then after him Amr ibn Umm Maktum—the blind man of the Banu Fihr—came to us, and he related the rest of the account. (1)
Al-Aʿmash narrated, through Abu Waʾil, from Khabbab, who said:
“We emigrated with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, seeking the pleasure of Allah, so our reward rests with Allah. Some of us went on our way without taking any portion of that reward; among them was Musʿab ibn ʿUmayr. He was killed on the Day of Uhud and left nothing but a single striped cloak: when we covered his head his feet were exposed, and when we covered his feet his head appeared. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘Cover his head and place some idhkhir (aromatic grass) over his feet.’
“Others among us have seen their fruit ripen, and they are now gathering it.” (2)
Shuʿbah related from Saʿd ibn Ibrāhīm, who heard his father say:
“Food was brought to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, and he began to weep, saying, ‘Ḥamzah was slain, and nothing could be found to shroud him in except a single cloth…’”
(1) Reported by al-Bukhari, nos. 3924–3925 (The Merits of the Ansar, chapter: The Prophet’s arrival in Madinah), through the chain of Shu‘bah – Abu Ishaq – al-Baraʾ ibn ʿAzib: “The first to reach us were Musʿab ibn ʿUmayr and Ibn Umm Maktum, and they used to teach people the Quran. Then came Bilal, Saʿd and ʿAmmar ibn Yasir. Later ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab arrived with twenty Companions. Never did I see the people of Madinah rejoice over anything as much as they rejoiced for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; even the servant-girls were chanting: ‘The Messenger of Allah has arrived!’ He did not reach us until I had already learnt ‘Glorify the name of your Lord Most High’ and several short surahs.”
The wording “What has the Messenger of Allah ﷺ done, and his Companions? – They are right behind me” is preserved in the version of Ibn Abi Shaybah.
See Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari, 7/260.
(2) Reported by Ahmad, 5/112 and 6/390; al-Bukhari, nos. 1286 (Funerals, chapter: When only a single cloth is found for the shroud), 3897, 3913, 3914 (Merits of the Ansar, chapters on the Hijrah), 4047, 4082 (Military Expeditions, Uhud and those killed there), 6432 (Softening the Heart, chapter: The danger of worldly allure), and 6448 (Softening the Heart, chapter: The merit of poverty); Muslim, no. 940 (Funerals, chapter: The shroud); Abu Dawud, no. 3155 (Funerals); al-Tirmidhi, no. 3852 (Merits); al-Nasaʾi, 4/28 (Funerals, chapter: The shirt as a shroud); and Ibn Saʿd, 3/1/85–86.
nimra: a coarse wool cloak traditionally worn by Bedouins.
adhkhar: a fragrant herb that turns white when dry.
Yahdubu-ha means “he gathers it”; the printed text mistakenly reads yuhdi-ha.