They both related that when dawn broke, Abū Sufyān, his son Muʿāwiyah, Ṣafwān ibn Umayyah, and Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām withdrew behind a hill to watch and see to whom the battle would turn. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ mounted and faced the lines, directing them and urging them on to fight. While matters stood thus, the idolaters charged in a single, concerted assault, and the Muslims turned and fled. Ḥārithah ibn al-Nuʿmān said, “When the people turned their backs, I estimated those who remained with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to be about one hundred men.”

A man of Quraysh passed by Ṣafwān and said, “Rejoice in the defeat of Muḥammad and his Companions! By Allah, they will never recover from this blow.” Ṣafwān replied, “You congratulate me on the success of the Bedouins? By Allah, a single man of Quraysh is dearer to me than any man of the desert tribes.” He then sent a servant, saying, “Go and find out what their watchword is.” The lad returned and said, “I heard them shouting, ‘O sons of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān! O sons of ʿAbd Allāh! O sons of ʿUbayd Allāh!’” Ṣafwān responded, “Muḥammad has prevailed.” That was indeed their battle-cry that day.

When the fighting pressed hard upon him, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ rose up in his stirrups—some narrators say he lifted his hands to Allah in supplication—and prayed: “O Allah, I appeal to You for what You promised me! O Allah, it is not fitting that they should overcome us.” He then called out to his Companions: “O men of the pledge beneath the Tree at Ḥudaybiyyah—fear Allah, fear Allah! Rally to your Prophet!” According to another wording he said, “O helpers of Allah and His Messenger! O sons of Khazraj,” and he ordered someone to relay the call. He scooped up a handful of pebbles and flung them at the faces of the idolaters in every direction, declaring, “May those faces be disfigured!” His Companions hurried back to him, and Allah routed the idolaters. Mālik ibn ʿAwf fled until he reached the fortress of al-Ṭāʾif with a group of his clansmen.

Many of the people of Mecca embraced Islam at that moment, when they saw how Allah granted victory to His Messenger.

This is an abridged version of Ibn ʿUqbah’s account. In ʿUrwah’s report there is no mention of the Prophet ﷺ standing in his stirrups, nor of his saying, “O helpers of Allah.”

Shuʿbah narrated from Abū Isḥāq, who heard it from al-Barrāʾ, that a man said to him, “Abū ʿUmārah, did you flee from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the day of Ḥunayn?” He replied, “But the Messenger of Allah ﷺ…"