Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) killing Amr bin Abd Wudd, the chief of the disbelievers

Ibn Ishaq narrates that Amr bin Abd Wadd was counted among the three renowned horsemen of Quraysh. He fought at the Battle of Badr until wounds crippled him, because of which he could not take part in the Battle of Uhud. Then when the battle of the Trench took place, he came out wearing a special mark so that people might witness his bravery. When he came and halted with his horsemen, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "O Amr! You made a pledge to Allah for the sake of Quraysh that whenever any man invited you to one of two things, you would certainly accept one of them." Amr said: Yes (that is correct). Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I invite you to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and to Islam." He said: I have no need of that. He said: "Then I invite you to single combat (mubarazah)." He said: O my nephew! Why so? By Allah! I do not like to kill you. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "But by Allah! I would like to kill you." Hearing this, Amr became enraged. He dismounted from his horse, hamstrung it (to cut off any thought of retreat), then advanced and challenged: Who will fight me? Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), fully covered in iron (helmet and armor), stood up and said: O Prophet of Allah! I am ready to face him. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He is Amr bin Abd Wadd; sit down." Amr called out loudly again: Is there no man? At this the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) permission, and he advanced towards him reciting these verses: "Do not be hasty, for the one answering your call has come to you, and he is not incapable; he is a man of sincere intention and insight, and truthfulness is the means of salvation for everyone who succeeds. I hope that I will raise over you the wailing of funeral mourners, with a gaping blow whose mention will remain forever in terrible battles." Amr asked: Who are you? He said: "I am Ali." He asked: Whose son? He said: "The son of Abd Manaf; I am Ali bin Abi Talib." He said: O my nephew! There are people in your family older than you; go back, for I dislike shedding your blood. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "But by Allah! I do not at all dislike shedding your blood." Hearing this he became furious, got down from his mount and drew his sword, which was gleaming like a flame of fire. Then in a state of rage he rushed towards Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). He blocked his blow with his shield. Amr struck the shield with such a forceful blow that he split it, and the sword, lodging in it, struck his head and wounded him. Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) struck him on the neck, and he collapsed and a cloud of dust rose up. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) heard the takbir and knew that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) had killed him. At that time Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) composed these verses: "Do horsemen charge at me like this? My companions have been kept away from me and from them. Today my sense of honor and a sharp sword that sinks into the head keep me from fleeing. Ibn Abd swore a false oath at that time, and I too swore an oath, so hear from this liar that I will not accept as truthful one who shows cowardice. Then two men met, striking each other with full force. I turned back when I had left him rolling in the dust, like a tree trunk lying between the hillocks and the level ground. I refrained from stripping his clothes, although if I had been the one thrown down, he would have stripped me of my clothes. He worshipped stones out of the foolishness of his mind, and I worshipped the Lord of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) with insight." Then he came towards the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with his face glowing with joy. Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Why did you not take off his coat of mail? The Arabs had no coat of mail better than it. He said: "I struck him and he became exposed, so I felt ashamed before my cousin to strip him of his clothing." After that, his fellow horsemen fled in defeat until they fell (while trying to save their lives) into the trench.

Asim bin Umar bin Qatadah narrates that when Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) killed Amr bin Abd Wadd, his sister Amrah bint Abd Wadd composed these verses in lamentation for him: "Had the killer of Amr been anyone other than him, I would have kept weeping as long as my soul remained in my body; but his killer is one who cannot be faulted, and who since long ago has been called the honor and chief of the city."

Yahya bin Adam says: I have found the killing of Amr bin Abd Wadd at the hands of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to be like nothing but this saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: "And Dawud killed Jalut (Goliath)." [Al-Baqarah: 251] So the Muslims defeated them by the permission of Allah.

It is narrated from Urwah bin al-Zubayr that on the day of the Battle of the Trench, from among the disbelievers of Quraysh, of Banu Amir bin Lu'ayy and then of Banu Malik bin Hisl, Amr bin Abd Wadd bin Nasr bin Malik bin Hisl was killed by Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).
Imam al-Hakim says: I have mentioned, regarding the killing of Amr bin Abd Wadd, what reached me from the hadith with chains (musnad) and from the Maghazi of Urwah bin al-Zubayr, Musa bin Uqbah and Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar, so that it may be established before the fair-minded among the people of knowledge that Amr bin Abd Wadd was killed only by the Commander of the Believers Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), and that no one else shared in killing him. What prompted me to such a thorough investigation of this matter was the statement of a Kharijite who claimed that Muhammad bin Maslamah also struck him a blow and took some of his belongings. By Allah! This has not reached us from any Companion or Successor. And how could this be correct, when the statement of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) has reached us in which he said: "I held myself above taking the belongings of my cousin, so I left them," and this was his reply to the Commander of the Believers Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).