This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Abi Abdul Saboor Abdul Ghafoor Damni's book Fazail al-Jihad.
عن إسحاق بن عبد الله بن أبى طلحة قال حدثني أنس أن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم بعث خاله أخو أم سليم فى سبعين راكبا وكان رئيس المشركين عامر بن الطفيل خير بين ثلاث خصال فقال يكون لك أهل السهل ولي أهل المدر أو أكون خليفتك أو أغروك بأهل غطفان بألف وألف فطعن عامر فى بيت أم فلان فقال غدة كغدة البكر فى بيت امرأة من آل فلان ائتوني بفرسي فمات على ظهر فرسه فانطلق حرام أخو أم سليم وهو رجل أعرج ورجل من بني فلان قال كونا قريبا حتى آتيهم فإن آمنوني كنتم قريبا وإن قتلوني أتيتم أصحابكم فقال أتؤمنونني أبلغ رسالة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فجعل يحدثهم وأومؤا إلى رجل فأتاه من خلفه فطعنه قال همام أحسبه حتى أنفذه بالرمح قال الله أكبر فزت ورب الكعبة فلحق الرجل فقتلوا كلهم غير الأعرج كان فى رأس جبل فأنزل الله علينا ثم كان من المنسوخ إنا قد لقينا ربنا فرضي عنا وأرضانا فدعا النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم عليهم ثلاثين صباحا على رعل وذكوان وبني لحيان وعصية الذين عصوا الله ورسوله
It is narrated from Ishaq bin Abdullah bin Abi Talha, may Allah be pleased with him, who said that Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated to me that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, sent his maternal uncle (who is the brother of Umm Salama, may Allah be pleased with her) with seventy horsemen. The reason was that the leader of the polytheists, Amir bin Tufail, had arrogantly and mischievously presented three conditions before the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. He said: Either your rule is over the rural population and mine over the urban population, or I am appointed as your successor, otherwise I will attack you with thousands of Ghatafan. (Upon this, the Prophet, peace be upon him, cursed him) and he was afflicted with the plague in the house of Umm Fulan, saying that in the house of that woman, glands appeared on me like a young camel; bring me my horse. So he died on the back of his horse. Anyway, Umm Salama’s brother, Haram bin Milhan, may Allah be pleased with him, another companion who was lame, and a third companion from Banu Fulan advanced. Haram, may Allah be pleased with him, told his two companions before reaching Banu Amir: Stay close to me; I will go to them first. If they grant me safety, you will be nearby, and if they kill me, you all should return to your companions. Upon reaching the tribe, he asked them: Do you grant me safety so that I may deliver the message of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, to you? Then he began to deliver the message of the Prophet, peace be upon him, when the tribe signaled a man who came from behind and struck him with a spear. (The narrator Humam says I think the spear pierced through.) Haram, may Allah be pleased with him, exclaimed: "Allahu Akbar! By the Lord of the Kaaba! I have achieved my goal." Then one of the companions was also captured by the polytheists (who was with Haram, may Allah be pleased with him, and was also martyred) and all the companions of this expedition were martyred. Only the lame companion managed to escape by climbing to the top of a mountain. Allah Almighty revealed a verse in honor of these martyrs, which was later abrogated (the verse was): "We have met our Lord, so He was pleased with us and made us happy." The Prophet, peace be upon him, cursed the tribes of Raal, Dhu Kwan, Banu Lahyan, and Asiyah for thirty days in the morning prayer because they disobeyed Allah and His Messenger.
And in another narration in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim, it is mentioned that Amir bin Fahira was taken up to the heavens after his martyrdom.
Reference: (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim)
Reference: (Narrated in Bukhari, Book of Expeditions, Chapter of the Battle of Al-Raji’, Raal, Dhu Kwan, and Bi’r Ma’una, Number: 4091 and wording in Muslim: Book of Leadership, Chapter on the Confirmation of Paradise for the Martyr, Number: 677)
عن أبى أسامة قال قال هشام بن عروة أخبرني أبى قال لما قتل الذين ببئر معونة وأسر عمرو بن أمية الضمري قال له عامر بن الطفيل من هذا فأشار إلى قتيل فقال له عمرو بن أمية هذا عامر بن فهيرة فقال لقد رأيته بعد ما قتل رفع إلى السماء حتى إني لأنظر إلى السماء بينه وبين الأرض ثم وضع فأتى النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم خبرهم فنعاهم فقال إن أصحابكم قد أصيبوا إنهم قد سألوا ربهم فقالوا أخبروا عنا إخواننا بما رضينا عنك ورضيت عنا فأخبرهم عنهم
Abu Usama said that Hisham bin Urwah said: My father, Urwah bin Zubair, informed me that when the Qari companions were martyred in the incident of Bi’r Ma’una and Amr bin Umayyah Dhamiri, may Allah be pleased with him, was captured, Amir bin Tufail asked him who this was. He pointed to a corpse. Amr bin Umayyah, may Allah be pleased with him, told him that this was Amir bin Fahira, may Allah be pleased with him. Upon this, Amir bin Tufail said that he saw the corpse being taken up to the sky after martyrdom. He looked up and saw the corpse hanging between the sky and the earth, then it was placed back on the ground. The Prophet, peace be upon him, informed the companions about the martyrdom of these martyrs and said: "Your companions have been martyred and after martyrdom they presented before their Lord saying: O our Lord! Inform our (Muslim) brothers how happy we are with You and that You are pleased with us." Thus, Allah Almighty informed the Muslims of this through the Holy Quran.
Reference: (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim)
Reference: (Narrated in Bukhari: Book of Expeditions, Chapter of the Battle of Al-Raji’, Raal, Dhu Kwan, and Bi’r Ma’una, Number: 4093 / Muslim: Book of Mosques and Places of Prayer, Chapter on the Recommendation of Qunoot in all Prayers when a Calamity befalls the Muslims, summarized, 277)
And in another narration in Sahih Bukhari it is mentioned as follows:
عن أنس بن مالك قال دعا النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم على الذين قتلوا يعني أصحابه ببئر معونة ثلاثين صباحا حين يدعو على رعل ولحيان وعصية عصت الله ورسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال أنس فأنزل الله تعالى لنبيه فى الذين قتلوا أصحاب بئر معونة قرآنا قرأناه حتى نسخ بعد بلغوا قومنا فقد لقينا ربنا فرضي عنا ورضينا عنه
Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, cursed in the morning prayer for thirty days those people who had martyred his honored companions (the Qaris) at Bi’r Ma’una. He cursed the tribes of Raal, Banu Lahyan, and Asiyah, who disobeyed Allah and His Messenger. Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Then Allah Almighty revealed a verse of the Holy Quran to His Prophet, peace be upon him, about those companions who were martyred at Bi’r Ma’una. We used to recite this verse but later it was abrogated (the translation of the verse is): "Our people received the news that we have met our Lord; our Lord is pleased with us and we are pleased with Him."
Reference: (Sahih Bukhari)
Reference: (Narrated in Bukhari, Book of Expeditions, Chapter of the Battle of Al-Raji’, Raal, Dhu Kwan, and Bi’r Ma’una, Number: 4095)
Derived Benefits
➊ Under the above title, all three hadiths relate to the same incident. Some are brief and some detailed. This incident occurred in the month of Safar, 4 AH, after the Battle of Uhud. Rajee' is the name of a place located between Bir Ma'una and Asfan. The tribes of Ra'l, Dhuqan, Banu Lahyan, and Asiyah resided there. Some people, by misrepresenting to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, requested to send companions to their area for the purpose of teaching Islam. The Prophet ﷺ sent the best seventy reciters of the Quran with them. When these people reached Rajee', the tribes of Ra'l, Dhuqan, Banu Lahyan, and Asiyah treacherously killed those companions. When the news reached the Prophet ﷺ through revelation, he continued to supplicate against them in the Qunoot of the Fajr prayer for a month. Allah accepted his prayers, and those tribes were destroyed and ruined (except what Allah willed).
➋ The true desire of a believer's heart is that he can sacrifice his life in the way of Allah; if someone does not have this spirit, he should consider his faith deficient. Hazrat Haram bin Milhan رضي الله عنه expressed this reality. Allah Almighty says:
➌ Indeed, Allah has made a bargain with the believers, exchanging their lives and wealth for Paradise. The Amir bin Fahira رضي الله عنه mentioned in these hadiths is the same companion who, when the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ migrated with Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq رضي الله عنه, stayed in Mount Thawr for three days. This companion, Amir bin Fahira رضي الله عنه, took the opportunity to bring fresh camel milk and quench the Prophet's thirst. Allah honored him such that when he was martyred among the seventy reciters, his body was lifted towards the sky and then placed back on the earth.
➍ From these hadiths, it is understood that during times of calamity, performing Qunoot in the obligatory prayers is Sunnah; in jurisprudence, this is called Qunoot al-Nazilah.
➎ Permissibility of swearing oaths on occasions of joy and happiness: From the first hadith, it is understood that swearing oaths on occasions of joy and happiness is permissible, as when Haram bin Milhan رضي الله عنه was struck by a spear, he immediately swore an oath with ”فزت ورب الكعبة“ because he was certain of his martyrdom.
