Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

The freed slave of Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), Hazrat Ikrimah, narrates that when the Muslims camped at Badr and the polytheists appeared before them, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Utbah bin Rabi’ah. He was mounted on his red camel. So he said: If there is any good (in the matter) among the disbelievers, it is with the one who owns that red camel. If these disbelievers accept his word, they will be well off. Utbah said (to the people): Listen to me and do not fight these people (the Muslims), because if you fight, this matter will remain in your hearts forever. That is, a man will see the killer of his brother and his father (alive) before him. Put the blame of cowardice for this battle on me and return. The narrator says: This reached Abu Jahl, so he said: By God! Utbah has become a coward ever since he saw Muhammad and his companions. By God! (What he is saying) is not the case. Rather, the matter is that his son is with them. Even though he knows that if we fight Muhammad and his companions, they are few in number. The narrator says: Utbah said: Soon the one who will make his buttocks yellow will know who among his people is the real coward and the one who causes corruption. By God! I am seeing beneath those garments a people who will surely strike you in such a way that they will call Baqi’ for you. Do you not see that their heads are raised like the heads of snakes and their faces are like swords? The narrator says: Then he called his brother and his son and began to walk between them until, when he left the ranks, he called for single combat.