Sayyiduna Abu al-Tufayl (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was returning from the Battle of Tabuk, he ordered a caller to announce that the Messenger of Allah was taking the mountain pass, so no one should go that way. While the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was going along, Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) was leading his animal and Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) was driving it from behind. Meanwhile, some people came riding on various mounts, with their faces muffled. Those people surrounded Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him), who was leading the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) animal. Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) began striking the faces of their mounts, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him): "Lead on, lead on," until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came down from it. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came down from it, he made camp, and Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) also came back. He asked: "O Ammar, do you recognise those people?" He said: "I would recognise most of their mounts, but the people had covered their faces with cloth." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Do you know what they intended?" Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Allah and His Messenger know best." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Their intention was to take the Messenger of Allah aside and kill him." The narrator states: (In a later time) Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) once spoke privately with a Companion and said: "I ask you by Allah, how many were the men who came into the pass on that occasion?" He replied: "There were fourteen men." Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If you were one of them, then they would have been fifteen." The narrator says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had excused three of them; they had said: "By Allah, we did not hear the announcement of the Messenger of Allah's caller, nor did we know what the other people intended." Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I bear witness that the remaining twelve of them were people who waged war against Allah and His Messenger in the life of this world, and on the Day when the witnesses will stand as well." Abu al-Walid says: Abu al-Tufayl mentioned, regarding that expedition, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned to the people, or it was mentioned to him, that the water here was scarce. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered a caller, and he announced that no one should go to the water before the Messenger of Allah. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reached that water, he found that some people had reached it before him, so on that day the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed those people.
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.