor of Kufa, so go there.”I said:“After the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), I have no need of anyone. Do you not know that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) also intended this for me, but I refused, then Sayyiduna ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) intended the same, and I refused him as well, then Sayyiduna ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) also wished the same, but I refused again, and I did not abandon their allegiance. A letter from Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came to me when the people of our region had apostatized, so I stood up until Allah returned them to Islam without any guardianship.”Then he called ‘Abdur Rahman bin al-Hakam and said:“I appoint you as governor of Kufa, and take Wa’il with you, honor him and fulfill his needs.”He said:“O Amir! You did not have a good opinion of me; you are ordering me to honor a man whom I saw being honored by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna ‘Umar, Sayyiduna ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them), and by you as well.”Sayyiduna Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) was very pleased with this. Sayyiduna Wa’il bin Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Then I came with them to Kufa, and after a short time, he passed away.