Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (1/341)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

The imam, Abū Yaḥyā—others said: Abū ʿAtīk—an Anṣārī from the Aws, of the clan of Banū al-Ashhal. He was one of the twelve chiefs appointed on the Night of ʿAqabah, having embraced Islam early on. Ibn Isḥāq said that he was not present at Badr. His father was a noble whose command was heeded, known as Ḥuḍayr al-Katāʾib; he had been the leader of the Aws on the day of Buʿāth (1) and was killed there, six years before the Hijrah. Usayd himself was counted among the intelligent nobles and men of sound judgment.

Muḥammad ibn Saʿd reported that the Prophet ﷺ established a bond of brotherhood between him and Zayd ibn Ḥārithah.

He transmitted several hadiths. Among those who narrated from him were ʿĀʾishah, Kaʿb ibn Mālik, and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā—though the last of them did not actually meet him.

Al-Wāqidī related that he accompanied ʿUmar to al-Jābiyah, was placed in command of one quarter of the Anṣār, and that he and Saʿd ibn Muʿādh were among those who accepted Islam at the hands of Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr (2).

Abū Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared: “What an excellent man is Abū Bakr; what an excellent man is ʿUmar; and what an excellent man is Usayd ibn Ḥuḍayr.” It was recorded by al-Tirmidhī (3), and its chain of transmission is good.

It is also related that Usayd possessed one of the finest voices for reciting the Quran.

(1) Buʿath – the initial consonant bears a ḍamma, followed by an un-dotted ʿayn, and the word ends with thāʾ – was a locality on the outskirts of Madina that witnessed several pre-Islamic clashes between the Aws and the Khazraj, the decisive victory on that day going to the Aws. The Aws were then led by Hudayr, the father of the Companion under discussion, while the Khazraj were commanded by ʿAmr b. al-Nuʿmān al-Bayādi; both men were slain. Khafāf b. Nudba mourned “Hudayr of the Battalions” with the verses: Had fate allowed a man to escape his death, Hudayr would have survived the day Buʿath was shut in fight; Encircled he stood, and when darkness blanketed the night, he took his rest in a place of gentle ease. Consult: Muʿjam al-Buldan 1/451; Ibn Saʿd 3/2/135–136. (2) The phrase “and he together with Saʿd b. Muʿādh” is omitted in the printed edition. (3) Ḥadith no. 3797 appears in the section “Virtues of Muʿādh and Zayd”; its chain is sound. Al-Hākim, 3/289, declared it ṣaḥīḥ and al-Dhahabī concurred. See also Ibn Saʿd 3/2/137 and al-Iṣābah 1/76.

الإِمَامُ أَبُو يَحْيَى - وَقِيْلَ: أَبُو عَتِيْكٍ - الأَنْصَارِيُّ، الأَوْسِيُّ، الأَشْهَلِيُّ. أَحَدُ النُّقَبَاءِ الاثْنَيْ عَشَرَ لَيْلَةَ العَقَبَةِ، أَسْلَمَ قَدِيْماً. وَقَالَ: مَا شَهِدَ بَدْراً، وَكَانَ أَبُوْهُ شَرِيْفاً مُطَاعاً، يُدْعَى: حُضَيْرُ الكَتَائِبِ، وَكَانَ رَئِيْسَ الأَوْسِ يَوْمَ بُعَاثٍ (١) ، فَقُتِلَ يَوْمَئِذٍ، قَبْلَ عَامِ الهِجْرَةِ بِسِتِّ سِنِيْنَ، وَكَانَ أُسَيْدٌ يُعَدُّ مِنْ عُقَلاَءِ الأَشْرَافِ، وَذَوِي الرَّأْيِ. قَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بنُ سَعْدٍ: آخَى النَّبِيُّ ﷺ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ زَيْدِ بنِ حَارِثَةَ. وَلَهُ رِوَايَةُ أَحَادِيْثَ. رَوَتْ عَنْهُ: عَائِشَةُ، وَكَعْبُ بنُ مَالِكٍ، وَعَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بنُ أَبِي لَيْلَى، وَلَمْ يَلْحَقْهُ. وَذَكَرَ الوَاقِدِيُّ: أَنَّهُ قَدِمَ الجَابِيَةَ مَعَ عُمَرَ، وَكَانَ مُقَدَّماً عَلَى رُبُعِ الأَنْصَارِ، وَأَنَّهُ مِمَّنْ أَسْلَمَ عَلَى يَدِ مُصْعَبِ بنِ عُمَيْرٍ، هُوَ وَسَعْدُ بنُ مُعَاذٍ (٢) . قَالَ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ: قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ ﷺ: (نِعْمَ الرَّجُلُ أَبُو بَكْرٍ، نِعْمَ الرَّجُلُ عُمَرُ، نِعْمَ الرَّجُلُ أُسَيْدُ بنُ حُضَيْرٍ) . أَخْرَجَهُ: التِّرْمِذِيُّ (٣) ، وَإِسْنَادُهُ جَيِّدٌ. وَرُوِيَ أَنَّ أُسَيْداً كَانَ مِنْ أَحْسَنِ النَّاسِ صَوْتاً بِالقُرْآنِ.

(١) بضم الموحدة، والعين المهملة آخره ثاء مثلثة: موضع في نواحي المدينة كانت به وقائع بين الاوس والخزرج في الجاهلية، وكان الظفر فيه يومئذ للاوس على الخزرج. وكان على الاوس يومئذ حضير والد الصحابي الجليل المترجم وكان على الخزرج عمر بن النعمان البياضي فقتلا جميعا، فقال خفاف بن ندبة يرثي حضير الكتائب: فلو كان حي ناجيا من حمامه * لكان حضير يوم أغلق واقما أطاف به حتى إذا الليل جنه * تبوأ منه منزلا متناعما وانظر " معجم البلدان " ١ / ٤٥١، وابن سعد ٣ / ٢ / ١٣٥ - ١٣٦. (٢) عبارة " وهو وسعد بن معاذ " سقطت من المطبوع. (٣) (٣٧٩٧) في المناقب: باب مناقب معاذ، وزيد، وسنده حسن. وصححه الحاكم ٣ / ٢٨٩ ووافقه الذهبي، وانظر ابن سعد ٣ / ٢ / ١٣٧ و" الإصابة " ١ / ٧٦.