Sayyiduna Abu Abdur Rahman al-Fahri (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the day of the Battle of Hunayn in intense heat, and we camped under the shade of trees. Then he narrated the whole story and mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took a handful of dust, and the person who was very close to him informed me that he (peace and blessings be upon him) threw that dust towards the enemies and said: "May their faces be ruined." Then Allah Almighty defeated the polytheists.
Ya'la said: Their sons narrated to me that their fathers said that none of us remained at that time whose eyes and mouth were not filled with dust.
The Battle of Hunayn occurred with the tribes of Hawazin and Thaqif after the conquest of Makkah in the 8th year of Hijrah. In this battle, the number of Muslims was approximately twelve thousand, while the number of disbelievers was around four thousand. The Muslims became reliant on their own strength and began to think that their small numbers had always prevailed over larger numbers, so who could defeat such a large army now? However, victory and help are in the hands of Allah Ta’ala; therefore, Allah Ta’ala gave a warning and put them to trial. In the beginning, the Muslims retreated, then the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam supplicated and said: «شَاهَتِالْوُجُوهُ»—that is, he invoked against them. Allah Ta’ala accepted this supplication and the enemy was routed and defeated.