The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent out a reconnaissance party of ten men and appointed Asim bin Thabit al-Ansari, the grandfather of Asim bin Umar bin Khattab, as their leader. They set out, and when they reached Hadah, a place between Usfan and Mecca, their presence was reported to a clan of Huzayl called Banu Lihyan. About two hundred men, all of them archers, set out after them and tracked their footprints until they found the date pits from the provisions they had brought from Medina. They said, "These are the dates of Yathrib," and continued tracking them.When Asim and his companions saw them, they took refuge on a high mound, and the enemy surrounded them. The pursuers said to them, "Come down and surrender yourselves. You have our covenant and pledge that we will not kill any of you."Asim bin Thabit, the leader of the party, said, "As for me, by Allah, I will not come down today under the protection of a disbeliever. Allah, inform Your Prophet about us."So they shot arrows at them and killed Asim along with six others. Then three men came down to them on the basis of the covenant and pledge, among them Khubayb al-Ansari, Ibn Dathinah, and another man. When the enemy had them in their grip, they untied the strings of their bows and bound them with them.The third man said, "This is the first act of treachery. By Allah, I will not accompany you. I have an example in these," meaning the slain. They dragged him and tried to force him to go with them, but he refused, so they killed him.They took Khubayb and Ibn Dathinah and sold them in Mecca after the Battle of Badr. The sons of Harith bin Amir bin Nawfal bin Abd Manaf bought Khubayb, for it was Khubayb who had killed Harith bin Amir on the day of Badr. Khubayb remained with them as a captive.Ubaydullah bin Iyad informed me that the daughter of Harith told him that when they had gathered to kill him, Khubayb borrowed a razor from her to shave with, and she lent it to him. She said, "He took a son of mine while I was not paying attention, and when I came upon him, I found the boy seated on his thigh with the razor in his hand. I was struck with fear, and Khubayb recognized it on my face. He said, 'Are you afraid that I will kill him? I would never do such a thing.'"She used to say, "By Allah, I never saw a captive better than Khubayb. By Allah, one day I found him eating from a cluster of grapes in his hand while he was bound in iron, though there were no grapes in Mecca at that time. It was only sustenance from Allah which He provided to Khubayb."When they took him out of the sacred precinct to kill him in the unconsecrated area, Khubayb said to them, "Let me pray two units of prayer." They permitted him, and he prayed two units. Then he said, "Were it not that you would think I was anxious about death, I would have prolonged the prayer. Allah, count them in number."Then he recited: "I do not care, when I am killed as a Muslim, on which side I fall for the sake of Allah. That is in the cause of the Deity, and if He wills, He will bless the limbs of a torn body."Then Ibn Harith killed him. It was Khubayb who established the practice of praying two units before being executed in this manner for every Muslim killed in captivity.Allah answered the prayer of Asim bin Thabit on the day he was struck down. The Prophet ﷺ informed his companions of their news and what had befallen them. Some disbelievers of Quraysh sent men to Asim when they were told he had been killed, to bring back something of him by which he could be recognized, for he had killed one of their leading men on the day of Badr. But Allah sent over Asim something like a cloud of bees that protected him from their messenger, and they were unable to cut off any part of his flesh.
حدثنا أبو اليمان أخبرنا شعيب عن الزهري قال أخبرني عمرو بن أبي سفيان بن أسيد بن جارية الثقفي وهو حليف لبني زهرة وكان من أصحاب أبي هريرة أن
بعث رسول الله ﷺ عشرة رهط سرية عينا وأمر عليهم عاصم بن ثابت الأنصاري جد عاصم بن عمر بن الخطاب فانطلقوا حتى إذا كانوا بالهدأة وهو بين عسفان ومكة ذكروا لحي من هذيل يقال لهم بنو لحيان فنفروا لهم قريبا من مائتي رجل كلهم رام فاقتصوا آثارهم حتى وجدوا مأكلهم تمرا تزودوه من المدينة فقالوا هذا تمر يثرب فاقتصوا آثارهم فلما رآهم عاصم وأصحابه لجئوا إلى فدفد وأحاط بهم القوم فقالوا لهم انزلوا وأعطونا بأيديكم ولكم العهد والميثاق ولا نقتل منكم أحدا قال عاصم بن ثابت أمير السرية أما أنا فوالله لا أنزل اليوم في ذمة كافر اللهم أخبر عنا نبيك فرموهم بالنبل فقتلوا عاصما في سبعة فنزل إليهم ثلاثة رهط بالعهد والميثاق منهم خبيب الأنصاري وابن دثنة ورجل آخر فلما استمكنوا منهم أطلقوا أوتار قسيهم فأوثقوهم فقال الرجل الثالث هذا أول الغدر والله لا أصحبكم إن لي في هؤلاء لأسوة يريد القتلى فجرروه وعالجوه على أن يصحبهم فأبى فقتلوه فانطلقوا بخبيب وابن دثنة حتى باعوهما بمكة بعد وقعة بدر فابتاع خبيبا بنو الحارث بن عامر بن نوفل بن عبد مناف وكان خبيب هو قتل الحارث بن عامر يوم بدر فلبث خبيب عندهم أسيرا فأخبرني عبيد الله بن عياض أن بنت الحارث أخبرته أنهم حين اجتمعوا استعار منها موسى يستحد بها فأعارته فأخذ ابنا لي وأنا غافلة حين أتاه قالت فوجدته مجلسه على فخذه والموسى بيده ففزعت فزعة عرفها خبيب في وجهي فقال تخشين أن أقتله ما كنت لأفعل ذلك والله ما رأيت أسيرا قط خيرا من خبيب والله لقد وجدته يوما يأكل من قطف عنب في يده وإنه لموثق في الحديد وما بمكة من ثمر وكانت تقول إنه لرزق من الله رزقه خبيبا فلما خرجوا من الحرم ليقتلوه في الحل قال لهم خبيب ذروني أركع ركعتين فتركوه فركع ركعتين ثم قال لولا أن تظنوا أن ما بي جزع لطولتها اللهم أحصهم عددا ما أبالي حين أقتل مسلما على أي شق كان لله مصرعي وذلك في ذات الإله وإن يشأ يبارك على أوصال شلو ممزع فقتله ابن الحارث فكان خبيب هو سن الركعتين لكل امرئ مسلم قتل صبرا فاستجاب الله لعاصم بن ثابت يوم أصيب فأخبر النبي ﷺ أصحابه خبرهم وما أصيبوا وبعث ناس من كفار قريش إلى عاصم حين حدثوا أنه قتل ليؤتوا بشيء منه يعرف وكان قد قتل رجلا من عظمائهم يوم بدر فبعث على عاصم مثل الظلة من الدبر فحمته من رسولهم فلم يقدروا على أن يقطع من لحمه شيئا