Usama bin Zayd was asked, while I was sitting with him, "How did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ travel during the Farewell Pilgrimage when he set out?"He replied, "He would travel at a moderate pace, but when he found an open space, he would speed up."Malik said that Hisham said, "Nass is faster than anaq."
سئل أسامة بن زيد وأنا جالس معه: كيف كان يسير رسول الله ﷺ في حجة الوداع حين دفع؟ قال: كان يسير العنق، فإذا وجد فجوة نص. قال مالك: قال هشام: والنص فوق العنق.
Malik related it in Hajj (176) from Hisham bin Urwa, from his father, and he related it as mentioned. Bukhari related it in Hajj (1666) from Abdullah bin Yusuf, who said, Malik informed us, with the same chain, similarly. Muslim related it in Hajj (1286, 283, 284) through various chains from Hisham bin Urwa, with the same chain, with the wording, "How did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ proceed when he departed from Arafah?" and he related it as mentioned.His saying, "anaq" with a fatha on the unpointed letter and the nun, refers to a pace between slow walking and hastening. His saying, "nassa" means he hastened. The root meaning of nass is the utmost extent of walking, from which comes the phrase "nasastu the thing," meaning I raised it, and it was then used for a fast kind of pace. See Fath al-Bari (3/518).