I heard Ali say, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent me out along with Zubayr and Miqdad, and he said, 'Go until you reach the meadow of Khakh. There you will find a woman travelling on a camel who has a letter with her. Take it from her.'"So we set off, our horses galloping along with us, until we reached the meadow, and there she was."We said to her, 'Hand over the letter.'"She said, 'I have no letter with me.'"We said, 'Either you produce the letter or you take off your clothes.'"So she pulled it out from her braided hair, and we brought it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. In it was written, 'From Hatib bin Abu Balta,' addressed to certain polytheists in Makkah, informing them of some of the plans of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Hatib, what is this?"He replied, "Messenger of Allah, do not be hasty with me. I was a man attached to Quraysh," meaning he was an ally of theirs but not one of them by blood, "while those of the Emigrants who are with you have relatives in Makkah who protect their families and their property. Since I lacked such ties of kinship among them, I wanted to earn some favour with them so that they would protect my relatives. I did not do it out of apostasy from my religion, nor because I was content with disbelief after Islam."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "He has told you the truth."Umar said, "Messenger of Allah, let me strike off this hypocrite's neck."He said, "He was present at Badr. How do you know? Perhaps Allah has looked upon those who were present at Badr and said, 'Do as you wish, for I have already forgiven you.'"Then Allah revealed Surah Mumtahanah, "You who believe, do not take My enemies and your enemies as allies, extending to them affection while they have denied the truth that has come to you, driving out the Messenger and yourselves because you believe in Allah, your Lord. If you have gone forth to struggle in My path and to seek My good pleasure, do not secretly show them affection, for I know best what you have concealed and what you have declared. Whoever among you does so has strayed from the straight way" [Mumtahanah 60:1].
سمعت عليا رضي الله عنه يقول: بعثني رسول الله ﷺ أنا والزبير والمقداد، فقال: انطلقوا حتى تأتوا روضة خاخ، فإن بها ظعينة معها كتاب فخذوه منها. قال: فانطلقنا تعادى بنا خيلنا حتى أتينا الروضة، فإذا نحن بالظعينة، قلنا لها: أخرجي الكتاب. قالت: ما معي كتاب. فقلنا: لتخرجن الكتاب أو لتلقين الثياب. قال: فأخرجته من عقاصها، فأتينا به رسول الله ﷺ، فإذا فيه: من حاطب بن أبي بلتعة- إلى ناس بمكة من المشركين- يخبرهم ببعض أمر رسول الله ﷺ فقال رسول الله ﷺ: يا حاطب ما هذا؟ قال: يا رسول الله، لا تعجل علي، إني كنت امرءا ملصقا في قريش، يقول: كنت حليفا ولم أكن من أنفسها، وكان من معك من المهاجرين من لهم بها قرابات يحمون أهليهم وأموالهم، فأحببت إذا فاتني ذلك من النسب فيهم أن أتخذ عندهم يدا يحمون قرابتي، ولم أفعله ارتدادا عن ديني، ولا رضا بالكفر بعد الإسلام. فقال رسول الله ﷺ: أما إنه قد صدقكم. فقال عمر: يا رسول الله، دعني أضرب عنق هذا المنافق. فقال: إنه قد شهد بدرا، وما يدريك لعل الله قد اطلع على من شهد بدرا، فقال: اعملوا ما شئتم، فقد غفرت لكم. فأنزل الله سورة الممتحنة: {يأيها الذين ءامنوا لا تتخذوا عدوى وعدوكم أولياء تلقون إليهم بالمودة وقد كفروا بما جاءكم من الحق يخرجون الرسول وإياكم أن تؤمنوا بالله ربكم إن كنتم خرجتم جهدا في سبيلي وابتغاء مرضاتي تسرون إليهم بالمودة وأنا أعلم بما أخفيتم وما أعلنتم ومن يفعله منكم فقد ضل سواء السبيل}
Bukhari narrated it in the Book of Military Expeditions (4274), and Muslim in the Book of the Virtues of the Companions (2494-161), both through the route of Sufyan bin Uyayna, from Amr bin Dinar, who said, Hasan bin Muhammad informed me, that he heard Ubaydullah bin Abu Rafi say, I heard Ali say, then he related it.His saying, "the zaina," means the woman. And his saying, "the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent me, Zubayr, and Miqdad," in another version reported by Bukhari and Muslim it reads "and Marthad Ghanawi" instead of "Miqdad." Hafiz said, "It is possible that all three were with him, and one of the two narrators from Ali mentioned what the other did not mention." End of quote, Fath al-Bari (7/520).