Crossing the Valley of Thorns

Since Khalid ibn al-Walid's force blocked the direct road, the Prophet ﷺ asked whether anyone could guide the caravan by another route to Makkah; a sahabi came forward who knew the way. The alternate path passed through a valley thick with thorns and volcanic rock that cut the sahaba's feet as they walked. The Prophet ﷺ encouraged them, likening the valley to the gate the Children of Israel were commanded to enter humbly, and announced that everyone who passed through it would have all his sins forgiven, except for "the man with the red camel." The sahaba searched and found a Bedouin at the back of the caravan calling out that he had lost his red camel; when they urged him to come to the Prophet ﷺ so he might be included in the forgiveness, he replied that finding his camel mattered more to him than having his sins forgiven, revealing the hypocrisy in his heart. The caravan crossed the valley and, as night fell, reached the plain of Hudaybiyyah.