The Prophet ﷺ entered Mecca during the Umrah of Fulfillment, with Abdullah bin Rawaha walking before him reciting,"Make way, sons of disbelievers, from his path,
Today we strike you over its revelation,
A blow that severs heads from their resting place,
And makes a friend forget his dearest companion."Umar said to him, "Ibn Rawaha, in the presence of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and within the sacred precinct of Allah you recite poetry?"The Prophet ﷺ said to him, "Leave him be, for his words strike them faster than a shower of arrows."
أن النبي ﷺ دخل مكة في عمرة القضاء، وعبد الله بن رواحة يمشي بين يديه وهو يقول: خلوا بني الكفار عن سبيله اليوم نضربكم على تنزيله ضربا يزيل الهام عن مقيله ويذهل الخليل عن خليله فقال له عمر: يا ابن رواحة بين يدي رسول الله ﷺ وفي حرم الله عز وجل تقول الشعر؟ فقال له النبي ﷺ: خل عنه، فلهو أسرع فيهم من نضح النبل.
Tirmidhi (2847), Nasai (2873), Ibn Khuzayma (2680), and Ibn Hibban (5788) all narrated it through various routes from Jafar bin Sulayman Dubai, who said, our teacher Thabit narrated to us, from Anas, who said, and then he related it. Its chain is hasan because of Jafar bin Sulayman Dubai, for he is hasan al-hadith.Tirmidhi said, "This is a hasan sahih hadith, gharib from this angle. Abdul-Razzaq also narrated this hadith from Maamar, from Zuhri, from Anas, in a similar manner. It has also been narrated, in a version other than this hadith, that the Prophet ﷺ entered Makkah during the Umrah of Fulfillment with Kaab bin Malik walking ahead of him. This is considered more sahih by some scholars of hadith, because Abdullah bin Rawaha was killed on the day of Muta, whereas the Umrah of Fulfillment took place after that."But it is not as Tirmidhi said, and this is a lapse on his part, because the Umrah of Fulfillment took place in Dhul-Qaidah of the year seven (7 AH), while the Battle of Muta took place in Jumada Awwal of the year eight (8 AH). This means that the martyrdom of Abdullah bin Rawaha came after the Umrah of Fulfillment, just as the hadith states, and not as Tirmidhi said. See the details of this in the book of military campaigns within the biography of the Prophet ﷺ.