The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 3 of 4

IMAM ABG AL-FIDA' ISMA'IL IBN KATHiR 25
someone told me, 'Come on now! I swear, he'll not kill anyone who bas adopted
his religion and testified to the truth.'
"'"When he told me that, I went to the Messenger of God (SAAS) in Medina,
surprising him by standing before him and speaking the testimony of the truth.
""'When he saw me, he asked, 'Are you Wahshi?' I replied, 'Yes, 0
Messenger of God.' He then said, 'Sit down and relate to me how you killed
Hamza.'
""'So I related it as I did to you both. When I finished my account, he said,
'Remove your face from me; 1'11 not see you!'
"'"So I used to avoid the Messenger of God (SAAS) wherever he might be
so that he would not see me, and eventually God, Almighty and Glorious is
He, took hi to Himself.'
""'When the Muslim force went to war against that liar Musaylima,? who
controlled Yemen, I accompanied them, taking the spear with which I killed
Hamza. When the forces met, I saw Musaylima standing sword in hand, though
I didn't then know for sure the man was him. I prepared to attack hi, as did
another Muslim, an anfzri, coming from the other side. Each of us was heading
for him. I steadied my spear until I felt good about it and then let it loose at him.
It pierced him. The an@ri then attacked him with his sword. So God alone
knows which of us Lied him. If it was I who killed him, then I killed the best of
men after the Messenger of God (SAAS), and also killed the worst of them!" "'
I note that the ansari was Abii Dujana Simzk b. Kharasha.
Al-Waqidi stated in his account of al-rrdda, "the apostasy wars", as follows:
"He was 'Abd All& b. Zayd b. '.&vim al-Maini. Sayf b. 'Amr stated, 'He was
'Adi b. Sahl. And it was he who spoke the verses,
"Do you not know that it was I and their W&shi, who
killed Musaylima, who sowed dissension.
People ask me about his death and I reply, 'I struck
and he pierced!""'
What is well known is that it was W*shi who struck him when he attacked and
that Aba Dujma finished him off when wounded. This is because of what Ibn
Ishaq related, from 'Abd Allah b. al-Fadl, from Sulayman h. Yaszr, from Ibn
Wmar, who said, "I heard someone shout out at the battle of Yam-a, 'It was
the black slave who killed him!"'
Al-Bukhari related the story of the killing of Hamza through 'Abd alLCAziz b.
'Abd All& b. Abii Sal-a al-Majishawn, from 'Abd All& b. al-Fadl, from
Sulaymm b. Yasw, from Jacfar b. 'Amr b. Umayya al-Darnri. He said, "I went
forth to battle with 'Ubayd Allah b. 'Adi b. al-Khiyw." And he then related
the incident as given above. He recalled that 'Uhayd Allsh b. 'Adi was wearing a
7. A self-styled prophet of Yemen whose Banii Hanifa forces were defeated by the Caliph Abo
Bakr's m y under Khalid b. al-Walid at 'AqrabP' in 12 AH.