11.1
ʿAbd al-Razzāq, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, who said: Kathīr ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib reported to me on the authority of his father, al-ʿAbbās, who said:
I witnessed the battle of Ḥunayn alongside the Messenger of God. Indeed, I saw the Prophet himself, for the only ones with him were Abū Sufyān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib and I. We stayed close to the Messenger of God and never left his side. He was mounted on a gray she-mule—or perhaps, Maʿmar said, a white one—which Farwah ibn Nufāthah al-Judhāmī had given him as a gift. When the Muslims and infidels met in battle, the Muslims turned in retreat, but then the Prophet started to lead a charge with his mule in the direction of the infidels.
Al-ʿAbbās said: I was the one holding fast to the reins of the Messenger of God’s she-mule, trying to turn her away, and Abū Sufyān held fast to his leather stirrup,163 but nothing could stop the Prophet from rushing toward the Pagans. Then the Prophet said, “ʿAbbās! Cry out to the companions of the acacia tree!”164 Now I was a man with a booming voice, and I cried out as loudly as I could, “Where are the companions of the acacia tree?” By God, I let loose a long bellow like a cow for her calves, and when they heard my voice, they cried out, “At your command! At your command! At your command!” And when the Muslims drew near, they fought fiercely, they and the infidels. The Allies cried out, saying, “O company of Allies!” Then the men giving the summons singled out the al-Ḥārith ibn al-Khazraj clan and cried out, “O sons of al-Ḥārith ibn al-Khazraj!” God’s Messenger, standing high in the saddle on his she-mule, surveyed the battle and said, “Now the furnace165 is ablaze!” Then God’s Messenger grabbed a handful of small stones and cast them into the faces of infidels, whereupon he said, “By the Lord of the Kaaba, they have been vanquished!” I went to look and lo, the battle had been decided, at least as far as I could tell, and by God, it was decided when the Messenger of God cast the small stones against them. I can still see them at the limits of their endurance, when the Prophet ordered the Muslims to withdraw so that God Most High would vanquish the infidels. It is as if I can still see the Prophet riding behind them on that she-mule of his.
11.2
Al-Zuhrī said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Azhar reported that:
Khālid ibn al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah led the cavalry, the cavalry of God’s Messenger, that day.
Ibn Azhar said: After God had vanquished the infidels and the Muslims returned to their mounts, I saw the Prophet walking among the Muslims saying, “Who will show me the way to Khālid ibn al-Walīd’s mount? So I walked,”—or, he said, I strode—“in front of the Prophet, and at the time I was a young man who had just reached maturity, saying, ‘Who will show the way to Khālid’s mount?’ And eventually we were shown the way to him. There Khālid stood leaning against the rear of his mount, and the Messenger of God went to him and tended to his wound.”
11.3
Al-Zuhrī said: Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab reported to me that:
On that day the Prophet took six thousand women and children captive, whom the Messenger of God then handed over to Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb.
Al-Zuhrī said: ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr reported to me, saying:
When the Hawāzin came back before the Messenger of God, they said, “You are the most upright and faithful in honoring bonds of kinship, but our women and those in our care have been taken captive, and our wealth seized.” The Messenger of God replied, “I patiently bided my time for you, and with me are those you see. To me, the most preferable speech is the most honest. So choose one of the two, either the property or the captives.” “O Messenger of God!” they replied. “As far as we are concerned, if you force us to choose between property and honor, we shall choose honor.” Or they said, “We esteem honor above all else.” Thus they chose their women and children.
Then the Prophet rose to address the Muslims. He first glorified God, as is His due, and then proceeded to say: “As for the matter at hand, these men, your brethren, have come as Muslims”—or “having surrendered ourselves (mustaslimīn)”—“and we have given them a choice between their offspring and their property. They regarded nothing as equal to their honor; thus, I have seen it fit for you to return their women and children to them. Whoever wishes to act so magnanimously, let him do so; and whoever wishes to demand compensation for his share so that we may give him a portion of what God has granted us as spoils, let him do so.”
The Muslims answered God’s Messenger: “The judgment is good!” The Prophet then said, “I do not know who has permitted that and who has not, so command your leaders to convey this information to us.” Once the leaders had informed the Messenger of God that the people had acquiesced to the agreement and permitted it, God’s Messenger returned the women and children to the Hawāzin clan. God’s Messenger also granted to the women whom he had given to several Qurashī men the choice between remaining in the household of those men and returning to their families.
11.5
Al-Zuhrī said:
I was told that one of the women was in the care of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, and when she was presented with the choice, she chose to return to her family. She left ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, even though he was smitten with her. Another woman was in the household of Ṣafwān ibn Umayyah, and she also chose her family.
11.6
Al-Zuhrī said: Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab reported me, saying:
The Messenger of God determined the portion of the spoils due to the Muslims, and then he undertook a minor-pilgrimage from al-Jiʿrānah after he left in a caravan from Ḥunayn. After that, he departed for Medina and appointed Abū Bakr to oversee the hajj that year.
11.7
Maʿmar said, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, who said: Kaʿb ibn Mālik reported to me, saying:
The man called Mulāʿib al-Asinnah, “Lover of Spears,” came to the Prophet bearing a gift. The Prophet explained Islam to him, but he refused to become a Muslim. The Prophet said, “I cannot accept the gift of a pagan.” The man replied, “Then send whomever you wish to the inhabitants of Najd, and I shall guarantee their safety.” So the Prophet sent a group. Al-Mundhir ibn ʿAmr, who was called Aʿnaqa Liyamūt, “He who Hastens toward Death,” was among them and so was ʿĀmir ibn Fuhayrah. ʿĀmir ibn al-Ṭufayl attempted to muster an army from the ʿĀmir clan to fight against the Muslims, but they refused to heed him and refused to violate the pact of Mulāʿib al-Asinnah. So ʿĀmir ibn al-Ṭufayl sought to muster an army from the Sulaym clan, and they heeded his call and pursued the Muslims with nearly a hundred archers. They caught up with the Muslims at Biʾr Maʿūnah, where they slew them all save ʿAmr ibn Umayyah al-Ḍamrī, whom they allowed to flee.
11.8
Al-Zuhrī said: ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr reported to me that:
When ʿAmr returned to the Prophet, the Prophet said to him, “Did no one else survive?”
Al-Zuhrī added: It is reported that, when the slain were given burials, they searched for the corpse of ʿĀmir ibn Fuhayrah but could not find it. Thus, they believed the angels had buried him.
ʿAbd al-Razzāq, on the authority of Maʿmar, who said: Thumāmah ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Anas reported to us, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, that:
Ḥarām ibn Milḥān—who is the maternal uncle of Anas—was stabbed that day, and gathering blood in the palm of his hand, he smeared it all over his head and face, crying out, “Victory is mine, by the Lord of the Kaaba!”
11.10
Maʿmar said: ʿĀṣim reported to me that Anas ibn Mālik said:
I never saw God’s Messenger hold a grudge as deeply as the one he held against the perpetrators of Biʾr Maʿūnah, those who slew al-Mundhir ibn ʿAmr’s expedition party. For a month during the invocations preceding the early morning prayer,166 he cursed those who slew them: the Riʿl, Dhakwān, ʿUṣayyah, and Liḥyān clans—all from the Sulaym tribe.