The Book of Jihad and Expeditions Hadith

Do not scatter the dust over us (Not minding this remark), the Prophet (ﷺ) greeted them, stopped, got down from his animal, invited them to Allah, and recited to them the Qur’an. ‘Abdullah b. Ubayy said: O man, if what you say is the truth, the best thing for you would be not to bother us with it in our assemblies. Get back to your place. Whoso comes to you from us, tell him (all) this. Abdullah b. Rawaha said: Come to us in our gatherings, for we love (to hear) it. The narrator says: (At this), the Muslims, the polytheists and the Jews began to rebuke one another until they were determined to come to blows. The Prophet (ﷺ) continued to pacify them. (When they were pacified), he rode his animal and came to Sa’d b. ‘Ubida. He said: Sa’d, haven’t you heard what Abu Hubab (meaning ‘Abdullah b. Ubayy) has said? He has said so and so. Sa’d said: Messenger of Allah, forgive and pardon. God has granted you a sublime position, (but so far as he is concerned) the people of this settlement had-decided to make him their king by making him wear a crown and a turban (in token thereof), but God has circumvented this by the truth He has granted you. This has made him jealous and his jealousy (must have) prompted the behaviour that you have witnessed. So, the Prophet (may peace upon him) forgave him.

” Before Abdullah (b. Ubayy) became a Muslim.”

Would that you approached Abdullah b. Ubayy (to persuade him to accept Islam). The Prophet (ﷺ) (accordingly) went to him, riding a donkey, and (a party of) Muslims also went (with him). On the way they had to walk over a piece of land affected with salinity. When the Prophet (ﷺ) approached him, he said: Do not come near me. By Allah, the obnoxious smell of your donkey has offended me. (As a rejoinder to this remark), a man from the Ansar said: By God, the smell of the donkey of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is better than your smell. (At this), a man from the tribe of ‘Abdullah got furious. Then people from both sides got furious and exchanged blows with sticks, hands and shoes. (The narrator says) that (after this scuffle) we learnt that (the Qur’anic verse):” It two parties of the Believers have a quarrel, make ye peace between them” (xlix. 9) was revealed about these fighting parties.

Who will ascertain for us what has happened to Abu Jahl? Ibn Mas’ud went (to gather this information). He found that the two sons of ‘Afra’ had struck him and he lay cold at the point of death. He caught him by his beard and said: Art thou Abu Jahl? He said: is there anybody superior to the person you have killed, or (he said) his people have killed him. Ibn Mas’ud says that, according to Abu Mijlaz, Abu Jahl said: Alas! a person other than a farmer would have killed me.

A similar tradition has been transmitted by a different chain of narrators, on the same authority with a slight difference In the wording.

Who will kill Ka’b b. Ashraf? He has maligned Allah, the Exalted, and His Messenger. Muhammad b. Maslama said: Messenger of Allah, do you wish that I should kill him? He said: Yes. He said: Permit me to talk (to him in the way I deem fit). He said: Talk (as you like). So, Muhammad b. Maslama came to Ka’b and talked to him, referred to the old friendship between them and said: This man (i. e. the Holy Prophet) has made up his mind to collect charity (from us) and this has put us to a great hardship. When be heard this, Ka’b said: By God, you will be put to more trouble by him. Muhammad b. Maslama said: No doubt, now we have become his followers and we do not like to forsake him until we see what turn his affairs will take. I want that you should give me a loan. He said: What will you mortgage? He said: What do you want? He said: Pledge me your women. He said: You are the most handsome of the Arabs; should we pledge our women to you? He said: Pledge me your children. He said: The son of one of us may abuse us saying that he was pledged for two wasqs of dates, but we can pledge you (cur) weapons. He said: All right. Then Muhammad b. Maslama promised that he would come to him with Harith, Abu ‘Abs b. Jabr and Abbad b. Bishr. So they came and called upon him at night. He came down to them. Sufyan says that all the narrators except ‘Amr have stated that his wife said: I hear a voice which sounds like the voice of murder. He said: It is only Muhammad b. Maslama and his foster-brother, Abu Na’ila. When a gentleman is called at night even it to be pierced with a spear, he should respond to the call. Muhammad said to his companions: As he comes down, I will extend my hands towards his head and when I hold him fast, you should do your job. So when he came down and he was holding his cloak under his arm, they said to him: We sense from you a very fine smell. He said: Yes, I have with me a mistress who is the most scented of the women of Arabia. He said: Allow me to smell (the scent on your head). He said: Yes, you may smell. So he caught it and smelt. Then he said: Allow me to do so (once again). He then held his head fast and said to his companions: Do your job. And they killed him.

God is Great. Khaibar shall face destruction. When we descend in the city-square of a people, it is a bad day for them who have been warned (and have not taken heed). He said these words thrice. The people of the town had just come out from (their houses) to go about their jobs. They said (in surprise): Muhammad has come. We captured Khaibar by force.

I was riding behind Abu Talha on the day of the Battle of Khaibar (and we were riding so close to the Prophet that) my foot would touch his We encountered the people at sunrise when they had come out with their axes, spades and strings driving their cattle along. They shouted (in surprise): Muhammad has come along with his force! The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Khaibar shall face destruction. Behold! when we descend in the city-square of a people, it is a bad day for those who have been warned (but have not taken heed). Allah, the Glorious and Majestic, inflicted defeat upon them.

This hadith has been transmitted on the authority of Anas b. Malik with a slight variation of words.

We marched upon Khaibar with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). We journeyed during the night. One of the people said to (my brother) ‘Amir b. al-Akwa’: Won’t you recite to us some of your verses? Amir was a poet. So he began to chant his verses to urge the camels, reciting: O God, if Thou hadst not guided us We would have neither been guided rightly nor practised charity, Nor offered prayers. We wish to lay down our lives for Thee; so forgive Thou our lapses, And keep us steadfast when we encounter (our enemies). Bestow upon us peace and tranquillity. Behold, when with a cry they called upon us to help. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Who is this driver (of the camels)? They said: It is ‘Amir. He said: God will show mercy to him. A man said: Martyrdom is reserved for him. Messenger of Allah, would that you had allowed us to benefit ourselves from his life. (The narrator says): We reached Khaibar and besieged them, and (we continued the siege) until extreme hunger afflicted us. Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Behold, God has conquered it for you. When it was evening of the day on which the city was conquered. the Muslims lit many fires. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: What are these fires? And what are they cooking? They said: They are cooking meat. He asked. Which meat? They said: That of domestic asses. He said: Let them throw it away and break the pots (in which it is being cooked). A man said: Or should they throw it away and wash the pots? He said: They may do that. When the people drew themselves up in battle array ‘Amir caught hold of his sword that was rather short He drove a Jew before him to strike him with it. (As he struck him), his sword recoiled and struck his own knee, and ‘Amir died of the wound. When the people returned (after the conquest of Kliaibar) and he (Salama) had caught hold of my hand, and said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw that I was silent (and dejected) ; he said: What’s the matter with thee? I said to him: My father and my mother be thy ransom, people presume that ‘Amir’s sacrifice has been in vain. He asked: Who has said that? I said: So and so and Usaid b. Hudair al-Ansari. He said: Who has said that has lied. For him (for ‘Amir) there is a double reward. (He indicated this by putting two of his fingers together.) He was a devotee of God and a warrior fighting for His cause. There will be hardly any Arab who can fight as bravely as he did. Qutaiba has differed in a few words.

On the day of the Battle of Khaibar my brother fought a fierce fight by the side of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). His sword rebounded and killed him. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon hill) talked about his death and doubted (whether it was martyrdom). (They said): (He is) a man killed by his own weapon, and expressed doubt about his affair. Salama said: When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) returned from Khaibar, I said: Messenger of Allah, permit me that I may recite to you some rajaz verses. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) permitted him. ‘Umar b. Khattab said: I know what you will recite. I recited: By God, if God had guided us not, We would hive neither been guided aright nor practised charity, Nor offered prayers. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: What you have said is true, ‘I (continued): And descend on us peace and tranquillity And keep us steadfast if we encounter (with our enemies) And the polytheists have rebelled against us. When I finished my rajaz, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Who composed these verses? I said: They were composed by my brother. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: May God show mercy to him! I said: By God, some people are reluctant to invoke God’s mercy on him (because) they say he is a man who died by his own sword. (Hearing this) the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: He died as God’s devotee and warrior. Ibn Shihab has said: I asked one of the sons of Salama (b. Akwa’) about (the death of ‘Amir). He related to me a similar tradition except that he said: When I said some people were reluctant invoke God’s blessings on him, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be, upon him said: They lied. (‘Amir) died as God’s devotee and warrior (in the cause of Allah). For him there is a double reward, and he pointed out this by putting his two fingers together.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was carrying the earth with us on the Day of Ahzab and the whiteness of his belly had been covered with earth. (While engaged in this toil) he was reciting: By God, if Thou hadst not guided us We would have neither been guided aright nor practised charity, Nor offered prayers. Descend on us peace and tranquillity. Behold I these people (the Meccans) refused to follow us. According to another version, he recited: The chieftains (of the tribes) refused to follow us When they contemplated mischief, we rejected it. And with this (verse) he would raise his voice.

I heard from Bara’ a similar tradition except that he said:” These people (the Meccans) rebelled against us.”

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to us while we were digging the ditch and were carrying the earth on our shoulders. (Seeing our condition), he said: O God, there is no life but the life of the Hereafter. So forgive Thou the Muhajirs and the Ansar.

O God, there is no life, but the life of the Hereafter, So forgive Thou the Ansar and the Muhajirs.

O God, there is no life but the life of the Hereafter, So grant honour to the Ansar and the Muhajirs.

O God, there is no good but the good of the Hereafter. So help Thou the Ansar and the Muhajirs. Shaiban substituted” So forgive Thou” for” So help Thou”.

We are those who have sworn allegiance to Muhammad (And made a covenant with him) to follow Islam as long as we live. Hammad is not sure whether Anas said:” Ala’l-Islam” or,” Ala’l-Jihad”. And the Prophet (ﷺ) was chanting: O God, the real good is the good of the Hereafter, So forgive Thou the Ansar and the Muhajirs.

I went out before the Adhan for the morning prayer had been delivered. The milch she-camels of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) were grazing at Dhu Qarad. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Auf’s slave met me and said: The milch she-camels of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had been taken away. I said: Who has taken them away? He said: (the people belonging to the tribe of) Ghatafan. I cried thrice: Help! I made the whole city between the two lavas hear my cry. Then I ran straight in their pursuit until I overtook them at Dhu Qarad where they were just going to water their animals. I, being an archer, began to shoot them with my arrows and was saying: I am the son of al-Akwa’. And today is the day when the cowards will meet their doom. I continued to chant until I rescued the milch she-camels from them, and snatched from them thirty mantles. Now, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and some other people came along. I said: Prophet of Allah, I have prevented them from water while they were thirsty. So you should send a force (to punish them). He (the Holy Prophet) said: Ibn al-Akwa’, you have taken (what, you have taken). Now let them go. Then we returned and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) made me mount behind him on his she-camel until we entered Medina.

We arrived at Hudaibiya with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and we were fourteen hundred in number. There were fifty goats for them which could not be watered (by the small quantity of water in the local well). So, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sat on the brink of the well. Either he prayed or spat into the well The water welled up. We drank and watered (the beasts as well). Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) called us to take the vow of allegiance, as he was sitting at the base of a tree. I was the first man to take the vow. Then other people took the vow. When half the number of people had done so, he said to me: You take the vow, Salama. I said: I was one of those who took the vow in the first instance. He said: (You may do) again. Then the Messenger. of Allah (ﷺ) saw that I was without weapons. He gave me a big or a small shield. Then he continued to administer vows to the people until it was the last batch of them. He said (to me): Won’t you swear allegiance, Salama? I said: Messenger of Allah, I took the oath with the first batch of the people and then again when you were in the middle of the people. He said: (Doesn’t matter), you may (do so) again. So I took the oath of allegiance thrice. Then he said to me: Salama, where is the shield which I gave to thee? I said: Messenger of Allah, my uncle ‘Amir met me and he was without any weapons. So I gave the shield to him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) laughed and said: You are like a person of the days gone by who said: O God. I seek a friend who is dearer to me than myself. (When all Companions had sworn allegiance to the Holy Prophet), the polytheists sent messages of peace, until people could move from our camp to that of the Meccans and vice versa. Finally, the peace treaty was concluded. I was a dependant of Talha b. Ubaidullah. I watered his horse, rubbed its back. I served Talha (doing odd jobs for him) and partook from his food. I had left my family and my property as an emigrant in the cause of Allah and His Messenger (may peace be uron him). When we and the people of Mecca had concluded a peace treaty and the people of one side began to mix with those of the other, I came to a tree, swept away its thorns and lay down (for rest) at its base; (while I lay there), four of the polytheists from the Meccans came to me and began to talk ill of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I got enraged with them and moved to another tree. They hung their weapons (to the branches of the tree) and lay down (for rest). (While they lay there), somebody from the lower part of the valley cried out: Run up, O Muhajirs! Ibn Zunaim has been murdered. I drew my sword and attacked these four while they were asleep. I seized their arms and collected them up in my hand, and said: By the Being Who has conferred honour upon Muhammad, none of you shall raise his head, else I will smite his face. (Then) I came driving them along to the Prophet (ﷺ). (At the same time). my uncle Amir came (to him) with a man from” Abalat called Mikraz. Amir was dragging him on a horse with a thick covering on its back along with seventy polytheists. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) cast a glance at them and said: Let them go (so that) they may prove guilty of breach of trust more than once (before we take action against them). So the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forgave them. On this occasion. God revealed the Qur’anic verse:” It is He Who restrained their hands from you and your hands from them in the valley of Mecca after He had granted you a victory over them” (xlviii. 24). Then we moved returning to Medina, and halted at a place where there was a mountain between us and Banu Lihyan who were polytheists. The Messenaer of Allah (ﷺ) asked God’s forgiveness for one who ascended the mountain at night to act as a scout for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and his Compinions. I ascended (that mountain) twice or thrice that night. (At last) we reached Medina. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent his camels with his slave, Rabah, and I was with him. I (also) went to the pasture with the horse of Talha along with the camels. When the day dawned, Abd al-Rahman al-Fazari made a raid and drove away all the camels of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and killed the man who looked after them. I said: Rabah, ride this horse, take it to Talha b. ‘Ubaidullah and Inform the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that the polytheists have made away with his camels. Then I stood upon a hillock and turning my face to Medina, shouted thrice: Come to our help I Then I set out in pursuit of the raiders, shooting at them with arrows and chanting a (self-eulogatory) verse in the Iambic metre: I am the son of al-Akwa’ And today is the day of defeat for the mean. I would overtake a man from them, shoot at him an arrow which, piercing through the saddle, would reach his shoulder. and I would say: Take it, chanting at the same time the verse And I am the son of al-Akwa’ And tody is the day of defeat for the mean. By God, I continued shooting at them and hamstringing their animals. Whenever a horseman turned upon me, I would come to a tree and (hid myself) sitting at its base. Then I would shoot at him and hamstring his horse. (At last) they entered a narrow mountain gorge. I ascended that mountain and held them at bay throwing stones at them. I continued to chase them in this way until I got all the camels of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) released and no camel was left with them. They left me; then I followed them shooting at them (continually) until they dropped more than thirty mantles and thirty lances. lightening their burden. On everything they dropped, I put a mark with the help of (a piece of) stone so that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and his Companions might recognise them (that it was booty left by the enemy). (They went on) until They came to a narrow valley when so and so, son of Badr al-Fazari joined them. They (now) sat down to take their breakfast and I sat on the top of a tapering rock. Al-Fazari said: Who is that fellow I am seeing? They said: This fellow has harassed us. By God, he has not left us since dusk and has been (continually) shooting at us until he has snatched everything from our hands. He said: Four of you should make a dash at him (and kill him). (Accordingly), four of them ascended the mountain coming towards me. When it became possible for me to talk to them, I said: Do you recognise me? They said: No. Who are thou? I said: I am Salama, son of al-Akwa’. By the Being Who has honoured the countenance of Muhammad (ﷺ) I can kill any of you I like but none of you will be able to kill me. One of them said: I think (he is right). So they returned. I did not move from my place until I saw the horsemen of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), who came riding through the trees. Lo! the foremost among them was Akhram al-Asadi. Behind him was Abu Qatada al-Ansari and behind him was al-Miqdad b. al-Aswad al-Kindi. I caught hold of the rein of Akhram’s horse (Seeing this). they (the raiders) fled. I said (to Akhram): Akhram, guard yourself against them until Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and his Companions join you. He said: ) Salama, if you believe In Allah and the Day of Judgment and (if) you kaow that Paradise is a reality and Hell is a reality, you should not stand between me and martyrdom. so I let him go. Akhram and Abd al-Rahman (Fazari) met in combat. Akhram hamstrung Abd al-Rahman’s horse and the latter struck him with his lance and killed him. Abd al-Rabman turned about riding Akhram’s horse. Abu Qatada, a horse-man of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), met ‘Abd al-Rahman (in combat), smote him with his lance and killed him. By the Being Who honoured the countenance of Muhammad (may peace oe upon him), I followed them running on my feet (so fast) that I couldn’t see behind me the Companions of Muhammad (ﷺ), nor any dust raised by their horses. (I followed them) until before sunset they reached a valley which had a spring of water, which was called Dhu Qarad, so that they could have a drink, for they were thirsty. They saw me running towards them. I turned them out of the valley before they could drink a drop of its water. They left the valley and ran down a slope. I ran (behind them), overtook a man from them, shot him with an arrow through the shoulder blade and said: Take this. I am the son of al-Akwa’; and today is the day of annihilation for the people who are mean. The fellow (who was wounded) said: May his mother weep over him! Are you the Akwa’ who has been chasing us since morning? I said: Yes, O enemy of thyself, the same Akwa’. They left two horses dead tired on the hillock and I came dragging them along to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I met ‘Amir who had with him a container having milk diluted with water and a container having water. I performed ablution with the water and drank the milk. Then I came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) while he was at (the spring of) water from which I had driven them away. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had captured those camels and everything else I had captured and all the lances and mantles I had snatched from the polytheists and Bilal had slaughtered a she-camel from the camels I had seized from the people, and was roasting its liver and hump for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I said: Messenger of Allah, let me select from our people one hundred men and I will follow the marauders and I will finish them all so that nobody is left to convey the news (of their destruction to their people). (At these words of mine), the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) laughed so much that his molar teeth could be seen in the light of the fire, and he said: Salama, do you think you can do this? I said: Yes, by the Being Who has honoured you. He said: Now they have reached the land of Ghatafan where they are being feted. (At this time) a man from the Ghatafan came along and said: So and so slaughtered a camel for them. When they were exposing its skin, they saw dust (being raised far off). They said: They (Akwa’ and his companions) have come. So. they went away fleeing. When it was morning, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Our best horseman today is Abu Qatada and our best footman today is Salama. Then he gave me two shares of the booty-the share meant for the horseman and the share meant for the footman, and combined both of them for me. Intending to return to Medina, he made me mount behind him on his she-camel named al-Adba’. While we were travelling, a man from the Ansar who could not be beaten in a race said: Is there anyone who could compete (with me) in race to Medina? Is there any competitor? He continued repeating this. When I heard his talk, I said: Don’t you show consideration to a dignified person and don’t you have awe for a noble man? He said: No, unless he be the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I said: Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be thy ransom, let me get down so that I may beat this man (in the race). He said: It you wish, (you may). I said (to the man): I am coming to thee, I then turned my feet. sprang up and tan and gasped (for a while) when one or two elevated places were left and again followed his heel and again gasped (for a while) when one or two elevated places were left and again dashed until I joined him and gave a blow between his shoulders. I said: You have been overtaken, by God. He said: I think so. Thus, I reached Medina ahead of him. By God, we had stayed there only three nights when we set out to Khaibar with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). (On the way) my uncle, Amir, began to recite the following rajaz verses for the people: By God, if Thou hadst not guided us aright, We would have neither practised charity nor offered prayers. (O God! ) We cannot do without Thy favours; Keep us steadfast when we encounter the enemy, And descend tranquillity upon us. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Who is this? ‘Amir said: it is ‘Amir. He said: May thy God forgive thee! The narrator said: Whenever the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked forgiveness for a particular person, he was sure to embrace martyrdom. Umar b. Khattab who was riding on his camel called out: Prophet of Allah, I wish you had allowed us to benefit from Amir. Salama continued: When we reached Khaibar, its king named Marhab advanced brandishing his sword and chanting: Khaibar knows that I am Marhab (who behaves like) A fully armed, and well-tried warrior. When the war comes spreading its flames. My uncle, Amir, came out to combat with him, saying: Khaibar certainly knows that I am ‘Amir, A fully armed veteran who plunges into battles. They exchanged blows. Marbab’s sword struck the shield of ‘Amir who bent forward to attack his opponent from below, but his sword recoiled upon him and cut the main artery: in his forearm which caused his death. Salama said: I came out and heard some people among the Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) saying: Amir’s deed has been wasted; he has killed himself. So I came to the Prophet (ﷺ) weeping and I said: Messenger of Allah. Amir’s deed has been wasted. The Messenger (ﷺ) said: Who passed this remark? I said: Some of your Companions. He said: He who has passed that remark has told a lie, for ‘Amir there is a double reward. Then he sent me to ‘Ali who had sore eyes, and said: I will give the banner to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger or whom Allah and His Messenger love. So I went to ‘Ali, brought him beading him along and he had sore eyes, and I took him to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), who applied his saliva to his eyes and he got well. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave him the banner (and ‘Ali went to meet Marhab in a single combat). The latter advanced chanting: Khaibar knows certainly that I am Marhab, A fully armed and well-tried valorous warrior (hero) When war comes spreading its flames. ‘Ali chanted in reply: I am the one whose mother named him Haidar, (And am) like a lion of the forest with a terror-striking countenance. I give my opponents the measure of sandara in exchange for sa’ (i. e. return thir attack with one that is much more fierce). The narrator said: ‘Ali struck at the head of Mirhab and killed him, so the victory (capture of Khaibar) was due to him. This long tradition has also been handed down Through a different chain of transmitters.

This hadith has been transmitted on the authority of ‘Ikrama b. Ammar.