Ibn al-Ḥārith and Shibl as well. The two of them repented, so ʿUmar accepted their testimony, whereas Abū Bakrah refused, and his testimony was therefore not admitted—despite the fact that he was the most upright among them.¹
Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah reported from Saʿd ibn Ibrāhīm, from his father, who said:
“When Abū Bakrah was flogged, my grandmother Umm Kulthūm bint ʿUqbah had a goat brought, skinned it, and wrapped him in its hide. Could that have been for anything but the severity of the beating?² ³”
Baqiyyah related from Sulaymān al-Anṣārī, from al-Ḥasan, from al-Aḥnaf, who said:
“I pledged allegiance to ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him—and Abū Bakrah saw me with my sword slung across my shoulder. He asked, ‘What is this, my nephew?’ I replied, ‘I have pledged allegiance to ʿAlī.’ He said, ‘Do not do it. They are fighting over worldly gain, and they have seized it without consultation.’⁴”
Hawdhah narrated to us, saying: ʿAwf reported from Abū ʿUthmān al-Nahdī, who said:
“I was a close companion of Abū Bakrah. He said to me, ‘Do people imagine that I reproached these men out of desire for worldly things? They have already appointed my son ʿUbaydullāh over Fārs, and they have put Rawwād in charge of the Dār al-Rizq…’”}
(1) All the transmitters are trustworthy; the report is also found in Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 18/76. Saʿid here is Saʿid ibn al-Musayyab.
(2) Misk (musk): some early authorities restricted the term to the hide of a suckling goat, but common usage later broadened it so that any hide came to be called misk.
(3) Tarikh Ibn ʿAsakir, 17/320a.
(4) Baqiyah is Baqiyah ibn al-Walid, a mudallis; he uses an ʿan-chain, and I have not been able to identify Sulayman al-Ansari. The sound wording of the report is that transmitted by al-Bukhari (3/81, Book of Faith, chapter “If two groups of believers fight, reconcile them,” and 12/173, Book of Blood-Money, chapter “Whoever revives it”); Muslim (no. 2888) in the Book of Trials, chapter “When two Muslims face one another with swords”; and Abu Dawud (4268) in the Book of Trials, chapter “The prohibition of fighting during civil strife.” The chain runs: Hammad ibn Zayd → Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani and Yunus ibn ʿUbayd al-Basri → al-Hasan → al-Ahnaf ibn Qays, who said: “I went out intending to aid that man. Abu Bakrah met me and asked, ‘Where are you going, Ahnaf?’ I replied, ‘To support the cousin of the Messenger of Allah, meaning ʿAli.’ He said, ‘Ahnaf, turn back, for I heard the Messenger of Allah say: “When two Muslims confront one another with swords, the killer and the slain are both in the Fire.”’ I asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, that applies to the killer, but what about the slain?’ He answered, ‘He too was eager to kill his companion.’” For a commentary on this hadith, see Fath al-Bari, 13/27 and 13/29.