THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMADout, "'Abd al-Ilah!" "Yes?" I then responded. He asked, "Don't you think I'm
worth more to you than those coats of chain-mail you're carrying?" "Yes, you
are," I replied.
"'So I put down the chain-mail and took hi and his son by the hands. As I
did so he commented that he had never seen the like of that day and asked,
"Don't you have need of milk?"" I then walked off with them both."'
Ibn Ishaq went on, "'Abd al-Wahid b. Aba 'Awn related to me, &om Sa'd b.
Ibr&im, from his father, from 'Abd al-Mmm b. 'Awf, who said, 'Umayya b.
Khalaf said to me as I walked between him and his son, holdimg hands with them
both, "'Abd al-Ikh, who is that man distinguished by an ostrich feather across his
chest?" I replied, ''That is Hamza." He commented, "He's the one who mined us."
"'As I was lead'mg them on, Bild saw him with me, Umayya having been the
one who had so persecuted him for his adoption of Islam. Bilal shouted out, "Hey,
there's that polytheist-in-chief Umayya h. Khalaf! I'll not live on ifhe does!" I res-
ponded, "Now Bild, he's my prisoner." "I'll not live on if he does," he insisted.
He then began shouting at the top of his voice, "0 partisans of God, here's
Umayya h. Khalaf, the worst polytheist of all! 1'11 not live on if he does!" Men soon
surrounded us till they had us in a sort of enclosure, with me protecting him all
the while. Then one man took his sword and struck the leg of Umayya's son, mak-
ing him fall down. Umayya then let out a cry such as I never heard before. I told
hi to try to escape, though there was no chance of this, and I could do nothing
for hi. After that our men fell on them with their swords and killed them."'
The account concludes, "'Ahd al-Rahmm used to say, 'May God have mercy
on Bilal; he deprived me of both my chain-mail and my two prisoners!"'
Al-Bukh?iri related this in similar terms in his jahih collection. In the chapter
dealing with the power of attorney, he stated, "'Ahd alLCAziz related to me, he
being the son of 'Ahd All&, quotingyasuf, he being the son of al-Majishan,
from Sdih b. Ibrahim h. 'Ahd al-Rabm b. 'Awf, who quoted his father as say-
ing that his father, 'Abd al-Ralpnsn h. 'Awf said, 'I corresponded with Umayya
b. Khalaf asking him to take care of my personal affairs in Mecca while I looked
after his in Medina. When I used the word "al-Raban" in my name, he res-
ponded, "I don't know any 'al-Rahmm'; write to me in the name you had
before." So I wrote to him as "'Abd 'Amr." At Badr I went out to the mountain
to protect him when the men were asleep, but Bilal caught sight of hi and came
out and stood where there was a group of the Helpers and yelled, "Umayya b.
Khalaf! I'll not live on if Umayya b. Khalaf does!"
'"So he and a group of the Helpers took off after us. Fearing they would catch
up with us, I left behind for them his son to deter them. But they killed him and
pursued us; he was a heavy man. When they caught up to us, I told him to kneel
down and when he did so I shielded him with myself. But they reached hi with
- According to Ibn Hisham, he was suggesting that he would he able to offer milch-camels as
ransom for himself and his son.