so he shaped it into something like a buckler. We moved on and soon confronted the ranks of the Byzantines. In their midst was a man mounted on a chestnut horse, its saddle and armor overlaid with gold, and he was carving his way through the Muslims. The Yemeni auxiliary lay in ambush for him behind a rock; when the Byzantine rode past, he hamstrung the horse, the rider toppled, and the auxiliary struck him down and seized his horse and gear.

Khalid ibn al-Walid then took those spoils from him. I approached Khalid and said, “Do you not know that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has ruled that the spoils belong to the one who kills the enemy?” He answered, “Indeed I do, but the booty seemed too valuable for him alone.” I said, “Either you return it, or I shall bring the matter before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”

When we gathered later I recounted the incident to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He said to Khalid, “What made you do that?” Khalid replied, “I thought the booty too valuable.” The Prophet said, “Return it to him.” I turned to Khalid and said, “There you are—did I not warn you?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked, “What is that?” I informed him, whereupon he became angry and said, “O Khalid, do not give it back to him. Will you people never leave my commanders alone? You want the choicest part of their work and leave them its hardship!”

Al-Waqidī related: Muḥammad ibn Muslim told me, from Yaḥyā ibn Abī Yaʿlā, who said: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar say, “I still remember when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to my mother and announced my father’s death. I watched him as he wiped his hand over my head and my brother’s head while tears streamed from his eyes. Then he prayed, ‘O Allah, Jaʿfar has come to You and obtained the finest reward; so look after his progeny in the best way You have ever looked after any servant’s progeny.’ He then said, ‘O Asmāʾ, shall I give you good news?’ She replied, ‘Yes, may my father and mother be your ransom.’ He said, ‘Allah has given Jaʿfar two wings with which he flies in Paradise.’ She said, ‘So I informed the people of that,’ and he completed the account.”

Al-Waqidī also reported: Sulaymān ibn Bilāl narrated to me, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAqīl, from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, who said, “Some Muslims were killed in that battle, and the Muslims captured some of the idolaters’ belongings. Among the items they took…"