Ibn Isḥāq said: al-Zuhrī related to us that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ set out for Hunayn with two thousand men from Mecca in addition to the ten thousand already with him, and he marched at their head.

Ibn Isḥāq also reported that he left ʿAttāb ibn Asīd ibn Abī al-ʿAyiṣ ibn Umayyah in charge of Mecca.

Through the first chain of transmission it is related that ʿAwf ibn Mālik advanced with the contingents he had mustered from the tribes of Qays and Thaqīf, accompanied by Durayd ibn al-Ṣimmah, an aged man riding in a litter, until the host encamped at Autās. When they halted there, Durayd heard the bawling of camels, the braying of donkeys, the bleating of sheep, and the crying of infants. He asked, “Which valley are you in?” They replied, “Autās.” He said, “A fine field for cavalry—neither a jagged hill nor a treacherous plain. But why do I hear camels bawling, children crying, and sheep bleating?”

They answered, “Mālik has driven the people’s property and their dependants with them.” He asked, “Where is he?” Mālik was summoned, and Durayd said to him, “O Mālik, you have awakened as the leader of your people, and this is a day whose outcome will echo through the days to come. What possessed you to bring along the people’s wealth, their women, and their children?”

Mālik replied, “I wanted to place every man’s family and possessions behind him so that he would fight for them.” Durayd shook him and said, “Shepherd of sheep, by Allah! Can anything stop a fleeing man once he breaks? If victory is yours, nothing will profit you but a man with his sword and lance; and if defeat overtakes you, you will be disgraced through your family and your property. Send the goods, the women, and the children up to the heights of your tribe and the fortified parts of your land.”

Durayd then asked, “What of Kaʿb and Kilāb?” They said, “None of them has come.” He said, “They have acted wisely—the cutting edge and the clan’s vigor are absent; had it been a day …”