Tufayl was a noble person whose command was obeyed. The Daws tribe followed him. He had come to Mecca. The notables of Quraysh gathered around him. They warned him against the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), telling him not to go to him or listen to his words. While recounting this, Tufayl says:
"By Allah, they insisted greatly. Eventually, I decided not to listen to the Messenger of God and not to speak with him. When I went to the Masjid al-Ḥarām, I stuffed my ears with cotton, fearing I might hear his words. I did not want to listen to him or hear his voice. I went to the Masjid al-Ḥarām and saw that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) was praying beside the Kaʿba. Allah decreed that I should hear some of his words. I heard beautiful words. I said to myself: 'Woe to you! By Allah, I am an intelligent man and a poet. It is not difficult for me to distinguish the good from the bad. What prevents me from listening to what this man says? If his words are good, I will accept them; if they are ugly, I will reject them.'
I waited a little. Eventually, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) left the Kaʿba and headed towards his house. I followed him until he entered his house. I entered after him and said: 'O Muhammad! Your people said such and such to me. By Allah, they frightened me about you. So much so that I stuffed my ears with cotton so as not to hear your voice. But in the end, Allah decreed that I should hear your words. I have heard beautiful words from you. Convey your message to me.'
The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) invited me to Islam and recited the Qur'an to me. By Allah, I had never heard words more beautiful, nor seen anything more true. I became Muslim. I bore witness, saying:
- O Prophet of Allah! I am a man whose word is heeded among my people. I will return to them and invite them to Islam. Pray to Allah to grant me a sign that will help me in inviting them.
The Messenger of God then said:
- O Allah, grant him a sign (āya).
I returned to my people. When I climbed a hill high enough to see them all, a light appeared before my eyes like a lamp.
I prayed:
- O Allah, place this light somewhere other than my face, for I fear they will say it is a mark on my face because I have left their religion. After this prayer, the light settled at the tip of my staff. Those who saw me saw the light hanging at the tip of my staff like a lamp. In that state, I descended from the hill. When I reached them, my elderly father came to me. I said to him:
- Stay away from me, father. I am not of you, nor are you of me!
- Why, my son?
- I have become Muslim and have followed the religion of Muhammad (peace be upon him).
- My son, your religion is my religion too.
- Then go, perform ghusl (ritual washing), clean your clothes, and then come to me so I may teach you what I have learned.
My father went, performed ghusl, and cleaned his clothes. Then he came to me. I invited him to Islam, and he became Muslim. Then my wife came to me. I said to her:
- Stay away from me. I am not of you, nor are you of me.
- Why? May my mother and father be sacrificed for you.
- Islam has separated me and you from each other. I have followed the religion of Muhammad (peace be upon him).
- Your religion is my religion too.
- Go to the grove by the idol of Dhūsh-Sharā, wash yourself in the water descending from the mountain there, and then come to me.
- May my mother and father be sacrificed for you. Do you not fear that the idol of Dhūsh-Sharā will harm the children? - No, I guarantee it.
My wife went and washed. Then she returned to me. I presented Islam to her, and she became Muslim. Then I invited the Daws tribe to Islam, but they were slow to respond. I then returned to the Messenger of God in Mecca and said to him:
"O Messenger of God! Indeed, fornication has prevailed among the Daws tribe. Pray against them." Thereupon, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said:
- O Allah, grant the Daws tribe hudā (guidance). He also commanded me:
- Return to your people. Invite them and treat them gently.
I went to the land of Daws and invited them to Islam until the time of the Hijra. Eventually, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) migrated to Medina. The battles of Badr, Uhud, and Khandaq passed. Then I went to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) with my people who had become Muslim. He was at Khaybar. We settled in Medina as seventy or eighty households, then went to the Messenger of God at Khaybar. He gave us a share of the spoils along with the other Muslims. I remained with the Messenger of God until the conquest of Mecca. I then made the following request to him: 'O Messenger of God! Send me to the idol of ʿAmr b. Humāma, Dhūl-Kaffayn, so that I may burn it.'
Ibn Isḥāq said: Tufayl b. ʿAmr went to that idol and burned it with fire. While burning it, he said:
"O idol of Dhūl-Kaffayn! I am not among those who worship you. Our birth precedes yours. I have given your heart to the fire."
Tufayl then returned to the Messenger of God and stayed with him in Medina. He did not leave his side until the Messenger of God passed away. After his death, when some Arabs apostatized, Tufayl went against them with the Muslims. After defeating Ṭulayḥa and the people of Najd, he went with the Muslims to Yamāma. His son, ʿAmr b. Tufayl, was with him. On the way to Yamāma, he saw a dream and said to his companions:
"I saw a dream. Interpret it for me. I saw that my head was shaved. A bird came out of my mouth. I met a woman who took me into her womb. I saw my son constantly trying to pull me out from there. Then I saw him leave me and disappear." His companions said: 'It is good.' He said: 'But by Allah, I have interpreted this dream.'
When his companions asked how he interpreted it, he said:
"The shaving of my head means my head will be severed from my body and fall to the ground. The bird coming out of my mouth is my ruh (spirit). The woman who took me into her womb means a pit will be dug in the earth and I will be buried and disappear in it. My son trying to pull me out of the woman's womb and then disappearing means that the calamity that befell me will also befall him."
Then Tufayl b. ʿAmr was martyred at Yamāma. His son was severely wounded. His wound healed, but during the caliphate of ʿUmar, he was martyred at the Battle of Yarmūk. May Allah have mercy on him.
Imam Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, through the channel of Waqf, narrates from Abū Hurayra: Tufayl, who came to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) with his companions, said: "The Daws tribe has rebelled." The Messenger of God then prayed:
"O Allah, grant the Daws tribe hudā (guidance). Send them to us."
Imam Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal also narrates from Abū Hurayra:
Tufayl b. ʿAmr al-Dawsī and his companions came and said: "O Messenger of God! Indeed, the Daws tribe has rebelled. But they did not come. Pray against them."
The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) raised his hands and, after cursing, saying, "May the Daws be destroyed!" he then said: "O Allah! Grant the Daws tribe hudā (guidance). Send them to us."
Imam Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal narrates from Jābir: Tufayl b. ʿAmr al-Dawsī came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: O Messenger of God! Do you have a strong and fortified fortress? The Messenger of God replied: In the time of ignorance, there was a fortress belonging to the Daws tribe.
When the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) migrated to Medina, Tufayl b. ʿAmr also migrated to Medina with a man from his tribe and came to the Messenger of God. The man from Tufayl's tribe did not like the climate of Medina and did not want to stay there. He became ill, lost patience, took an arrow, and cut his hand with it, causing it to bleed. The bleeding did not stop until he died. After his death, Tufayl saw him in a dream in a good state, except that his hands were bandaged. He asked him: "What did your Lord do to you?" The man replied: "My Lord forgave me because I migrated to the Prophet (peace be upon him)." Tufayl asked: "I see your hands are bandaged. Why?" The man replied: "It was said to me: What you have spoiled yourself will not be restored." When Tufayl related this dream to the Messenger of God, he prayed: "O Allah, forgive also his hands that he cut."
Now, how can we reconcile this ḥadīth with the one narrated by Jundub? According to the ḥadīth narrated by Jundub, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said:
"There was a man among those before you. He was wounded and lost patience. He took a knife and cut his hand. The bleeding did not stop until he died. Allah the Exalted said regarding him: My servant hastened before Me and killed himself. I have made Paradise forbidden for him."
This ḥadīth and the previous one can be reconciled in several ways:
1- One of the men in these two ḥadīths may have been a polytheist (mushrik), the other a believer (muʾmin). His impatience may have been sufficient cause for him to enter the Fire. Although his polytheism was also sufficient cause for entering Hell, the Prophet, through this ḥadīth, drew our attention for the admonition of his community.
2- The man destined for Hell may have known that cutting his hand was forbidden, while the other, being new to Islam, may not have known this ruling.
3- The man destined for Hell may have considered cutting his hand permissible, while the other did not, but merely erred.
4- The man destined for Hell may have intended suicide by cutting his hand, while the other may have had a different intention.
5- The man destined for Hell may have had few good deeds, and those few good deeds were not enough to counterbalance the gravity of his sin, so he entered Hell. The other may have had many good deeds, which outweighed the gravity of his sin, and thus he was not cast into the Fire; rather, he was forgiven due to his migration to the Prophet. However, since the wound on his hand did not heal, his hands were bandaged, while the rest of his body remained in good condition. When Tufayl b. ʿAmr saw his hands bandaged, he asked, "What happened to you?" The man replied: "It was said to me: What you have spoiled yourself will not be restored." When Tufayl related this dream to the Messenger of God, he prayed for the man: "O Allah, forgive him also for his hands." Thereupon, the man's wounded hands were healed. What is certain is that Allah accepted the prayer Tufayl b. ʿAmr made for his companion.