Badr and Hunayn. He used a catapult in only one campaign, that of al-Tā’if. He defended his position with a trench in only one campaign, that of the Confederates, following the advice of Salmān al-Fārisī.
Section
His Weapons and Furnishings, Peace and Blessings Be upon Him (1)
He had nine swords: Ma’thūr, the first sword he owned, which he inherited from his father; al-‘Adb; and Dhū al-Fiqār, also pronounced Dhū al-Faqār, which he rarely parted with. Its hilt, pommel (2), ring, suspension fitting, ornamental rings, and scabbard tip were made of silver. The remaining swords were al-Qal‘ī, al-Battār, al-Hatf, al-Rasūb, al-Mikhdham, and al-Qadīb (3). His sword’s scabbard tip was silver, its pommel was silver (4), and between them were silver rings (5).
His sword was Dhū al-Fiqār, which he took from the spoils on the day of Badr. It was the sword concerning which he was shown the dream (6). On the day of the Conquest, he entered Mecca with gold (7) and silver adorning his sword.
(1) The word “dhikr (mention)” is omitted from sād. “Athāthuhu (his furnishings)” was omitted from ‘ayn, then restored in a later hand.
(2) The sword’s qabī‘ah (pommel) is the silver or iron fitting at the end of its grip.
(3) In sād and jīm, al-Qadīb is mentioned before the coats of mail. It may have been added in the margin, then inserted in the wrong place by a copyist.
(4) “And his sword’s pommel was silver” is omitted from qāf, mīm-bā’, and nūn, as well as from the printed editions.
(5) Recorded from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, by Ibn Sa‘d in al-Tabaqāt (1:418), al-Nasā’ī in al-Mujtabā (5374) and al-Kubrā (9727), and al-Tahāwī in Sharh mushkil al-āthār (1399). Its chain is hasan (fair) for purposes of corroboration.
(6) The dream and the source references for its report will be discussed below in the “Section on the Battle of Uhud,” in the account of the campaigns and biography (3:226).
(7) Recorded from Mazīdah al-‘Asarī by al-Tirmidhī in al-Jāmi‘ (1690) and al-Shamā’il (107), Ibn Abī ‘Āsim in al-Āhād wa-l-mathānī (1691), al-Tabarānī (20:346), and Abū al-Shaykh in Akhlāq al-nabī (2:383). Al-Tirmidhī said: “A gharīb (singly transmitted) hadith.” Al-Dhahabī stated in the entry on Tālib ibn Hujayr in Mīzān al-i‘tidāl (2:333): “This is munkar (unacceptable), for we know of no gold among the ornaments of his sword, peace and blessings be upon him.” Someone quoted this statement of al-Dhahabī in an annotation to manuscript jīm.