It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out from (Madinah) on the tenth of Ramadan and appointed Abu Ruhm Kulthum ibn Husayn Ghifari as his deputy over Madinah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was fasting, and the people were also fasting. He continued traveling until he reached the place of Kudayd, which is located between ‘Usfan and Amj. There, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) broke his fast. Then he continued on and camped at Marr az-Zahran (a place near Makkah). With him was an army of ten thousand Muslims. The people of Muzaynah and Sulaym were also present, for many people from every tribe had embraced Islam. As for the Muhajirun and Ansar, all of them set out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); not a single one remained behind.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) camped at Marr az-Zahran. At that time, the Quraysh were completely unaware; they had no information about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and did not know what he intended to do. That night, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, Hakim ibn Hizam, and Budayl ibn Warqa’ went out to spy and gather information, hoping to hear some news. Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib had already met the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It should also be noted that somewhere between Makkah and Madinah, Abu Sufyan ibn Harith ibn Abdul Muttalib and Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah ibn Mughirah had already met the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), (which is why they went out to spy).

When they learned of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) arrival, they wanted to come to him, and Umm al-Mu’minin, Lady Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), interceded for them and said:“O Messenger of Allah! (Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah) is your cousin, and (Abu Sufyan) is your maternal cousin and your father-in-law.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“I have no need of them. This cousin insulted me, and this maternal cousin and father-in-law said much to me in Makkah.”When they heard this from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Sufyan, who was accompanied by his son, said:“By Allah! Either you will permit us, or we will take this son of yours and wander the earth (in some direction) until we die of thirst and hunger.”When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heard this, he softened and allowed them to come. So they entered and accepted Islam.

When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was camped at Marr az-Zahran, Abbas said:“Woe to the Quraysh in the morning! If they do not seek protection from you and you enter Makkah by force, the Quraysh will be destroyed forever.”He says:“I mounted the white mule of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and set out until I reached Araq. I thought perhaps I would find someone gathering wood, someone bringing milk, or someone heading to Makkah for some need (so I could inform him of the situation), and he would tell them that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had reached such-and-such a place, so that they could come to you and seek protection before you entered Makkah by force.”

Abbas says:“By Allah! I was riding the mule, searching for my objective, when suddenly I heard the voices of Abu Sufyan and Budayl ibn Warqa’. They were conversing with each other. Abu Sufyan was saying: ‘This great fire and army that we see today, I have never seen anything like it before.’ Budayl was saying: ‘By Allah! This is the fire of Khuza‘ah; war has set them ablaze.’ But Abu Sufyan replied: ‘Khuza‘ah are too lowly, mean, and base for this fire and army to be theirs.’”

Abbas says:“I recognized his voice and called out to him: ‘Abu Hanzalah!’ He recognized my voice and said: ‘Is that you, Abu al-Fadl?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘What has happened to you? May my parents be sacrificed for you.’ I said: ‘Abu Sufyan! You are doomed! This is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) who has come with the people. Woe to the Quraysh in the morning!’ He said: ‘May my parents be sacrificed for you, what should be done now?’ I said: ‘By Allah! If the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gains power over you, he will have your neck struck. So mount behind me on this mule, I will take you to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and seek protection for you.’ So (Abu Sufyan) mounted behind me, and his two companions returned. I brought him along, and whenever I passed by the fires of the Muslims, they would ask each other: ‘Who is this?’ When they saw the mule of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), they would say: ‘This is the mule of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and his uncle is riding it.’”

“When I passed by the fire of Sayyiduna Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: ‘Who is this?’ Then he stood up and came towards me, and when he saw Abu Sufyan on the back of the mount, he said: ‘Abu Sufyan! The enemy of Allah! Praise be to Allah, who has enabled us to overpower you without any treaty or covenant!’ Then he rushed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I also spurred the mule and got ahead of him as much as a slow animal gets ahead of a slow person. I jumped off the mule and reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Meanwhile, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) also arrived and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! This is Abu Sufyan. Allah has enabled us to overpower him without any treaty or covenant. Give me permission, I will strike his neck.’ I (Abbas) said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! I have granted him protection.’ Then I sat with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), held his head, and said: ‘By Allah! No one but me can whisper to you.’ But when I saw that Sayyiduna Umar was speaking a lot about him, I said: ‘Umar! Hold on! By Allah! If this (Sufyan) were from Banu ‘Adi ibn Ka‘b, you would not be saying these things. The reason is that he is from Banu Abd Manaf.’ He replied: ‘Abbas! Leave this matter. By Allah! Abbas, the day you accepted Islam, your Islam was more beloved to me than the Islam of my own father, Khattab, because I knew that the Islam of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was more beloved to him than the Islam of Khattab.’”

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Abbas! Take him to your residence and bring him back to me in the morning.”So I took him to my residence, and he spent the night with me. When morning came, I brought him to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw him, he said:“Abu Sufyan! Woe to you! Has the time not come for you to know that there is no god but Allah?”He said:“May my parents be sacrificed for you! How noble, forbearing, and kind to kin you are! By Allah! I think that if there were any god besides Allah, he would have sufficed me.”Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Sufyan! Woe to you! Has the time not come for you to know that I am the Messenger of Allah?”He said:“May my parents be sacrificed for you! How forbearing, noble, and kind to kin you are! By Allah! There was still some hesitation in my heart until now.”

Sayyiduna Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said:“Abu Sufyan! Woe to you! Accept Islam and testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah before your neck is struck.”So he testified to the truth and accepted Islam. I (Abbas) said:“O Messenger of Allah! Indeed, Abu Sufyan loves pride (i.e., status and position), so honor him in this regard.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Yes, whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyan will be safe, and whoever closes his door will also be granted safety, and whoever enters the mosque will also be safe.”

When he was about to leave, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Abbas! Detain him in the narrow valley at the pass of the mountain, so that when Allah’s army passes by, he can see them.”Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says:“I went out with him and, according to the command of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), detained him at that place. The tribes began to pass by with their banners. When one tribe passed, he would ask: ‘Who are these?’ I said: ‘The people of Sulaym.’ Then he said: ‘What do I have to do with Sulaym?’ Then the next tribe passed, and he asked: ‘Who are these?’ I said: ‘The people of Muzaynah.’ He said: ‘What do I have to do with Muzaynah?’ This continued until all the tribes had passed. Whenever a tribe passed, he would ask who they were, and I would say: ‘These are the people of such-and-such tribe,’ and he would say: ‘What do I have to do with them?’ until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by with a large army, in which were the Muhajirun and Ansar, and the blackness of iron could be seen everywhere. He said: ‘Subhan Allah! Abbas! Who are these?’ I said: ‘These are the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with the Muhajirun and Ansar.’ He said: ‘Abu al-Fadl! By Allah! No one has the power or ability to face them. The kingdom of your nephew has become great!’ I said: ‘Abu Sufyan! Indeed, this is Prophethood.’ He said: ‘Yes, indeed.’ I said: ‘Seek salvation for your people.’ So he left from there and went to his people and called out in a loud voice: ‘O Quraysh! This is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) who has come with such an army that none of you has the power to face. (Listen!) Whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyan will be safe.’ Upon hearing this, his wife Hind bint Utbah stood up, grabbed his mustache, and said: ‘Kill this black, lowly man! The leader of the people has become disgraceful!’ He said: ‘Woe to you! Do not deceive yourselves! Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has come with such an army that none of you has the power to face. (Listen!) Whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyan will be safe.’ They said: ‘You are doomed! How many people can your house accommodate?’ He said: ‘And whoever closes his door will also be safe, and whoever enters the mosque will also be safe.’ (Upon hearing this) the people began heading to their homes and to the mosque.