Those who transmitted hadith from him include: Abū Hurayrah, Abū Muslim al-Khawlānī—both of whom predeceased him by a considerable time—Jubayr ibn Nufayr, Abū Idrīs al-Khawlānī, Rāshid ibn Saʿd, Yazīd ibn al-Aṣamm, Shurayḥ ibn ʿUbayd, al-Shaʿbī, Sālim Abū al-Naḍr, Sulaym ibn ʿĀmir, and Shaddād Abū ʿAmmār.
He was present at the Battle of Muʾtah.
He said, “A maddadī (1) from the people of Yemen accompanied me, carrying nothing but his sword…,”—and the report continues at length.
Contained therein is his ﷺ remark: “Will you leave my commanders alone for me?” (2)
Rabīʿah ibn Yazīd narrated—through Abū Idrīs al-Khawlānī, from Abū Muslim—who said, “The beloved and trustworthy one informed me—beloved to me personally, and, in my estimation, trustworthy—namely ʿAwf ibn Mālik. He said: ‘We were in the company of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, seven of us, or eight, or nine.’”
(1) The adjective “maddī” is derived from the noun madad (reinforcements, auxiliary troops).
(2) Musnad Ahmad, 6/26–28 (two isnāds) from Safwan b. Amr → ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Jubayr b. Nufayr → his father → ʿAwf b. Mālik al-Ashjaʿī:
“I marched with the Muslims under Zayd b. Ḥāritha in the expedition of Muʾta. A Yemeni auxiliary (maddī) travelled with me; he possessed nothing but his sword. One of the Muslims slaughtered a camel, and the Yemeni asked him for a strip of its hide. The man gave it to him, and he fashioned it into a kind of shield.
We advanced until we confronted the Roman forces. Among them was a rider on a chestnut horse, his saddle and weapons gilded. The Roman kept provoking the Muslims, while the Yemeni lay in wait behind a rock. When the Roman passed by, the Yemeni hamstrung his horse; it fell, and he leapt upon the rider, killed him, and carried off his horse and weapons.
After Allah granted victory to the Muslims, Khālid b. al-Walīd sent for the Yemeni and took the spoils from him. I (ʿAwf) went to Khalid and said, ‘Khalid, do you not know that the Messenger of Allah—peace be upon him—has ruled that the spoils belong to the one who kills the enemy?’ He replied, ‘I do, but the booty seemed too valuable.’ I said, ‘Either restore it to him, or I shall report you to the Messenger of Allah.’ Khalid refused.
We gathered before the Prophet, and I told him what had happened. The Messenger of Allah asked, ‘Khalid, what made you do that?’ He answered, ‘Messenger of Allah, it seemed too valuable.’ The Prophet said, ‘Khalid, give back what you took from him.’
I then said, ‘Here you are, Khalid—did I not keep my word?’ The Prophet asked, ‘What is this about?’ When I explained, he became angry and said, ‘Khalid, do not return it to him. Will you people not leave my commanders alone? You want the choicest part of their task and leave them the hardship.’”