Iyas bin Salamah bin Akwa narrates from his father: We set out towards Khaybar. My uncle, Sayyiduna ‘Amir (may Allah be pleased with him), was reciting rajaz poetry to the people. He was reciting:“By Allah! If Allah had not been, we would not have been guided, we would not have given charity, and we would not have prayed. And we cannot do without Your bounty. When we meet (the enemy), keep us steadfast and send down tranquility upon us.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: Who is this person? The people replied: This is ‘Amir. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: May your Lord forgive you, ‘Amir. Whenever the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made a special supplication for forgiveness for someone, that person would be martyred. Sayyiduna ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah! If only you had let us benefit from ‘Amir (i.e., prayed for his life), it would have been better.

(The narrator says:) When we reached Khaybar, Marhab came out brandishing his sword. He was their king. He was saying:“Khaybar knows that I am Marhab, I brandish weapons and am an experienced warrior, at the time when the battle blazes.”So Sayyiduna ‘Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) entered the field and said:“Khaybar knows that I am ‘Amir, I am an experienced warrior carrying weapons.”The two attacked each other, and Marhab’s sword struck Sayyiduna ‘Amir’s (may Allah be pleased with him) horse, then it became unsteady, and his own sword turned back on him and cut his vein, and because of this he passed away. Some of the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Amir’s deed has become void, because he killed himself. I went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) weeping and said: O Messenger of Allah! Sayyiduna ‘Amir’s (may Allah be pleased with him) deed has become void. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: Who said this? I said: Some of your companions are saying this. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: No, rather he will have a double reward. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me to Sayyiduna ‘Ali bin Abi Talib. I went to him and his eyes were sore. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Today I will give the flag to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and Allah and His Messenger love him. I took Sayyiduna ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) by the hand and brought him; his eyes were sore. I brought him to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) applied his saliva to his eyes and he was cured. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave him the flag. Then Marhab came out again and recited the same poetry:“Khaybar knows that I am Marhab, I brandish weapons and am an experienced warrior, at the time when the battle blazes.”So Sayyiduna ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said:“I am the one whose mother named him Haydar, like a lion of the forest, who is feared when seen. I measure with the large measure (meaning I kill the enemy swiftly and in great numbers).”

The narrator says: Sayyiduna ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) struck him and split Marhab’s head, killing him, and victory was granted at the hands of Sayyiduna ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).

(Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) Abu Khalifah narrated these words as such, that the blow was struck on Sayyiduna ‘Amir’s (may Allah be pleased with him) horse, whereas in reality, it was struck on Sayyiduna ‘Amir’s (may Allah be pleased with him) shield.