When Allâh's Messenger (ﷺ) set out (towards Makka) during the year of the Conquest (of Makka) and this news reached (the infidels of Quraish), Abu Sufyân, bin and Budail bin Warqâ ' came out to gather information about Allâh's Messenger (ﷺ) They proceeded on their way till they reached a place called Marr-az-Zahrân (which is near Makka). Behold ! There they saw many fires as if they were the fires of ' Arafat. Abu Sufyân said, "What is this? It looked like the fires of ' Arafat." Budail bin Warqâ ' said, The fires of Banî 'Amr ! Sufyân said, "Banû Amr are less in number than that." Some of the guards of Allâh's Messenger (ﷺ) saw them and took them over, caught them and brought them to Allâh's Messenger (ﷺ). Sufyân embraced Islâm. When the Prophet (ﷺ) proceeded, he said to Al-Abbâs, Keep Sufyân standing at the top of the mountain so that he would look at the Muslims. So Al-'Abbâs kept him standing (at that place) and the tribes with the Prophet (ﷺ) started passing in front of Sufyân in military batches. A batch passed and Abu Sufyân said, O Abbâs ! Who are these?" Abbâs said, "They are (Banû) Ghifar. Sufyân said, I have got nothing to do with Ghifar." Then (a batch of the tribe of) Juhaina passed by and he said similarly as above. Then (a batch of the tribe of) Sa'd bin Huzaim passed by and he said similarly as above. Then (Banû) Sulaim passed by and he said similarly as above. Then came a batch, the like of which Sufyân had not seen. He said, "Who are these?" " Abbâs said, "They are the headed by Sa'd bin Ubâda, the one holding the flag." Sa'd bin Ubâda said, O Sufyân ! Today is the day of a great battle and today (what is prohibited in) the Ka'ba will be permissible." Sufyân said, O 'Abbâs ! How excellent the day of destruction is ! " Then came another batch (of warriors) which was the smallest of all the batches, and in it there was Allâh's Messenger (ﷺ) and his companions and the flag of the Prophet (ﷺ) was carried by Az-Zubair bin Al-' Awwâm When Allâh's Messenger (ﷺ) passed by Abu Sufyân, the latter said, (to the Prophet ﷺ), "Do you know what Sa'd bin Ubâda said?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "What did he say? Sufyân said, "He said so-and-so." The Prophet (ﷺ) I said, "Sa'd told a lie, but today Allâh will give superiority to the Ka'ba and today the Ka'ba will be covered with a (cloth) covering." Allâh's Messenger (ﷺ) ordered that his flag be J fixed at Al-Hajûn. Al-'Abbâs said, to Az-Zubair bin Al-'Awwâm, O 'Abdullâh ! Did Allâh's Messenger (ﷺ), order you to fix the flag here?" Allâh's Messenger (ﷺ) ordered Khâlid bin Al-Walîd to enter Makka from its upper part from Kadâ ' while the Prophet (ﷺ) himself entered from Kuda. Two men from the cavalry of Khâlid bin Al-Walid named Hubaish bin Al-Ash'ar and Kurz bin Jâbir Al-Fihrî were martyred on that day. [5:577-O.B]
