and I am in al-Shām.’ At that very moment the lion lunged at him from among the group, seized him by the head, and slaughtered him.

In the version narrated by Hishām ibn ʿUrwah from his father it says:

‘When the lion had circled around them that night and then moved away, they stood up and placed ʿUtaybah in the middle of their circle. The lion came forward, stepping over them, until it reached ʿUtaybah, seized him by the head, and crushed him.’

Al-Bukhārī and Muslim record from ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd:

‘While the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was praying beside the Kaʿbah, Abū Jahl and a number of his companions were sitting nearby. A she-camel had been slaughtered the previous day, and Abū Jahl said, “Which of you will fetch the placenta of the camel belonging to the family of so-and-so and place it on Muhammad’s shoulders when he prostrates?” The most wretched among them got up, brought it, and when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, went down in prostration…’