Muhammad bin Ishãq reported in the biography of Prophet Muhammadﷺ that Muhammad bin Muslim bin Shihãp az-Zuhry said, ‘I was informed that once abû Sufyãn bin Harab, abû Jahal bin Hishãm, and al-A’khnas bin Shurayk went out to listen to the recitation of the Messenger of Allah when he was praying in his house during night.
Each one of them sat at a different place listening to the recitation without knowing the place of the other ones. They spent the night listening to the prophet’s recitation. At dawn, they left their places. They met one another on their return. They blamed each other, saying, ‘Do not return to listen to Muhammad’s recitation. If someone of the foolish sees you, you will make him doubt.’ Then they returned to their houses.
The next night, each one of them returned to the same place, and listened to the Prophet’s recitation. Once again, they spent the night listening to the Prophet’s recitation. They said to one another what they said the previous time, and then returned to their houses. The third night, each one of them returned and sat at the same place, and spent the night listening to the Prophet’s recitation. At dawn, they left their places.
They met on their return to their houses. They said, ‘We shall not leave this place until we make a covenant that we will never return to do so.’ They made a covenant and left one another.
In the morning, al-A’khnas bin Shurayk took his stick, and went to the house of abû Sufyãn bin Harab. He said, ‘Abû Hanzala! Tell me your opinion on what you heard from Muhammad.’ Abû Sufyãn said, ‘O abû Tha’laba! By Allah, I have heard things that I know, but I do not know what they mean. And I heard things I neither know what they mean, nor what they refer to.’
Al-A’khnas said, ‘So am I. By the one you swore.’ Then he left abû Sufyã, and went to abû Jahal. He entered his house and said, ‘O abû al-Hakam! What is your opinion on what you heard from Muhammad? Abû Jahal said,
‘What I heard! The family of banû Abd-Manãf and our family compete with one another. They fed people, so we fed people, they engaged in battle, so we engaged in battle, and they gave, so we gave. When we have become close to one another like two competing horses, they said, ‘There is a prophet from our family to whom revelation from the heaven comes. How could we compete with that? By Allah, we will neither believe in him, nor trust him.’
Thereupon, al-A’khans left him.’
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