‘Ubadah ibn al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) was present at the Battle of Badr, and he was one of the leaders who stepped forward to swear allegiance, pledging to support the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) on the night of al-‘Aqabah in Mina - when the Prophet was in Makkah, before he migrated to Madinah. Jamrat al-‘Aqabah is named after that place. They were twelve men, and they are the group referred to here. In this hadith, ‘Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) tells of what happened on that night, when those leaders swore allegiance to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Swearing allegiance is like making a covenant and a promise. The Arabic term comes from a root meaning to buy, because it is like a transaction, as if each party gives what it has in return for what the other party has. On the part of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) there was the promise of reward, and on the part of the others, there was the commitment to obey. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) accepted their oath of allegiance and made a deal with them that they should not associate anything with Allah, and that they should affirm Allah’s oneness with belief in Tawhid that was pure and free from shirk, worshipping Him alone. In return for that, paradise would be theirs. They also pledged that they would not steal, because Islam came to protect people’s wealth. They pledged that they would not commit zina, because Islam protects people’s honour and lineage. He also accepted their pledge that they would not kill their children; children are mentioned in particular, because killing them is both murder and severing ties of kinship, and in most cases they killed their children because of poverty or for fear of poverty. He accepted their pledge that they would not commit any fabrication between their hands and feet; fabrication means making things up and telling lies. Fabrication is connected to hands and feet here because most actions are done by means of them, even though other faculties may also be involved. He accepted their pledge that they would not disobey his command in anything that was right and proper, and disobedience is the opposite of obedience. The word ma‘ruf (translated here as anything that is right and proper) is a comprehensive term which includes everything that is known to be part of obeying Allah (may He be exalted) and showing kindness to people. Whoever held fast to what he had pledged to do and did not commit any of these sins that are forbidden, his reward was assured and he would find it on the Day of Resurrection with his Lord, because he did not break his promise. If someone commits any of the sins that incur a hadd punishment according to Islamic teachings, such as zina and stealing, and incurs the penalty, being subjected to the hadd punishment in this world, that hadd punishment will erase that sin and the punishment thereof will be waived from him in the hereafter, because Allah is too generous and too merciful to punish His slave twice. If someone commits one of these sins and Allah conceals his sin in this world, and he is not punished for that sin, then he is subject to the will of Allah (may He be glorified and exalted): if He wills, He will forgive him and admit him to Paradise along with the first to enter it, and if He wills, He will punish him in Hell commensurate with his offence, then admit him to Paradise..