In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you glimpses from the lives of the Companions,
by Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy upon him.
Salamah Ibn al-Akwa',
may Allah be pleased with him.
Has the news of Salamah Ibn al-Akwa' reached you?
He was a marvel among the marvels of the age,
and a rarity among the rarities of time.
He was a runner who could not be outpaced,
an archer who never missed,
a daring warrior who knew no fear,
and an adventurer whose endless
tales of adventure
read like accounts of heroism
that might seem to you like legends.
Yet they are not legends,
for the two Shaykhs, Muslim and al-Bukhari, narrated them,
and authenticated them in their two Sahih collections.
Salamah Ibn al-Akwa' had wealth and property in Makkah,
but he embraced Islam,
migrated to Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him,
and left behind everything he owned.
He began working in Madinah as a groom
for the horse of Talhah Ibn 'Ubayd Allah,
in exchange for his food.
He desired nothing from this world
other than a few morsels to sustain his strength,
and to help him in the obedience of Allah
and striving in His cause.
Perhaps, dear listener,
you have been stirred by a longing
to hear a portion of the stories of this knight
and to learn of some of his wonders.
So here is a part of them.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, set out
with one thousand five hundred of his Companions,
among them Salamah Ibn al-Akwa', intending to perform 'Umrah.
When the news of his departure reached the Quraysh,
they rose up to prevent him from reaching the Sacred House.
So the Prophet, peace be upon him, stopped
with those who were with him at al-Hudaybiyah,
and he sent 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan to Makkah
as an ambassador between him and the Quraysh.
But the news soon arrived
that the Quraysh had killed 'Uthman.
The Messenger, peace be upon him, resolved
to fight them,
and he called upon the Muslims who were with him
to pledge their allegiance to him for battle and death.
Salamah Ibn al-Akwa' said:
"When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, called us
to pledge allegiance to him at the tree,
I was the first of the people to pledge allegiance to him.
Then the Muslims began to pledge their allegiance,
and when about half the people had pledged,
he turned to me and said:
'Pledge, O Salamah.'
I said: 'I have already pledged to you, O Messenger of Allah,
among the first of the people.'
He said: 'And again.'
So I pledged to him a second time.
At that moment, the Prophet, peace be upon him, saw me
without any weapons,
so he gave me a shield to protect myself.
Then the Muslims continued to pledge their allegiance,
and when it reached the last of the people,
he turned to me and said:
'Will you not pledge to me, O Salamah?'
I said: 'I have already pledged to you, O Messenger of Allah,
among the first and in the middle of them.'
He said: 'And again.'
So I pledged to him a third time.
Then he looked at my hand and said:
'Where is the shield I gave you?'
I said: 'O Messenger of Allah,
my uncle 'Amir met me,
and I found him unarmed,
so I gave it to him.'
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, laughed."
Salamah said:
"Then the polytheists sent word to us for peace,
and we and the people of Makkah made a truce,
and we began to mingle with one another.
I came to a tree, cleared the thorns from beneath it,
and lay down in its shade.
It was only a short while
before four of the polytheists came to me,
hung their weapons on the tree,
and lay down near me.
They began to speak ill of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
so I grew to hate them,
and I moved away from them, fearing that I would be provoked
and start a fight with them.
While they were in that state,
a caller shouted from the bottom of the valley:
'O for the Muhajirun!
The polytheists have killed Ibn Zunaym!'
I drew my sword in my right hand,
leaped upon their weapons,
gathered them into a bundle in my left hand,
and charged at them before they could rise,
all in the blink of an eye.
Then I confronted them, saying:
'By the One who honored the face of Muhammad, peace be upon him,
if any one of you raises his head,
I will strike off his neck.'
Then I bound them,
tied them to one another,
and brought them along, driving them
to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him."
Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
continued with his Companions,
and with him was Salamah Ibn al-Akwa',
until he reached Madinah.
No sooner had he settled there for a while
than he ordered his servant, Rabah,
to go out with his camels
to graze in the desert.
Salamah decided to go out with him
to graze the horse of Talhah Ibn 'Ubayd Allah as well.
Salamah Ibn al-Akwa' slung his bow over his shoulder,
carried his arrows,
and set out with his companion
until they reached a place north of Madinah
called al-Ghar.
They let their animals rest there,
and spent the night there.
In the last watch of the night,
he awoke to a troop of Ghatafan horsemen,
numbering forty riders,
who had raided the camels of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and driven them away,
killing a son of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari
who was with the camels.
Salamah Ibn al-Akwa' said:
"At that, I said to Rabah:
'Take this horse and return it to its owner,
and inform the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
that the polytheists have raided his camels.'
Then I climbed a hill above Thaniyat al-Wada',
faced toward Madinah,
and called out at the top of my voice:
'O morning alarm!' three times.
Then I went out, running in pursuit of the people,
until I was not far from them.
I strung my bow,
and shot one of them with an arrow,
which lodged in his shoulder.
I said:
'Take that! I am Ibn al-Akwa',
and today is the day of the young warriors.'
Then I began to chase them, shooting at them and reciting verses.
Every time they turned,
they would leave behind some
of the camels of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
so I would put them behind me and continue in their pursuit.
If a horseman among them turned back to kill me,
I would stop running,
seek out a tree, and take cover behind its trunk,
and begin shooting at him until he turned away from me.
I continued to chase them
until they entered a narrow path flanked by two mountains.
I climbed one of them
and began to rain down stones upon them from above,
which fell upon them and in front of their hands and feet.
I never ceased following them
until not a single one of the camels of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
remained except that they had left it between me and them,
and I had placed it behind me.
But that did not deter me from pursuing them.
They began to throw away their burdens to lighten their load,
casting off more than thirty cloaks and thirty spears.
Every time they threw something,
I would mark it with stones
so that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, could find it,
and I left it behind me.
Then I caught up with them, and exhaustion overtook me,
so they sat down to rest and eat lunch,
and I sat on the top of a mountain not far from them,
watching them and keeping an eye on them.
While they were in that state,
a man from their people came to them,
looked at what had befallen them,
and said:
'What is this that I see?'
They pointed at me and said:
'We have suffered from the misfortune of this man what we have suffered.
By Allah, he has not left us since the early dawn,
shooting at us
until he took everything we had in our hands.'
He said:
'Let a group of four of you rise against him.'
So four of them climbed up toward me.
When they drew near to me,
so that they could hear my speech,
I said to them:
"Do you know who I am?"
They replied, "No."
"And who are you?"
I said,
"I am Salamah Ibn al-Akwa'."
"By the One who honored the face of Muhammad, peace be upon him,"
"I shall not pursue any man among you but that I will overtake him,"
"And no man among you shall pursue me and overtake me."
One of them said,
"I believe that to be true."
Then they turned away from me.
I did not leave my position,
Until I saw the horsemen of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Approaching from Medina.
The first of them was al-Akhram al-Asadi.
Following him was Abu Qatadah al-Ansari.
And following him was al-Miqdad Ibn al-Aswad al-Kindi.
No sooner did the group see them,
Than they panicked and fled in retreat.
Al-Akhram intended to pursue them,
So I took hold of his horse's bridle,
And stood in his path, saying to him,
"Beware, O Akhram, of pursuing them,"
"Lest they cut you off from us and isolate you."
"Wait until the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, arrives,"
"With his Companions."
He replied, "O Salamah,"
"If you believe in Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him,"
"And the Last Day,"
"And you know that Paradise is true,"
"And the Fire is true,"
"Then do not stand between me and martyrdom."
Salamah said,
"So I let him go."
He set off after them until he met the vanguard of the group.
He hamstrung the leader's horse,
But the man turned back upon al-Akhram,
And struck him with a blow that brought him down.
He fell, a fallen martyr.
Salamah said,
"By the One who honored the face of Muhammad, peace be upon him,"
"I pursued them after that,"
"Running on foot,"
"Until I was separated from the Muslim horsemen."
I could neither see them nor catch a glimpse of their dust.
When the sun neared its setting,
They wanted to turn toward a mountain pass,
Known as Dhu Qarad,
To drink from it.
But when they saw me following them, they abandoned it.
They did not taste a single drop of it.
Then they sped off,
Leaving behind two horses.
I brought them to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
And found him and his Companions at the water I had driven them away from.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Had already taken the camels I had rescued from them,
And had placed his hand upon every spear and cloak they had left behind.
Bilal had slaughtered a camel,
And was roasting for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Some of its liver and hump.
Salamah said,
"When morning came, we prepared to depart,"
"And the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, let me ride,"
"Behind him on his she-camel, al-'Adba'."
I traveled with him until we reached Medina.
How fortunate for Salamah Ibn al-Akwa',
That he became the rider behind the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him.
His body touched the body of the noble Prophet, peace be upon him.
And how fortunate for Islam,
To have such a bold and courageous youth.
May Allah be pleased with Salamah Ibn al-Akwa'.
The wonder among horsemen,
And the one who outraced the finest steeds.
Salamah Ibn al-Akwa' was among the most valiant of men,
Outrunning horses, as the historians record.