In Ramadan in this year, a delegation from Thaqeef arrived at Medinah to seek reconciliation for their people and ask for their families to be returned safely to them [The Prophet’s Biography by Ibn Katheer]. That was after Urwah ibn Masoud Al-Thaqafi had gone to P and embraced Islam. He then returned to his people and called them to Islam, but they shot arrows at him, one of which hit him and resulted in his death. After that, the people realized they they did not have the ability to fight the Arabs around them who had embraced Islam.
The Thaqeef delegation included six senior men from Banu Malik and their allies, led by Abd-Yalail ibn Amr [The Prophet’s Biography by Ibn Hesham]. When they arrived in Medinah, Abu Bakr told the the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) of their arrival. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave them a place to stay in the mosque, where he put up a tent for them so they could listen to the Quran and see the people when they pray in order to soften their hearts. This continued until they embraced Islam. During their stay, Bilal used to bring them breakfast [History of Islam by Al-Dhahabi]. They returned to their homes, but they did not tell their people about what had really happened. They just frightened them by telling them to expect war and conflicts etc.
The people of Thaqeef took the stance of the days of ignorance, and so for two or three days they intended to fight the Muslims. However, Allah then cast fear in their hearts. As a result, they told the delegation to return to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and give him what he wants. The delegation then told them the truth, so all of Thaqeef followed them and embraced Islam.
