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The bewilderment on the
Giant's face changed to fury. At last he had been thrown, and by
this young upstart who was less than half his size! But although
he was down, he was not finished. He would still win the battle
and re?establish his position as the greatest warrior in Arabia.
He would toss this youngster into the air as a leaf is tossed by
the wind.
The Giant's face went purple, the veins
stood out on his neck and his huge biceps and forearms trembled
as he strained to break Ali's grip. But he could not move it an
inch. There was the quality of steel in the muscles of Ali.
"Know, O Amr", said Ali gently, "that victory
and defeat depend upon the will of Allah. Accept Islam! Thus not
only will your life be spared, but you will also enjoy the blessings
of Allah in this life and the next." Ali drew a sharp dagger
from his waistband and held it close to Amr's throat.
But this was more than the Giant could take.
Was he whom Arabia considered her greatest champion to live the
rest of his life under the shadow of defeat and disgrace? Was it
to be said of him that he saved his life in personal combat by submitting
to the conditions of his opponent? No! He, Amr bin Abdu Wud, had
lived by the sword. He would perish by the sword. A life spent in
violence must end with violence. He gathered the spittle in his
mouth and spat into the face of Ali!
He knew what would happen. He knew that
there would be a sharp intake of breath, that Ali's right arm would
shoot into the air and then plunge the dagger into his throat. Amr
was a brave man and could face death without flinching. He arched
his back and raised his chin?to offer his throat to Ali, for he
knew what was to come. At least he thought he knew!
But what happened next left him even more
bewildered. Ali rose calmly from Amr's chest, wiped his face, and
stood a few paces away, gazing solemnly at his adversary. "Know,
O Amr, I only kill in the way of Allah and not for any private motive.
Since you spat in my face, my killing you now may be from a desire
for personal vengeance. So I spare your life. Rise and return to
your people!"
The Giant rose. But there was no question
of his returning to his people a loser. He would live a victor,
or not at all. Intending to make one last attempt at victory, he
picked up his sword and rushed at Ali. Perhaps he would catch Ali
unawares.
Ali had just enough time to pick up his
sword and shield and prepare for the fresh assault. The blow which
the Giant now delivered in furious desperation was the most savage
blow of the encounter. His sword shattered Ali's shield, but in
doing so lost its force and impetus, and could then do no more than
inflict a shallow cut on Ali's temple. The wound was too slight
to worry Ali. Before the Giant could raise his sword again, the
Zulfiqar flashed in the sunlight, and it's tip slashed open
the Giant's throat. The blood of the Giant gushed forth like a fountain.
For a moment the Giant stood motionless.
Then his body began to sway as if he was drunk. And then he fell
on his face with a crash and lay still.
The earth did not shake with the impact
of that colossal body. The earth is too big. But the hill of Sil'a
shook with the cry of Allah-o-Akbar that thundered from 2,000
Muslim throats. The triumphant cry echoed through the length and
breadth of the valley before it faded away into the stillness of
the desert.
The Muslim group now rushed at the six remaining
Quraish. In the sword fighting that ensued, one more Quraish was
killed and one Muslim fell. A few minutes later the Quraish group
turned and hastily withdrew across the ditch. Ikrimah dropped his
spear as he jumped the ditch, on which Hassaan the Poet wrote many
a rude verse. A man known as Nofal bin Abdullah, a cousin of Khalid's,
was not successful in clearing the ditch and fell into it. Before
he could rise, the Muslims were on the bank and hurling stones at
him. Nofal wailed, "O Arabs! Surely death is better than
this!" 1 Thereupon Ali obliged
the man by descending into the ditch and cutting off his head.
1. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 240.
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