On hearing what Kaʿb had reported, he said to them, “This is a grave business; my people would never disperse (1) over something like this, and I had no idea it had taken place.” So they left him.
When the pilgrims broke camp and departed Minā, Quraysh began to ferret out the news (2) and discovered that it was true. They set off in pursuit of the delegation and overtook Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah at Adhākhir (3) and al-Mundhir ibn ʿAmr, the brother of Banū Sāʿidah ibn Kaʿb ibn al-Khazraj—both of whom were deputies. Al-Mundhir escaped them, but they seized Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah, tied his hands to his neck with the straps of his saddle (4), and dragged him into Mecca, striking him and yanking him by his hair—he was abundantly haired.
Saʿd recounted:
“By Allah, while I was still in their grip, a group of Quraysh appeared. Among them was a fair-skinned, broad-shouldered, handsome man (5). I said to myself, ‘If any of these people has a shred of goodness, it is this man.’ But when he came close he raised his hand and dealt me a fierce blow. I said to myself, ‘By Allah, there is no good left in them after this.’
“By Allah, they were still dragging me along when one of their men leaned toward me (6) and said, ‘Woe to you! Have you no pact of protection or covenant with anyone in Quraysh?’ I replied, ‘Indeed! I have long guaranteed safe-conduct for the merchants of Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim, protecting them from anyone who would wrong them in my lands, and likewise for al-Ḥārith ibn Ḥarb ibn Umayyah ibn ʿAbd Shams.’ He said, ‘Then call out the names of those two men and remind them of the ties between you.’ So I did.
“The man went off to find them and located them in the mosque by the Kaʿbah. He said, ‘A man of the Khazraj is even now being beaten in al-Abṭaḥ and is calling you both.’ They asked, ‘Who is he?’ He replied, ‘Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah.’ They said, ‘He speaks the truth, by Allah; he used to grant our merchants protection and kept them from being wronged in his territory.’ They went and rescued Saʿd from their hands, and he departed. The one who struck me,” Saʿd said, “was Suhayl ibn ʿAmr.”
Ibn Hishām remarks: The man who intervened for him was Abū al-Bukhturī ibn Hishām.
Al-Bayhaqī (7) likewise relates, with his chain, from ʿAbd al-Majīd ibn Abī ʿAbs ibn Jabr (8) from his father, who said: “Quraysh heard a caller…”