for, when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw the cut delivered by Muʿādh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-Jamūḥ—so deep that it proved decisive in killing Abū Jahl—he granted him the salab, while consoling Ibn ʿAfrāʾ by saying, “Both of you killed him,” even though the fatal blow truly belonged to Muʿādh ibn ʿAmr.
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The same right applies when the killing is established through testimony. Al-Bukhārī and Muslim relate on the authority of Abū Qatādah: “I saw a man from the idolaters overpowering a Muslim. I struck him on the base of his neck, and death soon overtook him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Whoever kills an enemy combatant and produces a bayyina (legal proof) shall have his salab.’ I asked, ‘Who will testify for me?’ A man from the assembly said, ‘He is truthful, O Messenger of Allah—the salab of that slain man is his.’ The Prophet ﷺ then said, ‘Satisfy him with his right. Give it to him,’ and so it was handed over to me.”
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Al-Buhūtī states in Sharḥ al-Iqnāʿ: “A claim of having killed an unbeliever for the sake of taking his salab is not accepted unless supported by two male witnesses, because the Lawgiver required a bayyina, and an unqualified bayyina defaults to two witnesses. As will be discussed under the categories of testimony, one male witness together with two women, or one male witness plus an oath, is likewise admissible, just as in other financial claims.”
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He also says: “If two or more Muslims share in killing him, the salab becomes part of the general spoils, for the Prophet ﷺ never divided a single salab between two people. The right is earned only by the one who single-handedly slays him and is forfeited when the killing is shared.”
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The circumstances of Abū Jahl’s death are as follows: Two youths from the Anṣār—Muʿādh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-Jamūḥ and Muʿawwidh ibn ʿAfrāʾ—spent the day of Badr looking for Abū Jahl so they could kill him. When they caught sight of him they rushed forward. Muʿādh struck first, severing his leg and leaving him wallowing in his blood; Muʿawwidh then stabbed him, adding grievous wounds. They returned to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and informed him. After he inspected their swords he said, “Both of you killed him,” yet he awarded the salab to Muʿādh. Some scholars explained this by noting that Muʿādh’s stroke was the one that proved fatal. ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd later passed by Abū Jahl, found him at the threshold of death, severed his head, and brought it to the Prophet ﷺ. Upon seeing it the Prophet said, “This is the Pharaoh of this community,” and he gave Abū Jahl’s sword to Ibn Masʿūd.