Mishkat al-Masabih
Mishkat al-Masabih 3989
وَعَنْ سَلَمَةَ بْنِ الْأَكْوَعِ قَالَ: بَعَثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِظَهْرِهِ مَعَ رَبَاحٍ غُلَامِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَأَنَا مَعَهُ فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحْنَا إِذَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ الْفَزَارِيُّ قَدْ أَغَارَ عَلَى ظَهْرِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقُمْتُ عَلَى أَكَمَةٍ فَاسْتَقْبَلْتُ الْمَدِينَةَ فَنَادَيْتُ ثَلَاثًا يَا صَبَاحَاهْ ثُمَّ خَرَجْتُ فِي آثَارِ الْقَوْمِ أَرْمِيهِمْ بِالنَّبْلِ وَأَرْتَجِزُ وَأَقُولُ: أَنَا ابْنُ الْأَكْوَعْ وَالْيَوْمُ يَوْمُ الرُّضَّعْ فَمَا زِلْتُ أَرْمِيهِمْ وَأَعْقِرُ بِهِمْ حَتَّى مَا خلَقَ اللَّهُ مِنْ بَعِيرٍ مِنْ ظَهْرِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَّا خَلَّفْتُهُ وَرَاءَ ظَهْرِي ثُمَّ اتَّبَعْتُهُمْ أَرْمِيهِمْ حَتَّى أَلْقَوْا أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ثَلَاثِينَ بُرْدَةً وَثَلَاثِينَ رُمْحًا يَسْتَخِفُّونَ وَلَا يَطْرَحُونَ شَيْئًا إِلَّا جَعَلْتُ عَلَيْهِ آرَامًا مِنَ الْحِجَارَةِ يَعْرِفُهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَأَصْحَابُهُ حَتَّى رَأَيْتُ فَوَارِسَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَحِقَ أَبُو قَتَادَةَ فَارِسُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِعَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ فَقَتَلَهُ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «خَيْرُ فُرْسَانِنَا الْيَوْمَ أَبُو قَتَادَةَ وَخَيْرُ رَجَّالَتِنَا سَلَمَةُ» . قَالَ: ثُمَّ أَعْطَانِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سَهْمَيْنِ: سَهْمَ الْفَارِسِ وَسَهْمَ الرَّاجِلِ فَجَمَعَهُمَا إِلَيَّ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ أَرْدَفَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَرَاءَهُ عَلَى الْعَضْبَاءِ رَاجِعَيْنِ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ. رَوَاهُ مُسلم
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Salama ibn al-Akwaʿ reported: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) sent his riding camels with Rabah, the Messenger of God’s servant, and I was with him. In the morning, ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Fazari had raided the Messenger of God’s camels. I climbed a hill facing Medina and shouted three times, ‘Help! Help!’ Then I set out after the people, shooting arrows at them and chanting: ‘I am the son of al-Akwaʿ; today is the day of the sucklings.’ I kept shooting at them and hamstringing their mounts until every camel from the Messenger of God’s herd that God had created was left behind me. I pursued them, shooting, until they dropped more than thirty cloaks and thirty spears to lighten their load. Whenever they dropped anything, I marked it with stones so that the Messenger of God and his Companions would recognize it. Then I saw the Messenger of God’s cavalry, and Abu Qatada, the Messenger of God’s horseman, caught up with ʿAbd al-Rahman and killed him. The Messenger of God said, ‘Our best horseman today is Abu Qatada, and our best foot soldier is Salama.’ He then gave me two shares, the share of a horseman and that of a foot soldier, combining both for me. Then the Messenger of God seated me behind him on al-ʿAdbaʾ as we returned to Medina. Narrated by Muslim.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The battle chant is translated literally, including the source's unusual reference to suckling infants.