Hudhaifah said that he had never held the least doubt that his father met his fate deservedly, but  added that he wished he had been guided to the path of Islam, and that is why he felt sad. The
Prophet (Peace be upon him) whispered in his ears some comforting words.
The outcome of the battle was as aforementioned an ignominious rout for the polytheists and a  manifest victory for the Muslims. Fourteen Muslims were killed, of whom six were from the Emigrants  and eight from the Helpers. The polytheists sustained heavy casualties, seventy were killed and a like  number taken prisoners. Many of the principal men of Makkah, and some of Muhammad ’s bitterest  opponents, were among the slain. Chief of these was Abu Jahl.
On the third day, the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) went out to look at the slain polytheists,  and said:
“What an evil tribe you were as regards your Prophet, you belied me but the others have  believed; you let me down while the others have supported me; you expelled m, whereas the  others have sheltered me.”
He stood over the bodies of twenty-four leaders of Quraish who had been thrown into one of the wells,  and started to call them by name and by the names of their fathers, saying: “Would it not have been  much better for you if you had obeyed Allâh and His Messenger? Behold, we have found that our
Lord’s  promise do come true; did you (also) find that the promises of your Lord came true?” Thereupon,
‘Umar  bin Al-Khattab said: “O Messenger of Allâh! Why you speak to bodies that have no souls in them?” The
Prophet (Peace be upon him) answered: “By Him in Whose hand is Muhammad ’s soul! You do not  hear  better what I am saying than they do.”
REACTION IN MAKKAH:
The polytheists having received a large dose of disciplining and heavy defeat, fled away in great  disorder in the vales and hillocks heading for Makkah panicked and too ashamed to see their people.
Ibn Ishaq related that the first herald of bad tidings was Al-Haisaman bin ‘Abdullah Al-Khuza‘i. He  narrated to them how their notables were killed. People there did not believe him at first and thought  that he had gone mad, but soon the news was confirmed and a state of incredible bewilderment  overwhelmed the whole Makkan scene. Abu Sufyan bin Al-Harith gave Abu Lahab a full account of the  massacre and the disgraceful rout they sustained, with emphasis on the role that the angels played in  bringing about their tragic end. Abu Lahab could not contain himself and gave vent to his feelings of  resentment in beating, abusing and slapping Abu Rafi‘, a Muslim, but reticent on his conversion, for  reiterating the role of the angels. Umm Al-Fadl, another Muslim woman, greatly exasperated by Abu
Lahab’s thoughtless behaviour, struck him with a log and cracked his head. Seven days later, he died  of  an ominous ulcer and was left for three days unburied. His sons, however, for fear of shameful  rumours, drove him to a pit and keeping their distance, hurled stones and dust at him.
The defeat was a matter of great shame and grief for the Makkans. In almost every house there were  silent tears for the dead and the captives. They were burning with humiliation and were thirsting for  revenge. Wailing, lamenting and crying however were decreed strictly forbidden lest the Muslims  should  rejoice at their affliction.
MADINAH RECEIVES THE NEWS OF VICTORY:
Two heralds, ‘Abdullah bin Rawahah and Zaid bin Harithah were despatched to Madinah, to convey the  glad tidings of victory to the Muslims there.
The multi-ethnic and ideological structure of Madinah featured different respective reactions.
Rumourmongers  amongst the Jews and hypocrites spread news to the effect that the Prophet (Peace be upon  him) had been killed, and tried to impress their false assumption on the fact that Zaid bin Harithah  was  riding Al-Qaswâ’, the Prophet’s she-camel. Having reached, the two messengers imparted to the
Muslims the happy news of victory, and furnished accurate information about the course of events in  order to establish the sense of reassurance deep in the hearts of the anxious, but now, joyous
Muslims.
They immediately started acclaiming Allâh’s Name and entertaining His praise at the top of their  voices.
Their chiefs went out of the city to wait and receive the Prophet (Peace be upon him) on the road  leading to Badr.