What I have preserved about the expedition to Mutah

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent an army to Mu'tah and appointed Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) as its commander, and if he were killed, then Sayyiduna Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) would be commander, and if he too were killed, then Ibn Rawahah would be commander. Sayyiduna Ibn Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) stayed behind the army and prayed the Friday prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) saw him and asked: "What kept you behind (the army)?" He replied: "(I stayed back) to pray the Friday prayer with you (peace and blessings be upon him)." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One morning or one evening in the way of Allah is better than the world and all that is in it."

Khalid bin Sumayr narrates: Abdullah bin Rabah al-Ansari came to us, and the Ansar Companions regarded him as a man of understanding. He said: Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him), the horseman of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), narrated to us that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent out the Army of the Commanders (the army of the Battle of Mu'tah) and said: "Zayd bin Harithah is your commander. If he is killed, then Ja'far bin Abi Talib, and if he too is killed, then Abdullah bin Rawahah." Sayyiduna Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) sprang up and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! I did not fear that you (peace and blessings be upon him) would appoint Zayd over me." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Go on! You do not know what is good in this." 2. Then these people set out, and they stayed there for as long as Allah willed. Then (one day) the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sat on the pulpit and gave an order, and it was announced: "Al-salatu jami'ah (the prayer is gathering)." So the people gathered around the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Good news has come, good news has come." He said this three times. "I will tell you about this fighting army of yours. These people went (from here), met the enemy (and fought), and Zayd was killed as a martyr. Seek forgiveness for him. Then Ja'far bin Abi Talib took up the banner and charged hard at the enemy until he too was killed as a martyr. Bear witness to his martyrdom and seek forgiveness for him. Then Abdullah bin Rawahah took up the banner and planted his feet firmly, (but) in the end he was martyred. Seek forgiveness for him. Then (after them) Khalid bin al-Walid has taken up the banner, although he was not one of the (previously appointed) commanders; (rather) he has made himself commander." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed: "O Allah! This Khalid is one of Your swords, so You alone help him." From that day the name of Sayyiduna Khalid bin al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) became Sayf Allah al-Maslul (the Drawn Sword of Allah). And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Go forth and help your brothers. Let none of you stay behind." So the Companions set out on foot and mounted, and this was a time of intense heat. 3. One night the Companions had moved away from the road when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was overcome by drowsiness, until he (peace and blessings be upon him) leaned to one side of the saddle. So I came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and supported him (peace and blessings be upon him) with my hand. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) felt the touch of the hand of the man steadying him, he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Who is this?" I said: "It is Abu Qatadah." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) rode on. Then (again) he (peace and blessings be upon him) was overcome by drowsiness until he (peace and blessings be upon him) leaned to one side of his saddle. I came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) (again) and supported him (peace and blessings be upon him) with my hand. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) felt the touch of the hand of a man steadying him, he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Who is this?" I said: "It is Abu Qatadah." The narrator says: At the second or third time he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I think that I have put you to hardship tonight." The narrator says: I said: "Not at all! May my father and mother be sacrificed for you. Rather I see that sleep or drowsiness has put you (peace and blessings be upon him) to hardship. So if you (peace and blessings be upon him) would turn aside and make camp, so that your (peace and blessings be upon him) sleepiness may pass." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I fear that the people will be left without support." The narrator says: I said: "Not at all! May my father and mother be sacrificed for you." 4. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then look for a sheltered place for us." The narrator says: I went off the road and suddenly saw a clump of trees. So I came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Here is a clump of trees that I have found." The narrator says: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) turned off the road, and those near him on the road turned off with him. They made camp and were screened from the road by the clump of trees. We woke only when the sun had risen upon us, and we got up in alarm. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Easy, easy," until the sun had risen high. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever used to pray these two rak'ahs before the morning prayer, let him pray them." So those who used to pray them and those who did not used to pray them all prayed them. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave an order, and the call to prayer was made. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went forward and led us in prayer. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) had given the salam, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "We praise Allah that we were not occupied by any worldly matter that kept us from our prayer. Rather, our souls were in the hand of Allah; He released them when He willed. Beware! Whichever righteous servant this prayer reaches, let him make up another like it along with it." The people said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! The thirst!" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is no thirst, O Abu Qatadah. Show me the water vessel." He says: I brought it to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) put it under his arm and then took its mouth into his mouth, and Allah knows best whether he (peace and blessings be upon him) blew into it or not. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abu Qatadah, show me the small cup on the riding camel." So I brought him (peace and blessings be upon him) a cup of middling size, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) poured into it and said: "Give the people water to drink." And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called out, raising his voice: "Beware! Whoever's vessel comes to him, let him drink it." I came to a man and gave him to drink. Then I returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with what was left in the cup, and I went and gave drink to the one next to him, until I had given drink to the people of that circle. Then I returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with what was left in the cup, and I went and gave drink to another circle, until I had given drink to seven groups. And I began to stretch up and look to see whether anything remained in it. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) poured into the cup and said to me: "Drink." I said: "May my father and mother be sacrificed for you! I do not feel much thirst." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Keep away from me, for I have been the one giving the people drink since today." The narrator says: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) poured into the cup and I drank; then he (peace and blessings be upon him) poured into the cup and I drank; then he (peace and blessings be upon him) poured into the cup and I drank. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) mounted and we mounted. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What do you think the people did when they lost their Prophet and their prayer pressed upon them?" We said: "Allah and His Messenger know best." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Are not Abu Bakr and Umar among them? If they obey the two of them, they are rightly guided and their mother is rightly guided, and if they disobey the two of them, they have gone astray and their mother has gone astray." He said this three times. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) travelled on and we travelled on, until in the heat of midday we suddenly saw people following the shade of the trees. We came to them, and they turned out to be people of the Muhajirun, among whom was Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). He says: We said to them: "What did you do when you lost your Prophet and your prayer pressed upon you?" They said: "By Allah, we will tell you. Umar sprang up and said to Abu Bakr: 'Allah has said in His Book: Indeed, you will die, and indeed they will die [Al-Zumar: 30]. And by Allah, I do not know; perhaps Allah has taken His Prophet in death. So get up, pray and go on. I will watch after you and wait, and if I see something (I will stay); otherwise I will catch up with you.'" He says: Then the prayer was called, and the narration broke off.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that when the news of the death of Sayyiduna Ja'far bin Abi Talib, Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with them) reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) sat down, and the signs of grief were visible on his blessed face. Sayyidah Aishah says: I was watching (him (peace and blessings be upon him)) through a crack in the door when a man came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! The women of Ja'far" and then the man mentioned the weeping of those women, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) told the man to (go and) forbid them.

Al-Sha'bi narrates that Sayyiduna Ja'far bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred in the Battle of Mu'tah at al-Balqa, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed: "O Allah! Raise up in Ja'far's household for Ja'far the best successor that You grant to any of Your righteous servants."

Sayyiduna Khalid bin al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: On the day of the Battle of Mu'tah, nine swords broke in my hand. Then (in the end) only a broad Yemeni sword of mine remained in my hand.

It is narrated from Ata that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) announced the death of the three Companions who were killed at the Battle of Mu'tah, and then he (peace and blessings be upon him) led the funeral prayer over them.

Abd al-Rahman bin Jubayr bin Nufayr said: When the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) were severely grieved over those who were martyred with Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) at the Battle of Mu'tah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Most certainly, some peoples from this very Ummah will reach the Messiah, and they will be better than you or like you." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said this three times. "And Allah will never disgrace a nation at whose beginning I am and at whose end is the Messiah."

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that when the news of the death of Sayyiduna Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), we saw (the signs of) grief on the blessed face of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Then a man came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the women are weeping." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Go back to them and silence them, and if they refuse, throw dust on their faces." The narrator said: Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I said to myself: "By Allah, you neither leave yourself alone nor carry out the command of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)."

Yahya bin Abbad bin Abdullah bin al-Zubayr narrates from his father, from his grandfather, that he said: The man of Banu Murrah who suckled me (that is, whose wife suckled me) told me, and he said: It is as if I am looking at Sayyiduna Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) at the Battle of Mu'tah. He dismounted from his reddish-white horse, then hamstrung it, then went on and fought until he was killed (martyred).

Al-Hasan bin Sa'd narrates that when the news of the killing of Sayyiduna Zayd, Ja'far and Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with them) reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) announced their death to the people, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) left Sayyidah Asma' (may Allah be pleased with her) in the state in which she was shedding tears. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) came (again) to Sayyidah Asma', offered her condolences and said: "Call my nephews to me." The narrator said: Then Sayyidah Asma' came with three boys, like the chicks of birds. Asma' said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) called for a barber, had their heads shaved and said: "As for Muhammad, he resembles our uncle Abu Talib. As for Awn Allah, he resembles me in form and in character. And as for Abdullah," he (peace and blessings be upon him) took his hand, raised it and supplicated: "O Allah, bless Abdullah in the dealings of his right hand." The narrator said: Their mother, Sayyidah Asma', complained to him (peace and blessings be upon him) of their (being left without a guardian), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: "Do you fear that they will be lost, when I am their guardian in this world and the Hereafter?"

It is narrated from Salim bin Abi al-Ja'd that the martyrs of Mu'tah were shown to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a dream. He (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Sayyiduna Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) in the form of an angel with two wings, smeared with blood, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) opposite him on a throne. The narrator said: And Ibn Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) was sitting with them, as though they were turning away from him.

It is narrated from Abu Maysarah that when the news of the killing of Sayyiduna Ja'far, Zayd bin Harithah and Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with them) reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke of them and supplicated: "O Allah, forgive Zayd. O Allah, forgive Ja'far. And forgive Abdullah bin Rawahah."

It is narrated from Qays bin Abi Hazim that Sayyiduna Usamah (may Allah be pleased with him) came after the killing of his father and stood before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and his (peace and blessings be upon him) eyes filled with tears. Then when the next day came, Sayyiduna Usamah came and stood again in that same place, whereupon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Will I meet from you today what I met from you yesterday?"

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) used to say: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never sent Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) with any army without appointing him its commander. And if Sayyiduna Zayd had survived him (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) would (also) have made him his successor.

It is narrated from Amir that the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), used to say: If Sayyiduna Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) were alive, he (peace and blessings be upon him) would have made him his successor.

Hisham bin Urwah narrates from his father that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent an army toward Mu'tah and appointed Sayyiduna Usamah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) as its commander. In that same army were Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). The narrator said: Some people objected to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appointing Sayyiduna Usamah as commander over the people of that army. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up, addressed the people and said: "Some of you are objecting to my appointing Usamah as commander. These people object to Usamah's appointment just as they objected before to the appointment of his father. By Allah, he was indeed worthy of command and was among the people most beloved to me. And his son after him is among the people most beloved to me. I hope that he will be among the righteous of you. So intend good toward him."

It is narrated from al-Sha'bi that when the news of the killing of Sayyiduna Ja'far bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) left Sayyiduna Ja'far's wife, Sayyidah Asma' bint Umays (may Allah be pleased with her), until she had shed her tears and her grief had lightened. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) went to Sayyidah Asma' and offered her condolences, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) called the sons of Sayyiduna Ja'far and supplicated for them. He (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed for Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) that his dealings be blessed. So whenever Abdullah bought anything, he made a profit on it. Then Sayyidah Asma' said to him (peace and blessings be upon him): "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), these people claim that we are not among the Muhajirun." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "They have lied. You have migrated twice. (Once) you migrated to the Negus, and (once) you migrated to me."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: I was present at Mu'tah. When we could not find Sayyiduna Ja'far bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), we (began) to look for him among the slain. We found him in a state in which he bore wounds of spear thrusts and arrow shots. And we found all those wounds on the front part of Sayyiduna Ja'far's body.