Sir William Muir Four weeks had just elapsed since he...

Sir William Muir Four weeks had just elapsed since he (Mohammed) had quitted Medina, when he marched forth from Mecca at the head of all his forces, swelled now, by the addition of 2000 auxiliaries from Mecca, to the large number of 12,000 men. Safwan, at his request, made over to him one hundred suits of mail and stand of arms complete, and as many camels.

The array of tribes, each with a banner waving at its head, was so imposing that Abu Bakr broke forth, as the marshaled forces passed, with the exclamation: “We shall not this day be worsted by reason of the smallness of our numbers.” (Life of Mohammed, London, 1861) When the first column constituting the Muslim vanguard, commanded by Khalid ibn al-Walid, entered the valley of Hunayn in the south-east of Makkah, the enemy was already lying in ambush, ready to greet it with his missile weapons.

The pass was narrow, the road was very rough, and the Muslims were advancing apparently unaware of the enemy's presence. It was just before dawn when all of a sudden, the Hawazin launched their attack. The surprise was complete and the charge of the enemy was so impetuous that the Muslims could not withstand it. The vanguard, composed of the tribesmen of Banu Sulaym, broke and fled. The main body of the army was just behind.

Khalid's column ran smack into its face, and struck panic into its men so that they also turned their backs to the enemy, and began to run. Soon everyone in the army was running, and it was not long before Muhammad was left alone with a handful of his faithful followers around him. The men led by Khalid were the first to run before the charging enemy, and they were followed by the newly-converted Umayyads of Makkah and their friends and supporters. Behind them were the citizens of Medina.

Many Muslims were killed in the stampede, and many others were wounded. The Apostle called out the fugitives but no one listened to him. The army of Islam was in headlong rout with the enemy at full tilt in pursuit. The Apostle, of course, did not abandon his post, and stood firm like a rock. Eight men were still with him, all watching the spectacle of the flight of their army. They were: 1. Ali ibn Abi Talib 2. Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib 3. Fadhl ibn Abbas 4.

Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith ibn Abdul Muttalib 5. Rabi'a, the brother of Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith 6. Abdullah ibn Masood 7. Usama ibn Zayd ibn Haritha 8. Ayman ibn Obaid Out of these eight, the first five belonged to the clan of Banu Hashim.