Iyas bin Salamah narrates from his father, Sayyiduna Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him), that:

(1) We, fourteen hundred people, came with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to the place of Hudaybiyyah. There was a well there, from which (due to the scarcity of water) even fifty goats could not be watered. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sat at the edge of the well, prayed, or spat into it, and water gushed forth abundantly. So we drank and gave others to drink.

(2) Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called us to pledge allegiance at the trunk of a tree. I was the first to pledge allegiance, then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) continued to take pledges. When half the people had finished pledging, he said to me:“Salamah! Pledge allegiance.”I said: O Messenger of Allah! I have already pledged allegiance first. He said:“Do it once more.”

(3) When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw me without a weapon, he gave me a shield, then began to take pledges again until the people reached the end. He said to me:“Salamah! Will you not pledge allegiance?”I said: O Messenger of Allah! I have already pledged allegiance first and then in the middle (twice). He said:“Do it once more.”So I pledged allegiance a third time.

(4) Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me:“Salamah! Where is the shield I gave you?”I said: O Messenger of Allah! I met my uncle, he had no weapon, so I gave it to him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed and said:“You are like the man who said: O Allah! Grant me a beloved who is dearer to me than myself.”

(5) Then the polytheists began correspondence with us on the subject of peace, until we started visiting each other and peace was established. I was a follower of Sayyiduna Talhah bin Ubaydullah (may Allah be pleased with him), I would water his horse, clean its back with a currycomb, and serve him. I would eat his food, and when I migrated to Allah and His Messenger, I left my family and wealth behind. When peace was established between us and the people of Makkah and we began to visit each other, I came under a tree, cleared its thorns, and lay down there. Four polytheists from Makkah came to me, they began to speak ill of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I was greatly repulsed by them, so I went to another tree. They hung up their weapons and lay down. While they were in this state, a voice was heard from the lower valley: O Muhajir! Ibn Zainam has been killed. I drew my sword and rushed towards those four, they were sleeping, I seized their weapons and said: By the One who has honored the face of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! Whoever among you raises his head, I will kill him. Then I drove them to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

(6) My uncle ‘Amir brought a man named Mukriz from ‘Ablaat, mounted on a weak horse, to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). They were seventy polytheists in total. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) looked at them and said:“Let them go, the beginning of evil and wickedness has just started with them and will end with them.”The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forgave them. At that time, Allah revealed this verse:“He it is Who withheld their hands from you and your hands from them in the midst of Makkah after He had made you victors over them. And Allah sees what you do.”(Surah Al-Fath: 24)

(7) Then we returned towards Madinah, camped at a place, and between us and Banu Lihyan, who were polytheists, there was a mountain. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed for forgiveness for the one who would climb that mountain that night, as if he was at the forefront of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Companions. Sayyiduna Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I climbed the mountain two or three times that night.

(8) Then we reached Madinah. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent his mount with his slave Rabah, and I also set out with Sayyiduna Talhah’s horse. I spurred the horse until it was drenched in sweat. In the morning, it was found that ‘Abdur-Rahman Fazarī had deceived us, killed your (the Prophet’s) shepherd, and driven away the mounts. I said: Rabah! Take this horse to Sayyiduna Talhah bin Ubaydullah and give this message to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that the polytheists have looted his livestock. I myself stood on a hillock, faced Madinah, and (to gather people) called out three times: Yā Sabāhāh! Then I set out in pursuit of them, shooting arrows at them and reciting rajaz poetry: I am the son of Akwa‘, today is the day of the destruction of the lowly ones. I would catch up with a man and shoot an arrow into his bag so forcefully that it would reach his shoulder. Then I would say: Take this, and I am the son of Akwa‘, today is the day of the destruction of the lowly ones. By Allah! I kept shooting arrows at them, bewildering and confounding them. If any horseman turned towards me, I would sit by the trunk of a tree and shoot arrows at him, confusing him. (As I went on) the mountain became narrow and they entered its narrow pass. I climbed the mountain and started rolling stones down. I kept pursuing them until I left all the mounts of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) behind me, yet I continued to chase and shoot arrows at them, until they threw away thirty cloaks and thirty spears to lighten themselves (and reduce their load). Whatever they threw, I would place a marker stone on it so that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions would recognize it. They reached a narrow pass, where the son of Badr Fazarī also joined them. They began to eat lunch, and I sat on the top of a mountain or hillock. Fazarī asked: Who is this whom I see? They said: We have suffered greatly from him, by Allah! He has been pursuing us since morning and shooting arrows at us, until he has taken everything from us. He said: Four of you go towards him. So they climbed the mountain towards me. When it was possible to speak to them, I said: Do you know me? They said: No, who are you? I said: I am Salamah bin Akwa‘, by the One who has honored the face of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! I can catch whomever I wish among you, and none of you can catch me. One of them said: That is what I thought.

(9) They went back, and I remained in my place until I saw the horsemen of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) coming up through the trees. The first among them was Akhram Asadī, behind him Abu Qatadah Ansari, and behind him Miqdad bin Aswad Kindī. I grabbed the reins of Akhram’s horse. They all turned and fled. I said: Akhram! Be cautious until you meet the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Companions, lest they intercept you. He said: Salamah! If you believe in Allah and the Last Day and know that Paradise and Hell are true, then nothing can stand between me and my martyrdom. I let him go, he confronted ‘Abdur-Rahman, they cut the hamstrings of his horse, and ‘Abdur-Rahman killed Akhram with a spear and mounted his horse. Meanwhile, the horseman of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him), attacked ‘Abdur-Rahman and killed him with a spear. By the One who has honored the face of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! I kept running after them (and went so far ahead that) the Companions and their dust disappeared from sight. When these polytheists reached a valley called Dhu Qarad before sunset, there was water there, and they were thirsty. They wanted to drink, but when they looked back, they saw me running after them, so out of fear and terror, they left without drinking a drop. They started running along the mountain path, and I kept running after them and shot an arrow into the shoulder of one of their men and said: Take this, and I am the son of Akwa‘, today is the day of the destruction of the lowly ones. He said: May your mother lose you, are you the morning Akwa‘? I said: Yes, O enemy of your own soul! I am the morning Akwa‘. They left two horses on that path. I brought both of them to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

(10) I met ‘Amir, he had a water skin with a little milk and one with water. I performed ablution and drank water, then I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who was at the water from which I had driven away the enemies. I saw that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had taken possession of all the camels, spears, and other items like cloaks that I had seized from the polytheists. Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) slaughtered one of the seized camels and roasted its liver and hump for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I said: O Messenger of Allah! Let me go, I will select a hundred men, then we will all pursue the polytheists, and whoever among them we find, we will kill him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed until his molar teeth became visible in the light of the fire. He said:“Salamah! Will you do that?”I said: Yes, by the One who has honored you! He said:“They will be hosted in Ghatafan.”Later, a man came from Ghatafan and said: So-and-so slaughtered camels for them, and when they had skinned them, they saw a rising cloud of dust. They said: (Those pursuing us) have reached us, so they fled.

(11) When morning came, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“The best horseman today is Abu Qatadah, and the best runner is Salamah.”Then he gave me two shares, one for a horseman and one for a foot soldier, and combined both shares for me. Then he made me ride his camel ‘Adhba’ and set out towards Madinah.

(12) As we were traveling, an Ansari, who would not let anyone surpass him in running, began to say: Is there anyone to race me to Madinah? Is there anyone to compete? He kept challenging repeatedly. When I heard him, I said: Do you not respect the honor of the honorable? Do you not acknowledge the awe of a noble person? He said: No, except if he is the Messenger of Allah. I said: O Messenger of Allah! May my parents be sacrificed for you, let me go, I want to compete with this man. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“As you wish.”I said: I am coming towards you. I twisted my legs, leapt, and started running, crossed one or two hillocks, then ran after him, kept running for one or two hillocks, then sped up and caught up with him, slapped his back and said: By Allah! You have lost. He said: I still have hope. Then I overtook him all the way to Madinah.

(13) By Allah! We stayed only three nights, then we set out towards Khaybar. My uncle ‘Amir began to recite rajaz poetry: By Allah! If it were not for Allah, we would not have been guided, nor given charity, nor prayed. And by Your grace, we cannot be self-sufficient. If we meet the enemy, keep us steadfast and send tranquility upon us. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked:“Who is this?”They said: I am ‘Amir. He said:“May your Lord forgive you.”He said: Whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed for forgiveness for a particular person, he was martyred. Sayyiduna ‘Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), while on his camel, called out: O Prophet of Allah! Why did you not let us benefit from ‘Amir (i.e., why did you not include us in the prayer)?

(14) When we reached Khaybar, their king Marhab came out brandishing his sword and said: Khaybar knows well that I am Marhab, armed, valiant, and experienced. When battles flare up, I turn towards them. My uncle ‘Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) came out to face him and said: Khaybar knows well that I am ‘Amir, fully prepared, brave, and one who risks his life. The exchange of sword blows began. Marhab’s sword struck ‘Amir’s shield, ‘Amir bent down, and his own sword cut the vein of his arm, and thus he was martyred.

(15) Salamah said: I came out and heard the Companions of the Messenger of Allah saying: ‘Amir’s deeds have been wasted, he has committed suicide. I came weeping to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! Have ‘Amir’s deeds been wasted? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked:“Who said such a thing?”I said: Your Companions. He said:“Whoever said this has spoken falsely; ‘Amir will have a double reward.”Then he sent me to call Sayyiduna ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), who was suffering from an eye ailment at that time. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“I will give the banner to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and Allah and His Messenger love him.”I went to ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and despite his eye pain, I brought him to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He applied his saliva to his eyes, and he was cured, then gave him the banner. This time Marhab came out and said: Khaybar knows well that I am Marhab, armed, valiant, and experienced. When battles flare up, I turn towards them. Sayyiduna ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I am the one whose mother named him Haydar, the lion of the forests, with a terrifying appearance. I will measure them with the spear in exchange for a measure of grain. Sayyiduna ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) struck Marhab on the head, and through his hand (Khaybar) was conquered.