The Missing Mount
On the occasion of Hajjat-ul-Wida, the Holy Prophet (sa) travelled from Medina to perform the Hajj. When he arrived at the place of Hajj, his mount went missing. The Holy Prophet (sa) and Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) used the same mount, which was in the care of the servant of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) when it went missing. Hazrat Safwan (ra) bin Muattal travelled behind the main caravan and managed to find the missing camel. He brought the missing camel along with him, which still had the all the provisions loaded on top of it. When Hazrat Sa‘d (ra) bin Ubadah heard of this incident, he came to the Holy Prophet (sa) along with his son, Qais (ra), and also brought a camel loaded with provisions to take along on a journey. When they met the Holy Prophet (sa), he was standing beside the entrance to his home. At that time, God Almighty had returned his camel to him, i.e., the camel that was lost and had been recovered by the time Sa‘d (ra) came to the Holy Prophet (sa). Hazrat Sa‘d (ra) said, “O Messenger (sa) of Allah! We have heard that your camel along with all your provisions has been misplaced. Please take our mount instead.” The Holy Prophet (sa) replied, “God Almighty has brought our mount back to us” i.e., he had found the mount that went missing. “Both of you can take back the mount you have brought; may God Almighty bless both of you.”
(Subul al-Hudaa Wa al-Rashaad, Vol. 8, p. 460, Dhikr Nuzulihi bil Araj, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1993) (Kitabul Maghazi Lil Waqidi, p. 1093, Bab Hajjatul Wadaa, Alam al-Kutub, Beirut, 1984)