The Man on the Red Camel

So now the two armies were facing each other before battle. One of the disbelievers of Quraysh was riding a red camel, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Whatever good may be in them resides in the man mounted on the red camel — if they were to obey him, they would be well guided." He was referring to ʿUtbah ibn Rabīʿah. Quraysh had sent ʿUmayr ibn Wahb to scout the Muslim army and try to estimate how large the force was. He went forth, and he came back and said, "What I saw, O Quraysh, was camels bearing death — they are people whose only aid and refuge is their swords. I swear I do not foresee any of them being killed before he kills one of you, and if they do kill of you a number equal to their own, what good will it be to live after that? Consider carefully." He had seen that the Muslim army was not large, it was quite a small force, but when he looked into their faces he saw death — he saw men willing to die — and he said, "These are men who have no refuge but their swords." In another description, one of the other disbelievers said something to the effect of, "I saw men who are fixed to the backs of their camels, like snakes" — meaning they were fixed to the backs of their camels, their bodies swinging and twisting with the movement of those camels the way a snake moves in stealth, without making any sound, moving silently — and they were carrying their weapons with them, sun-baked skin, thin, and holding firm to their weapons; it was a dreadful scene. And he too came back saying that these were men ready to die.