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It is narrated from Sayyiduna Wathilah bin al-Asqa' (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard Sayyiduna Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi (may Allah be pleased with him) say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Do not sit on graves, and do not pray facing towards them."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Wathilah bin al-Asqa' (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard Sayyiduna Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi (may Allah be pleased with him) say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Do not sit on graves, and do not pray facing towards them." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it. In its chain, Abdullah bin al-Mubarak is alone in mentioning Abu Idris al-Khawlani between Busr bin Ubaydullah and Wathilah, whereas Bishr bin Bakr and al-Walid bin Mazyad narrated this same report from Busr, stating that he heard it (directly) from Wathilah bin al-Asqa'.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Wathilah bin al-Asqa' (may Allah be pleased with him), the Companion of the Messenger, that he heard Sayyiduna Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi (may Allah be pleased with him) say: "Do not sit on graves, and do not pray facing towards them." And Sadaqah bin Khalid has corroborated him in this narration.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Wathilah bin al-Asqa' (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard Sayyiduna Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi (may Allah be pleased with him) say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Do not sit on graves, and do not pray facing towards them."

Sayyiduna Abu Kabshah al-Saluli (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from Sayyiduna Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him out as a guard (sentry). When morning came, he returned, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said (to the Companions): "Here comes your companion, who has endured hardship (all night) for your sake." Then he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Did you get down from your horse tonight?" He said: No, O Prophet of Allah! By Allah, I did not get down except to relieve myself. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Even if you do no (further voluntary) deed after this (deed), you need not worry." Yahya bin Hamzah said: I mentioned this hadith to Imam al-Awza'i, and he told me that Hassan bin Atiyyah also used to narrate this hadith. This is a great virtue of Sayyiduna Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi (may Allah be pleased with him), which the descendants of Yahya bin Hamzah al-Dimashqi are alone in narrating from Imam al-Awza'i through their forefathers, and all of them are trustworthy narrators. Also (begins) the mention of the virtues of Marthad bin Abi Marthad al-Ghanawi (may Allah be pleased with him), who was martyred along with Sayyiduna Asim bin Adi (may Allah be pleased with him), and they were six persons in all.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Urwah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the Day of Badr there were only two horses with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) (in the whole army), one of which belonged to Sayyiduna Marthad bin Abi Marthad al-Ghanawi (may Allah be pleased with him) and the other to Sayyiduna al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Asim bin Umar bin Qatadah that after the Battle of Uhud, some people of the tribes of Adal and al-Qarah (which are two branches of Jadilah) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Islam (is spreading) in our land, so send with us some of your Companions who will teach us the Qur'an and give us understanding (fiqh) of the religion of Islam." So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent six men with them, among whom was Sayyiduna Marthad bin Abi Marthad, the ally of Sayyiduna Hamzah bin Abd al-Muttalib, and he was their commander. Also in this group were Khalid bin al-Bukayr al-Laythi, the ally of Banu Adi, Abdullah bin Tariq al-Zafari, Zayd bin al-Dathinah, Khubayb bin Adi and Asim bin Thabit bin al-Aqlah. So this party set out under the leadership of their commander Marthad bin Abi Marthad, until, when they reached al-Raji', the tribe of Hudhayl attacked them. They were still resting among their saddles when suddenly men carrying swords surrounded them. The Companions took up their swords to defend themselves, whereupon they (the attackers) said: By Allah! We do not intend to kill you; rather, we want to obtain (a reward) from the people of Makkah (by handing you over to them). You have the covenant of Allah and His pledge (that we will not harm you). But Asim, Marthad and Khalid kept fighting until they were martyred, and they said: "By Allah! We will never accept a covenant or any agreement from a polytheist."

Sa'id bin Malik al-Ghanawi narrates from his father that he saw Sayyiduna Marthad bin Abi Marthad (may Allah be pleased with him) on the Day of Badr riding a horse called "al-Sabal". Muhammad bin Umar said: The martyrdom of Marthad bin Abi Marthad al-Ghanawi (may Allah be pleased with him) took place in the period between the Battle of Uhud and the Battle of al-Khandaq, in Safar of the year 4 AH. This indicates that Sayyiduna Marthad was martyred eight years before his father Abu Marthad, for Abu Marthad (may Allah be pleased with him) lived on until his death in Madinah during the caliphate of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) in the year 12 AH. I tried hard to find a hadith that Sayyiduna Marthad narrates directly from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but I did not find any narration except this one hadith:

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Marthad bin Abi Marthad al-Ghanawi (may Allah be pleased with him), who was a Companion who fought at Badr, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If it pleases you that your prayers be accepted (in the court of Allah), then let the best among you lead you in prayer, for they are your delegation (representatives) between you and your Lord, the Mighty and Majestic." Mention of Jabir bin Abdullah bin Ri'ab bin al-Nu'man bin Sinan: