182had mobilized more than [Wenty thousand men eaS[ of Mecca and that
they were preparing to attack the Muslims. T he Prophet scnt scouts who
confirmed the rumors: the Muslims had [0 ready themselves quickly. All
the r ... luslims who had come from Medina were mobilized, and they were
joined by t\vo thousand from the Quraysh.^3 Muhammad thus se t off with
an army of twelve thousand men, the biggest he had ever lcd. Some, such
as Abu Bakr, expressed proud confidence as to their number and proba-
ble vicwry, which displeased lhe Prophet.^4
T he Hawazin army was led by a young warrior named Malik ibn Awf
an-Nasri, who had acquired a solid reputation in the Peninsula. H e had
ordered his soldiers to take th eif women and children with them in order
to impress the enemy with their number and to stir up the troops. He
went to the J-Iunayn valley, which the Muslims coming from Mecca must
necessarily cross, and under cover of nightfall he posted a great number
of his soldiers in the ravines on either side of the valley. T hose men were
invisible from the valley. He deployed the rest of the army opposite the
gorge so that they faced the M uslims arriving from the bo ttom o f the val-
ley and were th us deliberately visible. T he Muslim s were advancing in the
Light of early morning when suddenly i{alik ordered the sold iers hiding in
the ravines to at tack thc Prophct's army from both flanks. T he surprise
was total, and Khalid ibn al-Walid, who m arched ahead, could nor contain
the charge: a general rout ensued, with Muslim warriors rrying to protect
themselves and retreating in total confusion. Caught in the narrow parts
o f the gorge, they became increasingly panicked. The Prophet, who was
so me distance behind in a more open space, witnessed what was happen-
ing; he immediately gathered his closest Companions and began to call
the Muslims with the help of Abbas, whose voice was more resounding
than his own. They both shouted: " 0 Companions of th e tree, 0
Companions of the acacia!" in order to remind the fighters of their
pledge of allegiance at the time of the covenant of al-Hudaybiyyah. T he
latter gradually realized what was going on and responded to the
Prophet's call, s houting back: "ubbay/:! LabbaykJ" ("Here we arc! Here we
are!').^5 More and more came to join him and reorganized to launch a
counterattack.
The Prophet asked for some stones and, as he had done at Bade, threw
them toward the Hawazin as he prayed to God: "0 God, I beg You to
keep Your promise." T he 1-.{uslims then began to march on th e enemy