The Secret Meeting at al-ʿAqabah

Kaʿb ibn Mālik said: "We then left the pilgrimage, having made an agreement to meet the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) at al-ʿAqabah in the middle of the days of Tashrīq." They made an appointment to meet at a specific time. Kaʿb ibn Mālik says: "We kept this as a secret. None of our people knew about it. All of the non-Muslims in our group knew nothing about our meeting with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)." It was secret, except to Abū Jābir, ʿAbdullāh ibn Ḥarām — he was one of their leaders and seniors. They went up to him and told him: "Abū Jābir, you are one of our noble leaders, and we would like you to give up your practices, otherwise one day you would end up as fuel for Hellfire." Abū Jābir accepted Islam, so they told him about the private meeting, and he was one of the people who attended with them; in fact, he became one of the leaders appointed by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) within the group.

The time for the appointment was late at night. Kaʿb ibn Mālik said they were going towards al-ʿAqabah in ones or twos — they did not want to attract the attention of the people; a group of seventy going to meet the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would have drawn the attention of others, so they went in ones and twos until they all gathered at al-ʿAqabah. They were all there, and then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) showed up. He was the only Muslim from Makkah to show up at that meeting, and he had one person with him, and that was the only non-Muslim to attend the meeting: al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, the uncle of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).

Al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib was the first person to speak. He said: "Muhammad holds with us a position of which you are aware. We protect him from our people who think about him as we do. He is respected among his people and safe in his own town, but he is determined to join up with you. If you think you will keep trust with him in the invitation you have given to him and will protect him from his opponents, then it is up to you to accept your responsibility. But if you think you might deliver him over and abandon him after he has joined you, then leave him right now — he does have respect and protection among his own people and in his town." Al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib wanted to make sure that this was a commitment from the side of al-Anṣār: he was saying that they, Banū Hāshim, were going to take care of Muhammad (peace be upon him), they were protecting him, yet he was insisting on leaving them — so were they going to protect him when he left to them, or not?