Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 3141
sahih

Narrated `Abdur-Rahman bin `Auf:

While I was standing in the row on the day (of the battle) of Badr, I looked to my right and my left and saw two young Ansari boys, and I wished I had been stronger than they. One of them called my attention saying, "O Uncle! Do you know Abu Jahl?" I said, "Yes, What do you want from him, O my nephew?" He said, "I have been informed that he abuses Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) . By Him in Whose Hands my life is, if I should see him, then my body will not leave his body till either of us meet his fate." I was astonished at that talk. Then the other boy called my attention saying the same as the other had said. After a while I saw Abu Jahl walking amongst the people. I said (to the boys), "Look! This is the man you asked me about." So, both of them attacked him with their swords and struck him to death and returned to Allah'S Messenger to inform him of that. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) asked, "Which of you has killed him?" Each of them said, "I Have killed him." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) asked, "Have you cleaned your swords?" They said, "No. " He then looked at their swords and said, "No doubt, you both have killed him and the spoils of the deceased will be given to Mu`adh bin `Amr bin Al-Jamuh." The two boys were Mu`adh bin 'Afra and Mu`adh bin `Amr bin Al-Jamuh.

حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، حَدَّثَنَا يُوسُفُ بْنُ الْمَاجِشُونِ، عَنْ صَالِحِ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ عَوْفٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، قَالَ بَيْنَا أَنَا وَاقِفٌ، فِي الصَّفِّ يَوْمَ بَدْرٍ فَنَظَرْتُ عَنْ يَمِينِي، وَشِمَالِي، فَإِذَا أَنَا بِغُلاَمَيْنِ، مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ حَدِيثَةٍ أَسْنَانُهُمَا، تَمَنَّيْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ بَيْنَ أَضْلَعَ مِنْهُمَا، فَغَمَزَنِي أَحَدُهُمَا فَقَالَ يَا عَمِّ، هَلْ تَعْرِفُ أَبَا جَهْلٍ قُلْتُ نَعَمْ، مَا حَاجَتُكَ إِلَيْهِ يَا ابْنَ أَخِي قَالَ أُخْبِرْتُ أَنَّهُ يَسُبُّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم، وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَئِنْ رَأَيْتُهُ لاَ يُفَارِقُ سَوَادِي سَوَادَهُ حَتَّى يَمُوتَ الأَعْجَلُ مِنَّا‏.‏ فَتَعَجَّبْتُ لِذَلِكَ، فَغَمَزَنِي الآخَرُ فَقَالَ لِي مِثْلَهَا، فَلَمْ أَنْشَبْ أَنْ نَظَرْتُ إِلَى أَبِي جَهْلٍ يَجُولُ فِي النَّاسِ، قُلْتُ أَلاَ إِنَّ هَذَا صَاحِبُكُمَا الَّذِي سَأَلْتُمَانِي‏.‏ فَابْتَدَرَاهُ بِسَيْفَيْهِمَا فَضَرَبَاهُ حَتَّى قَتَلاَهُ، ثُمَّ انْصَرَفَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهُ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَأَخْبَرَاهُ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ أَيُّكُمَا قَتَلَهُ ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا أَنَا قَتَلْتُهُ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ هَلْ مَسَحْتُمَا سَيْفَيْكُمَا ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالاَ لاَ‏.‏ فَنَظَرَ فِي السَّيْفَيْنِ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ كِلاَكُمَا قَتَلَهُ ‏"‏‏.‏ سَلَبُهُ لِمُعَاذِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْجَمُوحِ‏.‏ وَكَانَا مُعَاذَ ابْنَ عَفْرَاءَ وَمُعَاذَ بْنَ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْجَمُوحِ‏.‏ قَالَ مُحَمَّدٌ سَمِعَ يُوسُفُ صَالِحًا وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ أَبَاهُ (عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ عَوْفٍ)

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 57, Hadith 49
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 4, Book 53, Hadith 369 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The children of the Emigrants and the Ansaar grew upon on the pristine nature of Islam.The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) brought them up righteously as they are the best of the people after the prophets and witnessed the Prophet ﷺ walking amidst them.These children grew up loving him, and they learnt to sacrifice themselves for him since their childhood. This hadeeth presents to us one of the aspects that manifested their unconditional love for the Prophet ﷺ. In this hadeeth, ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf(may Allah be pleased with him)reports that he was lining up with the other Muslim fighters for the Battle of Badr that happened between the Muslims and the polytheists of Makkah during the second year of the Hijrah.He looked to his right and left, and he found two young boys of a young age from the Ansaar.He wished that he was standing between two strong and fierce men, instead, because an older person would more entrenched in war and more rightful to be beside him than these young fighters.One of these two boys was Mu’aathibn ‘Amr ibn al-Jamooh(may Allah be pleased with him), and the other boy was Mu’aathibn ‘Afraa (may Allah be pleased with him).One of them gestured,such that he looked with his eye towards him or touched him with his hand and asked him, “Uncle, do you know Aboo Jahl?”‘Abd al-Rahmaan answered him, “Of course, and why are you asking about him, o nephew!”The boy replied, “I heard that he abuses the Messenger of Allahﷺ,” and then he swore that if he saw him, he would not let him go, until the one closer to the death between died. ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf was astonished by the statement of this boy, as it was indicative of his perfect chivalry.Then, the second one gestured to him and made exactly the same statement as the first one.It wasn’t long until ‘Abd al-Rahmaan spotted Aboo Jahl, who happened to be roaming amongst the people, moving around and not remaining still at one place.He showed them where their target was and informed them that this particular man was Aboo Jahl, concerning whom they had asked him earlier.Both of them hastened towards him with their swords, meaning they sprinted with their swords to hit him until they killed him.Then they returned to the Prophet ﷺ and informed him of their killing of Aboo Jahl.The Prophetﷺ asked them, “Who amongst you killed him?”Both answered, “I killed him.”The Prophet ﷺ inquired, “Have you both cleaned your swords?”Meaning, from the blood that is on it.They both answered, “No.” The Prophet ﷺ looked at their swords to see the extent of their penetration into the body of the killed (by looking at the blood stains on them), to judge who was more effective in extracting his soul, and to decide on giving the killed person’s booty to the one who was more effective in killing him.If they had rubbed their swords clean, then the indication of this reality would not be clear.Thereafter, the Prophet ﷺ informed them that each one of them participated with his brother in killing him. Heﷺ gave his acquired booty and armaments to Mu’aathibn ‘Amr ibn al-Jamooh, as he learned that it was his sword that was instrumental in killing him.The reason he said to them, “Both of you killed him,” was to grant comfort to the heart of the other in the sense that he participated in killing him and in acquiring the great rewards that are based on this noble act, though there is a difference between them both in precedence and causation. It is reported on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood that he found Aboo Jahal still had his last trace of life, thus, he gave him the last stroke and removed his head from his body [Saheeh al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim]. This hadeeth shows that the armament of the killed disbeliever in war is not always subject to the one fifth portion (khums), and it can be given to his killer instead. It confirms the legality of the establishment of financial rights through circumstantial evidence because the Prophet ﷺproved who killed Aboo Jahl by examining the blood on the sword, and judged for him to receive his armaments. It shows that one should be angry and hasten to fight for the sake of Allah and His Messengerﷺ. The hadeeth shows that a person should conceal his intention to do good from others, lest they supersede him, and that it is important to avoid belittling anyone, as sometimes one who is belittled with regard to carrying out a task could be greater than what he is perceived as in the hearts, and be more rightful to carry out that task. Lastly, it shows that it is important for the ruler and the judge to study circumstantial evidence in order to give preference to the statement of one claimants over the statement of another..
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