It is narrated from Awanah bin al-Hakam that Sayyiduna Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: "I am amazed at the person upon whom death has come while his mind is still sound: why does he not describe (the state of) death?" Then, when his own time of death drew near, his son Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "O father! You used to say that you were amazed at the person upon whom death comes and who, though in possession of his mind, does not describe its state. So now, while your mind is sound, describe death to us." He said: "O my dear son! Death is far too great a thing to be described, but I will tell you something of how it feels: I feel as though the mountains of Radwa have been placed upon my neck, I feel as though my belly has been filled with thorns, and I feel as though my soul is being drawn out through the eye of a needle."

It is narrated from Alqamah bin Rimthah al-Balawi (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) to Bahrain. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out with a detachment and we were with him (peace and blessings be upon him). Drowsiness came over the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for a while; then, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) woke up, he said: "May Allah Almighty have mercy on Amr." The narrator says: We began mentioning among ourselves every person whose name was Amr. Then drowsiness came over him (peace and blessings be upon him) a second time; he woke up and said: "May Allah Almighty have mercy on Amr." Then drowsiness came a third time; he woke up and said: "May Allah Almighty have mercy on Amr." We said: O Messenger of Allah! Which Amr is he? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Amr bin al-As." The people asked: What about him? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I remembered him. Whenever I urged the people to give charity, he would bring charity in great abundance. I would ask him: Where did you get this from? And he would reply: From Allah. And Amr spoke the truth; indeed, Amr has a great deal of good." Zuhayr (the narrator) says: So when the tribulation (fitnah) broke out, I thought: I will follow this man about whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said these words. So I never parted from him. This hadith is sahih in its chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) that ever since we accepted Islam, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not regard anyone of his Companions as equal to me and Khalid bin al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) in matters of war.