The Race to Madīnah

So when we were close to Madīnah — about a ḍaḥwah away, and a ḍaḥwah is something like half a day's distance — there was among us a man of the Anṣār who had never been beaten in racing. He would call out: is there anyone who will race me? This was the best of the Anṣār, a fast runner. Is there anyone who will race me to Madīnah? And he kept repeating that again and again, while I was behind the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). So I told him: do you not honour the honourable, and do you not fear the noble? He said: no, except the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). What Salamah meant by that was: you have been challenging us too much; do you not have respect for anyone? And obviously he was joking with this Anṣārī when he said, do you not respect the noble or fear the powerful? So this man said: no, except the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) — this is the only one I would not challenge.

When he said that — now, Salamah ibn al-Akwaʿ had been running the entire day before, but this challenge was too much for him to pass up, because this man had been repeating it again and again — he said: O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you, let me race this man. He said: if you wish. So I said to the man: I am coming to you. At this, he jumped off his mount, and I bent my legs and jumped down from the camel.

And then Salamah let the man get ahead of him while he held himself back, because he wanted to preserve his breath. So he allowed this man to be ahead of him for a certain distance, until they got close to Madīnah. Then, he said, I ran hard, and when I was behind him I slapped him between his shoulders with my hand and told him: I have beaten you, by Allah. The man laughed and said: I agree. So he went into Madīnah. For the entire race this Anṣārī was ahead of Salamah, but when they were close to Madīnah, Salamah picked up speed, and as he was passing the Anṣārī he patted him between the shoulders and told him: I have beaten you, by Allah. The man said: you are right. And this was the fastest runner among the Anṣār — but nobody can beat Salamah. This is the story of Ghazwat Dhī Qarad, also called Ghazwat al-Ghābah.