Then we dispersed. That evening, every woman of Banu Abd al-Muttalib came to me and said, “You allowed this vile and wicked man to insult your men, and now he has attacked the women while you listened! Have you no sense of honour regarding what you heard?”
He said: “I replied, ‘By Allah, I did what I could against him; and by Allah, I shall confront him. If he repeats it, I will deal with him for you.’”
He said: “On the third day after Atikah’s dream, I went out fiercely angry, feeling that I had missed an opportunity against him which I wished to recover. I entered the Mosque and saw him. By Allah, I was walking toward him, seeking to provoke him into repeating some of what he had said so that I could attack him. He was a quick-moving man, sharp-featured, sharp-tongued, and keen-eyed. Then he suddenly rushed toward the door of the Mosque.
“I said to myself, ‘What is the matter with him—may Allah curse him? Is all this ⦗144/b⦘ out of fear that I might trade insults with him?’ Then I realized that he had heard what I had not heard: the voice of Damdam ibn Amr, crying out from the middle of the valley as he stood upon his camel. He had mutilated his camel, turned its saddle around, and torn open his shirt, crying: ‘O assembly of Quraysh! The caravan! The caravan! Your wealth is with Abu Sufyan, and Muhammad and his Companions have intercepted it. I do not think you will reach it in time! Help! Help!’
“What had occurred distracted me from him, and distracted him from me. The people quickly made their preparations, and none of the nobles of Quraysh remained behind except Abu Lahab, who stayed behind and sent in his place al-As ibn Hisham ibn al-Mughirah.
When Quraysh gathered to set out, they recalled the enmity between themselves and Banu Bakr ibn Abd Manat ibn Kinanah ibn al-Harith. They said, ‘We fear that they may come upon us from behind,’ and this nearly caused them to turn back. Then Iblis appeared to them in the form of Suraqah ibn Malik ibn Jushum, who was one of the nobles of Banu Bakr, and said, ‘I guarantee your protection against Kinanah coming upon you from behind with anything you would dislike.’
So they set out in haste. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, also set out with his Companions several nights into Ramadan. When he reached a valley called Dhafiran, news came to him that Quraysh were marching out to protect their caravan. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, continued on until, at al-Rawha, he sent a scout to gather intelligence about the people, who brought him news of them.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, also sent as his scout a man from Juhaynah—an ally of the Ansar—named Abdullah ibn Urayqit. He brought him news of the people. The caravan had gotten ahead of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, so Gabriel descended and said, ‘Allah has promised you one of the two parties: either the caravan or Quraysh.’ The caravan was more desirable to them. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, therefore consulted his Companions regarding pursuit of the caravan and fighting the mobilized force. Abu Bakr stood and spoke well; then Umar stood and spoke well; then al-Miqdad ibn Amr stood and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, proceed…’