Islam, stayed in Madinah for three days. Their chief Abu Ad-Dabeeb wondered whether  hospitality was rewarded by Allâh. The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) said:

“Yes, and so is any charity you offer to poor or rich people that is Sadaqah.”
He also inquired about the time allotted to hospitality. “Three days,” said he. “What about the  stray ewe?” The Prophet said: “It is either yours or your brother’s, otherwise it goes to the wolf.”
He inquired about the stray camel. “It is not of your business. Leave it alone! Its owner will try to  find it.”
8. Thaqif Delegation: Their arrival was in Ramadan, the ninth year of Al-Hijra, after the return of  the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) from Tabuk. As to how they became Muslims, this  could be deduced from the following:
9. Their chief ‘Urwah bin Mas‘ud Ath-Thaqafi came to see the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon  him) after the latter’s return from At-Ta’if in Dhul-Qa‘dah in the year 8 A.H. ‘Urwah became a
Muslim. He thought that when he will tell his people and call them to embrace Islam, they would  obey him, because he had always been an obeyed Master. He was even more beloved to them  than their own firstborn. But contrary to that, when he called them to Islam they shot arrows at  him from everywhere and killed him. They remained as they were for months before they started  discussing the situation again among themselves. Upon realizing that they were incapable of  fighting the neighbouring Arabs who had paid allegiance to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and  converted to Islam, they made up their mind to dispatch a man to the Messenger of Allâh (Peace  be upon him). They concluded that ‘Abd Yalail bin ‘Amr would be the right messenger.
‘Abd refused to do such a thing lest they should kill him as they had killed ‘Urwah. “I will not do  such a thing till you send some other men with me,” said ‘Abd. So they sent two men of their  allies and three others from Bani Malik. The six of them including ‘Uthman bin Abi Al-‘As Ath-
Thaqafi who was the youngest among them all.
When they entered into the Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) audience, a tent was pitched up in a  corner of the mosque so that they might listen to the Qur’ân and see people at prayer. During  their stay they came again and again to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) who kept on calling  them to embrace Islam, till their chief asked the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) to  enter into a peace treaty between him and Thaqif by means of which he allows them to commit  fornication, drink wine and deal with usury. They also asked him not to injure their tyrant idol
“Al-Lat” or to oblige them to perform the prayer. Finally they insisted that they would not knock  down the idols themselves. But the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) turned down all their  requests. They went aside to council. Realizing that there were no other alternatives they yielded  and professed Islam. The only condition that they insisted on was that the demolition of Al-Lat  should be dealt with and handled by the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) whereas Thaqif  should in no way knock it down themselves. The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) agreed  and took a pledge with them.
Being the most attentive and the keenest to study jurisprudence and learn Qur’ân, ‘Uthman bin
Abi Al-‘As was appointed by the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) a prince on his people.
His keenness and carefulness to learn the Qur’ân and study jurisprudence were clearly  discernible through his behaviour during their stay.
Everyday morning, the group of delegates used to go and see the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be  upon him). Being the youngest one, ‘Uthman bin Abi Al-‘As was left behind with their camels and  things to keep an eye on. At noon when they came back and slept, ‘Uthman used to go to the
Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) in order to learn the Qur’ân and inquire about religious  matters. If it happened that the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) was asleep, he would  then go to Abu Bakr for the same purpose. With the pof time, he turned out to be a source of  blessing to his people. For at the Apostasy Times (Ar-Riddah) when Thaqif were determined to  apostatize, he addressed them saying: “O, folkmen of Thaqif! You have been the latest at  embracing Islam, so do not be the first to apostatize.” Consequently they gave up apostasy and  clung fast to Islam.
The group of delegates returned home but they were determined to conceal the truth for a while.
They told their people to expect fight at any moment. They pretended to be grieved and  depressed. They claimed that the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) demanded that they  should embrace Islam and abandon adultery, drinking wine and dealing with usury and some  other things, or else he would fight them. Seized by the arrogance and zeal of Al-Jahiliyah (pre-
Islamic traditions), Thaqif remained for days intent on fighting. Then Allâh cast terror and dismay  in their hearts in such a way that they gave up fighting and thought that the delegation should