Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith

Son of al-Ḥārith, the eldest son of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, and thus a first cousin and childhood companion of the Prophet ﷺ. In the Meccan years he turned poet against the message, composing verse that mocked and slandered the Prophet ﷺ, the sharpest weapon of that age. As the army neared Makkah he rode out with his young son and, refused an audience at first, would not leave until the Prophet ﷺ relented; his poem confessing "a guide other than myself guided me to Allah" drew a brotherly tap to the chest and the words, "Yes, you repelled me at every turn." He proved his faith afterward, standing firm at Ḥunayn when others fled.