Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Malik al-Laythi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent out a military expedition. They attacked the enemy, and one man of the enemy broke away from them. A Muslim went after him brandishing a sword. The man who had broken away said: "I am a Muslim," but the Muslim paid no heed to what he said; he struck him and killed him. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was informed of this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) expressed severe displeasure about it, and this reached the Muslim who had done the killing. Then, while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering a sermon, that man said: "O Messenger of Allah! By Allah! That (slain) man said it only to escape being killed." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from that man and from the people on that side, and continued his sermon. The man said the same thing a second time: "By Allah! He said it only to escape being killed." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) again turned away from him and continued his sermon. The man could not hold himself back, until he said a third time: "By Allah! He said it only to escape being killed." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards that man, and the signs of displeasure were evident on his blessed face. He said: "Whoever kills a believer, Allah Almighty has refused me concerning him." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said this three times.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and Ahmad and Abu Ya'la also recorded it, except that they named the narrator Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him) instead of Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Malik. All the narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الإيمان / 59
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسناده صحيح
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه الامام احمد فى مسنده 110/4 اخرجه الامام الطبراني فى معجمه الكبير 356/17 ، اخرجه الامام ابو يعلى فى مسنده 6794 أورده المؤلف فى زوائد المسند 4403 ، أخرجه مسند أحمد برقم: 21984، وأخرجه إتحاف الخيرة المهرة بزوائد المسانيد العشرة برقم: 4450»