English translation
3045. Narrated Abū Hurairah رضي الله عنه: Allāh's Messenger ﷺ sent a Sarīya (army-unit) of ten men as spies under the leadership of 'Āsim bin Thābit al-Anṣārī, the grandfather of 'Āsim bin Umar Al-Khaṭṭāb. They proceeded till they reached Hadā'a, a place between 'Usfan, and Makkah, and their news reached a branch of the tribe of Hudhail called Banī Liḥyān. So they sent about two hundred men, who were all archers, in their pursuit to follow their tracks till they found the place where they had eaten dates they had brought with them from Al-Madīna. They said, "These are the dates of Yaṭhrib" (i.e., Al-Madīna), and continued following their tracks. When 'Āsim and his companions saw their pursuers, they went up a high place and the infidels circled them. The infidels said to them, "Come down and surrender, and we promise and guarantee you that we will not kill anyone of you." 'Āsim bin Thābit, the leader of the Sarīya said, "By Allāh! I will not come down to be under the protection of infidels. O Allāh! Convey our news to Your Prophet ﷺ." Then the infidels threw arrows at them till they martyred 'Āsim along with six other men, and three men came down accepting their promise and convention, and they were Khubaib Al-Anṣārī and Ibn Dathina and another man. So, when the infidels captured them, they undid the strings of their bows and tied them. Then the third (of the captives) said, "This is the first betrayal. By Allāh! I will not go with you. No doubt these, namely the martyred, have set a good example to us." So, they dragged him and tried to compel him to accompany them, but as he refused, they killed him. They took Khubaib and Ibn Dathina with them and sold them (as slaves) in Makkah (and all that took place) after the battle of Badr. Khubaib was bought by the sons of Al-Hārith bin 'Āmir bin Naufal bin 'Abd-Manāf. It was Khubaib who had killed Al-Hārith bin 'Āmir on the day (of the battle of) Badr. So, Khubaib remained a prisoner with those people. Narrated Az-Zuhri: 'Ubaidullāh bin 'Iyād said that the daughter of Al-Hārith had told him, "When those people gathered (to kill Khubaib) he borrowed a razor from me to shave his pubes and I gave it to him. Then he took a son of mine while I was unaware when he came upon him. I saw him placing my son on his thigh and the razor was in his hand. I got scared so much that Khubaib noticed the agitation on my face and said, 'Are you afraid that I will kill him? No, I will never do so.' By Allāh, I never saw a prisoner better than Khubaib. By Allāh, one day I saw him eating of a bunch of grapes in his hand while he was chained in irons, and there was no fruit at that time in Makkah." The daughter of Al-Hārith used to say, "It was a boon Allāh bestowed upon Khubaib." When they took him out of the sanctuary (of Makkah) to kill him outside its boundaries, Khubaib requested them to let him offer two Rak'a [Salāt (prayer)]. They allowed him and he offered a two Rak'ā (prayer) and then said, "Hadn't I been afraid that you would think that I was afraid (of being killed), I would have prolonged the Ṣalāt (prayer). O Allāh, kill them all with no exception." (He then recited the poetic verse): 'I, being martyred as a MuslimDo not mind how I am killed inAllāh's Cause,For my killing is for Allāh's sake,And if Allāh wishes,He will bless the amputated partsof a torn body.' Then the son of Al-Ḥarīth killed him. So, it was Khubaib who set the tradition for any Muslim sentenced to death in captivity, to offer a two-Rak'ā Ṣalāt (prayer) (before being killed). Allāh fulfilled the invocation of 'Āsim bin Thābit(1) on that very day on which he was martyred. The Prophet ﷺ informed his companions of their news and what had happened to them. Later on when some infidels from Quraish were informed that 'Āsim had been killed, they sent some people to fetch a part of his body (i.e., his head) by which he would be recognized. (That was because) 'Āsim had killed one of their chiefs on the day (of the battle) of Badr. So, a swarm of wasps, resembling a shady cloud, were sent to hover over 'Āsim and protect him from their messenger and thus they could not cut off anything from his flesh.