The Shepherd of Muzaynah

Wahb al-Muzanī and a relative of his were not from Madīnah — they were shepherds from a tribe called Muzaynah, outside the city, and they came to Madīnah with their sheep and found it empty. They asked where everyone was, and were told that everyone had gone to fight with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) at the Battle of Uḥud. So they left their sheep and went to join the battle. They arrived while the Muslims were winning and joined in — but they did not leave when the tide turned; they carried on fighting even when the Muslims were being defeated. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saw a group of the enemy approaching and said, "Who will take care of this group?" Wahb al-Muzanī said, "I will," and he advanced and attacked them and pushed them back. A second group came, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked for volunteers again, and Wahb went again and stopped them and pushed them back. A third time he also stood up, so this time the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Go and receive the glad tidings of Paradise." So he went in to fight, throwing himself into the middle of the group, then coming out and attacking again, and again. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was watching and saying, "O Allah, have mercy on him" — and Wahb continued doing this until the swords cut him down, and he was killed.

When they found his body, he had twenty wounds, every one of them fatal, and ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said, "That is the best death I could wish for — that is how I want to die." Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, after the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, was approached by a man from Muzaynah named Bilāl, because one of his relatives had not received his share of the spoils. Saʿd asked him, "Are you a relative of Wahb al-Muzanī?" He said, "Yes, I am his nephew." Saʿd said — and this was thirteen years later, and Saʿd was still remembering that day — "On that day, when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was asking for volunteers to stop that group, it was your uncle who kept attacking them; the third time I went to join him, because I wanted to receive the same reward he would receive, having heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say, 'You receive the glad tidings of Paradise.'" So Saʿd went with him, and told of how brave and courageous Wahb was until he was killed. Saʿd said, "No state of death would I love to meet Allah with more than the state of death of that man of Muzaynah — that is the best way to die." Saʿd also said that when Wahb was killed and the battle was over, he saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) go and stand on top of his grave while it was being dug, and wait right there until the burial was over — even though the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was exhausted, injured and tired, and could barely stand, he nevertheless stood at the grave until Wahb was buried. And then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "May Allah be pleased with him, because I am pleased with him."