40 – Hubayb b. ‘Adiyy b. ‘Amir b. Majda‘ah al-Ansari, son of Jahjaba al-Ansari, the martyr.
Ibn Sa‘d records that he was present at Uhud and was among those whom the Prophet ﷺ sent with the clan of Lihyan. When they reached al-Raji‘, the tribe betrayed them, rallied others against them, killed some of the party, and seized Hubayb and Zayd b. al-Dathinnah. The captives were sold in Mecca, then put to death in reprisal for men of their own whom the Prophet ﷺ had killed, and they were crucified at Tan‘im (1).
Maslamah b. Jundub reported—on the authority of al-Harith b. al-Barsā’—that Hubayb was brought to Mecca and sold there. They took him outside the Sanctuary to execute him, whereupon he said, “Let me pray two rak‘ahs (units of prayer).” Then
…and suddenly they began to shout, “Fire! Fire! You have burned us with fire! By God, we never wanted you, nor did we seek to harm you; you were only a night-time visitor who knocked at our door. So lift this written spell from us!”
He answered, “By Him in whose hand is Muhammad’s soul, I will not remove it until I ask his permission, ﷺ.”
At daybreak he informed the Prophet, who said, “Lift it from them; but if they return to evil, then return to punishing them. By Him in whose hand is Muhammad’s soul, whenever these names enter a house, a spot, or a dwelling, Satan, his troops, his offspring, and the misguiders all flee.”
This report is fabricated: its chain is broken and most of its transmitters are unknown. Furthermore, none of the Companions bore the name Musa at all.
(*) Nasab Quraysh, pp. 204–205; Taʾrikh Khalifa, pp. 74, 76; Al-Istibsar, pp. 305–307; Hilyat al-Awliyaʾ, 1:112–114; Al-Istīʿab, 3:183; Usd al-Ghabah, 2:120; Al-ʿAqd al-Thamin, 4:305; Al-Isabah, 3:80; Kanz al-ʿUmmal, 13:386.
(1) Reported by Ahmad, 2:294, 310, and by al-Bukhari: no. 3045 (Book of Jihad, “Should a man surrender, and those who did not surrender, and the one who performed two rakʿahs before being killed”), no. 3989 (Maghazi), no. 4086 (Expedition of al-Rajiʿ, Riʿl, and Dhakwan), and no. 7402 (Book of Tawhid, “What is mentioned concerning the divine essence, attributes, and the names of Allah”), through Ibn Shihab, who said: ʿAmr b. Jariyah al-Thaqafi—an ally of Banu Zuhrah and one of Abu Hurayrah’s companions—told me, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: “The Messenger of Allah, ﷺ, sent ten men as scouts under the command of ʿAsim b. Thabit al-Ansari, the grandfather of ʿAsim b. ʿUmar b. al-Khattab. When they reached al-Hadah, between ʿUsfan and Mecca, news of them reached a branch of Hudhayl known as Banu Lihyan. About a hundred archers pursued them, traced their footprints until they found the date-stones of the food they had eaten at a campsite, and said, ‘Dates of Yathrib.’ They followed their trail, and when…