Hadith #103

Arabic Text

English Translation

Abū al-Naḍr narrated to us, he said: ʿIkrimah narrated to us, he said: Iyās ibn Salamah narrated to me, he said: my father informed me, saying: My uncle dueled Marḥab the Jew on the day of Khaybar. Marḥab said: "Khaybar knows that I am Marḥab, fully armed, a proven warrior — when the wars come blazing." My uncle ʿĀmir said: "Khaybar knows that I am ʿĀmir, fully armed, a daring warrior." They exchanged two blows: Marḥab's sword fell on ʿĀmir's shield, and he went to strike low, but the sword recoiled onto his own shin and severed his artery, and he died from it. Salamah ibn al-Akwaʿ said: I met some of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ and they said: ʿĀmir's deeds are nullified — he killed himself. Salamah said: I came to the Prophet ﷺ of Allāh ﷺ weeping and said: O Messenger of Allāh, ʿĀmir's deeds are nullified! He said: "Who said that?" I said: Some of your companions. The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: "Whoever said that has lied. Rather, he has his reward twice. When he set out for Khaybar, he was chanting rajaz for the companions of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ — and among them was the Prophet ﷺ — driving the riding animals, saying: 'By Allāh, were it not for Allāh we would not have been guided, nor given charity, nor prayed. Those who have transgressed against us — when they intended fitnah, we refused. We are never free of need for Your bounty. So make firm our feet if we meet [the enemy], and send down tranquility upon us.'" The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: "Who is this?" He said: ʿĀmir, O Messenger of Allāh. He said: "May your Lord forgive you." And never did he seek forgiveness for a person specifically except that person was martyred. When ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb heard that, he said: O Messenger of Allāh, if only you had let us benefit from ʿĀmir longer. Then he went forth and was martyred. Salamah said: Then the Prophet ﷺ of Allāh ﷺ sent me to ʿAlī and said: "I will surely give the banner today to a man who loves Allāh and His Messenger — or whom Allāh and His Messenger love." So I brought him, leading him while he had sore eyes. the Prophet ﷺ of Allāh ﷺ spat in his eye, then gave him the banner. Marḥab came out strutting with his sword, saying: "Khaybar knows that I am Marḥab, fully armed, a proven warrior — when the wars come blazing." ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib — may Allāh honor his face — said: "I am the one my mother named Ḥaydarah [lion], like a lion of the thickets, fearsome in appearance. I repay them measure for measure, the measure of Sandarah." He split Marḥab's head with the sword, and the conquest came at his hands.