عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ قَالَ فَقَالَ الْعَلَاءُ بْنُ زِيَادٍ الْعَدَوِيُّ يَا أَبَا حَمْزَةَ سِنُّ أَيِّ الرِّجَالِ كَانَ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذْ بُعِثَ قَالَ ابْنَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً قَالَ ثُمَّ كَانَ مَاذَا قَالَ كَانَ بِمَكَّةَ عَشْرَ سِنِينَ وَبِالْمَدِينَةِ عَشْرَ سِنِينَ فَتَمَّتْ لَهُ سِتُّونَ سَنَةً ثُمَّ قَبَضَهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَيْهِ قَالَ سِنُّ أَيِّ الرِّجَالِ هُوَ يَوْمَئِذٍ قَالَ كَأَشَبِّ الرِّجَالِ وَأَحْسَنِهِ وَأَجْمَلِهِ وَأَلْحَمِهِ قَالَ يَا أَبَا حَمْزَةَ هَلْ غَزَوْتَ مَعَ نَبِيِّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ نَعَمْ غَزَوْتُ مَعَهُ يَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ فَخَرَجَ الْمُشْرِكُونَ بِكَثْرَةٍ فَحَمَلُوا عَلَيْنَا حَتَّى رَأَيْنَا خَيْلَنَا وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِنَا وَفِي الْمُشْرِكِينَ رَجُلٌ يَحْمِلُ عَلَيْنَا فَيَدُقُّنَا وَيُحَطِّمُنَا فَلَمَّا رَأَى ذَلِكَ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَزَلَ فَهَزَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَوَلَّوْا فَقَامَ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ حِينَ رَأَى الْفَتْحَ فَجَعَلَ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُجَاءُ بِهِمْ أُسَارَى رَجُلًا رَجُلًا فَيُبَايِعُونَهُ عَلَى الْإِسْلَامِ فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِنَّ عَلَيَّ نَذْرًا لَئِنْ جِيءَ بِالرَّجُلِ الَّذِي كَانَ مُنْذُ الْيَوْمِ يُحَطِّمُنَا لَأَضْرِبَنَّ عُنُقَهُ قَالَ فَسَكَتَ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَجِيءَ بِالرَّجُلِ فَلَمَّا رَأَى نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ تُبْتُ إِلَى اللَّهِ يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ تُبْتُ إِلَى اللَّهِ فَأَمْسَكَ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَلَمْ يُبَايِعْهُ لِيُوفِيَ الْآخَرُ نَذْرَهُ قَالَ فَجَعَلَ يَنْظُرُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِيَأْمُرَهُ بِقَتْلِهِ وَجَعَلَ يَهَابُ نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنْ يَقْتُلَهُ فَلَمَّا رَأَى نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَا يَصْنَعُ شَيْئًا يَأْتِيهِ فَقَالَ يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ نَذْرِي قَالَ لَمْ أُمْسِكْ عَنْهُ مُنْذُ الْيَوْمِ إِلَّا لِتُوفِيَ نَذْرَكَ فَقَالَ يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ أَلَا أَوْمَضْتَ إِلَيَّ فَقَالَ إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لِنَبِيٍّ أَنْ يُومِضَ
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that Alaa bin Ziyad ‘Adawi asked him and said: O Abu Hamzah! Did you participate in any battle with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: Yes! I participated with him (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Battle of Hunayn. The polytheists came out against us in great numbers and attacked us, to the extent that we saw our horses behind us. One man from among the polytheists was attacking us fiercely and causing us great harm. The Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw this scene, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) dismounted from his mule, and Allah Almighty defeated the polytheists and they turned their backs and fled. When the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw the victory, he stood up, and their captives were brought to him one by one, and they began to pledge allegiance to Islam. One of the Companions of the Messenger said: I have vowed that if the man who attacked us all day and caused us severe harm is brought, I will strike off his neck. Hearing this, the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent. Eventually, that very man was brought. When he saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he immediately said: O Messenger of Allah! I repent to Allah, O Messenger of Allah! I repent to Allah. The Prophet of Allah paused for a while and did not accept his pledge so that the other man could fulfill his vow, and that man kept looking at the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to see if he would order him to kill him. He was overawed by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and did not dare to kill him. When the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw that the man was not taking any action, he (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted his pledge. He said: O Messenger of Allah! And my vow? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I delayed accepting his pledge today so that you could fulfill your vow. He said: O Messenger of Allah! You could have just signaled to me. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is not befitting for a Prophet to make such secret signals.