Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah wrote a letter to Quraysh—the account of which (1) we mentioned in Surah al-Mumtahanah (2).

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, appointed Abu Ruhm Kulthum ibn Husayn ibn Khalaf al-Ghifari as his deputy in Medina, then set out for Mecca on the tenth of Ramadan in 8 AH. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, fasted, and the people fasted with him, until he reached al-Kadid—a watering place between Usfan and Amaj—where he broke his fast.

He then continued until he encamped at Marr al-Zahran with ten thousand Muslims. Not one of the Emigrants or the Helpers remained behind. When he encamped at Marr al-Zahran, Quraysh had been cut off from all news: no report concerning the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, reached them, and they did not know what he intended to do. That night, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, Hakim ibn Hizam, and Budayl ibn Warqa' went out to seek news, hoping to find some report.

That night, al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib said, “What a disastrous morning awaits Quraysh! By Allah, if the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, takes them by surprise in their own land and enters Mecca by force, it will mean the ruin of Quraysh until the end of time.”

Al-Abbas went out upon the mule of the Messenger of Allah and said, “I shall go out to al-Arak; perhaps I may find a woodcutter, a milkman, or someone entering Mecca, who can inform them of the whereabouts of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, so that they may come to him and seek his protection before he enters it against them by force.”

Al-Abbas said: “So I went out, and by Allah, as I was making my way through al-Arak, searching for what I had gone out to find, I heard the voices of Abu Sufyan, Hakim ibn Hizam, and Budayl ibn Warqa'. They had gone out seeking news. I heard Abu Sufyan say, ‘By Allah, I have never seen so many fires as I have tonight.’ Budayl said, ‘By Allah, these are the fires of Khuza'ah, whom war has stirred up.’ Abu Sufyan replied, ‘Khuza'ah are too contemptible and too lowly for that.’

“I recognized his voice and called out, ‘O Abu Hanzalah!’ He recognized my voice and said, ‘O Abu al-Fadl!’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He asked, ‘What is the matter? May my father and mother be your ransom!’ I replied, ‘Woe to you, Abu Sufyan! By Allah, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, has come against you with a force you cannot withstand: ten thousand Muslims.’ He said, ‘What can be done?’ I said, ‘By Allah, if he gets hold of you, he will surely strike off your head. So ride behind me on this mule, until I bring you to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and seek protection from him for you.’ So he rode behind me, while his two companions returned.

“I then set off, urging forward the mule of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with Abu Sufyan upon it. Whenever I passed by one of the Muslims’ fires, they would look at me and say: ⦗203/b⦘ ‘This is the uncle of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.’ At last I passed by the fire of Umar ibn al-Khattab. He said, ‘Who is this?’ and came toward me. When he saw Abu Sufyan seated behind the animal, he said, ‘Abu Sufyan, the enemy of Allah!’