The army camps at al-Hijr and the Prophet bans its water

The Prophet halted at al-Hijr on his way to Tabuk and the people drew water from its well; when they came to halt he forbade them to drink its water or use it for ablution or eat dough kneaded with it, and ordered that no one go out at night without a companion. Two men of Banu Sa'ida disobeyed: one was seized with choking and the wind carried the other off to the mountains of Tayy. ¹

Ibn Ishaq says that when the Prophet passed al-Hijr he halted there and the people drew from its well. ²

When they halted he said to them: drink nothing of its water, perform no ablution from it for prayer, and whatever dough you have kneaded, feed it to the camels and eat none of it; and let none of you go out tonight without a companion. ¹

The people obeyed except two men of Banu Sa'ida: one went out for his need and was choked on his path, and the other went out looking for a camel of his and the wind bore him off until it cast him onto the mountains of Tayy. ³

When the Prophet was told he said: did I not forbid you? Then he prayed for the one stricken on his path and he was healed; as for the other, Tayy gave him to the Prophet as a gift when he came to Medina. ³

And word reached Ibn Hisham from al-Zuhri that when the Prophet passed al-Hijr he covered his face with his garment, urged his mount on and said: do not enter the dwellings of those who wronged themselves unless you are weeping, lest what befell them befall you. ³

• Ibn Ishaq attributes the report of the two men to Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr from al-Abbas ibn Sahl ibn Sa'd al-Sa'idi, and says al-Abbas named the two men to him but had entrusted the names to him, so Abdullah refused to name them (p. 165); the two men go unnamed.
• Al-Zuhri's "it reached me" is one of Ibn Hisham's additions (p. 165).