Abū Dujānā Simāk bin Kharāshā () was a companion of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

and a skilled swordsman who is mentioned in

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

narrations from the

six major Hadith collections (), also known as () are the six canonical hadith collections of Sunni Islam. They were all compiled in the 9th and early 10th centuries, roughly from 840 to 912 CE and are thought to embody the Sunnah of Muhammad. The books are the of al ...

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

Biography

Abu Dujana was born as Simak ibn Kharasha, a member of the Banu Sa'idah tribe from the Ansar. Abu Dujana participated in the Expedition of Hamza ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib, where he faced the forces of Amr ibn Hishām, but the two sides did not engage in battle due to the intervention of a third party named Majdi ibn Amr. During the

Battle of Uhud The Battle of Uhud () was fought between the early Muslims and the Quraysh during the Muslim–Quraysh wars in a valley north of Mount Uhud near Medina on Saturday, 23 March 625 AD (7 Shawwal, 3 AH). After the expulsion of Hijrah, Muslims from ...

, Abu Dujana was wearing his 'Death Scarf', a red scarf that signifying a willingness to fight until death. Prophet Muhammad, who led the battle, personally gave Abu Dujana a sword and instructed him to fight with it until he was satisfied, the sword broke, or bent. As the battle commenced, Abu Dujana charged into the enemy lines and killed a polytheist soldier from the Banu Asad clan named Abdullah ibn Humayd al-Harith. He continued his assault and confronted

Hind bint Utbah Hind bint Utba ibn Rabi'a () was an Arabs, Arab commander, the wife of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb and the mother of Mu'awiya I. Hind fought against the early Muslims and the Prophets and messengers in Islam, prophet Muhammad until converting to Islam he ...

, but he refrained from attacking her with the sword given by Muhammad, saying that he did not want to stain it with a woman's blood. Zubayr recorded this incident in Ibn Ishaq's account.Muhammad ibn Ishaq. ''Sirat Rasul Allah''. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). ''The Life of Muhammad''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Zubayr also witnessed the fleeing Meccan women, and saw Hind bint Utbah's anklets as they slaughtered the Quraysh forces. Abu Dujana's bravery, along with that of

Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib Ḥamza ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim ibn ʿAbd Manāf al-Qurashī (; )Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). ''The Companions of Badr''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. was a foster brother, ...

, boosted the morale of the Muslim forces in the initial phase of the battle as they decimated the Quraysh army. However, the tide of the battle turned in favor of the Quraysh when cavalry forces led by

Khalid ibn al-Walid Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arabs, Arab military commander. He initially led campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career ...

attacked the Muslims from behind dividing their ranks. During this critical moment, Muhammad became separated from the army, and Zubayr, along with

Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...

, Talhah, and Harith ibn Samma, formed an outer ring of protection around him, while the inner ring was filled by

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

, Ali, Anas ibn Nadhar, and Abu Dujana. Abu Dujana suffered several wounds to his back while shielding Muhammad from arrows. Some Muslim soldiers, such as Ka'b ibn Malik, became anxious upon hearing rumors that Muhammad had been killed, and bent over Abu Dujana to check, only to find that Muhammad was still alive. They then rejoined the Muslim forces and regrouped with others. The battle finally ended as Muhammad and his army retreated to Uhud mountain, and Muhammad delivered the final blow by hurling a javelin at a Qurayshite horseman named Ubay ibn Khalaf.

Death

Abu Dujana suffered great injury during the

Battle of Yamama The Battle of Yamama was fought in December 632 as part of the Ridda Wars against a rebellion within the Rashidun Caliphate in the region of al-Yamama (in present-day Saudi Arabia, South of Riyadh City) between the forces of Abu Bakr and Musay ...

in 632. He later died of his wounds.

Appraisal

During the battle of Uhud, Abu Dujana frequently distinguished himself in battle by wearing a red band on his head, and engaged in bravado before fighting by strutting in front of his adversaries.

Legacy

Abu Dujana narrated and was depicted in many Hadiths. Abu Dujana was mentioned in other hadiths including

Sahih al-Bukhari () is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an. Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...

and

Sahih Muslim () is the second hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj () in the format, the work is valued by Sunnis, alongside , as the most important source for Islamic religion after the Q ...

. He was found being served a drink by

Anas ''Anas'' is a genus of dabbling ducks. It includes the pintails, most teals, and the mallard and its close relatives. It formerly included additional species but following the publication of a molecular phylogenetic study in 2009 the genus was s ...

alongside Abu Suhail bin Al-Baida' made from unripe and ripe dates. When the prohibition came on alcoholic drinks, Anas promptly rid them of this drink (he threw it away).

References

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External links