Hadith 148

epart, a group from them advanced to the dry road. When they were in the middle, they drowned, and the others remained looking on at them. They withheld and regretted, and they gathered to the sheikh and said, ‘Woe be unto you, O sheikh! Will you not inform us with the matter of this road, for a lot of people have drowned in it? ’
The sheikh said, ‘I had informed you and had advised you, but you opposed me and disobeyed my instructions, until they were destroyed from you the ones who were destroyed’. They said to him, ‘And from where did you know what, O sheikh? ’ He said, ‘Woe be unto you! Once we had gone out before this, intending Al-Gharah upon trade of Quraysh. We came across the caravan, and therein was from the wealth and the chattels what its number could not be counted. We said, ‘We have become rich to the end, forever! ’
When they sensed us, and there did not happen to be between us and them except a measurement of a mile, a man from the sons of Abdul Muttalib-asws called Abdullah-as stood up and said, ‘O people of the caravan! What can you see? ’ They said, ‘What we see is that this huge cavalry will be attacking us, so ask them to take our wealth from us and leave our people, for when we have saved ourselves, then we have won’. Abdullah-as said, ‘Arise and depart, for there will be no problems upon you all’. We said, ‘Woe be unto you! And the people have drawn near, and if we were to depart, they would place the swords upon us’. He-as said: ‘Woe be unto you! There is a Lord-azwj for us to Protect us from them, and He-azwj is Lord-azwj of the Sacred House, and the (Yemeni) Corner and the (standing) place (of Ibrahim-as), and we will not seek Shelter with Him-azwj at all, except He-azwj would Shelter us. So, arise and initiate! ’
He said, ‘The people arose and departed, and they went on to travel a gentle (hesitant) travel, and we were pursuing them with the swift running and the intense travel, but we could not catch up with them, and our astonishment from that was a lot, and we looked at each other and said, ‘O people! Have you seen (anything) stranger than this? ! They are travelling a gentle travel, and we are running but we are unable upon catching up with them’. That did not cease, we persevered and they persevered for three days and nights. Every day they would take steps, and Abdullah-as would stand and draw a line around the caravan and say to his-as companions: ‘Do not go out from the line, for they will not be (able to) arrive to you’. We ended up to the line, but were unable upon crossing it. When it was after three days, every day they would travel a gentle travel, and we were running, we overlooked upon destruction of our own selves, and our animals were fatigues and we remained not having any movement for us nor any advancing.