The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent me to Khalid bin Sufyan al-Hudhali, who was in the area of Uranah and Arafat. He said, "Go and kill him."I caught sight of him, and the time for the afternoon prayer had come. I said to myself, "I fear that something may happen between him and me that would cause me to delay the prayer." So I set off walking toward him while praying, gesturing with nods of my head.When I drew near him, he asked me, "Who are you?"I replied, "A man from among the Arabs. I heard that you are gathering forces against this man, so I have come to join you."He said, "Indeed, I am doing just that."I walked alongside him for a while, and when I had the chance, I struck him down with my sword until he was lifeless.Razin added, "He was staying in Uranah, gathering forces to fight the Messenger of Allah ﷺ." And in his version, I said, "I do not know him."The Prophet ﷺ said, "He has disheveled hair, as though he were a devil. When you see him, he will not be hidden from you."So I went and saw him and recognized him.
بعثني رسول الله ﷺ إلى خالد بن سفيان الهذلي، وكان نحو عرنة وعرفات. فقال: اذهب فاقتله، قال: فرأيته وحضرت صلاة العصر، فقلت: إني لأخاف أن يكون بيني وبينه ما إن أؤخر الصلاة فانطلقت أمشي، وأنا أصلي أومئ إيماء نحوه. فلما دنوت منه قال لي: من أنت؟ قلت: رجل من العرب، بلغني أنك تجمع لهذا الرجل، فجئتك في ذاك، قال: إني لفي ذاك فمشيت معه ساعة حتى إذا أمكنني علوته بسيفي حتى برد. وزاد رزين: وكان ساكنا بعرنة، وكان يجمع لقتال رسول الله ﷺ وفيه: قلت: إني لا أعرفه. قال: إنه ثائر الرأس، كأنه شيطان، إذا رأيته لم يخف عليك؟ قال: فجئته فرأيته وعرفته.
Abu Dawud (1249) narrated it from Abu Muamar Abdullah bin Amr, he said, Abdul-Warith narrated to us, he said, Muhammad bin Ishaq narrated to us, from Muhammad bin Jafar, from the son of Abdullah bin Unays, from his father, and he related it. Ibn Khuzayma (982) narrated it through this same route. Al-Hafiz deemed its isnad hasan in Fath al-Bari (2/437).I say, it has two flaws. The first is Muhammad bin Ishaq, for he is known to conceal his sources, and here he transmitted using the ambiguous word "an." The second is the son of Abdullah bin Unays, who is said to be Abdullah bin Abdullah. Bukhari and Ibn Abu Hatim gave him an entry but mentioned neither criticism nor endorsement of him. Ibn Hibban mentioned him in Thiqat (5/37).As for the first flaw, Ibn Ishaq's concealment, he made it explicit in Musnad Imam Ahmad (16047), Ibn Khuzayma (983), and Ibn Hibban (7160), all of them through the route of Yaqub bin Ibrahim bin Saad, from his father, from Ibn Ishaq, who said, Muhammad bin Jafar bin Zubayr narrated to me, with this same account, in a long hadith. This is the wording of Imam Ahmad.He said, The Messenger of Allah ﷺ called me and said, "It has reached me that Khalid bin Sufyan bin Nubayh al-Hudhali is gathering people to raid me, and he is at Urana. Go to him and kill him." I said, "Messenger of Allah, describe him to me so I may recognize him." He said, "When you see him, you will feel a shiver."He said, So I went out girded with my sword until I came upon him. He was at Urana with some women travelers, seeking a place for them to camp, and it was the time of Asr. When I saw him, I felt the shiver the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had described to me. So I moved toward him, but I feared a struggle might arise between us that would distract me from prayer, so I prayed while walking toward him, gesturing with my head for the ruku and sujud.When I reached him, he said, "Who is this man?" I said, "A man from the Arabs who heard of you and of your gathering against this man, and has come to you for that." He said, "Yes, I am engaged in that." He said, So I walked with him a while, until, when the chance came, I struck him with the sword until I killed him. Then I left, leaving his women collapsed over him.When I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he saw me, he said, "The face has succeeded." I said, "I killed him, Messenger of Allah." He said, "You have spoken the truth."He said, Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ rose with me and brought me into his house, and gave me a staff, saying, "Keep this with you, Abdullah bin Unays."He said, So I went out among the people carrying it, and they said, "What is this staff?" I said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave it to me and ordered me to keep it." They said, "Why don't you go back to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and ask him about that?"He said, So I went back to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, "Messenger of Allah, why did you give me this staff?" He said, "As a sign between me and you on the Day of Resurrection, for on that day those who lean on staffs will be the fewest of people."He said, So Abdullah attached it to his sword, and it stayed with him until, when he died, he ordered that it be placed with him in his shroud. So it was placed with him, and the two were buried together.The wording is Ahmad's, and Ibn Hibban's version is similar to it. As for Ibn Khuzayma, he referred to the wording of Abdul-Warith.As for the second flaw, the anonymity of the son of Abdullah bin Unays, he was not alone in narrating the core of the story, rather more than one person corroborated him. There is also another isnad for it in Bayhaqi's Dalail (4/40–41). With these corroborations and routes, the isnad reaches the level of hasan, Allah willing.As for my statement, "Razin added," Ibn Athir mentioned it in Jami al-Usul (5/750).