Adi ibn Hatim's flight to Syria, his coming to the Prophet and his conversion

Adi ibn Hatim, lord of Tayy, fled from the Prophet to the Christians of Syria. Then, at the urging of his sister, he returned and came to Medina, and became a Muslim after a dialogue that he relates himself. ^{1 2}

Ibn Ishaq relates, "as I have been told", from Adi that no man among the Arabs was more hostile to the Prophet when he heard of him than he was; he was a noble Christian man who took the quarter-share of the booty among his people, and he held a religion and a kingdom among his people. ¹ He ordered an Arab boy who tended his camels to prepare for him docile, fat riding camels close to him, and to alert him if he heard of an army of Muhammad coming into the land. One morning he came and said he had seen banners, and when he asked about them they said: "These are the armies of Muhammad." ¹ He took his family and children and set out to join his people of religion, the Christians in Syria, by the road of al-Jushiyya; Ibn Hisham says it is also said al-Hushiyya, and he left a daughter of his in the settled land, and stayed in Syria. ¹ The scholars note that al-Jushiyya is a mountain of the Dabb near Dari'a in the land of Najd, and that Hatim's daughter is Safana, as al-Suhayli favoured. ¹

The Prophet's horsemen took Hatim's daughter among the captives of Tayy, and she spoke to the Prophet until he released her and equipped her. She joined her brother in Syria and blamed him for taking his family and leaving the rest of his father's people. Then she advised him to join the man quickly: if he is a prophet, the first to reach him has his merit; if he is a king, he will not be humbled in the might of Yemen. He said: "By God, this is the right opinion." See the capture and release of Hatim's daughter. ^{3 2}

Adi set out until he came to Medina, entered upon the Prophet in his mosque and greeted him. The Prophet asked: "Who is the man?" He said: "Adi ibn Hatim." The Prophet rose and took him to his house. ² On the way a weak old woman met them and stopped him, and he stood a long time while she spoke to him about her need. Adi said in himself: "By God, this is no king." ² When he entered the house, the Prophet took a leather cushion stuffed with palm fibre and threw it to him, saying: "Sit on this." He said: "No, you." The Prophet said: "No, you." So Adi sat on it, and the Prophet sat on the ground; Adi said in himself: "By God, this is not the affair of a king." ² Then the Prophet said: "Well, Adi ibn Hatim, were you not a Rukusi?" He said: "Yes." "Did you not lead your people with the quarter-share?" "Yes." "That was not lawful for you in your religion." He said: "Indeed, by God," and he knew that he was a prophet sent, who knows what is unknown. ² Then he said to him: "Perhaps what keeps you from entering this religion is what you see of their need; by God, wealth will soon overflow among them until no one can be found to take it. Perhaps what keeps you is what you see of the numbers of their enemies against their small number; soon you will hear of a woman leaving al-Qadisiyya on her camel to visit this House without fear. Perhaps what keeps you is that you see kingship and power in other hands; soon you will hear of the white palaces of the land of Babylon being opened to them." ² He said: "I became a Muslim." ²

Adi used to say: "Two have passed and the third remains. By God, it will be: I have seen the white palaces of the land of Babylon opened, and I have seen the woman leave al-Qadisiyya on her camel without fear until she makes the pilgrimage to this House; and the third will come: wealth will overflow until no one can be found to take it." ^{2 4}

"Al-Mirba'" is the taking of a quarter of the spoils because he was their chief; "al-Dhulul" are docile trained camels; "al-Rukusi" is from the Rukusiyya, a people with a religion between that of the Christians and the Sabians. Two additional words in the text are shown between brackets from one manuscript. ^{1 2}

• The whole account is related "as I have been told", in the words of Adi. ¹
• Ibn Hisham gives "al-Jushiyya" and "al-Hushiyya". ¹
• The year of his Islam: 9 AH or 10 AH according to Ibn Hajar. ⁵