Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Ahmad al-Nu'aymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Isma'il informed us; Hajjaj ibn Minhal informed us; al-Mu'tamir ibn Sulayman related to us, saying: I heard my father say: Abu Mijlaz informed us, from Qays ibn Abbad, from Ali ibn Abi Talib, who said: “I shall be the first to kneel before the Most Merciful to plead my case on the Day of Resurrection.” Qays said: Concerning them this verse was revealed: “These are two adversaries who have disputed concerning their Lord.” He said: They were those who came forth for single combat on the day of Badr: Ali, Hamzah, Ubaydah, Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah, Utbah ibn Rabi'ah, and al-Walid ibn Utbah. (1)

Muhammad ibn Ishaq said: On the day of Badr, Utbah ibn Rabi'ah came forth accompanied by his brother Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah and his son al-Walid ibn Utbah, and called for single combat. Three young men of the Ansar came out to face them: Awf and Mu'awwidh, the sons of al-Harith, whose mother was Afra, and Abdullah ibn Rawahah. They asked, “Who are you?” They replied, “A group from among the Ansar.” When they identified themselves, they said, “Noble and worthy equals.” Then their herald called out, “Muhammad, send out to us men from our own people who are our equals.”

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Rise, Ubaydah ibn al-Harith; Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib; and Ali ibn Abi Talib.” When they approached, they asked, “Who are you?” They identified themselves, and they said, “Yes—noble and worthy equals.” Ubaydah, who was the eldest of the group, faced Utbah; Hamzah faced Shaybah; and Ali faced al-Walid ibn Utbah. Hamzah did not delay in killing Shaybah, nor did Ali in killing al-Walid. Ubaydah and Utbah exchanged two blows, each of which struck down his opponent. Hamzah and Ali then charged Utbah with their swords and finished him off. They carried Ubaydah back to his companions, his leg having been severed and its marrow flowing out.

When they brought Ubaydah to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, he said, “Am I not a martyr, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “Yes.” Ubaydah then said: “Had Abu Talib been alive, he would have known that we were more deserving of the words he spoke, when he said:

“We shall never surrender him until we are struck down around him,
And distracted from our sons and our wives.”

Ibn Abbas and Qatadah said: The verse was revealed concerning the Muslims and the People of the Book. The People of the Book said, “We have a greater right to Allah than you, and our Scripture preceded yours; and our Prophet came before your Prophet.” The believers said, “We have a greater right to Allah: we believe in our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, in your Prophet, and in every Scripture that Allah has sent down. Yet you recognize our Prophet and our Book, then disbelieve in them out of envy.” This was their dispute concerning their Lord. (4)

Mujahid, Ata ibn Abi Rabah, and al-Kalbi said: They are the believers and the disbelievers, whatever their religious affiliation may be. (5)

Some said: He divided the religious communities into six in His saying, exalted is He: “Indeed, those who believe and those who are Jews” (al-Ma'idah: 69), to the end of the verse. He assigned five to the Fire and one to Paradise. Thus, His words, exalted is He, “These are two adversaries who have disputed concerning their Lord,” refer