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member o f the Banu Murra tribe mocked Usamah and his young age.
Unable to control himself, U~amah decided to fight it out then and there
with the man who ins 1 .tlted him. J n a weak position, the Bedouin chose to
run away. U~amah, in his anger, pursued him, ignoring the expedition
leader's order to stay rogether at all times. He managed to catch up with ;
his enemy, threw him down, and wounded him. The Bedouin cried: "1
bear witness that there is no god but God!" (Ia ilaha ilia Allah), but
Usamah ignored this and killed the man. \'\Then he returned to the camp
and told his story, the troop leader and all the other soldiers were shocked
at his behavior. Usamah realized how serious his mistake was and isolat-
ed himself until they remmed to ?\'Iedina.
He promptly went to see the Prophet, who first greeted him most warm-
ly, bappy to learn about the victory. \'\lhen Usamab told him about the duel,
however, the Prophet expressed severe disapproval and asked: "Usamah,
did you kill him after he had said 'There is no god but God'?" Usamah
replied that the Bedouin had only uttered the wo rds to avoid being killed,
and the Prophet retorted: " Did you split his heart open to know \vhether
he was saying the truth or lying?" Usamah was horrified and feared his mis-
take would never be forgiven. T he Prophet nevertheless forgave him, after
conveying to him an essential teaching about the way one should deal with
people and the secrets of their hearts, whether in war or in peace.
The Bedouin's profession of faith required that Usamah should not kill
him. If he was sincere, his life should obviously hayc been spared. If he
was not, his exclamation amounted to an appeal for peace and clemency.
In such a case, Revelation had already enjoined the Muslims to show dis-
cernment and restraint and to seek peace:
o you who believe! \'\'hen you go out in tht cau~t of God, investigate
carefully, and do not say to anyone who o ffers you peace: ''You art not a
beEever!"---coveting the perishable Ic,'oods of this life: with God there ate
abundant gains. You yourselves were thus btfore, till God conferred on
you His favors: therefore carcfullr im"estigate. For God is aware of all that
you do.^2The Bedouin, when he saw death coming, had appealed for peace, but
Usamah, blinded by his determination to defend his honor in this world