2051 – ʿAbd Allah related to us; my father related to us; Wahb ibn Jarir related to us; his father related to us, saying: I heard al-Aʿmash narrate from Ibrahim, from ʿAlqamah, who said:

“We set out on campaign accompanied by Masruq, ʿAmr ibn ʿUtbah, and Muʿḍad. When we reached the watering place of Sidan, with ʿUtbah ibn Farqad as our commander, his son ʿAmr ibn ʿUtbah said to us, ‘If you dismount with him he will prepare hospitality for us, but in so doing he might wrong someone. If you prefer, let us stay in the shade of this tree, eat the scraps we have with us, and then move on.’ So we did.

When we later returned home, ʿAmr ibn ʿUtbah made himself a white cloak, put it on, and said, ‘By Allah, the flow of blood upon this would look fine indeed.’ He was then struck by an arrow; I saw the blood dripping exactly where he had placed his hand, and he died.

On a bitterly cold morning we marched out again. I handed my cloak to Muʿḍad, and he wrapped it round his head— Ibn al-Dawraqi said, ‘he tied it as a turban.’ He too was struck by an arrow and said, ‘By Allah, it is small, yet Allah bestows blessing in what is small.’ He died from that wound. Thereafter ʿAlqamah would wear that same cloak and say, ‘It only becomes dearer to me when I see in it the blood of Muʿḍad.’”