By Allah, I had no excuse. By Allah, I was never stronger or wealthier than I was when I stayed behind you." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "As for this man, he has spoken the truth. Rise until Allah decides regarding you." A group of men from Banu Salamah rose and followed me, saying: "By Allah, we have never known you to commit a sin before this. You have been unable to offer an excuse to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as the others who stayed behind did. The seeking of forgiveness by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for you would have sufficed for your sin." Ka'b said: "By Allah, they continued to rebuke me until I wanted to return and retract my confession. Then I said to them: 'Has anyone else encountered this with me?' They said: 'Yes, two men have said what you said and were told what you were told.' I said: 'Who are they?' They said: 'Murarah ibn al-Rabi' al-'Amiri and Hilal ibn Umayyah al-Waqifi.' They mentioned two righteous men to me who had witnessed Badr, in whom there was an example for me, so I continued on when they mentioned them to me. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade the people from speaking to us, the three of us, out of all those who stayed behind. So the people avoided us and kept away from us until the very earth felt different to me, not as I used to know it. We remained in that state for fifty nights. As for my two companions, they submitted and sat in their houses, weeping. As for me, I was the youngest and the most resilient of them. I would go out and attend the prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the Muslims, and I would walk through the markets, but no one would speak to me. I would come to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while he was in his sitting place and greet him after the prayer, and I would say to myself: 'Did he move his lips to return the greeting to me or not?' Then I would pray near him and steal glances at him. When I was focused on my prayer, he would look at me, but when I turned toward him, he would turn away from me.
When this long period of estrangement from the Muslims had passed, I walked one day until I climbed the wall of the garden of Abu Qatadah—who was my cousin and the most beloved of people to me. I greeted him, but by Allah, he did not return my greeting. I said to him: 'O Abu Qatadah, I adjure you by Allah, do you know that I love Allah and His Messenger?' He remained silent. I repeated my adjuration, but he remained silent. I repeated it again, and he said: 'Allah and His Messenger know best.' My eyes overflowed with tears, and I turned away and climbed back over the wall.
Ka'b said: 'While I was walking in the market of Medina, a Nabataean from the Nabataeans of Syria, who had come to sell food in Medina, said: "Who will direct me to Ka'b ibn Malik?" The people began to point to me, and when he came to me, he handed me a letter from the King of Ghassan. I read it, and it said: "To proceed, it has reached me that your companion has ostracized you, and Allah has not placed you in a land of humiliation or degradation. Join us, and we will console you." I said when I read it: "This is also a form of trial." So I headed to the oven and burnt it in it."
