Al-Bukhārī (1) narrated: Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr related to us; ʿUmar ibn ʿAlī related to us; from Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, from ʿĀmir, who said: Whenever Ibn ʿUmar greeted the son of Jaʿfar he would say, “Peace be upon you, O son of the two-winged one.”

He also recorded it (2) in the Book of Virtues, and al-Nasāʾī transmitted it through Yazīd ibn Hārūn, from Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, with the same wording.

Al-Bukhārī (3) likewise said: Abū Nuʿaym related to us; Sufyān related to us; from Ismāʿīl, from Qays ibn Abī Ḥāzim, who said: I heard Khālid ibn al-Walīd say, “Nine swords were broken in my hand on the day of Muʾtah; nothing remained in my hand except a Yemeni blade.”

He then recorded it (4) through Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā, from Yaḥyā, from Ismāʿīl—Qays told me—who said: I heard Khālid ibn al-Walīd say, “Nine swords were shattered in my hand on the day of Muʾtah, yet a single Yemeni blade endured.” Al-Bukhārī alone transmits this version.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqī (5) said: Abū Naṣr ibn Qatādah informed us; Abū ʿAmr ibn Maṭar informed us; Abū Khalīfah al-Faḍl ibn al-Ḥubāb al-Jumaḥī narrated to us; Sulaymān ibn Ḥarb narrated to us; al-Aswad ibn Shaybān narrated to us, from Khālid ibn Sumayr, who said:

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rabāḥ al-Anṣārī came to us— and the Anṣār used to seek his instruction—so the people gathered around him. I was among those present, and he said:

Abū Qatādah, the horseman of the Messenger of Allah — may Allah bless him and grant him peace — related to us:

“The Messenger of Allah — may Allah bless him and grant him peace — dispatched the army of commanders, saying, ‘Your leader is Zayd ibn Ḥārithah; if Zayd is killed, then Jaʿfar; if Jaʿfar is killed, then ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥah.’

“Jaʿfar leapt up and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I did not think you would appoint Zayd over me.’ He replied, ‘Set out, for you do not know which of you is better.’

“They departed and stayed away as long as Allah willed. Then the Messenger of Allah — may Allah bless him and grant him peace — ascended the pulpit and ordered that the call be made: ‘Prayer is assembling!’ The people gathered around him and he said:

‘I shall inform you about your army. They advanced and met the enemy. Zayd was martyred—seek forgiveness for him. Then Jaʿfar took the banner, charged the enemy, and was martyred—he bore witness to his martyrdom and sought forgiveness for him. Then ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥah took the banner and stood firm until he was martyred—seek forgiveness for him. Thereafter Khālid ibn al-Walīd took the banner; he had not been among the appointed commanders—he appointed himself.’

“Then the Messenger of Allah — may Allah bless him and grant him peace — said, ‘O Allah, he is a sword from among Your swords, so grant him victory.’ From that day onward Khālid was called ‘the Sword of Allah.’”

Al-Nasāʾī (6) likewise transmitted this report through ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak, from al-Aswad ibn Shaybān, with similar wording. It includes an additional fine detail: when the people had gathered around him — may Allah bless him and grant him peace — he said, “News has returned, news has returned …,” and then related the narrative.