Page:Selections from Muhammadan Traditions - tr. William Goldsack (1923).djvu/229

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THE BOOK OF RELIGIOUS WAR
209

thou want with him, O son of my brother?" He replied, "I have been told that he abused the Apostle of God, therefore, by Him in whose hands is my life! if I see him my person shall not separate from his until the quickest of us die." Abduʾr-Raḥmán said, "Then I was astonished at that." He said, "Then the other youth made a sign to me in similar terms. And I did not delay to look for Abú Jahl moving round amongst the men. Then I said, 'Do ye not see him. This is your friend whom ye asked me about.' Then they two ran towards him with their swords and smote him until they killed him. After that they went to the Apostle of God and informed him. He said, 'Which of you killed him?' Each one of them replied, 'I killed him.' He said, 'Have you wiped your swords?' They replied, 'No.' Then the Apostle of God looked at the two swords and said, 'You both killed him.' Then the Apostle of God gave orders that the plunder obtained from Abú Jahl should be given to Muʿádh bin ʿAmru binuʾl-Jamuḥ. And the two men were Muʿádh bin ʿAmru binuʾl-Jamuḥ and Muʿádh bin ʿAfrá.'"'—Muslim, Al Bukhárí.

It is related from Anas that on the day of Badr, 'The Apostle of God said, "Who will see for us what Abú Jahl has done?" Then Ibn Maʿsúd departed and found that the two sons of ʿAfráʾ had smitten him and he had become cold (with the approach of death). Anas said, "Then Ibn Maʿsúd seized his beard and said, 'Thou art Abú Jahl?' He replied, 'Dost thou do this over (the death agony of) a man ye have stabbed to death!'"' And in another tradition it runs, 'He said, "Would that some other than a cultivator had killed me!"'—Muslim, Al Bukhárí.

It is related from Abú Hurairah that, 'The Prophet said, "One of the Prophets went out to fight; and he said to his people, 'Let no man follow me who has married a wife and wishes to take her to his house, but has not yet done so; nor the one who has built a house, but has not yet raised a roof over it; nor yet the man who has bought a sheep or a camel and is expecting its giving birth to young.' Then he went forth to war. And he drew near to a certain village at the time of evening prayer or about that. Then he said to the sun, 'Verily thou art under orders, and I am also under orders. O