Hazrat Salamah bin Akwa’ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that we set out with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) towards Khaybar. We were traveling at night when a man (Usayd bin Hudayr) said to ‘Amir,“Amir! Recite some of your poetry for us.”‘Amir was a poet. At this request, he got down from his mount and began to chant poetry. He said,“O Allah! If it were not for You, we would not have been guided, nor could we have given charity, nor performed prayer. So forgive us quickly; as long as we live, our lives are sacrificed in Your path. And if we encounter (the enemy), keep us steadfast, send tranquility upon us. When we are called (towards falsehood), we refuse. Today, they have come out against us in force.”

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked,“Who is reciting poetry?”The people replied,“‘Amir bin Akwa’.”The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,“May Allah have mercy on him.”The companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said,“O Messenger of Allah! You have made him deserving of martyrdom. If only you had let us benefit from him a little longer.”

Then we reached Khaybar and besieged the fortress. During this, we suffered great hardships and hunger, until Allah granted us victory. On the night the fortress was to be conquered, fires were burning in many places throughout the camp. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked,“What are these fires? For what purpose have they been lit everywhere?”The companions (may Allah be pleased with them) replied,“For cooking meat.”He asked,“What kind of meat is it?”The companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said,“The meat of domesticated donkeys.”The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,“Throw away all the meat and break the pots.”One companion (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“O Messenger of Allah! Why not just throw away the meat and wash the pots?”The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,“Do so.”

Then, during the day, when the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) lined up for battle, since ‘Amir’s (may Allah be pleased with him) sword was short, when he tried to strike a Jew’s leg (by bending down), the edge of his own sword wounded the upper part of his own knee, and he was martyred as a result. Salamah bin Akwa’ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that when the army was returning, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw me, took my hand, and asked,“What is the matter?”I replied,“May my parents be sacrificed for you! Some people think that all of ‘Amir’s (may Allah be pleased with him) deeds have been wasted (because he died by his own sword).”The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,“The person who says such things is lying. He will receive a double reward.”Then he joined his two fingers together and said,“He endured hardship and strove in the path of Allah. There is hardly any Arab who has set an example like his.”