The Trade Caravan as Evidence of Quraysh’s Verification

Series: The Incident of Quraysh Questioning the Prophet About Baitul Maqdis

Introduction

In the previous article, we saw that the long narration from Dala’il al-Nubuwwah mentions several layers of verification regarding the report of Isra’ delivered by the Prophet SAW. The narration does not only mention that Quraysh denied him, but also brings two important elements: the Quraysh trade caravan and a mushrik man who claimed to be the most knowledgeable about Baitul Maqdis.

This article will focus only on the first element, namely the Quraysh trade caravan. This part is important because that caravan became the closest material for verification available to Quraysh. It was not a distant place. It was not information known only to certain people. It was their own caravan, with its people, camels and trade goods that could be checked when the caravan arrived.

This trade caravan is not merely mentioned in passing. Here, Abu Jahl’s mockery begins to face material that could be verified. The Prophet SAW mentioned something Quraysh knew, their own caravan, together with matters that could be checked when the group arrived.

Hadith Context Excerpt

قَالَ

He said.

فَأَخْبَرَهُمْ بِعِيرٍ لِقُرَيْشٍ

Then he informed them about a trade caravan belonging to Quraysh.

لَمَّا كَانَ فِي مَصْعَدِي

“When I was on my outward journey.”

Meaning, when he was on the journey going there.

رَأَيْتُهَا فِي مَكَانِ كَذَا وَكَذَا

“I saw it at such and such a place.”

وَأَنَّهَا نَفَرَتْ

“And indeed, it had taken fright.”

فَلَمَّا رَجَعْتُ

“Then when I returned.”

رَأَيْتُهَا عِنْدَ الْعَقَبَةِ

“I saw it near al-‘Aqabah.”

وَأَخْبَرَهُمْ بِكُلِّ رَجُلٍ

“And he informed them about each man.”

وَبَعِيرُهُ كَذَا وَكَذَا

“And his camel was such and such.”

وَمَتَاعُهُ كَذَا وَكَذَا

“And his goods were such and such.”

فَقَالَ أَبُو جَهْلٍ

Then Abu Jahl said.

يُخْبِرُنَا بِأَشْيَاءَ

“He is telling us about several things.”

Brief Note on the Excerpt

This excerpt is taken from the long narration that was introduced in the previous article. In the arrangement of this study, this section falls under Context 27, which is the part where the Prophet SAW informed Quraysh about their trade caravan.

Therefore, this article does not discuss the entire narration of Isra’ and Mi‘raj. Its focus is on one question only: what is the function of the trade caravan in Quraysh’s test against the report of Isra’?

Analysis of the Trade Caravan as Evidence of Quraysh’s Verification

The trade caravan in this narration is not merely an added detail in the story. It appears at a very important point. Abu Jahl had just mocked the report of Isra’ according to the ordinary measure of human travel in Context 26. According to Quraysh’s measure, the journey to Baitul Maqdis required one month to go and one month to return. Therefore, when the Prophet SAW mentioned the Quraysh trade caravan, he was bringing a material for verification that existed within their own world.

The wording used is:

فَأَخْبَرَهُمْ بِعِيرٍ لِقُرَيْشٍ

“Then he informed them about a trade caravan belonging to Quraysh.”

The word عِيرٍ refers to a trade caravan, not merely a single camel or one traveller. It carries the meaning of a travelling group carrying trade goods. When it is described as لِقُرَيْشٍ, it means that the caravan was not a foreign caravan. It belonged to Quraysh. This is important because information about it could be verified by Quraysh themselves.

Therefore, the Prophet SAW did not present evidence that was beyond their reach. He mentioned something within their own social and economic world. They knew that caravan. They knew its people. They knew its mounts. They could also recognise the goods being carried.

The next wording is:

لَمَّا كَانَ فِي مَصْعَدِي

Literally, the wording مَصْعَدِي may carry the meaning of “my ascent” or “my upward journey”. However, in the context of this trade caravan, that wording is more properly read as the Prophet’s outward journey toward Baitul Maqdis, not the Mi‘raj ascent to the heaven.

This is because after that, the narration says:

فَلَمَّا رَجَعْتُ

“Then when I returned.”

Therefore, these two expressions stand opposite one another:

مَصْعَدِي

the outward journey,

رَجَعْتُ

the return journey.

With this arrangement, مَصْعَدِي does not need to be understood as ascending to the heaven. It is more accurately understood as the outward journey in the incident of Isra’, because the narration is discussing the trade caravan seen during the journey, not the scene of ascending to the heaven in the event of Mi‘raj.

This shows that the Prophet SAW mentioned the caravan in two stages of the journey. First, during the outward journey. Second, during the return journey. Therefore, this trade caravan was not mentioned randomly. It was placed within the sequence of the journey: going, seeing the caravan, returning and seeing it again at another place.

The wording:

رَأَيْتُهَا فِي مَكَانِ كَذَا وَكَذَا

“I saw it at such and such a place.”

This shows that the place where the caravan was seen was in fact mentioned in the original speech, but it has reached us in the form of كَذَا وَكَذَا, meaning “such and such”. The information about the place existed in the speech, but it was not transmitted in full in the wording that has reached us. Therefore, we know that there was a specification of location, but we do not possess the complete name of the place in this excerpt.

Then it is mentioned:

وَأَنَّهَا نَفَرَتْ

“And indeed the caravan had been startled.”

The word نَفَرَتْ carries the meaning of being startled, fleeing, jolted or moving in a disturbed state. This is not ordinary information about a journey. This is information about a condition. The Prophet SAW did not merely say, “I saw the caravan.” He mentioned a condition that happened to the caravan.

This is important because a condition like this could be verified. When the caravan arrived, people could ask them whether something happened that caused the caravan to jolt or become startled that night. Therefore, this narration does not only bring evidence of location, but also evidence of an occurrence.

The next wording is:

رَأَيْتُهَا عِنْدَ الْعَقَبَةِ

“I saw it beside al-‘Aqabah.”

Here, a place or route marker is mentioned: الْعَقَبَةِ. Linguistically, ‘aqabah refers to an ascending path, a slope, a hill passage or a difficult route passed through during travel. In this narration, it functions as a location marker. Once again, the caravan is connected to a specific place, not mentioned vaguely.

Therefore, the arrangement of information about the caravan in this narration contains three layers of verification.

• First, verification of location. The Prophet SAW mentioned the place where he saw the caravan during the outward journey and during the return.
• Second, verification of condition. The Prophet SAW mentioned that the caravan was startled or disturbed.
• Third, verification of the contents of the caravan.

This is clear in the following wording:

وَأَخْبَرَهُمْ بِكُلِّ رَجُلٍ

“And he informed them about every man.”

وَبَعِيرُهُ كَذَا وَكَذَا

“And his camel was such and such.”

وَمَتَاعُهُ كَذَا وَكَذَا

“And his goods were such and such.”

This is the most technical part of the caravan issue. The Prophet SAW did not merely mention the caravan as a general travelling group. He mentioned every man, his camel and his goods. This indicates very detailed information.

These three elements may be described as three materials of verification:

الرَّجُل

the man,

الْبَعِير

the camel,

الْمَتَاع

the goods.

If someone only claimed to have seen a caravan from afar, he might be able to guess the number of the group or the direction of travel. However, to mention the people, the camels and the goods is no longer general information. That is information that can be tested, identified and checked when the caravan arrives.

That is why Abu Jahl’s response at the end of Context 27 is also important:

يُخْبِرُنَا بِأَشْيَاءَ

“He is informing us about several things”

Abu Jahl did not say, “He is only bringing a fabricated story.” He acknowledged that the Prophet SAW was informing them of أَشْيَاءَ, meaning several matters or details. This shows that the information mentioned was not a single brief statement, but several details that could become material for verification.

Therefore, the function of the trade caravan in this narration is not to determine the appearance of Baitul Maqdis directly. The function of the caravan is to prove that the Prophet’s claim of the journey was not left without material that could be verified in the real world. Quraysh were given information that they could check through their own caravan.

This also shows the wisdom in the arrangement of the narration. Before the mushrik man tested the Prophet SAW about Baitul Maqdis, the narration first brings the evidence of the caravan. The caravan was close to Quraysh. Baitul Maqdis was far and only known to certain people. Therefore, the caravan became the first verification that could shake Abu Jahl’s mockery.

Closing

From this section on the caravan, one matter becomes clear. The Prophet SAW did not merely convey the report of Isra’ as a story that could not be checked. He mentioned the Quraysh trade caravan, something that existed within their own sphere of knowledge.

The caravan belonged to Quraysh. Its people could be recognised. Its camels could be checked. Its goods could be seen. Its condition could be asked about when the group arrived. Therefore, this section becomes evidence that Abu Jahl’s mockery was not left without an answer that could be tested.

However, the trade caravan only proves one side, namely verification of the journey. It does not yet answer the appearance of Baitul Maqdis. It does not yet answer its structure, its state of form or its position in relation to the mountain.

That is why, after the caravan is mentioned, the narration introduces a mushrik man who claimed to be the most knowledgeable about Baitul Maqdis. This man did not ask about the caravan. He asked about the place that stood at the center of the claim of Isra’ itself.

Therefore, the next article needs to enter into this man. What is his position in the narration? Why did he claim to be the most knowledgeable about Baitul Maqdis? Why did he place himself as the one who would tell Quraysh whether the Prophet SAW was truthful or lying?

That is what will be discussed in the next article, The Mushrik Man as the Testing Witness Before Quraysh.