—both of them from the Banū al-Najjār.

Muʿādh ibn Nāʿiḍ al-Zurqī, a veteran of Badr; ʿUrwah ibn al-Ṣalt al-Sulamī, an ally of the Anṣār;

Mālik ibn Thābit and his brother Sufyān—both of them from Banū al-Nabīt.

These, then, are the names that have come down to us of the seventy martyrs about whom it is authentically reported that the verse was revealed: “Convey on our behalf to our people that we have met our Lord, and He is pleased with us and has made us pleased,” which was later abrogated.

It is also said that they were twenty-two mounted men; perhaps the narrator counted only the riders and left out those who were on foot.

Ismāʿīl ibn Abī ʿAmr related to us; Ibn al-Ban transmitted; my grandfather informed me; Ibn Abī al-ʿAlāʾ reported; Ibn Abī Naṣr conveyed; Ibn Abī al-ʿAqb related; Aḥmad ibn al-Basrī narrated; Muḥammad ibn ʿĀʾidh told; Ḥujwah ibn Mudrik al-Ghasānī informed me, from al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAmārah, from al-Ḥakam, from Maqsam, from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him):

“ʿĀmir ibn Mālik, called Mulāʿib al-Asinnah, sent word to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: ‘Send me a party of the men with you so that they may convey your message to me; they will be under my protection.’ The Prophet therefore dispatched al-Munḏir ibn ʿAmr (may Allah be pleased with him) at the head of twenty-two riders. When they reached the outskirts of the Banū ʿĀmir lands, he detached four of his men to one of their watering places—or, the narrator said, to some of them. ʿĀmir ibn al-Ṭufayl heard of their arrival, came upon them, fought them, and killed them.

“The four men whom al-Munḏir had sent turned back. As they drew near, they saw vultures circling overhead and said, ‘We see birds of prey wheeling about; our companions must surely have been slain.’ When they reached the site, two of them declared, ‘We shall not seek martyrdom after today,’ and they fought until they were killed, while the others returned.”