Part of A summary of the Prophet’s biography (the series is complete)
· Lesson 132 of 182
Summary of the Prophet’s biography | Episode (155) | The Battle of Dhī Qārād, or the Jungle
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
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An Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah),
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Authored by Sheikh Musa ibn Rashid al-Azimi, may Allah preserve him.
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The Expedition of Dhu Qarad, or al-Ghabah.
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The Expedition of Dhu Qarad took place after the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyyah,
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and, according to the correct view, three days before the Battle of Khaybar,
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as established in Sahih Muslim
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on the authority of Salamah ibn al-Akwa', may Allah be pleased with him,
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who was the hero of this expedition.
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He said:
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"We arrived at al-Hudaybiyyah with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and we numbered fourteen hundred."
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Then he recounted the story of the Expedition of Dhu Qarad
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and their return with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to Medina.
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He then said:
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"By Allah, we stayed only three nights
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before we set out for Khaybar with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."
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Imam al-Bayhaqi said:
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"That which is beyond doubt
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is that it took place after al-Hudaybiyyah,
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and the hadith of Salamah ibn al-Akwa' (may Allah be pleased with him)
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explicitly attests to that."
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Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said:
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"A number of the scholars of military campaigns and the Seerah erred in this matter,
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stating that it occurred before al-Hudaybiyyah."
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The Cause of this Expedition:
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The two Shaykhs [al-Bukhari and Muslim] narrated in their Sahihs,
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and the wording is Muslim's,
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on the authority of Salamah ibn al-Akwa' (may Allah be pleased with him),
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who said:
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"I went out before the first call to prayer was called,"
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meaning before the call to the dawn prayer was made,
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"and the milch camels of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) were grazing at Dhu Qarad."
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He said:
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"A servant boy belonging to 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf, may Allah be pleased with him, met me
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and said:
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'The milch camels of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) have been raided!'
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I asked:
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'Who took them?'
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He replied:
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'Ghatfan.'"
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He said:
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"So I let out three shouts:
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'Ya Sabahah!' [A cry of alarm]
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and made it heard between the two volcanic tracts of Medina.
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Then I rushed headlong until I overtook them at Dhu Qarad."
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In another narration in Sahih Muslim,
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he said—
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Salamah, may Allah be pleased with him:
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"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent his riding camels with Rabah,
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the servant boy of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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and I accompanied him.
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I went out with him riding a horse belonging to Talhah,
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leading it alongside the camels.
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When morning came,
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'Abd al-Rahman al-Fazari suddenly raided the riding camels of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
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drove them all off, and killed their herdsman.
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So I said: 'O Rabah,
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take this horse,
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deliver it to Talhah ibn 'Ubaydullah,
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and inform the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that the polytheists have raided his grazing herds.'"
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Salamah's (may Allah be pleased with him) Pursuit of Ghatfan:
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Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
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"Then I pursued the people with my sword and my arrows,
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shooting at them and hamstrunging their mounts,
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and that was when the trees became thick.
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Whenever a horseman turned back toward me,
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I sat at the base of a tree,
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and then I shot.
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No horseman approached me but that I hamstrung his mount.
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I kept shooting at them while saying:
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'I am Ibn al-Akwa',
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and today is the day of the ignoble's demise!'
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I would catch up with a man among them
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and shoot him while he was on his riding mount,
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so my arrow would strike the man
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until it pierced through his shoulder blade.
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And I would say:
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'Take that!
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For I am Ibn al-Akwa',
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and today is the day of the ignoble's demise!'
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Whenever I was among the trees,
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I pelted them mercilessly with arrows,
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and whenever the mountain passes narrowed, I scaled the mountain
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and showered them with stones.
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That remained my condition and theirs:
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I pursued them while chanting battle verses,
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until there was not a single beast of the camels of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
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that I did not place behind my back,
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rescuing them all from their hands.
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Then I continued to shoot at them until they cast aside more than thirty spears
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and more than thirty cloaks to lighten their burden.
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They did not discard any of these things
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but that I placed stones upon them
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and gathered them along the path of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Until when the forenoon was well advanced,
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'Uyaynah ibn Badr al-Fazari came to them
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as a reinforcement for them,
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while they were in a narrow mountain pass.
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Then I climbed the mountain
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so that I was above them.
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'Uyaynah said:
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'What is this that I see?'
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They said:
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'We have endured severe hardship from this man!
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—meaning severe distress—
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He has been dogging us since dawn until now,
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taking everything out of our hands
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and leaving it behind his back.'
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'Uyaynah said:
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'Were it not that this man knows a pursuit is behind him,
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he would surely have left you alone.
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Let a group among you rise against him.'
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So a group of four men rose against him
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and climbed up the mountain.
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When they were within earshot,
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I said:
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'Do you know me?'
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I said:
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'I am Ibn al-Akwa'!
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By the One Who honored the face of Muhammad,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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not a single man among you can pursue me
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and catch me,
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nor can I pursue any of you and have him elude me.'"
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The Departure of the Messenger,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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in Pursuit of the Enemy:
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When word reached the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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of the shouting of Salamah ibn al-Akwa',
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may Allah be pleased with him:
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"Alarm! Alarm!"
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the horsemen rushed swiftly
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to the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr,
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may Allah be pleased with him,
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was the first horseman,
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and the next to reach the Messenger of Allah,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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after al-Miqdad from among the Ansar were:
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Sa'd ibn Zayd,
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Usayd ibn Zuhayr,
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'Ukkashah ibn Mihsan,
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Muhriz ibn Nadlah,
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Abu Qatadah
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al-Harith ibn Rib'i,
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and Abu 'Ayyash 'Ubayd ibn Zayd
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ibn al-Samit,
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may Allah be pleased with them all.
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When they gathered around
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the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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he appointed as their commander
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Sa'd ibn Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him.
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Then he said:
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"Go forth in pursuit of the enemy
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until I catch up with you with the rest of the men."
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Salamah said,
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may Allah be pleased with him:
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"I did not leave that position of mine
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until I saw the horsemen of
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the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
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making their way through the trees.
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The foremost of them was
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al-Akhram al-Asadi,
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who was Muhriz ibn Nadlah,
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may Allah be pleased with him.
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Closely behind him was Abu Qatadah,
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the horseman of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him;
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and closely behind Abu Qatadah was
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al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr,
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may Allah be pleased with him."
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He said:
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"The polytheists then turned and fled,
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so I descended the mountain
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and seized the reins of the horse of
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al-Akhram.
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I said to him: 'O Akhram,
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beware of the people!'
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—meaning be cautious of them—
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'For I fear that they may cut you off,
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so take your time until the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
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catches up.'
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But he said:
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'O Salamah!
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If you believe in Allah
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and the Last Day,
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and know that Paradise is real
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and the Fire is real,
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then do not stand between me and martyrdom!'
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He said:
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'So I released the reins of his horse,
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and he caught up with 'Abd al-Rahman
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ibn 'Uyaynah.
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'Abd al-Rahman turned to face him,
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and they traded blows:
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Al-Akhram hamstrung 'Abd al-Rahman's horse,
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and 'Abd al-Rahman struck him with a spear,
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killing him.
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'Abd al-Rahman then mounted
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al-Akhram's horse.
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Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) caught up
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with 'Abd al-Rahman,
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and they exchanged spear strikes:
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'Abd al-Rahman hamstrung Abu Qatadah's mount,
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but Abu Qatadah slew him,
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and Abu Qatadah then mounted
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al-Akhram's horse.
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Then I set out,
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sprinting after the enemy,
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until I could no longer see behind me the dust
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of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
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at all.
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Before sunset, the enemy turned
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toward a ravine containing water
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known as Dhu Qarad.
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They intended to drink
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from it, but catching sight of me
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rushing after them,
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they turned away from it
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and sped up the mountain pass, the pass
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of Dhu Nathar.
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The sun set,
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and catching up with one man, I shot an arrow at him,
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calling out: "Take that!
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For I am Ibn al-Akwa',
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and today is the day of the ignoble!"
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He said:
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"May my mother be bereaved!
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Are you the same al-Akwa' of this morning?"
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Meaning: Are you the same al-Akwa' who was pursuing us
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early this morning?
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I replied: "Yes,
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O enemy of your own soul!"
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He was the one I had struck early that morning,
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so I struck him with another arrow,
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and the arrow stuck fast in him.
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They abandoned two horses,
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which I led back
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to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
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He was stationed at the water
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from which I had driven them away,
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Dhu Qarad.
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The Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) was there
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amidst five hundred men,
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and Bilal
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had slaughtered one of the she-camels that I had retrieved,
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roasting for the Messenger of Allah
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(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
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some of its liver and hump.
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I came before the Messenger of Allah
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(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
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and said: "O Messenger of Allah!
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Let me choose one hundred men from among your companions so that I may overtake the disbelievers in the evening, leaving no informant among them alive!"
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked: "Could you really
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do that, Salamah?" I replied: "Yes, by the One Who honored you!" Whereupon the Messenger of Allah
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laughed until I could see his premolars in the firelight. Then the Messenger of Allah
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said: "At this moment, they are being hosted in the land of Ghatafan." Then a man from Ghatafan arrived
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and said: "They passed by a certain man of Ghatafan, who slaughtered a camel for them. But as they were
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skinning it, they saw a cloud of dust, so they abandoned it and fled in panic!" When morning came,
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the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Our best horseman today is Abu Qatadah, and our best foot soldier is Salamah."
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) then awarded me both the share of
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a foot soldier and that of a horseman, and had me ride behind him on al-'Adba' as we returned.
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When it was nearly forenoon, there was a man among the
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Ansar who had never been beaten in a race, and he began calling out: "Is there anyone to race? Will no man race
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to Medina?" He repeated this several times, while I was riding behind the Messenger of Allah
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(peace be upon him). So I said to him: "Do you not honor a noble man, nor revere a dignitary?"
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He said: "None, save the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." I said: "O Messenger of Allah, may my father
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and mother be sacrificed for you, permit me to race this man!" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
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"If you wish." I said: "Step down to your mark!" He leaped from his mount, and I swung my legs
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and leaped down from the camel. I held myself back over one or two hillocks, pacing myself,
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and then I sprinted until I caught up with him, struck him between his shoulders with my hand, and said: "By Allah, I have beaten you!"—or words to that effect.
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He laughed and said: "Indeed, I think so too," until we arrived in Medina.
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*The Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah)*
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If the longing of people for one another should long endure, the longing for you exceeds all bounds;
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May Allah send blessings upon you as long as the call to prayer is raised, and lips move with enduring praise.