‘Umar said, “What is this, O Khalid?”
Khalid replied, “What is wrong with it, Commander of the Believers? Did not ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ‘Awf wear one?”
‘Umar retorted, “And are you like Ibn ‘Awf? Do you possess what Ibn ‘Awf possesses? I place everyone in this house under oath by Allah: let each of you seize the part that is before him.”
He said: so they tore it to pieces until nothing of it remained. (1)
‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak said: Ḥammād ibn Zayd narrated to us—he said: ‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Mukhtār narrated to us, from ‘Āṣim ibn Bahdalah, from Abū Wā’il—though Ḥammād was uncertain about Abū Wā’il—who said:
When death came to Khalid ibn al-Walid, he said (2): “I sought martyrdom in every battlefield, yet it was only decreed for me to die upon my bed. Of all my deeds, nothing is more hopeful in my sight—after lā ilāha illā Allah (there is no god but Allah)—than a night I spent with my shield as a pillow while the sky poured upon us, waiting for dawn so that we might fall upon the unbelievers. (3)
“When I die, look to where my weapons and my horse are (4) and make them equipment in the path of Allah.”
When he passed away, ‘Umar came out for his funeral and recalled his words: “Let the womenfolk of the family of al-Walid shed their tears for Khalid, so long as it is not with naqʿ (throwing dust on the head) or laqlaqah (loud wailing).”
Ibn al-Mukhtār said: naqʿ means casting earth upon the head, and laqlaqah means the raised voice.
Al-Bukhārī has recorded part of this in his Ṣaḥīḥ (5): “’Umar said, ‘Leave them to weep over Abū Sulaymān so long as there is no dust thrown nor loud wailing.’”
Muḥammad ibn Sa‘d said (6): Waki‘, Abū Mu‘āwiyah, and ‘Abd Allāh ibn Numayr told us: al-A‘mash narrated to us, from Shaqīq ibn Salamah, who said:
When Khalid ibn al-Walid died, the women of Banū al-Mughīrah gathered in his house, weeping over him. Someone said to ‘Umar, “They have assembled in Khalid’s house lamenting him, and you may hear from them what you dislike. Send to them and forbid them.”
‘Umar said, “What harm is it if they shed their tears for Abū Sulaymān, so long as there is no dust thrown nor loud wailing.” Al-Bukhārī narrated something similar in his History (7) through al-A‘mash.
Ishāq ibn Bishr—and Muḥammad—said: Khalid ibn al-Walid died in Madinah. ‘Umar attended his funeral, and Khalid’s mother was there lamenting him and saying (8):
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