وَعَن أبي قتادةَ
قَالَ: خَرَجْنَا مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَامَ حُنَيْنٍ فَلَمَّا الْتَقَيْنَا كَانَتْ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ جَوْلَةٌ فَرَأَيْتُ رَجُلًا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ قَدْ عَلَا رَجُلًا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ فَضَرَبْتُهُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ عَلَى حَبْلِ عَاتِقِهِ بِالسَّيْفِ فَقَطَعْتُ الدِّرْعَ وَأَقْبَلَ عَلَيَّ فَضَمَّنِي ضَمَّةً وَجَدْتُ مِنْهَا رِيحَ الْمَوْتِ ثُمَّ أَدْرَكَهُ الْمَوْتُ فَأَرْسَلَنِي فَلَحِقْتُ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ فَقُلْتُ: مَا بَالُ النَّاسِ؟
قَالَ: أَمْرُ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ رَجَعُوا وَجَلَسَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ: «مَنْ قَتَلَ قَتِيلًا لَهُ عَلَيْهِ بَيِّنَةٌ فَلَهُ سَلَبُهُ» فَقُلْتُ: مَنْ يَشْهَدُ لِي؟ ثُمَّ جَلَسْتُ ثُمَّ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِثْلَهُ فَقُمْتُ فَقَالَ: «مَا لَكَ يَا أَبَا قَتَادَةَ؟»
فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ: صَدَقَ وَسَلَبُهُ عِنْدِي فَأَرْضِهِ مِنِّي فَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ: لَا هَا اللَّهِ إِذاً لَا يعمدُ أَسَدٍ مِنْ أُسْدِ اللَّهِ يُقَاتِلُ عَنِ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَيُعْطِيكَ سَلَبَهُ.
فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «صَدَقَ فأعطه» فأعطانيه فاتبعت بِهِ مَخْرَفًا فِي بَنِي سَلِمَةَ فَإِنَّهُ لَأَوَّلُ مالٍ تأثَّلْتُه فِي الإِسلامِ
We went out with God’s Messenger in the year of Hunain, and when the armies met, the Muslims suffered a reverse. I saw one of the polytheists getting the better of one of the Muslims, so I struck him with my sword from behind on his shoulder-blade and cut his coat of mail. He came at me and closed with me, so that I felt death was near, but he was overtaken by death and let me go.
I then caught up on Umar ibn al-Khattab and asked him what was the matter with the people, to which he replied that it was what God had commanded.1 Then they returned and the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) sat down and said, “If anyone kills a man and can prove it he will get his spoil.”
I said, “Who will testify for me?” and then sat down. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said the same again and I said, “Who will testify for me?”2 and then sat down.
Again the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said the same and I stood up He asked, “What is the matter with you, Qatada?” and when I informed him a man said, “He has spoken the truth. I have his spoil, so make him agreeable to take something in exchange.”
Abu Bakr said, “In that case I swear by God that he did not do so. One of God’s heroes3 does not fight for God and His Messenger and then give you his spoil.” The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said he had spoken the truth and told the man to hand it over to me. He did so, and I bought a garden among the B. Salima. This was the first property I acquired in the Islamic period. 1.
He wondered why the Muslims had fled from the enemy, and Umar replied that it was what God had decreed. 2. There is doubt as to whether Abu Qatadah spoke aloud the first two times, or inwardly. In the translation I have kept strictly to the wording in the Arabic.