Ali reported, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent me out along with Zubayr and Miqdad, and he said, 'Ride until you reach the meadow of Khakh. There you will find a woman travelling on a camel who is carrying a letter. Take it from her.'"So we set off, our horses galloping 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 we will strip off your clothes.'"So she pulled it out from her braided hair. We brought it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and it read, 'From Hatib bin Abu Balta 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 but not truly one of them.' He meant that he was an ally of theirs but not of their own blood. 'Those of the Emigrants who are with you have relatives in Makkah who protect their families and their property. Since I had no such 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 out of contentment 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 the neck of this hypocrite.'"He said, 'He was present at Badr. How do you know? Perhaps Allah 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 affection to them, when they have disbelieved in the truth that has come to you, driving out the Messenger and yourselves because you believe in Allah, your Lord. If you have gone out to strive in My cause and to seek My approval, do you secretly show them affection, when I know best what you conceal and what you reveal? Whoever among you does so has strayed from the straight path." [Mumtahanah 60:1]
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 لنلقين 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 أتخذعندهم يدا يحمون قرابتي، ولم أفعله ارتدادا عن ديني، ولا رضا بالكفر بعد الإسلام. فقال رسول الله ﷺ: أما إنه قد صدقكم. فقال عمر: يارسول 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 mentioned the hadith.His saying, "the zaina" means the woman. And his saying, "The Messenger of Allah sent me, along with Zubayr and Miqdad." In another narration found in Bukhari and Muslim, "and Marthad Ghanawi" appears 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).