Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid reported, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī:
“If any household was created for Paradise, it is this household—Alqamah and al-Aswad.”
Abū Qays al-Awdi said, “I once saw Ibrāhīm holding Alqamah’s stirrup.”
Al-Aʿmash narrated from Mālik ibn al-Hārith, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yazīd:
They said to Alqamah, “Will you not visit the governors so that they may recognise your lineage?” He replied, “It would not please me to add another two thousand to my two thousand, nor to be the most honoured soldier in their sight.”
Someone then asked him, “Why do you not go to the mosque, sit there, and issue legal opinions to the people?” He answered, “Do you want people to trample my heel and say, ‘This is Alqamah’?”
Ḥuṣayn narrated from Ibrāhīm, from Alqamah, that he instructed:
“When my final moment comes, seat by my side someone who will prompt me with lā ilāha illā Allah (there is no god but Allah). Hasten me to my grave and do not announce my death to the people, for I fear that such an announcement would resemble the lamentations of the Age of Ignorance.” (1)
Some of the ḥadīth masters—rightly so—said, “The most authentic chain of transmission is: Manṣūr, from Ibrāhīm, from Alqamah, from Ibn Masʿūd.”
Accordingly, the soundest rendition of that narration is the one transmitted by Shuʿbah, Sufyān, and—
(1) Ahmad, Musnad, 5/406; al-Tirmidhi, no. 986; Ibn Majah, no. 1476; and al-Bayhaqi, 4/74, all relate the hadith of Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman: whenever someone in his household died he would say, “Do not inform anyone; I fear that would constitute naʿy (the public proclamation of death). I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbid naʿy.”
Ibn Abi Shayba also transmits the marfuʿ version in al-Musannaf, 4/98, and Ibn Hajar judges it sound in Fath al-Bari. The scholars explain that the prohibition applies only when the announcement resembles the pre-Islamic practice of roaming the streets and markets crying out the news; if it is free of such features, it is permissible. Hence al-Bukhari and Muslim report from Abu Hurayra that the Prophet ﷺ announced the death of the Negus on the very day he died, went to the prayer ground, formed the people in rows, and pronounced four takbirs over him.
Al-Bukhari, Book of Funerals, also entitles a chapter: “A man may announce the death to the family himself,” and cites the report of Anas. Ahmad, Musnad, 5/299–301, records at length from Abu Qatada: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Shall I inform you about your army on this expedition? They advanced until they met the enemy: Zayd fell as a martyr—seek forgiveness for him.” The people did so. “Then Jaʿfar ibn Abi Talib took the banner, charged, and was martyred—bear witness to his martyrdom and seek forgiveness for him.” They did so. “Then ʿAbd Allah ibn Rawaha seized the banner, stood firm, and was martyred—seek forgiveness for him.” They did so. “Then Khalid ibn al-Walid took the banner—though he was not one of the appointed commanders; he appointed himself. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ raised two fingers and said, ‘O Allah, he is one of Your swords, so grant him victory.’ ” The chain of transmission is strong.