Hadith #149

Arabic Text

English Translation

It was narrated from Abu Hurayra (رضي الله عنه) — via Sulayman ibn Dawud, from Ibrahim ibn Sa'd, from al-Zuhri, from 'Amr ibn Usayd ibn Jariya al-Thaqafi, an ally of Banu Zuhra and a companion of Abu Hurayra — that Abu Hurayra said: "the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent ten men as scouts and appointed 'Asim ibn Thabit ibn Abi al-Aqlah, the grandfather of 'Asim ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, as their leader. They set out until they reached al-Hadda between 'Usfan and Makka, where they were reported to a clan of Hudhayl called Banu Lihyan. About a hundred archers pursued them, tracking their footprints until they found date pits at a camp and said: 'These are dates of Yathrib.' They followed their tracks. When 'Asim and his companions were alerted, they took refuge on a hillock. The people surrounded them and said: 'Come down and surrender, and we pledge not to kill any of you.' 'Asim ibn Thabit, the leader, said: 'As for me, by Allah, I will not come down under the protection of a disbeliever. O Allah, inform Your Prophet (ﷺ) about us.' They shot arrows at them and killed 'Asim among seven others. Three men came down on their pledge: Khubayb al-Ansari, Zayd ibn al-Dathina, and another man. When they got hold of them, they untied their bowstrings and bound them. The third man said: 'This is the first act of treachery. By Allah, I will not accompany you. These men are my example' — meaning those killed. They dragged him and tried to force him, but he refused, so they killed him. They took Khubayb and Zayd ibn al-Dathina and sold them in Makka after the Battle of Badr. Banu al-Harith ibn 'Amir ibn Nawfal ibn 'Abd Manaf bought Khubayb, as he had killed al-Harith ibn 'Amir at Badr. Khubayb remained their prisoner until they decided to execute him. He borrowed a razor from one of al-Harith's daughters to shave for the execution. She lent it to him, and her young son crawled to him while she was inattentive. She found Khubayb sitting him on his lap with the razor in his hand. She was terrified, and Khubayb noticed her fear. He said: 'Do you fear I will kill him? I would never do that.' She said: 'By Allah, I never saw a prisoner better than Khubayb.' She said: 'By Allah, I found him one day eating a bunch of grapes while he was shackled in iron, and there was not a single fruit in Makka.' She used to say it was provision from Allah to Khubayb. When they took him out of the sacred precinct to kill him in the profane area, Khubayb said: 'Let me pray two rak'as.' They let him, and he prayed two rak'as, then said: 'By Allah, were it not that you would think I was afraid of death, I would have prayed more. O Allah, count them one by one, kill them individually, and leave none of them.' Then he recited: 'I do not care when I am killed as a Muslim, on which side I fall for the sake of Allah. That is for the sake of God, and if He wills, He will bless the scattered limbs of a dismembered body.' Then Abu Sir'wa 'Uqba ibn al-Harith stood up and killed him. Khubayb was the first to establish the practice of two rak'as for every Muslim killed in captivity. Allah (عز وجل) answered 'Asim ibn Thabit's prayer on the day he was killed. the Messenger of Allah ﷺ informed his Companions of their fate on the day they were struck. Some Quraysh sent men to 'Asim's body to bring back something recognizable, as he had killed one of their chiefs at Badr. But Allah (عز وجل) sent a swarm of wasps like a canopy over 'Asim, protecting him from their messengers, and they could not take anything from him."