Abdullah bin Rabah came to us, and I found that a group of people had gathered around him. He said, Abu Qatada, the horseman of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, told us, saying,The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched the Army of the Commanders and said, "Your commander is Zayd bin Haritha. If Zayd is struck down, then Jafar. If Jafar is struck down, then Abdullah bin Rawaha al-Ansari."Jafar leapt up and said, "May my father and mother be your ransom, Prophet of Allah. I never feared that you would appoint Zayd over me."The Prophet ﷺ replied, "Go forth, for you do not know which of these arrangements is best."So the army set out and remained away as long as Allah willed. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ascended the pulpit and ordered that the call be made, "Gather for the prayer." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Shall I tell you news that has come, or news that has returned," (Abdurrahman was uncertain which word was used) "shall I tell you about this raiding army of yours? They set out until they met the enemy, and Zayd was struck down as a martyr, so seek forgiveness for him."The people sought forgiveness for him. Then he continued, "Then Jafar bin Abu Talib took up the banner and charged into the enemy until he was killed as a martyr. I bear witness for him to martyrdom. So seek forgiveness for him."Then he said, "Then Abdullah bin Rawaha took up the banner and stood firm until he was struck down as a martyr, so seek forgiveness for him. Then Khalid bin Walid took up the banner, though he was not among the appointed commanders. He appointed himself."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then raised his two fingers and said, "O Allah, he is a sword among Your swords, so grant him victory." Abdurrahman once said, "So grant victory through him." From that day Khalid was named the Sword of Allah.Then the Prophet ﷺ said, "March out and reinforce your brothers. Let no one stay behind."So the people marched out in intense heat, on foot and mounted.
قدم علينا عبد الله بن رباح فوجدته قد اجتمع إليه ناس من الناس قال: حدثنا أبو قتادة فارس رسول الله ﷺ قال: بعث رسول الله ﷺ جيش الأمراء وقال: عليكم زيد بن حارثة فإن أصيب زيد، فجعفر، فإن أصيب جعفر، فعبد الله بن رواحة الأنصاري فوثب جعفر، فقال: بأبي أنت يا نبي الله وأمي، ما كنت أرهب أن تستعمل علي زيدا، قال: امضوا فإنك لا تدري أي ذلك خير قال: فانطلق الجيش فلبثوا ما شاء الله، ثم إن رسول الله ﷺ صعد المنبر وأمر أن ينادى الصلاة جامعة، فقال رسول الله ﷺ: ناب خبر أو تاب خبر، شك عبد الرحمن- ألا أخبركم عن جيشكم هذا الغازي، إنهم انطلقوا حتى لقوا العدو، فأصيب زيد شهيدا، فاستغفروا له فاستغفر له الناس ثم أخذ اللواء جعفر بن أبي طالب فشد على القوم حتى قتل شهيدا، أشهد له بالشهادة، فاستغفروا له، ثم أخذ اللواء عبد الله بن رواحة، فأثبت قدميه حتى أصيب شهيدا، فاستغفروا له، ثم أخذ اللواء خالد بن الوليد ولم يكن من الأمراء، هو أمر نفسه فرفع رسول الله ﷺ أصبعيه، وقال: اللهم هو سيف من سيوفك فانصره، وقال عبد الرحمن مرة: فانتصر به فيومئذ سمي خالد سيف الله. ثم قال النبي ﷺ: انفروا فأمدوا إخوانكم ولا يتخلفن أحد فنفر الناس في حر شديد مشاة وركبانا.
Imam Ahmad (22551) narrated it from Abdul-Rahman bin Mahdi, who said, Aswad bin Shayban narrated to us, from Khalid bin Shumayr, and he mentioned it. Its chain is hasan because of Khalid bin Shumayr, for there is disagreement about him, though his hadith is hasan when he does not err. Ibn Hibban (7048) graded it sahih from another route, from Sulayman bin Harb, from Aswad bin Shayban, with the same wording.As for what is reported from Huzaifa, that he said, "The Messenger of Allah forbade wailing announcement of death," this is daif. Tirmidhi (986) and Ibn Majah (1476) both narrated it through the route of Habib bin Sulaym Absi, from Bilal bin Yahya Absi, from Huzaifa bin Yaman, who said, "When I die, do not announce it, for I fear it would become a wailing announcement, for I heard the Messenger of Allah forbidding wailing announcement." Imam Ahmad (23270) also narrated it through this same route. In the version of Ibn Majah, "I heard the Messenger of Allah with these two ears of mine forbidding wailing announcement."Tirmidhi said, "Hasan sahih." I say, there is reason to question his grading it hasan and sahih, for Bilal bin Yahya Absi did not hear from Huzaifa, as Ibn Main stated, and his narration from Huzaifa consists of unconnected reports. Ibn Abu Hatim said in Jarh wa Tadil (2/396), "The one who narrated from Huzaifa, I found him saying, 'It has reached me from Huzaifa.'" Abu Hasan Qattan said, "He narrated hadiths from Huzaifa using ambiguous wording of transmission, none of which mention hearing directly." Habib bin Sulaym Absi was not declared reliable by anyone except Ibn Hibban, and for this reason Hafiz said, "Acceptable," meaning if corroborated, and where he is not corroborated he is "weak in hadith."Likewise, what is reported from Abdullah bin Masud, raising it to the Prophet, is not sahih, that he said, "Beware of wailing announcement, for wailing announcement is from the practice of the Jahiliyyah." Abdullah said, "Wailing announcement is a call to prayer for the dead." Tirmidhi (984, 985) narrated it through two routes, through Anbasah and Sufyan Thawri, both from Abu Hamza, from Ibrahim, from Alqama, from Abdullah (that is, Ibn Masud), and he mentioned it. He raised it to the Prophet in the version of Anbasah, but did not raise it in the version of Thawri.Tirmidhi said, "This is more sahih than the hadith of Anbasah from Abu Hamza. Abu Hamza is Maymun Awar. He is not considered strong among the people of hadith." And he said, "The hadith of Abdullah is hasan gharib." End of quote. There is reason to question his statement "hasan," for it is only narrated through the route of Abu Hamza, and the majority of the people of knowledge have agreed upon declaring him daif.The prohibition concerning the wailing announcement of the Jahiliyyah refers to calling out from minarets and in marketplaces that so-and-so has died, so come to his funeral, with payment being given for this, and the town crier might sometimes praise the deceased with qualities he knows are not true, for the sake of payment. This is certainly forbidden. As for informing relatives and friends, there is no harm in it, rather it is prescribed that they attend the funeral and pray for forgiveness for the deceased.