Some accounts of Amr bin Ma'dikarib (may Allah be pleased with him)

Muhammad bin Sallam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Amr bin Ma'di Karib fought many battles in the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah); then he lived into the era of Islam and came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) sent him to Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) at al-Qadisiyyah, and there he showed great valour. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him): I have reinforced you with two thousand men: (namely) Amr bin Ma'di Karib and Talhah bin Khuwaylid, that is, Talhah al-Asadi, (these two are equal to two thousand), so consult them both in matters of war, but do not give them any office.

Qays bin Abi Hazim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I saw Amr bin Ma'di Karib on the day of al-Qadisiyyah urging the people to fight, and he was saying: "O people, be strong, mighty and fearless lions; the Persian is merely a billy-goat once he has thrown his short spear." The narrator said: While he was in that state, one of the horsemen of Persia was taking aim at him with an arrow, and it was said to him: "O Abu Thawr, this horseman is taking aim at you with his arrow." The narrator said: Then he shot, and the arrow struck the tip of Amr's bow and broke it. So Amr charged at him, struck him with his spear and broke his back; then he dismounted (beside him) and took off his two bracelets, which were of gold, and a silk garment as well. The narrator said: Then that (booty) was handed over to him.

Muhammad bin Sallam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Some of our companions told me that Sayyiduna Salman bin Rabi'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) was training and testing the horses. Meanwhile Sayyiduna Amr bin Ma'di Karib (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by there on his horse, and Salman said to him: "This is a horse of mixed breed." Amr said: "No, it is a purebred." The narrator said: So Salman gave the order and the horse was kept thirsty; then he called for a basin of water and summoned the purebred horses, and they drank (standing upright). Then Amr's horse came, folded its two forelegs and drank (bending down), and that is the manner of a mixed-breed animal. Salman said to Amr: "Do you not see?" Amr said: "Yes, a half-breed recognises a half-breed." This reached Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and he wrote to him: "I have learned what you said to your commander, and I have also learned that you have a sword which you call al-Samsamah. But I have a sharp sword; by Allah, if I place it on your head, I will not lift it until I reach with it a certain thing in (your) belly (the narrator named that thing in the belly). So if you would like to know whether what I say is true, then try saying such a thing again."