Wahshi ibn Harb

An Abyssinian slave who killed Hamza at Uhud and later embraced Islam; a Companion. He is also remembered for killing Musaylima the Liar at the Battle of Yamama. His full name is Abu Dasma (Abu Harb) Wahshi ibn Harb al-Habashi.

He was of Abyssinian origin and a slave of Jubayr ibn Mut'im, one of the notables of Quraysh; the reports that he belonged to other men are given under the Multiple Views. How he came to Mecca is not known.

During the preparations for the Battle of Uhud, Jubayr ibn Mut'im promised to set him free if he killed Hamza, who had killed Jubayr's uncle Tu'ayma at Badr. The daughter of al-Harith ibn Amir, who had been killed at Badr, also asked him, as the price of his freedom, to kill either Muhammad, Ali or Hamza. Hind bint Utba, the wife of Abu Sufyan, announced that she would give whoever killed Hamza — who had killed her father, brother and uncle at Badr — all her jewellery together with 10 gold pieces.

Wahshi set out from Mecca for Uhud with the army of the polytheists; of the slaves in the Quraysh army, all but Wahshi and Su'ab had been assigned to rear duties. Once the fighting began he watched Hamza, hiding now behind a rock, now behind a tree. When Hamza, having fought and killed Siba' ibn Abd al-Uzza behind a rock, came near the place where he was, he hurled his spear and killed him; he then cut out his liver and took it to Hind. Jubayr ibn Mut'im set him free, and Hind gave him her jewellery and the 10 gold pieces. When Wahshi later became a Muslim, he said that he had had no other way to gain his freedom than to kill Hamza, and that he had taken part in Uhud for that reason alone.

He is recorded as the first to bring the news of the victory at Uhud to Mecca, climbing a hill at al-Hajun and informing the Meccan polytheists of the battle. He went on living in Mecca; he also took part in the Battle of the Trench, in which he killed al-Tufayl ibn al-Nu'man al-Ansari with his spear. After the conquest of Mecca he fled to Ta'if, for he had been excluded from the general amnesty together with some ten people known for their hostility to the Prophet and the Muslims. When the people of Ta'if decided to send a delegation to Medina, he thought of going to Damascus, to Yemen or elsewhere; meanwhile he was told that Muhammad pardoned those who entered Islam, so he decided to go to Medina, and became a Muslim in the presence of the Messenger of God in the Prophet's Mosque.

The sources contain details of this meeting. When Wahshi voiced his hesitation, saying he was a sinner, the Messenger of God recited the verse “And whoever repents and does righteous deeds, he indeed turns to God with true repentance” (al-Furqan 25/71). When Wahshi asked whether God would forgive his sin, the Messenger of God answered with the verse “God does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills” (al-Nisa 4/116). When Wahshi said that he did not know whether God would will to forgive him, the Prophet recited “Say: O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of God; indeed God forgives all sins. Indeed He is the Forgiving, the Merciful” (al-Zumar 39/53), and Wahshi thereupon entered Islam. The Messenger of God, who asked him at this time to relate how he had killed his uncle, was deeply grieved as he listened; nevertheless he did not punish Wahshi, but only asked him to keep out of his sight, since he did not wish to be reminded of his uncle's killing.

After this meeting he left Medina. In the year 12 (633) he took part in the Battle of Yamama under Khalid ibn al-Walid and killed with his spear Musaylima the Liar, who had claimed prophethood. It is reported that Wahshi, overjoyed at this, said: “By killing Hamza I shed the blood of the best of men, and by killing Musaylima I did away with the worst of men.” He then took part with Khalid ibn al-Walid in the Battle of Yarmuk and was present at the conquest of Damascus. He lived for a time in Damascus, took part in the conquest of Homs and settled there. It is reported that in Umar's time the prescribed punishment was applied to him for drinking wine, and that when he persisted he was struck from the register. He lived in Homs until his death; almost all the sources record that he died in the time of Uthman (644-656).

His Circle of Influence — One hadith of his appears in each of the works of al-Bukhari and Ahmad ibn Hanbal; Ubayd Allah ibn Adi, Ja'far ibn Amr al-Damri and his son Harb transmitted from him. Ibn Sa'd (d. 230/845) states that Wahshi was the first to wear burnished garments in Homs and that his line continued down to Ibn Sa'd's own time.