—a man of the Zuhrah clan—who later adopted him. Another opinion states that Miqdād had first been al-Aswad’s slave, dark-skinned, and that he then adopted him. A third view holds that, after committing bloodshed in Kindah, he fled to Mecca and entered into a pact with al-Aswad.
He was present at Badr and the subsequent campaigns. It is reliably established that on the Day of Badr he fought as a cavalryman, though scholars differ about al-Zubayr’s status on that day.
He transmitted a number of hadiths. Among those who narrated from him were ʿAlī, Ibn Masʿūd, Ibn ʿAbbās, Jubayr ibn Nufayr, Ibn Abī Laylā, Hammām ibn al-Ḥārith, ʿUbaydullāh ibn ʿAdiyy ibn al-Khiyār, and many others.
He was described as dark-complexioned, tall, stout-bellied, with a full head of hair, large eyes, a unibrow, and a dignified bearing.
He lived for roughly seventy years. He died in the year 33 AH; ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān led the funeral prayer over him, and his grave lies in al-Baqīʿ (1).
His narrations are found in all six canonical collections. One of his hadiths is recorded in both Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (2), and Muslim alone transmits four additional hadiths (3).
(1) See Ibn Saʿd, 3/1/155; al-Hakim, 3/348.
(2) Al-Bukhari, 4019, Book of Maghazi, chap. 12, and Muslim, 95, Book of Faith, “The prohibition of killing a disbeliever after he has said: la ilaha illa Allah,” transmitted through al-Layth → Ibn Shihab → ʿAtaʾ ibn Yazid al-Laythi → ʿUbayd Allah ibn ʿAdi ibn al-Khiar → al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad. Al-Miqdad reported that he said: “Messenger of Allah, what do you think if I meet a man from the unbelievers who fights me, strikes one of my hands with the sword and cuts it off, then takes refuge behind a tree and says, ‘I have submitted to Allah.’ May I kill him after he has said it?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, “Do not kill him.” I said, “Messenger of Allah, he cut off my hand and only afterwards said it; may I kill him?” He ﷺ replied, “Do not kill him, for if you do, he will be in the position you were in before you killed him, and you will be in the position he was in before he uttered the word he has spoken.” The wording is that of Muslim. – “He sought refuge behind a tree”: i.e., he shielded himself from me with it.
(3) Muslim, 2055, Book of Drinks, “Honouring the guest and the merit of preferring him to oneself,” through Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shayba → Shababa ibn Sawwar → Sulayman ibn al-Mughira → Thabit → ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla → al-Miqdad, who said: “I and two companions of mine set out, our hearing and sight almost gone from exhaustion, and we began to offer…” (narration continues).