Biyāḍah ibn ʿĀmir, and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṭāriq, an ally of Banū Ẓafar.

Such is Ibn Isḥāq’s report—that they were six in all—and the same number is given by Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah (1), who also lists them as Ibn Isḥāq does. Al-Bukhārī, however, records that they were ten, and that their commander was ʿĀṣim ibn Thābit ibn Abī al-Aqlaḥ; Allah knows best.

Ibn Isḥāq (2) continues: They set out with the deputation, and when they reached al-Rajīʿ—a watering place belonging to Hudhayl in the Ḥijāz, at the headwaters of al-Hadāʾah—the latter betrayed them and called upon the tribe of Hudhayl for support. The Muslims were in their camp when, without warning, men brandishing swords swarmed over them. They snatched up their own swords to defend themselves, but the attackers said:

“By Allah, we do not wish to kill you; we only want to ransom you for something from the people of Mecca. We give you Allah’s covenant and pledge that we will not kill you.”

Marthad, Khālid ibn al-Bukayr, and ʿĀṣim ibn Thābit replied, “By Allah, we shall never accept any covenant or treaty from a polytheist.”

ʿĀṣim ibn Thābit then chanted:

[rajaz]
What aileth me, when I am a tough, seasoned archer,
The bow in my hand, its stout string taut?
From its curve the sharp-tipped arrows fly;
Death is certain, while life is but a fleeting lie.
Whatever the Almighty decrees must fall
Upon man—and to Him that man shall return.
If I do not fight you, may my mother be bereaved of me!

He also recited:

[rajaz]
Abū Sulaymān, feathers on his saddle;
A stray one blazing like a hell-kindled fire.
When the camel’s hump is settled I never tremble;
My shield is rawhide stripped from a tawny bull;
And I believe in what Muhammad has brought.

And he said as well:

[rajaz]
Abū Sulaymān—and a marksman such as I—
While my people were a noble clan.

He fought on until he was killed, and his two companions were killed alongside him. When ʿĀṣim fell, the Hudhayl sought to take his head in order to sell it to Sulāfah bint Saʿd ibn Shuhayīd (3), for she had vowed—after her two sons were slain on the Day of Uḥud—that should she ever obtain ʿĀṣim’s head she would drink wine from his skull. Yet a swarm of hornets prevented them—a detail reported by al-Bukhārī after Khubayb and Zayd ibn al-Dathinnah had reached Mecca, and Ibn Isḥāq’s wording is the more fitting.

When the hornets barred their way they said, “Leave him until evening; they will disperse and we will take him.” But Allah sent a flood through the valley that carried ʿĀṣim away. He had pledged to Allah that no polytheist would ever touch him, nor would he touch a polytheist, deeming them impure; and whenever ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb heard that the hornets had shielded him, he would say: