The Man Who Killed the Worst and the Best

Wahshī went on narrating his story: after Uḥud he went back to Makkah, but then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) opened Makkah, so he had to leave. "When I reached Makkah, I remained there until the Messenger of Allah conquered it, and I then fled to Ṭāʾif, where I stayed. When the delegation of Ṭāʾif left to see the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and to accept Islam, I did not know what to do — I told people I would go to Syria or Yemen or some other country. I was in this state of indecision and anxiety when someone told me, 'Come on now, I swear he will not kill anyone who has adopted his religion and testified to the truth.'" So the news of the forbearance and mercy of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had spread everywhere — this man was telling Wahshī that if he became a Muslim, he would not be harmed. "When he told me that, I went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in Madīnah, surprising him by standing before him and speaking the testimony of truth. When he saw me, he said, 'Are you Wahshī?' I replied, 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah.' He then said, 'Sit down and relate to me how you killed Ḥamzah.' So I related it as I have related it to you both. When I finished my account, he said, 'Wahshī, can you remove your face from me?'" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not want to see the face of Wahshī again, because it would bring back memories of his uncle — "I don't want to see your face again; can you keep your face away from me?" Wahshī said, "So I used to avoid the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) wherever he might be, so that he would not see me, and eventually Allah, Almighty and Glorious as He is, took him to Himself."

Wahshī later joined the army that went to fight Musaylimah al-Kadhdhāb, the man who claimed to be a prophet. He said, "I took the spear with which I killed Ḥamzah, and when the forces met, I saw Musaylimah standing, sword in hand." He was preparing to attack him, while from the other side another Muslim was also trying to attack Musaylimah — Wahshī with his spear, and the other Muslim with his sword. "So I studied my spear until I felt good about it, and then I let it loose on him, and it struck him — while the other Muslim attacked from the other side and struck Musaylimah with his sword and killed him." So it was Wahshī who struck him first, and then the other Muslim struck him next — and that other Muslim was Abū Dujānah, may Allah be pleased with him, the hero of the Battle of Uḥud. Wahshī would say, "If it was I who killed him, then I killed the best of men, and I also killed the worst of them — I killed the uncle of Muḥammad (peace be upon him), and then I also killed Musaylimah al-Kadhdhāb." It is mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told Wahshī, "Go and fight in the path of Allah as you fought against the religion of Allah" — and that is how it is in Islam: if a person commits a sin, he should try to erase it by performing a good deed.

So whenever a person commits a sin, he should try to make up for it by doing good deeds, to erase it and wipe it away. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, speaking of an argument he once felt he was wrong to have had with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), said that after that he remained fasting and giving charity and praying at night, to wipe away that sin. This is how a person should approach his sins, and it is part of repentance — doing good deeds with the intention of erasing them.