He stayed among them until he had heard for himself—and understood in detail—what they had unanimously prepared for their war against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He also listened to Mālik and learned the exact stance of the Hawāzin. Then he came back to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and conveyed the whole report.

When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ resolved to march against Hawāzin, it was mentioned to him that Safwān ibn Umayyah possessed a number of coats of mail and other weapons. He therefore sent to him—Safwān was still a polytheist at the time—and said:

“Abū Umayyah, lend us those weapons of yours so that tomorrow we may confront our enemy with them.”

Safwān replied, “Are you taking them by force, Muḥammad?”

He answered, “No—only as a guaranteed loan until we return them to you.”

Safwān said, “There is no objection,” and supplied him with one hundred coats of mail together with all the gear they required. They relate that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ also asked him to see to their transport, and he agreed. Ibn Isḥāq reports this without a chain of transmission.

Yūnus ibn Bukayr has transmitted—from Ibn Isḥāq, from ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn Qatādah, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, from his father—as well as from ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, al-Zuhrī, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr ibn ʿAmr ibn Ḥazm, and others, the story of Ḥunayn. They relate what is similar to what has already been mentioned, including the episode of the coats of mail. In that account, when Ibn Ḥadrad returned and informed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about Hawāzin, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb declared him to be lying. Ibn Abī Ḥadrad retorted, “If you call me a liar, ʿUmar, perhaps you have once branded the truth a lie.” ʿUmar said, “Do you hear what he is saying, Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “You were once astray, and Allah guided you.”

Imām Aḥmad (1) said: Yazīd ibn Hārūn narrated to us; Shurayk told us, from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Rufayʿ, from Umayyah ibn Safwān ibn Umayyah, from his father, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ borrowed coats of mail from him on the day of Ḥunayn. Safwān asked, “Are you taking them by force, Muḥammad?” He said, “No—only a guaranteed loan.” Some of the armor was lost, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ offered to compensate him for it, but Safwān replied, “Today, Messenger of Allah, I desire Islam even more.” Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī (2) also reported it through the narration of Yazīd ibn Hārūn. Al-Nasāʾī likewise transmitted it through the chain of Isrāʾīl, from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Rufayʿ, from Ibn Abī Mulaykah, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Safwān ibn Umayyah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ borrowed coats of mail from Safwān, recounting the same incident. He likewise recorded it through Hushaym, from Ḥajjāj, from ʿAṭāʾ, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ borrowed coats of mail and horses from Safwān … and he carried on with the rest of the ḥadīth.

Abū Dāwūd (3) said: Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us; Jarīr narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Rufayʿ, from some members of the household of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Safwān, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“Safwān, do you have any weapons?”

He replied, “Is it a loan or is it seizure?”

He said, “A loan—nothing else.”

Safwān therefore lent him between thirty and forty coats of mail, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ set out for the battle of Ḥunayn. When the polytheists were put to flight, Safwān’s coats of mail were collected, but some pieces were missing. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to Safwān, “We have lost some of your coats of mail …"