On the day of Hunayn we travelled with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and we journeyed for a long time until the evening came, and I attended the prayer with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). A horseman came and said: O Messenger of Allah, I went ahead between your hands until I climbed such and such a mountain, and there I was with Hawazin upon the backup of their fathers, with their baggage, their livestock, and their sheep, having gathered at Hunayn. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) smiled and said: That will be the booty of the Muslims tomorrow, if Allah wills. Then he said: Who will guard us tonight?
Anas ibn Abi Marthad al-Ghanawi said: I, O Messenger of Allah. He said: Then mount. So he mounted a horse of his and came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to him: Face this ravine until you are at its upper part, and let us not be surprised from your direction tonight.
When morning came, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went out to his place of prayer and prayed two rak'ahs, then said: Have you sensed your horseman? They said: O Messenger of Allah, we have not sensed him. The call to prayer was proclaimed, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) began praying while glancing towards the ravine, until when he finished his prayer and gave the salutation, he said: Rejoice, for your horseman has come. So we began looking through the gaps of the trees in the ravine, and behold, he had come, until he stood by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and greeted him, saying: I went out until I was at the upper part of this ravine where the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commanded me, and when morning came, I overlooked the two ravines, both of them, and looked, but I did not see anyone.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to him: Did you dismount during the night? He said: No, except to pray or to answer a call of nature. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to him: You have earned it [Paradise], and it is no harm for you not to do any work after it.