When Shaybah and your father sought my betrayal,
they bathed the very sides of the throat in blood;
Your evil vow—of all vows, it is the worst.

Ibn Isḥāq (1) said: Al-Ḥulayṣ ibn Zabān, a clansman of Banū al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd Manāh and, on that day, the chief of the Aḥābish allies, passed by Abū Sufyān while the latter was prodding Ḥamzah ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib in the corner of his mouth with the tip of a spear, saying, “Taste it, you disobedient one!” Al-Ḥulayṣ exclaimed, “O sons of Kinānah, this is the leader of Quraysh doing to his own cousin what you see—mutilating his flesh!” Abū Sufyān replied, “Woe to you! Conceal this from me; it was a momentary lapse.”

Ibn Isḥāq (3) said: When Abū Sufyān resolved to depart, he climbed a rise of the mountain and shouted at the top of his voice, “Well done! War is a matter of alternating turns—a day for the day of Badr! Exalt Hubal!”—that is, declare your religion. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to ʿUmar, “Rise, ʿUmar, and answer him: ‘Allah is Most High and Most Glorious! We are not the same; our slain are in Paradise, while your slain are in Hellfire.’ ”

Abū Sufyān then called out, “Come over to me, ʿUmar.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to ʿUmar, “Go to him and see what he wants.” When ʿUmar approached, Abū Sufyān said, “I adjure you by Allah, ʿUmar—did we kill Muḥammad?” ʿUmar replied, “By Allah, no; and he is hearing your words at this very moment.” Abū Sufyān said, “You are more truthful and trustworthy to me than Ibn Qumayʿah.”

Ibn Isḥāq continued: Abū Sufyān then proclaimed, “There has been mutilation among your dead. By Allah, I neither approved nor disapproved, neither forbade nor commanded it.” As he turned to leave he shouted, “Our rendezvous is at Badr next year!” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to one of his Companions, “Say: ‘Yes, that is an appointment between us and you.’ ”

Ibn Isḥāq also related: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then dispatched ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, saying, “Set out after the enemy and see what they are doing and what they intend. If they have turned the horses aside and mounted the camels, they are heading for Mecca; but if they have mounted the horses and are driving the camels, they mean to come to Medina. By Him in Whose hand is my soul, if they intend it, I shall march against them and fight them there.” ʿAlī said, “I pursued them to see what they were doing: they had turned the horses aside, mounted the camels, and were bound for Mecca.”

Mention (4): The Prophet’s supplication after the Battle of Uḥud.

Imām Aḥmad (5) said: “Marwān ibn Muʿāwiyah al-Fazārī narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Ayman al-Makkī narrated to us, from Ibn Rifāʿah …”