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At the Battle of Badr,
a young man by the name of Abdullah bin Ubayy (not to be confused
with the Abdullah bin Ubayy who was the leader of the Hypocrites)
was taken prisoner by the Muslims. His father, Ubayy bin Khalf,
came to release his son and paid 4,000 dirhams as ransom. Once the
ransom had been paid and the young man released, while still in
Madinah, Ubayy had been insolent to the Prophet. He had said, "O
Muhammad! I have a horse which I am strengthening with a lot of
fodder, because in the next battle I shall come riding that horse
and I shall kill you" The Prophet had then replied, "No,
you shall not kill me. But I shall kill you while you are on that
horse, if Allah wills it." 1
The man had laughed scornfully as he rode away with his son.
And now Ubayy bin Khalf was approaching
the Prophet on his horse. He saw the Companions move out of the
way. He saw the Prophet waiting for him, and grudgingly he admired
the man he had set out to kill. The Prophet was wearing two coats
of mail. He wore a chain helmet, the side-flaps of which covered
his cheeks; His sword rested in its sheath, tucked into a leather
belt, and in his right hand he held his spear. Ubayy noticed the
powerful, broad shoulders of Muhammad; notice the large, hard hands-hands
strong enough to break a spear in two. The Prophet looked a magnificent
sight.
It is known to few people today that Prophet
Muhammad was one of the strongest Muslims of his time. Add to his
great personal strength the fact of divine selection, and one can
imagine what a formidable opponent he would prove to anybody. But
Ubayy was undaunted, He had just killed a Muslim, and his spirits
were high.
The Prophet could easily have told his Companions
to slay Ubayy. They would have fallen upon him and torn him to pieces.
Or he could have given Ali the simple order, "Kill that
man", and that man would be as good as dead, for when Ali
set out to kill a man nothing could save him. But the Prophet had
ordered his Companions to stand aside. This time he wanted no help
from anyone. This was a matter of personal honour-a matter of chivalry.
Muhammad would fight alone as a chivalrous Arab. He would keep his
rendezvous with a challenger.
As Ubayy reached the Prophet, he pulled
up his horse. He was in no hurry. Not for a moment doubting that
Muhammad would await his attack, he took his own time over drawing
his sword. And then suddenly it was too late, for the Prophet raised
his spear and struck at the upper part of Ubayy's chest. Ubayy tried
to duck, but was not quick enough. The spear struck him on the right
shoulder, near the base of the neck. It was a minor wound, but Ubayy
fell off his horse, and in the fall broke a rib. Before the Prophet
could strike again, Ubayy had risen and turned tail, running screaming
towards his comrades. They stopped him and asked how he had fared,
to which Ubayy replied in a trembling voice, "By Allah,
Muhammad has killed me."
The Quraish examined his wound, and then
told him not to be silly because it was a superficial wound which
would soon heal. Ubayy's voice rose higher as he said, "I
shall die!" When the Quraish tried to console him further,
Ubayy lost all control over himself and in a frantic voice screamed,
"I tell you I shall die! Muhammad had said that he would
kill me. If Muhammad were to just spit on me, I would die!"
2 Ubayy remained inconsolable.
When the Quraish returned to Makkah, he
went with them. While they were camped at a place called Saraf,
not far from Makkah, the wretched man died. The cause of his death
was certainly not the physical effect of the wound. And Allah knows
best!
1. Ibn Sad: p. 549; Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2,
p. 84.
2. Ibn Hisham:
Vol. 2, p. 84.
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