It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Hatib bin Abi Balta'ah wrote a (secret) letter to the people of Makkah, and Allah Almighty informed His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of it. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Ali and Sayyiduna al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) after the letter. They caught up with a woman riding a camel and took the letter out of one of the braids of her hair. Then they brought it to the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and it was read out to him (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) sent for Hatib and asked: "O Hatib, did you write this letter?" He said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What led you to do this?" He said: O Messenger of Allah, by Allah, I am sincere to Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), but I was a stranger among the people of Makkah, and my family was living among them. I feared for them, so I wrote a letter that could not harm Allah and His Messenger in any way, and I hoped it might bring some benefit to my family. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I drew my sword and said: O Messenger of Allah, permit me to strike off his neck, for he has committed disbelief. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ibn al-Khattab, how do you know? Perhaps Allah Almighty has looked upon this band, the people of Badr, and said: Do whatever you wish, for I have forgiven you?!" This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it with these words. They only agreed on the hadith of Ubaydullah bin Abi Rafi' from Sayyiduna Ali, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me and al-Zubayr to "Rawdat Khakh", but its wording differs from this.