It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Hatib bin Abi Balta'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) that his father (Sayyiduna Hatib, may Allah be pleased with him) wrote a letter to the disbelievers of Quraysh while he was residing in Madinah with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he had taken part in the Battle of Badr. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called Sayyiduna Ali and Sayyiduna al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) and said: "Go, both of you, until you overtake a woman who has a letter, and bring that letter to me." So they both set off and caught up with her, and said to her: Give us the letter that you have. And they made it clear to her that they would not leave her until they had her remove all her clothes to be searched. At this she said: Are you two not Muslim men? They said: Certainly, but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has informed us that you have a letter. When she was certain that she could not escape from them, she took the letter out of the knot of hair on her head and handed it to them. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called Hatib and read the letter out to him. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Do you recognise this letter?" He said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What led you to this act?" He said: My children and close relatives were there, while I was a stranger among you Quraysh. At this Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah, permit me to kill Hatib. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No, he took part in the Battle of Badr, and what do you know? Perhaps Allah Almighty looked at the people of Badr and said: Do whatever you wish, for I have forgiven you."