Exemplary Youths during the Early Days of Islam

Ma‘ādh ibn ‘Amru, the Brave Front-line Warrior

Ma‘ādh ibn ‘Amru ibn Jumūh belonged to the tribe of Banī Salmah and was one of the Helpers [Ansār] of Medina. He was present at ‘Aqabah and during the Battle of Uhud.

Ma‘ādh himself says, “During the Battle of Uhud, the polytheists had surrounded Abū Jahl and were teasingly saying, ‘Today, no one can dare to attack Abū Jahl.’ Hearing this, I started planning to attack Abū Jahl in order to shame the infidels.

Finally, I found a suitable opportunity and hit him so hard that his foreleg was cut into two. Instantly, his son, Akramah, struck my shoulder with his sword with the intention of separating my arm from my body altogether, but it remained stuck to the skin on my shoulders. The intensity of the war did not give me the opportunity to think about my arm. So I continued fighting in this state. Finally, I realized that it was disturbing me, so I decided to remove it myself. I plucked it off and continued to fight.”

Ma‘ādh remained alive up to the time of the caliphate of ‘Uthmān and died in 25 AH.[^1]

[^1]: Ibn Hishām, Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, vol. 2, p. 288; Tārīkh-e Payāmbar-e Islām, p. p. 268; Zarkulī, Al-A‘lām, vol. 7, p. 258; Al-Isābah, vol. 3, p. 429.