Single combat

Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "There is no harm in single combat (mubarazah). On the day of the Battle of Badr, Sayyiduna Ubaydah, Sayyiduna Hamzah and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) engaged in single combat by the order of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)."

Qays bin Abbad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I heard Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) swearing an oath that this verse, "These are two disputants who disputed concerning their Lord" [Surah al-Hajj: 19], was revealed about those who engaged in single combat on the day of Badr: Hamzah (may Allah be pleased with him), Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and Ubaydah bin al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with him), and Utbah and Shaybah, the two sons of Rabi'ah, and al-Walid bin Utbah.

Al-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Abu Hashim (may Allah have mercy on him): In it there are these additional words: they disputed about the Hajj on the day of Badr.

Harithah narrates from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) concerning the story of Badr that Utbah, his brother and his son al-Walid, out of tribal pride, called out for single combat, (saying): Who will fight? Some young men of the Ansar came out to face them. Utbah said: We did not intend these; rather, let our cousins, Banu Abd al-Muttalib, face us. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ali, Hamzah, Ubaydah bin al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with them), stand up!" Allah, the Lord of Might, destroyed Utbah, Shaybah and al-Walid bin Utbah, and Sayyiduna Ubaydah bin al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) was wounded. We killed seventy of the disbelievers and took seventy captive.

Abdullah bin Abi Bakr and others besides him mention the story of Badr, and in it is that Utbah bin Rabi'ah, Shaybah bin Rabi'ah and al-Walid bin Utbah came out and called for single combat, and three young men of the Ansar came out to face them. They asked: Who are you? They said: People of the Ansar. They said: We have no need of you. Then their caller called out: O Muhammad, bring out to us our equals from our own people! He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Hamzah, Ali and Ubaydah, stand up." When they drew near them, they asked: Who are you? Hamzah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am Hamzah bin Abd al-Muttalib. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am Ali bin Abi Talib. Ubaydah said: I am Ubaydah bin al-Harith. They said: Noble equals. Sayyiduna Ubaydah fought Utbah; they exchanged two blows, and each of them gravely wounded the other. Sayyiduna Hamzah (may Allah be pleased with him) fought Shaybah and killed him on the spot, and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) fought al-Walid and killed him too. Then the two of them turned on Utbah and finished him off, and carried their companion to the tent.
Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Muhammad bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) fought Marhab in single combat on the day of Khaybar by the order of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and al-Zubayr bin al-Awwam (may Allah be pleased with him) fought Yasir.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Marhab the Jew came out of the fortress of Khaybar, fully armed and reciting war verses, saying: Who will fight me? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Who will face this man?" Sayyiduna Muhammad bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah, by Allah, I will send him to his death, for he killed my brother yesterday. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Stand up," and prayed: 'Allahumma a'inhu' (O Allah, help him). He mentioned in the hadith how the two of them fought, and said that Sayyiduna Muhammad bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) killed him. Ibn Ishaq said: Then Yasir came out, and Sayyiduna al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) faced him. When Sayyiduna al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) went out, Sayyidah Safiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: O Messenger of Allah, he will kill my son! The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Rather, your son will kill him, if Allah wills." Then Sayyiduna al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) went out reciting war verses; the two met, and Sayyiduna al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) killed him. The narrator said: In this way he mentioned that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) killed Yasir and that Sayyiduna Muhammad bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) killed Marhab.

Iyas bin Salamah bin al-Akwa' narrates from his father (Sayyiduna Salamah bin al-Akwa', may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: We came with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); (then) he mentioned a long hadith. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent for Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), whose eyes were sore. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Today I will give the banner to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and whom Allah and His Messenger love." He (Sayyiduna Salamah, may Allah be pleased with him) said: I brought him, leading him by the hand. He (peace and blessings be upon him) put his saliva in his eyes and he was cured, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave him the banner. Then Marhab came out for single combat, reciting war verses. He said: "Khaybar knows that I am Marhab, fully armed, a seasoned hero, when wars come blazing forth."
Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) came out against him, saying: "I am the one whose mother named me Haydar (lion), fearsome like the lion of the forest; I pay them in full with the sa', the great measure of the sandarah."
Then with the very first blow Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) split Marhab's head with his sword and killed him. This was the victory.

Abdullah bin Buraydah narrates from his father (may Allah be pleased with him) that he mentioned (the story of) Khaybar and Marhab's coming out reciting war verses, and that the words of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) were of the same meaning, except that he reported the saying of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in other words, that he said: "I will kill you in great measure."
The narrator said: They exchanged two blows, and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) struck him first with the sword, which split the stone (helmet), the mail cap and his head and reached his molars, and he took the city.

Abdullah bin Buraydah narrates from his father (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: When it was the day of Khaybar — (the narrator) mentioned part of the story. The narrator said: Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) called for the banner and summoned Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), whose eyes were sore. He (peace and blessings be upon him) passed his hand over them, then gave the banner to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), at whose hand victory came. Abdullah bin Buraydah said: My father told me that he (Ali) was the one who faced Marhab.

Abu Qabus narrates from his father, and he from his grandfather, who narrates from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with the head of Marhab. Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: On the day of the Trench (Khandaq), Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) fought Amr bin Abd Wudd in single combat.

Ibn Ishaq said: On the day of the Trench, Amr bin Abd Wudd came out and called for single combat. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), who was covered in iron, said: "O Prophet of Allah, I will face him." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is Amr; sit down." Amr called out again: "Is there no man?" He was rebuking them and saying: "Where is your Paradise which you claim that whoever of you is killed will enter it? Will no man come out to fight me?" Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I will face him." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Sit down." Then he called out a third time and recited poetry, and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up: "O Messenger of Allah, I will face him." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He is Amr." He said: "Even if he is Amr." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) permission, and he walked to him and recited poetry. Amr asked: "Who are you?" He said: "I am Ali." He said: "The son of Abd Manaf?" He said: "I am Ali bin Abi Talib." He said: "O nephew, is there not someone older than you among your uncles? For I dislike shedding your blood." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "But by Allah, I do not dislike killing you." He got down in anger and drew his sword, as if it were a flame of fire, then came towards Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in anger, and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) met him with his shield. Amr struck the shield, and the sword split the shield, and the head of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was also wounded. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) struck him on the shoulder with the sword; he fell, and the dust rose up. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) heard the cry of takbir and knew that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) had killed him.