In this hadeeth, Hudhayfah ibn Al-Yamaan(may Allah be pleased with him) stated that the Prophet ﷺ commanded to make a list of the Muslims’ names at that time. It was said that this took place during the time of theHudaybiyah Treaty, and the Prophet ﷺ wanted to know the number of Muslims; should any unfortunate event happen and the Muslims had to fight, he ﷺ would know the number of Muslims and who was able to fight. The number was one thousand and five hundred men. Another version of the hadeeth reads: “five hundred,” and a third version reads: “between six hundred and seven hundred.” The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) wondered, "Should we be afraid (of disbelievers) although we are one thousand and five hundred in number?" It seems that they(may Allah be pleased with them) could not believe the large number of Muslims at that time and believed that it was inconceivable that such a large number of men should be defeated. The version compiled by Muslim reads: “We said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, do you entertain any fear concerning us and we are (at this time) between six hundred and seven hundred (in strength).’” He ﷺ remarked: “You do not perceive; you may be put to some trials.” He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: ”We actually suffered trials so much so that some of our men were forced to offer their prayers in concealment.” This means that such confidence due to numerical superioritywas eliminated when Muslims were afflicted with fear and Fitnah (i.e., dissension and civil strife) after the Prophet’s death, so much so that some used to pray individually out of fear, despite the enormous number of Muslims at that time! Perhaps this referred to the Fitnah that took place after the Prophet’s death when some Muslims used to hide and perform the prayers in secret, fearing prominence and getting caught up in such Fitnah and wars. It was said that this was a reference to the late period of ‘Uthmaan’s reign during the tenure of some governors of Kufa, like Al-Waleed ibn ‘Uqbah, who used to delay the obligatory prayers or failed to establish them as enjoined. During this period, some devout Muslims (who were earnestly mindful of Allah, Exalted is He), used to perform the prayers in secret and then join the (delayed) congregational prayers with the governor, lest it should lead to Fitnah. The hadeeth highlights a sign of the prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ; he foretold a future event that happened afterward, and Muslims were actually afflicted with worse situations after the lifetime of Hudhayfah(may Allah be pleased with him), during the reigns of Al-Hajjaaj and others. Many narrations were reported with different numbers. To reconcile between the different narrations, it was said that there may have been several lists of Muslims’ names that were made on various occasions. It is also possible that the narrations mean that the number of Muslims was a total of one thousand and five hundred, including men, women, slaves, and boys, and between six and seven hundred men, and five hundred soldiers in particular. It is also possible that what is meant is that the number of Muslims was five hundred fighters from the people of Al-Madeenah in particular; six hundred to seven hundred fighters and non-fighters; and a thousand and five hundred Muslims including those living in the surrounding towns and villages. It is deduced that it is allowable for the Imaam (i.e., ruler) to count the number of the ruled when needed to defend and protect the Muslims. It is inferred that it is allowable to make a register of the soldiers’ names. It is also deduced from the hadeeth that Allah, Exalted is He, afflicts His servants with punishments for their unwarranted confidence due to numerical superiority. .