272 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMADBadr, and our heralds went out in front of our lines. The Prophet (SAAS) looked
over at them and said, "With me! With me!"'"
Ahmad alone gives this account. The line of transmission is good.
Ibn Ishaq stated, "Habba b. Wasic b. Habhm related to me, from sheikhs of his
tribe, that when the Messenger of God (SAAS) lined up his forces at the battle
of Badr, he held an arrow which he used to indicate how they should adjust
their position. He passed by Sawwad b. Ghaziyya, an ally of the Bann 'Adi b.
al-Najjar, and a little ahead of the line. He poked him in the belly with the arrow,
saying, 'Straighten up, Sawwad!!
"He replied, '0 Messenger of God, I swear by Him who sent you with the
truth and justice that you hurt me! So let me retaliate!'
"The Messenger of God (SAAS) promptly uncovered his stomach and said,
'Retaliate then!' Saww%d hugged hi and then kissed his stomach. The
Messenger of God (SAAS), asked, 'Why did you do that, Saww~d?' He replied,
'0 Messenger of God, you can see what is about to happen; I wanted my last
contact with you to be my skin touching yours.'
"The Messenger of God (SAAS) then spoke a prayer for hi."
Ihn Ishaq stated, "'A~im b. 'Umar b. Qatada related to me that 'Awf b.
al-Harith, he being cAfra"s son, said, '0 Messenger of God, what is it about His
worshippers that pleases God?' 'For them to charge into the enemy unprotected
by helmet or chain-mail,' he replied.
"At this 'Awf removed the suit of chain-mail he wore, threw it aside, then
drew his sword and fought until he was killed; may God be pleased with him!"
Ibn Ishaq went on, "Having arranged the position of his forces, the Messenger
of God (SAAS) returned to his shelter and went in, accompanied by Aba Bakr,
no one else being there with him."
Ibn Ishaq and others also said, "Sa'd b. Mu'adh, God be pleased with him,
was standing at the door of the shelter wearing his sword. With him were some
of the Helpers standing guard over the Messenger of God (SAAS) fearing he
might be attacked by the polytheist enemies, while choice horses stood there at
the ready for the Messenger of God (SAAS) to ride back to Medina if necessary,
as Sacd h. Mu%dh had suggested."
AI-Bazzitr related in his Musnad (collection of ahadith), from an account of
Muhammad b. 'Uqayl, that 'Ali (once) addressed the forces, saying, 'Who is the
bravest of all the people?' 'It is you, 0 Commander of the Faithful!' they re*
ponded.
"'Well,' he commented, 'I have never refused anyone's challenge, but it was
in fact Aba Bakr. We made a shelter for the Messenger of God (SAAS) to pre-
vent his being attacked by one of the polytheists. And, I swear, it was Aba Bakr
alone who came over to us, holding his drawn sword above the head of the
Messenger of God (SAAS). And when anyone came towards hi, Aba Bakr
would raise his sword before him. This man was the bravest of all.'