ʿUyaynah's Dream of Dhū al-Ruqaybah

These were the Muslim delegations the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) received. And then there was one that was a different case: these were from the people of Fazārah, of Ghaṭafān, the allies of the Yahūd. ʿUyaynah ibn Ḥiṣn saw a dream: he saw that he was taking a mountain called Dhū al-Ruqaybah. He interpreted it to mean that he would take hold — because ruqaybah is the diminutive of raqabah, and raqabah means neck — so he interpreted it to mean that he would take hold of the neck of Muḥammad (peace be upon him) and defeat him. So he mobilised his people when he heard that the Muslims had attacked Khaybar, and he came out to give assistance to his allies, the Yahūd. By the time he arrived, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had already conquered Khaybar and defeated the Yahūd.

So this ʿUyaynah ibn Ḥiṣn went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and told him: hand over to me the wealth of my allies, because I took a neutral stand and did not fight you. Look at this liar: he is now saying, I chose not to fight you. That was not the reason; he came, and it was all over. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told him: you are a liar; you came because of the cry you heard in your dream. ʿUyaynah ibn Ḥiṣn said: give me something. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: go and take Dhū al-Ruqaybah. He said: what is Dhū al-Ruqaybah? He said: the mountain you saw in your dream — a barren, dry mountain in the middle of nowhere. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told him: go and take it. ʿUyaynah ibn Ḥiṣn left angry and empty-handed.

And then he met another leader of his people, called al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAwf. Al-Ḥārith told ʿUyaynah: did I not tell you that you were wasting your effort for nothing? Muḥammad (peace be upon him) will conquer the east and the west. I was told that by the rabbis of the Jews: they told me that they see this in their books, that they will be defeated by Muḥammad (peace be upon him). Did I not tell you that? So al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAwf had more wisdom than ʿUyaynah ibn Ḥiṣn — and both of them were chiefs of the people of Ghaṭafān.