عن أبى هريرة قال: بعث رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عشرة رهط سرية عينا وأمر عليهم عاصم بن ثابت الأنصاري جد عاصم بن عمر بن الخطاب فانطلقوا حتى إذا كانوا بالهدأة وهو بين عسفان ومكة ذكروا لحي من هذيل يقال لهم بنو لحيان فنفروا لهم قريبا من مائة رجل كلهم رام فاقتصوا آثارهم حتى وجدوا مأكلهم تمرا تزودوه من المدينة فقالوا هذا تمر يثرب فاقتصوا آثارهم فلما رآهم عاصم وأصحابه لجؤوا إلى فدفد وأحاط بهم القوم فقالوا انزلوا وأعطونا بأيديكم لكم العهد والميثاق ولا نقتل منكم أحدا قال عاصم بن ثابت أمير السرية: أما أنا فوالله لا أنزل اليوم فى ذمة كافر اللهم أخبر عنا نبيك فرموهم بالنبل فقتلوا عاصما فى سبعة فنزل إليهم ثلاثة رهط بالعهد والميثاق منهم خبيب الأنصاري وابن دثنة ورجل آخر فلما استمكنوا منهم أطلقوا أوتار قسيهم فأوثقوهم فقال الرجل الثالث: هذا أول الغدر والله لا أصحبكم إن لي فى هؤلاء أسوة يريد القتلى فجرروه وعالجوه على أن يصحبهم فأبى فقتلوه فانطلقوا بخبيب وابن دثنة حتى باعوهما بمكة بعد وقعة بدر فابتاع خبيبا بنو الحارث بن عامر بن نوفل بن عبد مناف وكان خبيب هو قتل الحارث بن عامر يوم بدر فلبث خبيب عندهم أسيرا فأخبرني عبيد الله بن عياض أن بنت الحارث أخبرته أنهم حين اجتمعوا استعار منها موسى يستحد بها فأعارته فأخذ ابنا لي وأنا غافلة حين أتاه قالت فوجدته مجلسه على فخذه والموسى بيده ففزعت فزعة عرفها خبيب فى وجهي فقال: تخشين أن أقتله ما كنت لأفعل ذلك والله ما رأيت أسيرا قط خيرا من خبيب والله لقد وجدته يوما يأكل من قطف عنب فى يده وإنه لموثق فى الحديد وما بمكة من ثمر وكانت تقول إنه لرزق من الله رزقه خبيبا فلما خرجوا من الحرم ليقتلوه فى الحل قال لهم خبيب ذروني أركع ركعتين ثم قال: لولا أن تظنوا أن ما بي جزع لطولتهما اللهم أحصهم عددا (ولست أبالي حين أقتل مسلما... على أى شق كان لله مصرعي وذلك فى ذات الإله وإن يشأ يبارك على أوصال شلو ممزع) فقتله ابن الحارث فكان خبيب هو سن الركعتين لكل امرئ مسلم قتل صبرا فاستجاب الله لعاصم بن ثابت يوم أصيب فأخبر النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم أصحابه خبرهم وما أصيبوا وبعث ناس من كفار قريش إلى عاصم حين حدثوا أنه قتل ليؤتوا بشيء منه يعرف وكان قد قتل رجلا من عظمائهم يوم بدر فبعث على عاصم مثل الظلة من الدبر فحمته من رسلهم فلم يقدروا على أن يقطعوا من لحمه شيئا.
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent a group of ten companions to spy on the disbelievers, and he appointed Asim ibn Umar ibn Khattab’s grandfather, Asim ibn Thabit al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), as the leader of this group. The group set out, and when they reached the place called Hudaah, which is between Asfan and Makkah, a branch of the Hudhail tribe, Banu Lihyan, was informed. A group of two hundred archers from this tribe set out in pursuit. They followed the footprints of the companions and eventually reached a place where the companions had sat and eaten dates that they had brought with them from Madinah. The pursuers said among themselves: “These (date pits) are from the dates of Yathrib (Madinah).” Then, estimating from the footprints, they moved forward. When Asim and his companions saw them, all of them took refuge on the top of a mountain. The polytheists said to them: “Lay down your weapons and come down; we give you our word and covenant that we will not kill any of you.” Asim ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the leader of this expedition, said: “I will never come down to the protection of a disbeliever today. O Allah! Inform Your Prophet of our condition.” Then those disbelievers began to shower them with arrows and martyred Asim and seven other companions, while the remaining three companions accepted their covenant. These were Khubaib al-Ansari, Ibn Dathnah, and the third companion (Abdullah ibn Tariq Balawi). When these companions fell into the hands of the polytheists, they tied them with the strings of their bows. Abdullah ibn Tariq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “By Allah! This is your first betrayal; I will never go with you, rather I will follow the example of those martyred companions.” He meant the martyred companions, but the polytheists forcibly tried to drag him along. When he refused to go, they killed him. Now they took only Khubaib and Ibn Dathnah with them and sold them in Makkah. This incident occurred after the Battle of Badr. Khubaib (may Allah be pleased with him) was bought by the sons of Harith ibn Amir ibn Nawfal ibn Abd Manaf. Khubaib (may Allah be pleased with him) had killed Harith ibn Amir in the Battle of Badr. He stayed with them as a prisoner for some days. (Zuhri narrated) I was informed by Ubaidullah ibn Uyaynah, and he was informed by Harith ibn Amir’s daughter (Zainab, who later became Muslim) that when people gathered to kill Khubaib, he asked Zainab for a razor to shave the hair below his navel. She gave him the razor. (Zainab narrated) Then he called my child to him. When he went to him, I was unaware. (Zainab narrates) Then when I saw my child sitting on his thigh and the razor in his hand, I became so distressed that Khubaib (may Allah be pleased with him) understood from my face. He said: “You must fear that I will kill him, but believe me, I will never do that.” By Allah! I have never seen a prisoner better than Khubaib (may Allah be pleased with him). By Allah! I saw one day that he had a bunch of grapes in his hand and was eating from it, although he was chained in iron shackles and it was not the season for fruits in Makkah. (Zainab) used to say that it was the provision from Allah that He had granted to Khubaib (may Allah be pleased with him). Then when the polytheists took him outside the sanctuary to kill him beyond the limits of the Haram, Khubaib (may Allah be pleased with him) said to them: “Let me pray two rak’ahs first.” They allowed him, then Khubaib (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed two rak’ahs and said: “If you did not think that I am afraid (of being killed), I would have made these two rak’ahs longer. O Allah! Destroy one by one these oppressors.” (Then he recited these verses
“While I am being killed in the state of Islam, I have no concern, whether I am pushed to any side in the way of Allah. This is only to seek the pleasure of Allah, and if He wills, He can bless even the pieces of this body that have been torn apart.”
Finally, Harith’s son (Uqbah) martyred him. From Khubaib (may Allah be pleased with him), the two rak’ahs became prescribed for every Muslim who is imprisoned and about to be killed (before the killing). Meanwhile, at the beginning of the incident, Allah accepted the prayer of Asim ibn Thabit (who was the leader of the expedition) that Allah inform His Prophet of their condition. The Prophet (peace be upon him) informed his companions of all the circumstances that this expedition had faced. When some people of the Quraysh disbelievers learned that Asim ibn Thabit had been martyred, they sent their men to search for him to cut off a part of his body for identification. Asim (may Allah be pleased with him) had killed a leader of the Quraysh disbelievers (Uqbah ibn Abi Mu’ait) in the Battle of Badr, but Allah placed a swarm of hornets on Asim’s corpse. They saved Asim’s body from the men of Quraysh, and they could not cut off any part of his body.
Reference: (Sahih al-Bukhari) (Narrated by al-Bukhari, Book of Jihad and Expedition, Chapter: Should a man seek refuge or not, and who should seek refuge, and who prayed two rak’ahs at the time of killing, Number: 3045)
Derived Benefits
➊ The mother of Asim bin Umar رضي الله عنه was Jameela, the daughter of Asim bin Thabit. Some have said that he was Asim bin Umar's maternal uncle and Jameela was his sister. The Prophet Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم sent these six men at the request of the tribes of Adzal and Qarah. They came to the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم after the Battle of Uhud and said that they wanted to become Muslims and requested that some companions be sent with them to teach them the religion. The Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم assigned Mursad bin Abi Mursad, Khalid bin Bukair, Khabib bin Adi, Zaid bin Dathnah, and Abdullah bin Tariq رضي الله عنهم to accompany them. On the way, the people of Banu Lahyan attacked them treacherously and killed them.
➋ Zainab bint Al-Harith (whose biography is available in books like Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah and other biographical works) is mentioned in this hadith; she later became a Muslim. Hafiz Ibn Hajar رحمه الله mentioned her in الاصابة فى تمييز الصحابه.
➌ The breach of promise by the disbelievers: From the mentioned hadith, it is also understood that the disbelievers have no commitment to their oaths, as the disbelievers of Banu Lahyan immediately violated their promise after making a treaty with the Muslims and killed them.
➍ Proof of the miracles of the saints: The above hadith provides evidence of the miracles of the saints, such as the fresh fruits reaching Sayyiduna Khabib رضي الله عنه without it being the season.
➎ The gentleness of the Muslims: The hadith shows the gentleness of the Muslims, as when the enemy's infant child mistakenly came into the hands of Sayyiduna Khabib رضي الله عنه while he was holding a razor, he did not kill the innocent child, even though he was fully certain that the enemy intended to kill him.
➏ Protecting the body of the Mujahid from the hands of the disbelievers: When the polytheists of Makkah learned that Asim bin Thabit رضي الله عنه had been martyred, they sent their men to seize his body to cut off a part of it (because Asim رضي الله عنه had killed a polytheist chief, Uqbah bin Abi Mu'ayt, in the Battle of Badr), but Allah protected his body through wasps and saved it.
