It is also permissible for him to accept a challenge to single combat when invited to it, and to issue such a challenge himself. This was explicitly stated in the narration of al-Maimūnī and Ibn Mishīsh concerning a man who knows himself to possess the strength to do so and challenges an opponent to single combat. The basis for this is the report that Ubayy ibn Khalaf challenged the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at Uhud; he came out to meet him and killed him.

The first battle witnessed by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was the Battle of Badr. Three of the polytheists came forth: ʿUtbah ibn Rabīʿah, his son al-Walīd, and his brother Shaybah. They challenged the Muslims to single combat, so three men from the Anṣār came out to face them: ʿAwf and Masʿūd, the sons of ʿAfrāʾ, and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥah. They said, “Let our equals from our own people come out to face us.” Then three men from Banū Hāshim came forth against them: ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib faced al-Walīd and killed him; Ḥamzah faced Shaybah and killed him; and ʿUbaydah ibn al-Ḥārith faced ʿUtbah, and the two exchanged two blows.

This is because issuing a challenge to single combat strengthens the religion of Allah Most High and supports His Messenger. At Uhud, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called for single combat while wearing two coats of armor over one another. He took up a sword, brandished it, and said, “Who will take this sword and fulfill its due?” Abū Dujānah, Simāk ibn Kharashah, stood before him and asked, “What is its due, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “That you strike the enemy with it until it bends.” Abū Dujānah took it from him and marked himself with a red headband. Whenever he wore it, people knew that he would fight and acquit himself valiantly.