Abu Sufyan entered Madinah without any army. He was alone facing the inhabitants against whom he had so often fought. He was not afraid for himself because the truce of Hudaybiyyah was fully operational and he knew that the Muslims would not harm him as long as the accord stood. Secondly he was well aware of the personal merits of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). There was none equal to Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in clemency, love and kindness.

According to the truce of Hudaybiyyah, it had been decided that both the parties were free to form alliances or enter into battles with anyone they pleased. When a party fought a tribe or tribes, the other would not ally with the enemy of the former and would remain neutral. During this period, a Muslim allied tribe Khazai, had been attacked by the Banu Bakr clan. It had become known that the nobles of Makkah had not only provided weapons and soldiers to the clan of Banu Bakr against the Khazai clan but had openly instigated the aggression. Such assistance by the Makkans against the Muslims was a blatant violation of the Accord. The Makkan Chiefs had attached no importance to it until Khaybar surrendered to the Muslims. At the conquest of Khaybar a condition of bewilderment and unrest spread on the Quraysh. They were now scared of the growing power of the Muslims. To mitigate those fears, Abu Sufyan had reached Madinah, so that the mutual differences could be resolved.

After reaching Madinah, Abu Sufyan entered the house of his daughter, the Prophet’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wife, Umm-e-Habibah^R.A. When he entered her room, she pulled up the mat laid on the floor. Abu Sufyan was greatly surprised at this gesture. He inquired, "Why have you rolled up the mat?" She answered that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) of Allah used to sit and rest on it. An idolater like him (Abu Sufyan) did not deserve to sit on it. While standing, Abu Sufyan requested his daughter to approach her husband so that the conflict that had occurred between the two clans could be resolved.

Umm-e-Habibah^R.A replied, "I can not help you in this matter. Go to the Prophet of Allah, yourself describe to him your problem". Abu Sufyan asked, "Where is he now? She replied", In the Mosque".

Abu Sufyan went to the Mosque. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) treated him with great courtesy. He asked him to sit beside him and inquired, "Do you have any business with me?"

Abu Sufyan spoke, "Yes! O Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)! I have come here to discuss the strife between Banu Bakr and Banu Khazai".

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) inquired, "What do you want to say?" Abu Sufyan replied, "I have come to say that in this battle between the clans of Banu Bakr and Banu Khazai, the Makkans did not assist or help the Banu Bakr ..... but if you think we have done so, we are willing to compensate for the loss of Khazai clan". The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied while deeply observing Abu Sufyan, "If you people have not helped or supported the Banu Bakr, then why are you troubled? We would not inquire any losses from you". Abu Sufyan was left with no answer and hiding his inner turmoil, left Madinah for Makkah the very same day.

In violation to the Truce, the Makkans had supported the clan of Banu Bakr against the Muslim tribe of Banu Khazai. The violation of this treaty by the Quraysh of Makkah was so open and clear that Abu Sufyan himself, came to Madinah and offered before the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to compensate for the loss. Words uttered by Abu Sufyan were a vivid proof of the violation by the Quraysh. However, a brief account of the encounter between the two tribes is given for the reader:

The clan of Khazai, had few of his people Muslims. They resided in an area called "Aqeer". This area was nearer to Makkah than Madinah. As this tribe was an ally of the Muslims, its members came under the protection of the Muslims. Whereas the other tribe, Banu Bakr, was an ally of the Quraysh. There existed a time-old enmity between the two tribes from pre-Islamic times. The chief of Banu Bakr, Nawfal bin Muawiyah instigated his people to attack the clan of Banu Khazai. Although the people of Banu Khazai could have sought help from the Muslims but the distance between them and Madinah was far too great. They would have been killed before any help from the Muslims reached them. Thus to save their lives, they left their lands and took refuge in the Holy Ka’bah. They expected that the Holy Ka’bah was an area where no bloodshed was allowed. Thus it would keep the Banu Bakr from pursuing or attacking them. But this did not happen. The Quraysh not only provided Banu Bakr with weapons but also assisted them with their men. Persons like Sohail bin Umroah, Safwan bin Umayyah and Ikrimah bin Abu Jahal also picked up their swords in favour of Banu Bakr.

After taking refuge in the boundaries of Holy Ka’bah, the people of Banu Khazai were considering themselves and their property safe, but Nawfal bin Muawiyah aired the flames of his revenge and yelled to his men, "Enter the Harem! It is permissible to shed the blood of Banu Khazai! Kill them all one by one!" Clasping the Holy Ka’bah, the people of Banu Khazai shouted, "O Nawfal bin Muawiyah! Here is the Holy Ka’bah. If you are not ashamed of your deeds, at least consider the modesty of Holy Ka’bah and do not shed blood at this sacred place".

But Nawfal shouted back, "Today Nawfal does not reckon the Allah of Holy Ka’bah". Then the people of Banu Bakr entered the Holy Ka’bah for massacre. To avoid bloodshed in the Harem, the people of Banu Khazai took to their heels and thus in this way those taking refuge under the sanctity of Holy Ka’bah were compelled to flee away to save their lives. Yet several of their people were killed by Banu Bakr and their property plundered.

When Abu Sufyan was coming to Madinah, he met Badeel bin Waraqah who was heading towards his tribe after returning from Madinah. They met each other at a distance of one "Manzil" from Madinah at a place named "Affan". Abu Sufyan asked, "Are you coming from Madinah?"

Badeel bin Waraqah replied, "No, actually I went to the sea-coast and now I am returning to my tribe". Abu Sufyan was not satisfied by this reply. He sent two of his companions to follow Badeel bin Waraqah and his fellow companions without letting them know about their Chase. He told them to look for the dung of camels to know whether it contained date-stones or not. Abu Sufyan assumed if Badeel had been to Madinah, his camels must have eaten dates there. Date-stones would be found in camel dung (or in the Ba’er - as the Arabs call the dung) and it would prove whether Badeel was returning from Madinah or not?

The people of Abu Sufyan followed the trail and soon found the date-stones in the dung. When Abu Sufyan came to know that Badeel was returning from Madinah, he turned pale as he knew the true facts of the incident had come to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)’s attention. That is why when he met the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) he immediately offered that the Makkans were inclined to compensate for the loss of Khazai clan.

We know what reply the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) of Allah gave to Abu Sufyan in Madinah. When Abu Sufyan reached Makkah, he said that there was a great probability the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would attack Makkah. The Muslims had become so strong and influential and the Makkans could not stop them.

Abu Sufyan had assessed rightly. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) of Allah had decided to conquer Makkah. He ordered the Muslims to complete preparations for war, but did not at first tell them where he intended to attack. Even Abu Bakr^R.A and Umar^R.A bin Khatab, who was father-in-law of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), had no idea where the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) intended to attack.

Before the preparations of the Muslims started, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) issued an order to disconnect Madinah from the outside world. Outsiders were not allowed to enter Madinah, and its residents were not allowed to step out of the city. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) knew that if these steps were not taken, the news of the preparing Muslim army would spread across the neighbouring clans and ultimately reach Makkah.

Soon Madinah was completely isolated from rest of the world. None of the travellers or citizens could enter or leave the city. Caravans encamped outside the city, sold their goods there and returned from the same place. These goods were shifted to the city when required. Among the Medinites was a person Hatib bin Abi Balta who perceived from these circumstances that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) intended to conquer Makkah. As his relatives were in Makkah, he wrote a letter to warn them for their safety and gave it to a woman "Sarah" to deliver to his family in Makkah.

Sarah was the mistress of a merchant of Madinah, Seifi bin Umroah who had permission to leave the city for provisions. Sarah also availed an opportunity to leave the city and sneaked out for Makkah. Following the orders of the Prophet, Ali^R.A Abi Talib who was guarding the ways sent his people in her pursuit. He ordered them to arrest her with care that she should not be allowed to waste anything in her possession. Ali’s companions got hold of her and recovered the letter from her. She was brought to Ali. On reading the letter, he came to know it had been sent by Hatib bin Abi Balta to his family. He asked Sarah whether she had known the contents of the letter. She said, she had not, at which Ali^R.A submitted the details of incident before the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) called for Hatib, showed him the letter and asked, "Did you give this letter to the mistress of Seigi bin Umroah to be sent to Makkah?" Hatib confessed. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) inquired, "Does Umroah know that you have sent a letter to Makkah through his maid? "Hatib replied, "Absolutely not, O Prophet of Allah; Seifi has no knowledge of it". On listening to his explanation, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) judged that his intentions had been good. He had endeavoured through the letter to inform his family about the approaching danger, so that, in case of battle, they could migrate to a safer place, therefore, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) absolved Hatib.

In Madinah itself, rumours started taking root. Some held the view that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) intended to confront the Roman army to compensate for the loss of the Battle of Mutah, whereas others opined that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wanted to punish the clan of Banu Salim which had continually raised troubles for the Muslims. But no one could ever perceive that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was looking towards Makkah and intended to go there.