عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا أَنَّ حَاطِبَ بْنَ أَبِي بَلْتَعَةَ كَتَبَ إِلَى أَهْلِ مَكَّةَ يَذْكُرُ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَرَادَ غَزْوَهُمْ فَدُلَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى الْمَرْأَةِ الَّتِي مَعَهَا الْكِتَابُ فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَيْهَا فَأُخِذَ كِتَابُهَا مِنْ رَأْسِهَا وَقَالَ يَا حَاطِبُ أَفَعَلْتَ قَالَ نَعَمْ أَمَا إِنِّي لَمْ أَفْعَلْهُ غِشًّا لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَقَالَ يُونُسُ غِشًّا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَلَا نِفَاقًا قَدْ عَلِمْتُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ مُظْهِرٌ رَسُولَهُ وَمُتِمٌّ لَهُ أَمْرَهُ غَيْرَ أَنِّي كُنْتُ عَزِيزًا بَيْنَ ظَهْرَيْهِمْ وَكَانَتْ وَالِدَتِي مِنْهُمْ فَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَتَّخِذَ هَذَا عِنْدَهُمْ فَقَالَ لَهُ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَلَا أَضْرِبُ رَأْسَ هَذَا قَالَ أَتَقْتُلُ رَجُلًا مِنْ أَهْلِ بَدْرٍ مَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَدِ اطَّلَعَ عَلَى أَهْلِ بَدْرٍ فَقَالَ اعْمَلُوا مَا شِئْتُمْ
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Hatib bin Abi Balta’ah (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote a letter to the people of Makkah and informed them that (the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was about to attack Makkah). But Allah Almighty informed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about the woman who was carrying this letter towards Makkah. He sent some companions after her, and the letter was recovered from her hair. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked, “Hatib! Did you really do this?” He replied, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah, I did this not out of deceit or hypocrisy, but I was certain that Allah Almighty would surely grant victory to His Messenger and grant him success. The real matter is that I had come from outside and settled in Makkah. My mother was residing among them. In this way, I wanted to do a favor to the people of Makkah.” Upon hearing this, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Should I not strike off his head?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Would you kill a participant of Badr? Do you not know that Allah Almighty looked upon the people of Badr and said: Now do whatever you wish.”