The pilgrimage led by Abu Bakr

In the ninth year of the Hijra the Prophet sent Abu Bakr as commander of the pilgrimage, to hold the pilgrimage for the Muslims, while the polytheists were still in their stations from the pilgrimage. ¹ In the course of that, the first verses of Surat Bara'a were revealed, dissolving covenants, and the Prophet ﷺ sent Ali to announce them on the day of sacrifice. The detail of the announcement is on its own page. This page relays Ibn Hisham's account from Ibn Ishaq (part 4, pp. 188–191).

Ibn Ishaq says that the Prophet stayed for the rest of Ramadan, Shawwal and Dhu al-Qa'da, "then sent Abu Bakr as commander of the pilgrimage in the ninth year, to hold the pilgrimage for the Muslims while the people of polytheism were in their stations of pilgrimage", and Abu Bakr set out with the Muslims. ¹ So this was the first pilgrimage the Muslims held after the conquest, while the Arabs that year were still in the stations they had kept in the days of ignorance. ²

The Surah Bara'a was revealed to dissolve what lay between the Prophet and the polytheists of covenant, a general covenant "that no one who comes to the House be hindered, and no one fear in the sacred month", and special covenants with tribes to set terms. ¹ Ibn Ishaq explains that the four months concern the people of the general covenant, and that the people of the special covenant have their covenant fulfilled to its term as long as they do not break it. ¹-³ The verses meant are 9:1 to 9:5; their text is not repeated here.

Ibn Ishaq relates from Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ali that when Bara'a was revealed while the Prophet had sent Abu Bakr to hold the pilgrimage, it was said to him: "Would you send it to Abu Bakr?" He said: "None will convey it for me but a man of my household." Then he called Ali and ordered him to go out with the opening of the surah and to proclaim it to the people on the day of sacrifice at Mina. ² Ali set out on the Prophet's she-camel al-Adba, and caught up with Abu Bakr on the road. Abu Bakr said to him: "Are you a commander or one commanded?" He said: "Commanded." Then they went on, and Abu Bakr held the pilgrimage. ²

Ali stood on the day of sacrifice and proclaimed to the people: no unbeliever enters Paradise, no polytheist performs the pilgrimage after this year, no one circles the House naked, and whoever has a covenant with the Prophet keeps it until its term. The people were given four months from the day he proclaimed to them, so that each people might return to its refuge or its lands; then there is no covenant or protection for a polytheist, except whoever has a covenant until a term. ²-⁴ After that year no polytheist made the pilgrimage and no one circled the House naked, and then they came back to the Prophet. ⁴

After that Ibn Ishaq mentions what was revealed on the command to fight the polytheists who broke the special covenant or who were of the general covenant after the four months. ⁴ Then follows what was revealed about the People of the Book, the intercalation, Tabuk and the hypocrites (pp. 192–198), which is the subject of other pages.

The account as Ibn Ishaq relates it shows that the pilgrimage of the ninth year was an announcement that the existing covenant with the polytheists had ended, and an ordering of what followed the pilgrimage, without touching those who had a covenant until a term.

• The account of Ali's sending is related by Ibn Ishaq from Hakim ibn Hakim ibn Abbad ibn Hunayf from Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ali (p. 190), and has not yet been compared with the reports of the Sahihs and the exegetical works on why Ali was sent.
• The printed text explains some words of the surah (al-Il, al-Dhimma, al-Wulayja) with poetic evidence in the margins (pp. 189–191), which we have not taken here.

Ibn Ishaq relates the revelation of the verses on dissolving the general covenant, and that some of them were for the people of the special covenant to their term, and that the polytheists must be given safe conduct until their term, and that whoever among the polytheists asks protection, grant it to him until he hears the word of God, then convey him to his place of safety. ^{1 3} Ibn Hisham explains "al-Il" as the alliance, citing a verse of Aws ibn Hajar, and "al-Dhimma" as the covenant, citing a verse of al-Ajda' al-Hamdani. ^{3 2} Ibn Ishaq says that Ali went out with the portion of Bara'a on the she-camel al-Adba of the Prophet, caught Abu Bakr on the road, and Abu Bakr said: "Are you a commander or one commanded?" He said: "Commanded"; then Ali proclaimed on the day of sacrifice that no unbeliever enters Paradise, no polytheist makes the pilgrimage after this year, no one circles the House naked, and whoever has a covenant with the Prophet keeps it until its term; and he gave the people four months. ^{2 4}

Ibn Ishaq mentions in the explanation of the surah what concerns the intercalation, how the Arabs made the sacred month lawful and made another sacred, and the changing of the months "to match the number God has made sacred", and he says that God mentioned the poll tax for the People of the Book when He ordered the fight against those who do not believe in God or the Last Day. ⁵ He adds that the hypocrites sought to stay behind from the raid in the heat, and that among those who asked leave from the nobles were Abd Allah ibn Ubayy and al-Jadd ibn Qays, and al-Jadd said: "Grant me leave and do not tempt me." ^{6 7}

• Ibn Ishaq names here those to whom the verses were attributed, among them Nabtal ibn al-Harith, Di'a ibn Thabit, Mukhashshin ibn Humayr, al-Jalas ibn Suwayd, Ta'laba ibn Hatib and Mu'attib ibn Qushayr; he says some names are "as I have been told" (4/195, 4/196). ⁷
• Ibn Hisham notes a variant in the texts, "Banu al-Dil" and "Banu al-Dayl", in verses 9:1–3, and the printed text says that al-Dayl is of Bakr (4/189). ³
• The verses "Those who witnessed Badr" at the end of the part are narrated by Ibn Hisham to Hassan's son Abd al-Rahman (4/199); they were included earlier in Hassan's poem on the expeditions.