English Translation

Iyas ibn Salamah says: My father (Salamah ibn al-Akwa) (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to me, saying: We reached Hudaybiyyah with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and we were fourteen hundred men (this is the well-known narration; in one narration thirteen hundred, and in one narration fifteen hundred), and there were fifty goats there which the water of the well could not satisfy (that is, so little water was there). Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sat on the edge of the well and either supplicated or put his blessed saliva into the well, and at that very moment it gushed forth. Then we ourselves drank, and we also watered the animals. After that the Prophet (peace be upon him) called us to give allegiance at the foot of a tree. (This tree is called the Tree of Ridwan, and this tree is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an.) I was the very first of the people to give allegiance to him (peace be upon him). Then he (peace be upon him) kept taking allegiance until about half the men had done so, and at that time he (peace be upon him) said, "O Salamah! Give allegiance." I submitted, "O Messenger of Allah! I have already given allegiance among the first." He (peace be upon him) said, "Then again as well." And he (peace be upon him) saw me unarmed (without weapon), so he gave me a large or a small shield. Then he (peace be upon him) began taking allegiance until the people were coming to an end. At that time he (peace be upon him) said, "O Salamah! Will you not give me allegiance?" I submitted, "O Messenger of Allah! I have already given you allegiance among the first of the people, then among the middle ones as well." So he (peace be upon him) said, "Then again." So I gave allegiance to him (peace be upon him) a third time. Then he (peace be upon him) said, "O Salamah! Where is your large or small shield that I gave you?" I submitted, "O Messenger of Allah! My uncle Amir met me and he was unarmed, so I gave it to him." Hearing this he (peace be upon him) laughed and said, "Your likeness is that of the former man who supplicated, 'O Allah! Give me a friend whom I love more than my own life.'" Then the polytheists sent messages of peace, until men from each side began going to the other, and we made peace. Salamah said: I was in the service of Talhah ibn Ubaydullah, watering his horse, currying its back, tending it, and eating with him. And I had migrated to Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him), leaving my home, property, and wealth—all of it. When peace was made between us and the people of Mecca, and each of us began to meet the other, I came to a tree and cleared the thorns from under it and lay down at its foot, when four men of the polytheists of Mecca came and began to revile the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). I became angry, and (on grounds of prudence) I moved under another tree. They hung up their weapons and lay down. While they were in this state, suddenly someone from the lower part of the valley called out, "Rush, O Muhajirun! Ibn Zunaym (a Companion) has been killed." Hearing this, I drew my sword and attacked the four men who were sleeping. I took their weapons, made them into a bundle, and held them in one hand, then said, "By the One who honored Muhammad (peace be upon him), whichever of you raises his head, I will strike off the limb in which his eyes are (that is, the head) from his body." Then I drove them along to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). And my uncle Amir brought a man from the Ublat (which is a branch of Quraysh), who was called Mikraz. He dragged him along on a horse over which a saddlecloth was laid, with seventy men of the polytheists. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), seeing them, said, "Leave them; let the breaking of the covenant begin from the side of the polytheists, then let it happen from their side again." (That is, if we strike these people after the peace, it will be a breach of covenant from our side, which is not appropriate; first let the disbelievers breach the covenant not once but twice, then it is not wrong for us to take revenge.) At last the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) pardoned those people, and then Allah the Exalted revealed this verse: "And it is He who withheld their hands from you and your hands from them (from fighting) within the region of Mecca after He had given you victory over them..." (the whole verse) (Al-Fath: 24). Then we returned toward Medina, and on the way we halted at a station where between us and the polytheists of Banu Lihyan there was a mountain. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) supplicated for the man who would climb this mountain at night and stand guard over him and his (peace be upon him) Companions. I climbed this mountain two or three times at night (and kept guard). Then we reached Medina, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave his camels to his servant Rabah, and I was also with him, and I set out with him, taking Talhah's (may Allah be pleased with him) horse, to bring them to the stream to water them. When morning came, Abd al-Rahman al-Fazari (a polytheist) raided the she-camels of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and drove them all away and killed the herdsman. I said, "O Rabah! Take this horse and deliver it to Talhah, and inform the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that the disbelievers have raided his (peace be upon him) she-camels." He says: Then I stood on a mound and, facing Medina, I called out three times, "Ya sabahah, ya sabahah" (these words were spoken at the time of a raid to gather one's people together). After that I set off in pursuit of those raiders, shooting arrows and reciting rajaz. (The rajaz was:) "I am the son of al-Akwa, and today is the day of the destruction of the base ones." Then I would come near one of them and shoot an arrow into his saddle, which (splitting the saddle) would reach his shoulder, and I would say, "Take that! And I am the son of al-Akwa, and today is the day of the destruction of the base ones." Then, by Allah, I kept shooting them and wounding them. When any horseman among them turned toward me, I would come under a tree and sit at its foot and shoot an arrow and wound the rider or the horse, until they entered a narrow mountain pass, and I climbed the mountain and began throwing stones at them from there, and I kept pursuing them, until not a single camel that Allah the Exalted had created, which belonged to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) as a mount, was left but that it remained behind me and the raiders had abandoned it (so Salamah ibn al-Akwa (may Allah be pleased with him) recovered all the camels). Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then I went on shooting arrows at them until they threw down more than thirty cloaks and spears to lighten themselves. And on whatever they threw down I would place a marker of stone, so that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his (peace be upon him) Companions might recognize it (that it was spoil and pick it up), until they came to a narrow gully, and there Ibn Badr al-Fazari met them, and they all sat down to eat the midday meal. And I sat on the top of a small hillock. Al-Fazari said, "What is this I see?" They said, "This man has put us in distress. By Allah, he has been with us since the dark of night, constantly shooting arrows, until he has snatched away everything we had." Al-Fazari said, "Let four of you go and kill him." Hearing this, four men climbed the mountain toward me. When they had come near enough to hear my speech, I said, "Do you know me?" They said, "No." I said, "I am Salamah, the son of al-Akwa (al-Akwa was his grandfather, but he attributed himself to his grandfather because of his fame). By the One who granted Muhammad (peace be upon him) honor, whichever of you I wish, I will kill (with an arrow), and none of you can kill me." One of them said, "It seems so." Then they all returned, and I had not moved from there when the horsemen of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) appeared, pushing through the trees. Foremost of all was Akhram al-Asadi. Behind him was Abu Qatadah, behind him Miqdad ibn al-Aswad al-Kindi (may Allah be pleased with them). Akhram seized the reins of the horse. Seeing this, the raiders fled. I said, "O Akhram! Until the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his (peace be upon him) Companions come, keep away from them, lest they kill you." He said, "O Salamah! If you have faith in Allah the Exalted and the Day of the Hereafter, and you know that Paradise and Hell are true, then do not keep me back from martyrdom (that is, the most that could happen is that I would be martyred at the hands of these people, and what is better than that?)." So I let him go. He confronted Abd al-Rahman al-Fazari. Akhram wounded his horse, and Abd al-Rahman martyred Akhram with a spear and mounted Akhram's horse. Meanwhile Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him), the horseman of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), arrived and struck Abd al-Rahman with a spear and killed him. So, by the One who granted Muhammad (peace be upon him) honor, I pursued them, running on my own feet so hard that I could see behind me neither any Companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him) nor their dust, until those raiders, before sunset, reached a gully where there was water, and its name was Dhu Qarad. They were thirsty and came down to drink. Then they saw me running behind them, and at last I drove them away from the water so that they could not drink even a drop. Now they would run toward some gully, and I would run too, and reaching one of them I would shoot an arrow into his shoulder blade and say, "Take that! And I am the son of al-Akwa, and today is the day of the destruction of the base ones." He said, "May his mother weep over him (may the son of al-Akwa die)! Is it that same Akwa who was with me this morning?" I said, "Yes, O enemy of your own life! It is that same Akwa who was with you this morning." Salamah ibn al-Akwa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Two of the raiders' horses (running until they became exhausted) they abandoned, so I drove those horses to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in a gully. There Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) met me. He had a vessel of milk and a vessel of water. I performed ablution and drank the milk (Allah is Most Great! The courage of Salamah ibn al-Akwa (may Allah be pleased with him), that from early morning he kept running until night fell; the horses tired, the camels tired, the men died, the property remained, but Salamah ibn al-Akwa (may Allah be pleased with him) did not tire, and through the whole day he neither ate nor drank anything. This was the special help of Allah, the Majestic and Glorious, which comes to those who travel in His way with courage and steadfastness). Then I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and he (peace be upon him) was at that water from which I had driven the raiders. I saw that he (peace be upon him) had taken all the camels and all the things that I had snatched from the polytheists—the spears and the cloaks. And Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) had slaughtered one of those camels that I had snatched, and he was roasting for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) the meat of its liver and hump. I submitted, "O Messenger of Allah! Permit me to take a hundred men from the army; I will pursue those raiders, and not one of them will remain to go and bring news (to his people)." Hearing this he (peace be upon him) laughed until his (peace be upon him) molars appeared in the light of the fire, and he (peace be upon him) said, "O Salamah, can you do that?" I said, "Yes, by the One who granted you (peace be upon him) honor." He (peace be upon him) said, "They have now reached the borders of Ghatafan, and there they are being entertained as guests." Just then a man from Ghatafan came and said, "So-and-so had slaughtered a camel for them, and they were skinning it when they noticed dust, and they said, 'People have come,' and they fled from there too." In the morning he (peace be upon him) said, "The best of our horsemen this day is Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him), and the best of our footmen (the infantry) is Salamah ibn al-Akwa (may Allah be pleased with him)." Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave me two shares, a share for a horseman and a share for a footman, and combined both for me. Then after that, while returning to Medina, he (peace be upon him) seated me with him on al-Adba. We were traveling when an Ansari who never lagged behind anyone in running began saying, "Is there anyone who will race me to Medina?" and he kept repeating this. When I heard his words, I said to him, "Do you not respect the honor of an eminent one, and do you not fear the eminent?" He said, "No, except that I respect the honor of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)." I submitted, "O Messenger of Allah! May my mother and father be sacrificed for you (peace be upon him), let me go, I will outstrip this man in the race." He (peace be upon him) said, "All right, if you wish." Then I said, "I am coming toward you," and I bent my foot and leapt, then I ran, and when one or two ascents remained, I recovered my breath, then I ran after him, and when one or two ascents remained, then I ran and caught up with him, until I struck a blow between his shoulders with my fist and said, "By Allah, now I have gone ahead." Then, ahead of him, I reached Medina (so it is known that a race without any covetous prize is permissible, and there is a difference regarding the case of prizes; often in the form of prizes deceit and gambling and the like have become customary). Then, by Allah, we stayed only three nights when we set out with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) toward Khaybar, and my uncle Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) began reciting rajaz: "By Allah, had Allah the Exalted not guided us, we would not have found the way, nor given charity nor prayed. And we have not become heedless of Your grace, so keep our feet firm if we meet the disbelievers, and send down upon us Your mercy and tranquility." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Who is this?" The people said, "Amir (may Allah be pleased with him)." He (peace be upon him) said, "May Allah the Exalted forgive you." Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sought forgiveness specifically for anyone, he would surely be martyred. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) called out, while on his camel, "O Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him)! Why did you not let us benefit from Amir?" Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then when we came to Khaybar, its king Marhab came out brandishing his sword and reciting this rajaz: "Khaybar knows that I am Marhab, fully armed, a tried and tested warrior, when the wars come blazing with flames." Hearing this, my uncle Amir came out to face him and recited this rajaz: "I am Amir, fully armed, one who plunges into battle." Then each of them exchanged a blow, and Marhab's sword fell upon the shield of my uncle Amir, and Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) intended to strike from below, but his own sword came back and struck him, cutting his jugular vein, and he was martyred by it. Salamah said: Then I came out and saw the Companions of the Messenger saying, "Amir's deed has become void; he has killed himself." Hearing this, I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) weeping and submitted, "O Messenger of Allah! Has Amir's deed become void?" He (peace be upon him) said, "Who says so?" I said, "Some of your (peace be upon him) Companions say so." Then he (peace be upon him) said, "Whoever says so has lied. No! Rather, he has a double reward." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent me to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him); his eyes were sore, and he (peace be upon him) said, "I will give the standard to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, or whom Allah the Exalted and His Messenger love" (in the narration of Ibn Hisham there is this addition: "Allah the Exalted will grant victory at his hands, and he will not flee"). Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then I went to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and brought him, leading him along; his eyes were sore, until I brought him to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). He (peace be upon him) put his saliva into his eyes, and at that very moment they became well. Then he (peace be upon him) gave him the standard. Marhab came out reciting the same rajaz: "Khaybar knows that I am Marhab, fully armed, brave, a tried and tested warrior, when the wars come blazing with flames." Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) replied to him: "I am the one whose mother named me Haydar, like the lion of the jungles, of most terrifying appearance (such that fear arises from seeing it). I give people the full measure of sandarah in exchange for a small measure (sandarah is a measure larger than a sa; that is, they make a slight attack upon me, and I finish them off entirely)." Then Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) struck Marhab a blow on the head and dispatched him to Hell. After that Allah the Exalted granted victory at his hands.