Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 10351

Sayyiduna Abu Hadrad al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he married a woman, and he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to seek help regarding that woman's dowry (mahr). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "How much dowry have you fixed?" I said: "Two hundred dirhams." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Even if you were scooping up dirhams from this valley of yours, you would not have fixed more than this. I have nothing with me to give you." The narrator says: After some time had passed, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called me and sent me on a military expedition. He sent us in the direction of Najd. He said: "Go on this expedition; perhaps you will obtain something which I may give you as a reward." The narrator says: We set out until evening came. When the early part of the night had passed, our commander began sending us out two by two. We surrounded the camp. The commander said: "When I say takbir and attack, you too say takbir and attack." The narrator says: When he sent us two by two, he said: "Do not separate from each other; let me certainly not ask one of you about his companion and then find that he has no news of him. And do not get lost in pursuit (of the enemy or the spoils)." The narrator says: When we intended to attack, I heard a man there saying: "O Khadrah (greenery)!" The narrator says: So we took it that we would obtain greenery from there. When night had fallen, our commander said takbir, we too said takbir, and we attacked. Then a man passed by me with a sword in his hand, and I pursued him. My companion said to me: "Our commander took a pledge from us that you would not go too far in pursuing the enemy, so come back." But I did not accept this and went after the enemy. So my companion said: "By Allah, I will certainly go back to the commander and tell him that you did not accept this." The narrator says: I said: "By Allah, I will certainly pursue him." I pursued him until, when I came near him, I shot an arrow at him which struck his body, and he fell. He said: "O Muslim, come closer to Paradise!" When he saw that I was not coming close to him, I shot another arrow at him and wounded him. He struck at me with the sword, but it did not hit me. I took hold of the sword, killed him with it, cut off his head with it, and tied it up. There we obtained many animals and many goats as spoils of war. Then we returned. When morning came, there was a beautiful young woman beside my camel. That woman kept looking behind her, looking back again and again. I asked her: "What are you looking at?" She said: "I am looking for a man; by Allah, if he were alive he would have caught up with you." The narrator says: I realised that this must be the very man whom I had killed, so I said: "By Allah, I have already killed him, and this is his sword." His sword was hanging from the saddle of the camel on which I was riding. The narrator says: Then there was a sheath hanging from the saddle of the camel with nothing in it. When I said this to that woman, she said: "Here, take this sheath and put the sword into it, if you are truthful." The narrator says: I took it and put the sword into it, and it fitted. When she saw this, she began to weep. The narrator says: When we came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave me too some of the camels that we had brought to him.
Ahmad recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator who has not been named; the rest of the narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).