50 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD"When the Arabs apostatized, al-Tufayl campaigned with the Muslims until
they had subdued Tulayha and all of Nejd. Then he travelled with the Muslim
forces to al-Yam-, his son 'Amr b. Tufayl accompanying him.
"On his way to Yamama he had a vision and he asked his companions to
interpret it to him. He recounted, 'I saw that my bead had been shaved, a bird
came forth from my mouth, and a woman met me and placed me in her vagina.
Then I saw my son frantically searching for me, but he was withheld from me.'
"'Let's hope it's a good omen,' they told him.
"He said, 'I'm going to interpret it myself.'
"'What, then?' they asked.
"He explained, 'The shaving of my head means its being laid down. The bird
exiting it is my soul. The woman who placed me in her vagina is the earth that
will be dug out for me, and into which I will disappear. As for my son's searching
for me, and then his being kept from me, I see him striving to have happen to
him what has happened to me.'
"He was killed, God bless him, as a martyr in al-Yamiima, and his son was
severely wounded but later recovered. Eventually he was martyred in the year of
the battle of al-Yarmiik, during the caliphate of Wmar. God bless him."
That was how Muhammad b. Ishaq recounted the story of al-Tnfayl b. 'Amr,
with an incomplete chain of authorities. There is testimonial to his account to be
found in authenticated hadith collections.
Imam Ahmad stated, "Waki' related to us, saying, 'Sufyan related to us, from
Abn al-Zinad, from al-A'raj, from Abn Hurayra, as follows, "When al-Tufayl
and his companions came to the Messenger of God (SAAS) and said, 'Daws are
being difficult', he spoke the words, '0 God, give guidance to Daws and bring
them."""
Al-Bukhai related this from Abn Nu'aym, from Sufyan al-Thawri.
lmw Ahmad also stated, "Yazid related to us, Muhammad b. 'Am informed
us, from Abii Salama, from Ahii Hurayra, God be pleased with him, as follows,
'Al-Tufayl b. 'Amr al-Dawsi arrived with his companions and they said, "0
Messenger of God, Daws are being disobedient and difficult; say a prayer for
them."'"
Abn Hurayra said, "And so the Messenger of God (SAAS) raised up his
hands and I commented, 'Well, Daws are destroyed!' But he spoke, '0 God, give
guidance to Daws and bring them (to Islam)."'
The chain of authorities for this is excellent, but the (other) scholars did not
narrate it.
The Imam Ahmad stated, "Sulaym~n b. Harb related to us, quoting Hammad
b. Zayd, from Hajjaj al-Sawwaf, from Abii alZubayr, from Jabir, that al-Tufayl
b. 'Amr al-Dawsi came to the Prophet (SAAS) and said, '0 Messenger of God,
don't you wish you had an impregnable, inaccessible fortress?' He replied,
'Daws had a fortress during thejdhzlzyya.'"