We were sitting with Hudhayfah when a man said, "If I had lived in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I would have fought alongside him and proved my mettle."Hudhayfah replied, "Would you really have done that? Let me tell you about the night of the Confederates. We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and a fierce wind and bitter cold had taken hold of us.The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'Is there not a man who will bring me news of the enemy, that Allah may make him my companion on the Day of Resurrection?' We remained silent, and not one of us answered him.Then he said again, 'Is there not a man who will bring me news of the enemy, that Allah may make him my companion on the Day of Resurrection?' We remained silent, and not one of us answered him.Then he said a third time, 'Is there not a man who will bring me news of the enemy, that Allah may make him my companion on the Day of Resurrection?' We remained silent, and not one of us answered him.Then he said, 'Stand up, Hudhayfah, and bring us news of the enemy.'Once he called me by name, I had no choice but to get up. He said, 'Go and bring me news of the enemy, but do not alarm them against me.'When I left him, I walked as if I were strolling in a bathhouse, until I reached them. I saw Abu Sufyan warming his back by the fire. I placed an arrow in the middle of my bow and was about to shoot him, but I remembered the words of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, 'Do not alarm them against me.' Had I shot him, I would have hit him. So I turned back, walking as though strolling in a bathhouse.When I reached him, I gave him news of the enemy. As soon as I finished, I began to feel the cold. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dressed me in the surplus of a cloak he had been wearing while praying, and I kept on sleeping until morning.When morning came, he said, 'Get up, you sleeper!'"
كنا عند حذيفة فقال رجل: لو أدركت رسول الله ﷺ قاتلت معه وأبليت، فقال حذيفة: أنت كنت تفعل ذلك؟ لقد رأيتنا مع رسول الله ﷺ ليلة الأحزاب، وأخذتناريح شديدة وقر، فقال رسول الله ﷺ: ألا رجل يأتيني بخبر القوم، جعله الله معي يوم القيامة؟ فسكتنا، فلم يجبه منا أحد، ثم قال: ألا رجل يأتيني بخبر القوم، جعله الله معي يوم القيامة؟ فسكتنا، فلم يجبه منا أحد، ثم قال: ألا رجل يأتيني بخبر القوم، جعله الله معي يوم القيامة؟ فسكتنا، فلم يجبه منا أحد. فقال: قم، يا حذيفة! فأتنا بخبر القوم فلم أجد بدا، إذ دعاني باسمي أن أقوم، قال: اذهب، فأتني بخبر القوم ولا تذعرهم علي فلما وليت من عنده جعلت كأنما أمشي حمام، حتى أتيتهم، فرأيت أبا سفيان يصلي ظهره بالنار، فوضعت سهما في كبد القوس فأردت أن أرميه، فذكرت قول رسول الله ﷺ: ولا تذعرهم علي ولو رميته الأصبته. فرجعت وأنا أمشي في مثل الحمام، فلما أتيته أخبرته بخبر القوم، وفرغت قررت، فألبسني رسول الله ﷺ من فضل عباءة كانت عليه يصلي فيها، فلم أزل نائما حتى أصبحت فلما أصبحت قال: قم، يا نومان!