The Messenger of Allah ﷺ spent the night supplicating and saying, "O Allah, if this small band perishes, You will not be worshipped on earth."When dawn broke, he said, "The prayer, servants of Allah." So we came forward from beneath the trees and shields. He urged us on to fight and said, "It is as though I am looking at where they will fall slain."When the enemy drew near, there was a man moving among them on a red camel. The Prophet ﷺ said to Zubayr, "Call out to one of your companions and ask him who the owner of the red camel is. If there is anyone among them who counsels good, it would be him."So Zubayr asked, "Who is the owner of the red camel?"They said, "Utbah bin Rabia. He is forbidding them from fighting and saying, 'My people, I see a people resolved to die. By Allah, I do not think you will reach them without being destroyed.'"When what he was saying reached Abu Jahl, he came up to him and said, "Your lungs have filled with terror at the sight of Muhammad and his companions."Utbah said to him, "Do you mean me, you yellow-bottomed one? You will soon learn which of us is the coward."Then he dismounted from his camel, followed by his brother Shayba and his son Walid, and they called out for single combat. He then mentioned the hadith in its full length.
وبات رسول الله ﷺ ليلة يدعو ويقول: اللهم إن تهلك هذه العصابة لا تعبد في الأرض، فلما طلع الفجر قال: الصلاة عباد الله فأقبلنا من تحت الشجر والجحف، فحث على القتال وقال: كأني أنظر إلى صرعاهم، فلما دنا القوم إذا رجل يسير في القوم على جمل أحمر. فقال النبي ﷺ للزبير: ناد بعض أصحابك، فسله من صاحب الجمل الأحمر؟ فإن يكن في القوم أحد يأمر بخير فهو فسأل الزبير: من صاحب الجمل الأحمر؟ قالوا: عتبة بن ربيعة، وهو ينهى عن القتال، وهو يقول: يا قوم! إني أرى قوما مستميتين، والله ما أظن أن تصلوا إليهم حتى تهلكوا، قال: فلما بلغ أبا جهل ما يقول: أقبل إليه فقال: ملئت رئتك رعبا حين رأيت محمدا وأصحابه، فقال له عتبة: إياي تعني يا مصفر استه، ستعلم أينا أجبن، فنزل عن جمله وأتبعه أخوه شيبة، وابنه الوليد، فدعوا إلى البراز فذكر الحديث بطوله.