Shaʿbān, who said: Sufyān narrated to us, from ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, from Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad, who said: ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Abī Rāfiʿ—the scribe of ʿAlī—told me that he heard ʿAlī (may Allah ennoble his face) say: “The Prophet ﷺ sent me out together with al-Zubayr and al-Miqdād. He instructed us: ‘Travel until you reach Rawḍat Khākh; there you will find a woman carrying a letter. Take it from her.’”

We set off at full gallop until we came to the meadow. We said to her, “Produce the letter.” She replied, “I have no letter.” We warned, “Either you hand over the letter or we will strip off your clothes.” She then drew it out from within her plaits, and we brought it to the Prophet ﷺ. The document read: “From Ḥāṭib ibn Abī Baltaʿah to certain idolaters in Mecca, informing them of some of the Messenger of Allah’s plans.”

The Prophet ﷺ asked, “Ḥāṭib, what is this?” He replied, “Messenger of Allah, do not be hasty with me. I was a man attached to Quraysh but not one of their own. The Emigrants who are with you each have relatives who protect their families in Mecca, whereas I have none. So I wished to earn their favor—since I lacked such ties—so that they might protect my kin. I did not do this out of disbelief, or apostasy, or out of contentment with unbelief after having embraced Islam.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “He has told you the truth.” ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) exclaimed, “Messenger of Allah, let me strike off the head of this hypocrite!” He replied, “He fought at Badr. And how do you know? Perhaps Allah, exalted is He, looked upon the people of Badr and said, ‘Do as you wish, for I have forgiven you.’”

This report was recorded by al-Bukhārī through Qutaybah, by Muslim through Ibn Abī Shaybah, and by Abū Dāwūd through Musaddad, all through the chain of Sufyān.

Abū Ḥudhayfah al-Nahdī said: ʿIkrimah ibn ʿAmmār narrated to us, from Abū Zumayl, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: ʿUmar related, “Ḥāṭib wrote a letter to the polytheists which was brought to….”