upon him) was at Khaibar, so he overtook him there.
4. Farwah Bani ‘Amr Al-Judhami’s messenger: Farwah was an Arab leader in the Byzantine army.
He was a Byzantine agent ruler by proxy on the Arabs allied to the Byzantines. His home was at
Mu‘an and the surrounding area of Ash-Sham lands. Seeing the stamina and courage of the
Muslims he became a Muslim. The battle of Mu’tah — which took place in the eighth year of Al-
Hijra — compelled his admiration. He sent a white mule gift with a messenger of his to the
Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) to inform him of his conversion into Islam. When the
Byzantines learnt of his embracing Islam, they sent him to prison. At first they gave him an  opportunity to choose one of the two — “either he defects from Islam or death shall be his  punishment.” Refusing to defect they crucified him and cut his neck at a water (fountain) called
‘Afra’ in Palestine.
5. Sudâ’ Delegation: The arrival of this delegation was after the departure of the Messenger of Allâh
(Peace be upon him) from Al-Ji‘ranah in the eighth year of Al-Hi. It was because the Messenger  of Allâh (Peace be upon him) had already dispatched a mission that comprised four hundred
Muslims and asked them to go to where Sudâ’ was. Sudâ’ was (a fresh-water fountain) in
Yemen. While the mission was camping there at the starting point of a canal. Ziyad bin Al-Harith
As-Sudâ’i learned of their stay, so he came to the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) and  said: “I have come to you as a deputy of my people, so tell your army to go back and I  guarantee of my people.” The army were sent away off the canal. In his turn As-Sudâ’i went  back, cherished and urged his people to come and meet the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon  him). Eventually fifteen of them came and pledged allegiance to him as true Muslims. Returning  home, they in their turn, urged the rest to be Muslims. Thus Islam spread among them. Later on,  a hundred men joined the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) in Hajjatul-Wada‘ (Farewell
Pilgrimage.)
6. The arrival of Ka‘b bin Zuhair bin Abi Sulma: Ka‘b who was a member of a family of poets, was  considered one of the most poetic Arab poets. He used to satirize the Prophet (P  eace be upon  him) when he wasn’t a Muslim. In the eighth year of Al-Hijra and at the time that the Messenger  of Allâh (Peace be upon him) had already gone back from At-Ta’if invasion, Bujair bin Zuhair  wrote a letter to his brother Ka‘b warning and advising him: “The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be  upon him) had killed some men in Makkah who used to satirize and harm him, and that the other  poets who had survived fled in all directions for their lives. So if you want to save your skin,  hasten to the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him). He never kills those who resort to him as  repentant. If you refuse to do as I tell, it is up to you to try to save your skin by any means.” The  two brothers corresponded with one another for a long time till Ka‘b was awkward and felt as if  the earth had constrained on him. Arriving in Madinah, he stayed at a man’s house from
Juhainah as a guest. They performed the dawn prayer together; but when he was about to leave,  the man suggested that he go to the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him). He went there, sat  by him, put his hand in his. The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) who had never seen
Ka‘b before, did not recognize him. Ka‘b then said: “O, Messenger of Allâh! Ka‘b bin Zuhair has  come to you as a repentant Muslim; will he be secure and forgiven if I fetch him?” The
Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) said, “Yes.” “I am Ka‘b bin Zuhair,” said he. Upon  hearing that one of the Helpers rose to his feet and asked the Messenger’s allowance to cut his  throat. “Leave him alone!” Said the Prophet (Peace be upon him), “He has become a repentant
Muslim after his disposal of the past.” Ka‘b then recited his well-known poem “Su‘ad appeared...”  in which he praised the Prophet (Peace be upon him) , thanked him and apologized for the  wrongs he had done. He acknowledged Muhammad’s mission. Both Emigrants and Helpers were  spoken of in this poem but differently. He praised the Emigrants but criticized the Helpers, for  one of them demanded a Prophet’s permission to kill him. Later on Ka‘b tried to compensate for  that by praising the Helpers too but that was in another poem.
7. ‘Udharah Delegation: This delegation which consisted of twelve men, had arrived in Madinah in
Safar, the ninth year of Al-Hijra. They spent three days there. One of them was Hamza bin AnNu‘  man. When they were asked who they were, they said “We are Bani ‘Udharah, the foster  brothers of Qusai to his mother. We are the ones who supported Qusai, and removed Khuza’a  and Bani Bakr from the bosom of Makkah. We have relatives and kinspeople.” So the Messenger  of Allâh (Peace be upon him) welcomed them and gave good tidings to them, which was Ash-
Sham Conquest; but he, on the other hand, forbade them from consulting a soothsayer and from  eating the slain animals they slaughtered. Eventually they became Muslims, stayed there for  several days then went back.
8. Bali Delegation: Their arrival was in Rabi‘ Al-Awwal, the ninth year of Al-Hijra. They embraced