of these tribes suffer aggression, then the party to which it was allied would have the right to  retaliate.
As a consequence, Banu Bakr joined Quraish, and Khuza'ah joined the Prophet peace be upon him.
They thus lived in peace for sometime but ulterior motives stretching back to pre-Islamic period  ignited  by unabated fire of revenge triggered fresh hostilities. Banu Bakr, without caring a bit for the  provisions  of the treaty, attacked Banu Khuza'ah in a place called Al -Wateer in Sha'ban, 8 A.H. Quraish helped
Banu Bakr with men and arms taking advantage of the dark night. Pressed by their enemies, the  tribesmen of Khuza'ah sought the Holy Sanctuary, but here too, their lives were not spared, and,  contrary to all accepted traditions, Nawfal, the chief of Banu Bakr, chasing them in the sanctified area
-  where no blood should be shed - massacred his adversaries.
When the aggrieved party sought justice from their Muslim allies, the Prophet peace be upon him, as  their leader, demanded an immediate redress for not only violating the treaty but also slaying men  allied to him in the sanctified area. Three demands were made, the acceptance of any one of them  was  imperative:
a) to pay blood money for the victims of Khuza'ah,
b) to terminate their alliance with Banu Bakr; or
c) to consider the truce to have been nullified.
This behaviour on the part of Quraish was clearly a breach of the treaty of Al-Hudaibiyah and was  obviously an act of hostility against the allies of the Muslims, i.e. Banu Khuza'ah. Quraish immediately  realized the grave situation and feared the horrible consequences looming on the horizon. They  immediately called for an emergency meeting and decided to delegate their chief Abu Sufyan to
Madinah for a renewal of the truce. He directly headed for the house of his daughter Umm Habiba (the
Prophets  ' wife). But as he went to sit on the Messenger's carpet, she folded it up. "My daughter," said  he, "I hardly knew if you think the carpet is too good for me or that I am too good for the carpet." She  replied, "It is the Messenger of Allâhs  ' carpet , and you are an unclean polytheist."
Being disgusted at the curt reply of his daughter, Abu Sufyan stepped out of her room and went to see  the Prophet peace be upon him, but the latter was well aware of his tricks and did not hold him any  assurance. He then approached Abu Bakr, but the latter too declined to interfere. He contacted U ' mar  to intercede but this great Companion made a point-blank refusal. At last he saw A ' li bin Abi Talib and  began begging him in the most humble words, cunningly alluding to the prospects of mastery over all  the Arabs if he were to intercede for the renewal of the treaty. A ' li also briefly regretted his inability to  do anything for him. Abu Sufyan turned his steps back to Makkah in a state of bitter disappointment  and utter horror. There he submitted a report of his meeting with his daughter, Abu Bakr, U ' mar and
A ' lis  ' reaction and the meaningful silence of the Prophet. The Makkans were dismayed, but did not  expect imminent danger.
Preparations for the Attack on Makkah, and the Prophet's Attempt at imposing a News
Blackout:
On the authority of At-Tabari, the Messenger of Allâh peace be upon him asked A ' ishah     , his  spouse three days prior to receiving news relating to breaching of covenant, to make preparations  peculiar to marching out for war. Abu Bakr, meanwhile, came in and asked A ' ishah     what the  matter was, showing surprise at the preparations being made as it was not, as he said, the usual time  for war. She replied that she had no idea. On the morning of the third day 'Amr bin Sâlim Al -Khuza'i  arrived in the company of forty horsemen to brief the Prophet peace be upon him on the plight of his  people and seeking the Muslims' help for retaliation. People of Madinah then got to know that Quraish  had breached the covenant. Budail followed A ' mr, and then Abu Sufyan and the news was  unequivocally  confirmed.
With view of securing a complete news black-out concerning his military intentions, the Prophet peace  be upon him despatched an eight-men platoon under the leadership of Qatadah bin Rabi' in the  direction of Edam, a short distance from Madinah, in Ramadan 8 A.H., in order to divert the attention  of  people and screen off the main target with which he was preoccupied.
There was so much dread and fear everywhere that Hatib, one of the most trusted followers of the
Prophet peace be upon him secretly despatched a female messenger with a letter to Makkah  containing