al-Harith ibn al-Simmah, Haram ibn Milhan, Urwah ibn Asma ibn al-Salt al-Sulami, Nafi ibn Yazid ibn Waraqah al-Khuza'i, and Amir ibn Fuhayrah, the freedman of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. This took place in Safar of the fourth year after the Hijrah, four months after Uhud.
They travelled until they encamped at Bi'r Ma'unah, a place situated between the territory of Banu Amir and the volcanic plain of Banu Sulaym. When they arrived there, they said to one another, “Which of you will convey the Messenger of Allah’s message, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to the people of this watering-place?” Haram ibn Milhan said, “I will.” So he went out with the letter of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to Amir ibn al-Tufayl, who was at that watering-place. When Haram ibn Milhan came to them, Amir ibn al-Tufayl did not even look at the Messenger of Allah’s letter, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
Haram ibn Milhan said, “O people of Bi'r Ma'unah, I am the envoy of the Messenger of Allah sent to you. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. So believe in Allah and His Messenger.” A man then emerged from a side of the dwelling carrying a spear and struck him in the side with it, until it came out through the other side. Haram said, “Allah is Most Great! By the Lord of the Ka'bah, I have succeeded.”
Amir ibn al-Tufayl then called upon Banu Amir to join him against the Muslims, but they refused to answer his call. They said, “We will not violate the protection granted by Abu Bara, for he has made a covenant and pledged them his protection.” Amir then called upon clans of Banu Sulaym—Usayyah, Ri'l, and Dhakwan—and they answered him. They came out and descended upon the group, surrounding them in their camp. When the Muslims saw them, they took up their swords and fought them until every last one of them was killed, except Ka'b ibn Zayd. They left him with a faint breath of life, and he was carried away from among the slain, having been presumed to be one of them. (1) He lived until he was killed on the day of the Trench.
Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri and an Ansari man from Banu Amr ibn Awf were away with the group’s grazing herd. Nothing alerted them to the calamity that had befallen their companions except birds circling over the camp. They said, “By Allah, these birds must be circling for some reason.” So they approached to see, and found the people lying in their blood, while the cavalry that had attacked them stood nearby. The Ansari said to Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri, “What do you think?” He replied, “I think we should go to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and inform him.”
The Ansari said, “Allah is Most Great! (2) But I would never spare my own life from a place where al-Mundhir ibn Amr was killed.” He then fought the enemy until he was killed. They captured Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri, but when he told them that he belonged to Mudar, Amir ibn al-Tufayl released him, cut off his forelock, and set him free in fulfillment of an obligation of manumission which he claimed lay upon his mother.
Amr ibn Umayyah then came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and informed him of what had happened. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “This is the doing of Abu Bara. I had been reluctant and apprehensive about this.” When Abu Bara heard of it, he was deeply distressed by Amir’s violation of the protection he had granted them, and by the harm that had befallen the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, because of his covenant and protection.
Among those who were killed was Amir ibn Fuhayrah. Muhammad ibn Ishaq narrated from Hisham ibn Urwah, from his father, that Amir ibn al-Tufayl used to say, “Who was the man among them whom, after he was killed, I saw raised between heaven and earth, until I saw the sky beneath him?” They said, “It was Amir ibn Fuhayrah.” Afterwards, Rabi'ah ibn Abi Bara charged at Amir ibn al-Tufayl, stabbed him while he was on his horse, and killed him. (3)