ibn ʿUthmān, who related that Mālik ibn ʿAwf sent out scouts. They returned with their bodies mangled, and he exclaimed, “Woe to you! What happened?” They replied, “Men dressed in white, riding piebald horses, struck at us; by God, we could not hold our ground before what you now see befell us.” When this failed to turn him back, he still went on with what he intended. (Chain broken.)
Al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas reports that a man once said, “We shall never be defeated for being few.” This distressed the Prophet ﷺ, and the verse was revealed: “And on the Day of Ḥunayn, when your great numbers pleased you…” (Qurʾān 9:25).
Muʿāwiyah ibn Sallām narrated from Zayd ibn Sallām, who heard Abū Sallām say—al-Salūlī told him that Sahl al-Ḥanẓaliyyah recounted: We marched with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the Day of Ḥunayn, covering long distances until evening. When the time for the Ẓuhr prayer arrived, a horseman rode up and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I rode ahead of you until I ascended such-and-such mountain, and there I found the whole tribe of Hawāzin—women, camels, and sheep—gathered at Ḥunayn.”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ smiled and said, “That will be the Muslims’ booty tomorrow, Allah willing.” Then he asked, “Who will stand guard for us tonight?” Anas ibn Abī Marthad al-Ghanawī said, “I will, O Messenger of Allah.” He mounted his horse and came to the Prophet ﷺ, who instructed him, “Face this pass and remain at its summit; let no one surprise us from your side tonight.”
When morning came, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went to his place of prayer and performed two rakʿahs. He then asked, “Have you seen your horseman?” They replied, “No, O Messenger of Allah.” The call to prayer was given, and the Prophet ﷺ began to pray, glancing toward the pass. After finishing and offering the salām he said, “Rejoice, your horseman has arrived.” We peered through the trees in the pass, and there he was. He came and halted before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, saying, “I remained at the top of the pass as you ordered. When dawn broke I surveyed both valleys and saw no one.” The Prophet ﷺ asked, “Did you dismount at all during the night?” He replied, “Only to pray or to relieve myself.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ