Quote · On the road to Madinah
O Suraqa, how will you be the day that you put on the bracelets of Kisra?
Saying · On the road to Madinah
Kisra the son of Hormuz?!
~13th year of the dawah / 1st year of the Hijrah · 1 BH
The Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr RA were guided to Madinah by Abdullah ibn Urayqit, a hired guide from a distant Bedouin tribe. He took them along a back road that the Quraysh did not know, circling down toward what is now Jeddah before turning toward Madinah. This way they avoided the main road, where the Quraysh were searching for them. The Quraysh had offered a reward of 100 camels for the Prophet ﷺ, dead or alive.
Suraqa ibn Malik, the leader of the Banu Mudlij, heard that three riders had been seen, and he rode after them to win the reward. As he drew near, his horse sank into the ground and threw him. This happened three times. After the third time he gave up the chase, knowing that this was a force beyond him. He called out that he meant them no harm, and asked the Prophet ﷺ for a written promise of protection, which he was given. Abu Bakr RA asked him not to tell anyone about them, and Suraqa kept their secret.
Other events recorded in 1 BH. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
O Suraqa, how will you be the day that you put on the bracelets of Kisra?
Kisra the son of Hormuz?!
You are foolish! You let them go?!
Written to Suraqa ibn Malik after news reached Makkah that he had let the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr RA go free.
Had you been there on that day and had seen what I had seen, you would not be saying what you are saying.
I am a safe person! I'm not going to harm you! Give me permission to come close!
Having given up his pursuit of the bounty after his horse stumbled three times, Suraqa called out to identify himself before approaching them.
Do one thing: do not tell anyone about us.
I set out after them on my war horse, hoping for the 100-camel bounty. But each time I drew near, my horse stumbled and sank into the ground, throwing me off: it had never done this before. I cast my divining arrows and they told me not to proceed, but greed made me press on; it happened three times, each more violent than the last. I knew then this was a force beyond my power, that I could not reach this man, and I knew that the affair of this man would spread. As I watched them, Abu Bakr rode in an agitated state, always looking right and left, while the Prophet ﷺ rode peacefully, never turning, reciting something.
Recounted by Suraqa ibn Malik himself after his own conversion to Islam.