The Killing of Abu Jahl: Muadh, Muawwidh, and Ibn Masud

Dr. Yasir Qadhi narrates one of the most celebrated episodes of the Battle of Badr: the killing of Abū Jahl (ʿAmr ibn Hishām), the man the Prophet ﷺ called the Firʿawn of this ummah. The full account is in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, narrated by eyewitness ʿAbdur Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu).

❧ʿAbdur Raḥmān's Account

ʿAbdur Raḥmān says: 'When we were advancing toward the enemy, I wanted strong men on either side of me, because when your companion finishes his opponent he can help you. I turned right: a young boy. I turned left: another just like him. Scrawny, small. I was disappointed.'

Then one of them poked him, just a nudge in the side, and whispered so his companion couldn't hear: 'Yā ʿamm, have you seen Abū Jahl?' ʿAbdur Raḥmān confirmed he had. The boy said: 'I have sworn to Allāh that if I see him, my shadow will overlap with his shadow until one of the two of us is dead.' Barely back in position, the other boy poked him with the exact same question and the exact same oath.

'I felt comforted,' ʿAbdur Raḥmān said. 'They were young, but they had spirit.'

The two were in a private competition: who would reach Abū Jahl first? Neither wanted his companion to know his plan.

❧The Two Fighters: Muʿādh and Muʿawwidh

When ʿAbdur Raḥmān spotted Abū Jahl standing in a grove of trees and pointed him out, both boys darted straight into the Qurashī army. Their youth was their protection: unknown, unrecognized as targets, they slipped through the fighters between them. Had they been senior commanders, every Qurashī sword would have turned on them.

The first to make it: Muʿādh ibn ʿAmr al-Jumūḥ. He found Abū Jahl still surrounded by his entourage and protected by his son ʿIkrimah ibn Abī Jahl. Unable to reach Abū Jahl's upper body because of the distance, Muʿādh leaped. His sword came crashing down with full force, and severed Abū Jahl's left leg completely at the thigh. One narrator said: 'The only comparison I can think of is how a date seed flies out of the grinder when dates are being ground.' The leg just flew.

At that exact moment, ʿIkrimah swung his sword defending his father, and cut off Muʿādh's entire right arm at the shoulder. The arm hung by a thin strand of skin. Muʿādh later narrated: 'It was getting in my way. So I put my foot on it, bent down, and ripped it off.' He continued fighting with his left hand. (Muʿādh lived a long life after Badr, dying a natural death during the khilāfah of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, with one arm.)

Muʿawwidh ibn ʿAfrāʾ, the second boy, also made it through and struck Abū Jahl somewhere on his body. Both boys came rushing back to the Prophet ﷺ at almost the same time, each claiming: 'Yā Rasūlallāh, I killed Abū Jahl!' And they began arguing: 'No, I killed him.' 'No, I killed him.'

The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Show me your swords.' He examined both blades, and said: 'Kilākumā qatalahu, the both of you have killed him. Both these wounds together will cause his death. The honor belongs to both of you.'

Islamic fiqh: the personal belongings (salb) of a slain enemy go to the one who killed him. Since Muʿawwidh was martyred at Badr later that day, and Muʿādh survived, the entire salb of Abū Jahl, his armor, sword, and horse, went to Muʿādh. It was a fortune.

❧Ibn Masʿūd Finds Abū Jahl

After the battle, the Prophet ﷺ said: 'Go and find the body of Abū Jahl.' He had been in that grove of trees and had not been found. Several ṣaḥābah searched. ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd, the Yemeni shepherd, the sixth convert to Islām, the man who had been humiliated repeatedly by Abū Jahl in Makkah for his low status, found him. He was still barely alive, breathing heavily, on the edge of death.

Ibn Masʿūd placed his foot on Abū Jahl's chest. Abū Jahl was on his back, one leg gone, conscious but fading. Ibn Masʿūd said: 'Do you finally admit that Allāh has disgraced you, O ʿaduww Allāh?'

To the very last moment, Abū Jahl remained obstinate. He said: 'How have I been disgraced? A person killed by his own people.' He turned the blame back on the Muslims. Then he noticed the foot on his chest. He said, and these were his final words, 'You have stepped on a high place, O son of a shepherd.'

Mockery of Ibn Masʿūd's social origin, to the very end. Just like Firʿawn who tried to say the shahādah only as the waters closed over him, Abū Jahl had no last-minute repentance. Only defiance.

Ibn Masʿūd attempted to finish him with his own sword, but it had been dulled by a full day of battle. He then looked down, saw that Abū Jahl's brand-new sword, never used in the battle; he had spent the day commanding, not fighting, was lying next to him, gleaming and sharp. Ibn Masʿūd took it, kicked off Abū Jahl's helmet (the mifghar), and gave the final blow. Abū Jahl would have died anyway, Ibn Masʿūd simply expedited the end.

Ibn Masʿūd rushed to the Prophet ﷺ: 'Yā Rasūlallāh, I found Abū Jahl!' The Prophet ﷺ asked: 'Allāh? You swear by Allāh?' Ibn Masʿūd said: 'Yes.' Three times the Prophet asked. Three times confirmed. Then the Prophet ﷺ said: 'Show me.' They went and he saw the body. That was when the Prophet ﷺ said:

'Hādhā Firʿawnu hādhihi al-ummah', This was the Firʿawn of this ummah.

He said it only once. That one sentence is the only reason we call him that.