They further relate that Ibn al-Humam reached Quraysh and announced, “Muhammad and his Companions are waiting for you at the appointed place.” Abu Sufyan replied, “By God, he is telling the truth.” Quraysh bestirred themselves, gathered money, and subsidized anyone who was willing to march, refusing to accept a contribution of less than one uqiyyah (ounce) from any donor. Abu Sufyan then set out and halted at Majannah near ʿUsfān, remaining there as long as Allah willed. After conferring with his fellow leaders he said, “What you really need is a year of plenty, when you can graze the samur trees and drink abundant milk.” He therefore turned back to Mecca, while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned to Medina under Allah’s grace and favor. This expedition came to be known as the Expedition of the Sawīq Force, and it took place in Shaʿbān of the fourth year AH.

Al-Wāqidī says: “This was the encounter of Badr al-Mawʿid, also called Badr al-Sughra. It occurred at the new moon of Dhu l-Qaʿdah, forty-five months after the Prophet’s migration. He set out with fifteen hundred of his Companions, leaving ʿAbd Allah ibn Rawāḥah in charge of Medina. The market of Badr convened from the first to the eighth of Dhu l-Qaʿdah, and the Arabs gathered there at that season. The Muslims stayed eight days, sold their merchandise, and every dirham brought a dirham’s profit. They returned home with Allah’s blessing and favor.”}