He said:

Mukhshiy ibn ʿAmr al-Ḍamrī—who had concluded a pact with the Prophet ﷺ during the expedition of Waddān on behalf of Banū Ḍamrah—approached and said, “O Muḥammad, have you come to confront Quraysh at this watering place?”

He replied, “Yes, brother of Banū Ḍamrah. And if you wish, we can annul what lies between us and fight you until Allah judges between us and you.”

Mukhshiy answered, “No, by Allah, O Muḥammad; we have no need for that.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then returned to Madinah and encountered no hostilities.

Ibn Isḥāq (1) said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥah—referring to their wait for Abū Sufyān and his withdrawal with Quraysh that year—recited poetry on the event. Ibn Hishām adds: Abū Zayd recited to me these verses by Kaʿb ibn Mālik (2):

We pledged a meeting at Badr to Abū Sufyān, but found
no truth in his promise—he did not stand firm.

I swear, had you met us and we met you,
you would have gone back disgraced, bereft of allies.

There we left the limbs of ʿUtbah and his son,
and ʿAmr—Abū Jahl—lying lifeless.

You defied the Messenger of Allah—shame on your creed,
on that evil counsel that led you astray.

Though you reproach me, still I declare:
my family and wealth are ransom for the Messenger of Allah.

We obeyed him, preferring none above him—
a blazing light guiding us through the night’s darkness.

Ibn Isḥāq said: Ḥassān ibn Thābit also composed (3):

Leave the Syrian passes; a battle bars the way—
fierce as the mouths of panting she-camels in labour—

waged by men who migrated to their Lord,
with His true helpers and the hands of the angels.

If the caravan seeks the lowland path through ʿĀlij’s valley,
then tell her: “That road is closed.”

Eight nights we camped at al-Rass al-Nuzūʿ,
on a lofty ridge, broad and blessed.

With every bay steed whose haunch rises half his height,
and long-snouted camels, their necks held high.

You would see the tangled arfaj shrubs hurled up by the roots
beneath the soft pads of the trotting mounts.

Should we, in our circling search, meet Furāt ibn Ḥayyān,
he will be a hostage destined to perish.

And if we meet Qays ibn Imri’ al-Qays after him,
his dusky hue will only darken further.

So carry from me a message to Abū Sufyān:
you are a braggart among men—a vagabond all the same.

He said: Abū Sufyān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib—who later embraced Islam—replied:

Hassān! O son of the eater of ghafā—
by your grandfather, we still pierce the breaches as ever. (4)