—so he pushed his way out, stepping over people’s necks as he went, saying, “By Allah, it is as though I had uttered something obscene simply because I rose to strengthen his cause!”

At the mosque door some men of the Anṣār met him and asked, “What is the matter with you—woe to you!” He replied, “I stood up to support him, but some of his Companions leapt on me, yanking at my clothes and rebuking me as though I had spoken an outrage.” They said, “Woe to you! Go back and let the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ask forgiveness for you.” He answered, “By Allah, I do not care that he ask forgiveness for me.”

Additional note: al-Wāqidī said: Ibrāhīm ibn Jaʿfar related to us from his father, and Saʿīd ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Zayd related to us, saying that Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Saʿīd told them:

Suwayd ibn al-Ṣāmit had killed a man named Dhiyād, so al-Mujadhdhir ibn Dhiyād killed him in retaliation; that killing helped ignite the battle of Buʿāth. When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Medina, al-Mujadhdhir and al-Ḥārith ibn Suwayd ibn al-Ṣāmit accepted Islam and were present at Badr. Yet al-Ḥārith continued to look for al-Mujadhdhir to avenge his father. On the day of Uḥud he came up from behind and killed him.

When the Prophet ﷺ returned from Ḥamrāʾ al-Asad, Gabriel informed him that al-Mujadhdhir had been killed. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ mounted his ride and went to Qubāʾ, where al-Ḥārith ibn Suwayd approached him wrapped in a dyed mantle. On seeing him, the Prophet called ʿUwīm ibn Sāʿidah and said, “Strike off al-Ḥārith’s head for al-Mujadhdhir ibn Dhiyād.” Al-Ḥārith pleaded, “By Allah, I did not kill him because I had turned away from Islam, but out of tribal zeal. I repent to Allah, will pay the blood-money, fast, and free slaves.” He clung to the Prophet’s stirrup until he had finished speaking, but the Prophet ﷺ said, “Present him, ʿUwīm, and strike off his head.” So ʿUwīm struck off his head at the mosque gate. Allah knows best.