Let Her Go, She Is Commanded

When the Prophet ﷺ rode into Madinah proper, the city nearly came apart with generosity. As he passed each clan's quarter, its men would take hold of his camel's halter: stay with us, O Messenger of Allah, with us are numbers and strength and protection. Every household burned to be the one that housed him, and a wrong choice could wound a proud people and reopen old rivalries.

His answer was the same wisdom he had shown with the Black Stone decades before: he removed himself from the decision. Let her go, he said of his camel Qaswa, for she is commanded. He let the reins lie loose, and the whole city followed the wandering camel to see where Allah would settle His Messenger.

She walked on, knelt at an empty plot used for drying dates, rose, circled, and returned to kneel in the same place. There, he said, is the dwelling, in sha Allah. The plot belonged to two orphan boys under the care of As'ad ibn Zurarah (ra); the Prophet ﷺ insisted on paying its price though the boys wished to give it freely. No clan was chosen over another; the choice had been taken out of human hands.

He lodged meanwhile with Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (ra), whose house stood nearest. Abu Ayyub (ra) and his wife insisted the Prophet ﷺ take the upper floor, but he preferred the ground floor for the ease of visitors; when his hosts realised they were sleeping above the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, they spent the night pressed against the walls, afraid to let any dust fall toward him. On that purchased plot, the work of building a community would begin with a place to pray.