and his son, and al-Fadl [ibn al-ʿAbbās], and Rabīʿah ibn al-Hārith (1), Usāmah ibn Zayd, and Ayman ibn Umm Ayman. Some people include among them (2) Qutham ibn al-ʿAbbās, but do not include the son of Abū Sufyān” (3). These are Ibn Ishāq’s words.
As for his statement, “ʿAlī was in front of him, [striking] (4) with his sword, and he killed forty people,” all (5) of this is a lie, by the agreement of those versed in hadith, accounts of military expeditions, and biographies. What those works report is that when the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and the Muslims reached the valley of Hunayn at dawn, the enemy, who were archers, fired a single volley at them, and the Muslims fled. With the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—were his uncle al-ʿAbbās and Abū Sufyān ibn al-Hārith. The latter had been a poet who satirized the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—but then embraced Islam and became a devoted Muslim. He stood firm beside him that day.
Al-ʿAbbās said: “Abū Sufyān and I stayed close to the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and did not leave him” (6).
Al-Barā ibn ʿĀzib said: “The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—ordered al-ʿAbbās to call out to them. Al-ʿAbbās had a loud (7) voice, so he called out: