The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page clxxxix
GENERAL INTRODUCTION should inform their Prophet of this? When the disbelievers found the small party of Muslims adamant, they launched their attack upon them. The party fought without thought of defeat. Seven of the ten fell fighting. To the three who remained the disbelievers renewed their promise to spare their lives, on condition that they should come down from the eminence. These three believed the disbelievers and surrendered. As soon as they did so, the disbelievers tied them up. One of the three said, "This is the first breach of your plighted word. God only knows what you will do next. " Saying this, he refused to go with them. The disbelievers started belabouring the victim and dragging him down the way. But they were so infuriated by the resistance and determination shown by this one man that they murdered him on the spot. The other two they took with them and sold them as slaves to the Quraish of Mecca. One of the two was Khubaib, the other Zaid. The purchaser of Khubaib wanted to murder him so as to avenge his own father, who had been killed at Badr. One day, Khubaib asked for a razor to complete his toilet. Khubaib was holding the razor when a child of the household approached him out of curiosity. Khubaib took the child and put him on his knee. The child's mother saw this and became terrified. Her mind was full of guilty feelings, and here was a man whom they were going to murder in a few days holding a razor so dangerously near their child. She was convinced that Khubaib was going to murder the child. Khubaib saw the consternation on the face of the woman and said, "Do you imagine I am going to murder your child. Do not think so for a moment. I cannot do such a foul thing. Muslims do not play false. " The woman was impressed by the honest and straightforward bearing and behaviour of Khubaib. She remembered this ever afterwards and used to say she had never seen a prisoner like Khubaib. At last the Meccans led Khubaib to an open field to celebrate his murder in public. When the appointed moment came, Khubaib asked for leave to say two Rak'ats of prayer. The Quraish agreed and Khubaib addressed in public view his last prayers to God in this world. When he had finished praying, he said he wanted to continue, but did not do so lest they should think he was afraid of dying. Then he quietly submitted his neck to the executioner. As he did so, he hummed the verses: While I die a Muslim, I care not whether my headless body drops to the right or to the left. And why should I? My death is in the way of God; if He wills, He can bless every part of my dismembered body (Bukhārī). Khubaib had hardly finished murmuring these verses when the executioner's sword fell on his neck and his head fell to one side. Those who had assembled to celebrate this public murder included one Sa'id bin ‘Āmir clxiii