“We know them well: in former days they never hoped to eat a single one of our dates except as guests or by purchasing it. And now—after Allah has honored us with Islam, guided us to it, and strengthened us through you and through this faith—we should hand over our wealth to them? We have no need of that. By Allah, we shall give them nothing but the sword until Allah judges between us and them.”

The Prophet ﷺ replied, “That is for you to decide.”

Saʿd ibn Muʿādh then took hold of the document and erased its contents, saying, “Let them exert themselves against us if they wish.”

Ibn Isḥāq reports: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his Companions remained under siege; no fighting took place except that a band of Quraysh horsemen—ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd Wudd ibn Abī Qays of Banū ʿĀmir ibn Luʾayy, ʿIkrimah ibn Abī Jahl and Hubayrah ibn Abī Wahb of Banū Makhzūm, and Ḍirār ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ibn Mirdās of Banū Muḥārib ibn Fihr—armed themselves for battle and rode out.

Passing the encampments of Banū Kinānah they shouted, “Prepare yourselves, Banū Kinānah, for war! Today you will learn who the true horsemen are.” They urged their mounts on until they reached the trench. On seeing it they exclaimed, “By Allah, this is a stratagem—no Arab has ever employed such a ruse!” They sought out a narrow point in the trench, spurred their horses, and leapt across, racing about in the marshy ground between the trench and Mount Salʿ.

ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib came out with a group of Muslims and blocked the gap through which they had crossed. The horsemen galloped toward them. ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd Wudd, who had fought at Badr until wounds disabled him and so had missed the battle of Uḥud, now appeared distinctly marked so that his position would be known.

Halting with his mount he cried, “Who will duel with me?” ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, may Allah be pleased with him, stepped forward.

“ʿAmr,” he said, “you once vowed to Allah that if any man of Quraysh invited you to one of two courses you would accept it.”

“Indeed,” ʿAmr replied.

“Then I invite you to Allah, to His Messenger, and to Islam.”

“I have no need of that,” he answered.

“Then I invite you to single combat.”

“My nephew,” he said, “by Allah, I do not wish to kill you.”

“But I, by Allah,” ʿAlī replied, “very much wish to kill you.”

Enraged, ʿAmr dismounted, hamstrung his horse, struck its face, and advanced upon ʿAlī. They closed, circled, and exchanged blows until ʿAlī killed him, may Allah be pleased with him. Their cavalry broke and fled, scrambling back across the trench in retreat.

Ibn Isḥāq adds that ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib composed the following verses on that occasion:

He championed mere stones out of folly and pride,
while I upheld Muhammad’s Lord with clear proof.
When I turned away I left him sprawled on the ground,
like a felled palm-trunk amid boulders and heights.
I refrained from stripping his garments—had I desired
the spoils, hard-pressed as I was, I would have taken them.
Think not that Allah will ever forsake His faith
and His Prophet, O confederated tribes!

Ibn Hishām comments: Most scholars of poetry doubt that these verses are truly by ʿAlī.