Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) for ten years, during the time of Hajj, would go to the people in the markets of Majannah and ‘Ukaz, and to their residences, and in Mina to their dwellings, and would say:“Who will give me shelter and help me, so that I may convey the message of my Lord? He will have Paradise.”But the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not find anyone who would help him and give him shelter, until a man came from Egypt (the narrator is unsure, perhaps the words are:) from Yemen, to meet one of his relatives. The people of his tribe came to him and said:“Beware of this young man from Quraysh, lest he put you to trial. He goes around to people’s dwellings, inviting them to Allah.”They pointed towards the Prophet (peace be upon him) with their fingers and said: (that you should beware of him).

(Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:) Until Allah sent us from Yathrib to the Prophet (peace be upon him), so a person would come to you and believe in you, you would teach him the recitation of the Qur’an, he would return to his home, and because of his accepting Islam, some other people would also become Muslim, until in every neighborhood of Yathrib there were some Muslims who would openly declare Islam. Once, we thought among ourselves: How long will we let the Prophet (peace be upon him) remain in the mountains of Makkah, and he stays there in fear? So we set out from there, until during the time of Hajj, we came to the Prophet (peace be upon him). We arranged to meet you at the pass of ‘Aqabah. The Prophet’s uncle, Sayyiduna Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), said:“O my nephew! I do not know who these people are who have come to you. I am well acquainted with the people of Yathrib.”So we gathered one by one before you. When he looked at our faces, he said:“I do not recognize these people; they are new.”We said:“O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), on what should we pledge allegiance to you?”The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:“Pledge allegiance to me that you will obey and listen in both ease and hardship, and that you will spend in both poverty and prosperity, and that you will enjoin good and forbid evil, and that you will speak about Allah, and you will not fear the blame of any blamer regarding Allah, and pledge that when I come, you will help me and protect me from whatever you protect yourselves, your wives, and your children (i.e., you will defend against the enemy).”Then Sayyiduna As‘ad bin Zurarah (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the youngest among the seventy others besides me, took the blessed hand of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said:“O people of Yathrib, wait! We have only traveled to him because we know that he is the Messenger of Allah, and today (his leaving Makkah) will be equal to severing ties with all the Arabs (i.e., the Arabs will also become our enemies), and in this situation, your best men will be killed, swords will attack you. If you are people who can be patient in this situation if it comes upon you, then fine. If your best men are killed and you are cut off from all the Arabs (and you can bear it), then support the Prophet (peace be upon him), your reward is with Allah. But if you have any fear for yourselves, then leave the Prophet (peace be upon him), this will be a better excuse before Allah.”The people said:“O As‘ad, remove your hand from us. By Allah, we will not leave this pledge nor return from it.”The narrator says: So we began to stand one by one before the Prophet (peace be upon him), and the Prophet (peace be upon him) imposed upon us the same conditions that Sayyiduna Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) had mentioned, and he guaranteed Paradise for doing so.

(Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) Sayyiduna As‘ad (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away a few days after the Prophet (peace be upon him) arrived in Madinah, at that time the Muslims were building the mosque.