The Qurayshi polytheists, knowing that Rasulullah and Hadhrat Siddiq were setting out for Medina, sent envoys to various surrounding tribes. They declared that anyone who captured and brought Muhammad (saw) and Abu Bakr al-Siddiq back to Mecca would be rewarded with two hundred camels for each of them.

The Mudlij tribe was one of the tribes living near the coastal side of Mecca. Like all the other tribes, they had received the news, but they hadn’t paid much attention to it. Suraka, the son of Ju’shum, was one of the members of that tribe. That day, like any other day, he had finished his daily chores and was lying down, trying to relax.

However, it seemed like he couldn’t find peace today. The horseman, drenched in sweat, had approached him. The horseman was from Quraysh. He stopped his horse in front of Suraka and said, “Hey Suraka! I saw a few figures, like travelers, heading towards the coast ahead. I suspect they might be Muhammad and his companions.”

Suraka immediately grasped the situation. The travelers were indeed the Rasul of Allah and his companions. However, he didn’t want to share two hundred camels with anyone else.

He responded, “The figures you saw are not Muhammad and his companions. You must have seen Abu Fadl and his friends. They have already passed by us.”

The Qurayshi messenger didn’t like this response at all. He furrowed his brow, spurred his horse without saying a word, and retreated.

Suraka, after gazing at the sky with a thoughtful look for a while, slowly got up and entered his house. Apparently, he didn’t want to let his friends know what he intended to do. He turned to his servant, who was sitting in a corner, and said, “Fetch my horse and go to the hill behind the house. Wait for me there! Be careful not to be seen by anyone!”

The servant quickly got up from her place and went outside. Suraka lingered inside for a while, then picked up his long, shiny spear, exited through the back of the house, and walked towards the hill. He made sure to keep the gleam of his spear close to the ground and parallel to it so as not to attract anyone’s attention. Finally, he reached his horse, swiftly mounted it, and told his servant, “Go back home. Don’t mention anything to anyone!”

As the servant headed home, Suraka directed his horse towards the coast and set off. The Arabian horse raced rapidly along the coastline, running faster than anyone could imagine, a red-colored Arabian horse that seemed to be flying. Suraka put in more effort, realizing that camels couldn’t match the speed of his horse. He urged his horse on.

Hadhrat Siddiq, alerted by a faint noise carried by the wind, turned his head and saw a man approaching them at full speed on a galloping horse. He quickly informed Rasulullah, “May my parents be sacrificed for you, O Rasulullah! A rider is rapidly approaching us!”

Our Master raised his head slightly and said, “O Allah, make him fall from his horse!”

As Suraka, who had come quite close to them, continued his pursuit, his horse suddenly slipped, stumbled, and fell to the ground. Suraka couldn’t maintain his balance and ended up sprawled on the sand. However, his fall and rise were almost simultaneous. He paused for a moment, contemplating his fate. Then, he thought about checking his fortune.

Among the Arabs, it was a common practice to check fortunes and seek omens. When they were about to undertake a task, they would take out a small leather pouch they carried with them. Inside the pouch were two arrows, one with “Neam” (Yes) written on it and the other with “Lâ” (No). Without looking, they would randomly select one of the arrows. Whichever arrow they drew, “Yes” or “No,” determined whether they would proceed with the task or not. It was one of the peculiar customs of that era.

Suraka immediately reached under his belt and retrieved a fortune-telling pouch. He randomly selected one of the arrows, thinking, “Will I be able to harm Muhammad and his companions?”

The arrow he drew had “Lâ” (No) written on it.

Suraka was not pleased with this outcome. He mounted his horse again, feeling indecisive. He paused for a moment.

Then, suddenly, he urged his horse forward.

“Yeahhh!”

The red horse resumed its pursuit of the group ahead. Despite the considerable distance that had opened up between them, the gap was closing as Suraka approached. He was getting closer and closer, and finally, he was so close that he began to hear Rasulullah reciting something.

The Rasul of Allah (saw), despite not looking back, was reciting, while Hadhrat Siddiq, on the other hand, frequently turned his head to look back.

Something had to happen, and it did! Suddenly, a miracle occurred. The front two legs of Suraka’s horse began to sink into the sand. The sinking continued and grew worse. The horse’s front legs were gradually buried up to their knees in the sand.

Suraka couldn’t hold on any longer and fell from his horse. He quickly rose from the soft sand and began struggling to rescue his horse. He tried to free the horse while the animal itself struggled to break free, but they made no progress.

What a great wisdom was at play here! When Suraka removed his hands from the horse, the horse thrashed one more time with all its might. Salvation! The horse’s legs were freed from the sand through this last effort.

However, at the same moment, from the very spot where the horse’s feet had been trapped, a smoke, like a column of fire, rose towards the sky and disappeared.

Suraka became increasingly disheartened. He reached into the fortune-telling pouch for the second time. The question remained the same, “Will I be able to harm Muhammad and his companions?”

The answer on the arrow was the same as before, “Lâ” (No).

Already upset and now receiving the same answer for the second time, he lost his temper completely. “O Muhammad! O Muhammad! I give up! Stop!” he yelled.

Rasulullah heard his words and halted his camel. Suraka mounted his horse and approached them.

“I am Suraka, the son of Malik from the tribe of Jushum,” he declared, “I assure you, neither now nor in the future will any harm come to you from me. Just as in the past, you have not seen any hostility from me.”

Suraka then explained the reward that the Quraysh had promised him and what they intended to do. Afterward, he said to them:

“In the future, you will come across some herds on the way. Those herds belong to me. Take as many as you like when you see them.”

“I don’t want them; I have no need for them, Suraka,” replied the Rasul of Allah.

Suraka then said, “If that’s the case, then write me a letter of protection to ensure my safety.”

The Rasul instructed Amir to write a letter of protection for Suraka. Amir complied, writing the requested document on a piece of leather and giving it to Suraka.

Afterward, the Rasul told Suraka, “Do not tell anyone that you saw us. Keep it a secret.”

With that, our Master urged his camel forward and resumed his journey.

Suraka continued on his way back, retracing his steps for a while, and soon encountered his friends coming towards him from the opposite direction. He inquired, “Where are you all rushing off to like this?”

“We are going to search for Muhammad and his companions. And you, where are you coming from?” they asked.

“Don’t bother going too far ahead and exhausting yourselves in vain,” Suraka replied. “I’ve scoured the entire area as far as the eye can see, but there’s no sign of them. No traces, no traces at all. Come, let’s search in other directions.”

Suraka - who had embraced Islam during the Taif expedition and had lived in Medina until the time of the third Caliph, Uthman - turned around and led his friends back. From this point on, the Rasul of Allah (saw), Abu Bakr (ra), and their two guides continued their journey without any further incidents.

Occasionally, they would encounter some caravans that Abu Bakr was familiar with due to his trade connections. They would exchange greetings:

“Hello, Abu Bakr!”

“Hello, Abu Jemil!”

“Who’s the person sitting in front of you?”

“He’s our guide, helping us on our journey.”

Abu Bakr never disclosed to those who didn’t recognize him that the person sitting in front of him was the Rasul of Allah (saw).