The Prophet's return and the excuses of those who stayed behind
رجوع النبي واعتذار المتخلفين
October 630 CE · Rajab 9 AH
The Prophet reached Medina in the morning, began at the mosque where he prayed two rak'as and sat for the people. Those who had stayed behind came swearing oaths and making excuses — eighty-odd men by Ka'b ibn Malik's count; he accepted their outward professions and oaths, asked forgiveness for them, and left their inner thoughts to God.
At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
In time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Summary
Those who stayed behind came to the Prophet after his return, swearing oaths and excusing themselves; he accepted their outward show and left their innermost thoughts to God — per Ka'b ibn Malik's account in Ibn Ishaq. 1
The account
Ka'b said: the Prophet entered Medina in the morning; his custom when arriving from a journey was to begin at the mosque, praying two rak'as, then sit for the people. Those who had stayed behind came swearing oaths and excusing themselves — eighty-odd men — and he accepted their outward words and oaths, asked forgiveness for them and left their inner selves to God. 2
Ibn Ishaq's phrasing
In the main text Ibn Ishaq describes these as a band of hypocrites who came, swore and made excuses — "and the Messenger of God forgave them". 3
The verses
At the end of Ka'b's account Ibn Ishaq conveys two verses of Sura al-Tawba on those who lied and excused themselves: al-Tawba 95 and al-Tawba 96, as Ka'b mentioned. 4
Source notes and markers of doubt
- "Eighty-odd men": the number is Ka'b's words, not Ibn Ishaq's (p. 177).
- Describing the excusers as hypocrites is the narrator's phrasing, not the museum's judgement.
Connections
- Occurred at
- Medina
- Had participant
- Muhammad
- Part of
- The three who were left behind after Tabuk
- Revealed in
- Qur'an 9:95Qur'an 9:96
People and things also explored
The fifty-night boycott of the threeThe expedition to TabukKa'b offers his wealth and vows to speak only the truthKa'b tells the Prophet the truthThe order that the three keep apart from their wivesThe acceptance of the repentance of the threeThe three who were left behind after TabukMuhammad
Sources
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936), 4/175, 177
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936), 4/177
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936), 4/175
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936), 4/181
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The Prophet's return and the excuses of those who stayed behind”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/prophets-return-and-excuses-of-the-stragglers/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.