Husayl ibn Jabir al-Yaman

Husayl ibn Jabir al-'Absi al-Qut'i — also called Hisl — known as al-Yaman, was the father of Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman. ¹

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr explains that he was called al-Yaman after his ancestor al-Yaman ibn al-Harith ibn Qutay'a ibn 'Abs, whose name was Jirwa: Jirwa was called al-Yaman because he shed blood among his people, fled to Medina and became an ally of Banu 'Abd al-Ashhal, so his people called him al-Yaman for allying himself with the Yemenis. ¹ Al-Suhayli gives another explanation: Jirwa ibn Mazin ibn Qutay'a ibn 'Abs had been away from his people in Yemen for a long time, and when he returned they called him "the Yemeni". ³

Ibn Ishaq relates, from 'Asim ibn 'Umar ibn Qatada from Mahmud ibn Labid, that when the Prophet ﷺ set out for Uhud, Husayl ibn Jabir and Thabit ibn Waqsh, both old men, were placed in the fortified houses with the women and children. One said to the other: "What are you waiting for? Neither of us has more of life left than a donkey's interval between drinks; we are owls of today or tomorrow. Shall we not take our swords and join the Messenger of God, that God may grant us martyrdom?" They went out and entered the fray unnoticed. Thabit was killed by the enemy; Husayl was set upon by Muslim swords and killed by men who did not recognise him. Hudhayfa cried, "My father!" They said, "By God, we did not know him," and they spoke the truth; Hudhayfa said, "May God forgive you; He is the Most Merciful of the merciful." The Prophet wished to pay his blood-money, but Hudhayfa gave it as alms to the Muslims, which raised him further in the Prophet's esteem. ²

Al-Isti'ab adds that he was at Uhud with his sons Hudhayfa and Safwan, and that Hudhayfa was shouting "My father, my father!" but was not heard. ¹

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr quotes a view that it was 'Utba ibn Mas'ud who killed him. ¹ Al-Suhayli cites Ibn 'Abbas's Tafsir that the man who killed him by mistake was 'Utba ibn Mas'ud, brother of 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud, and adds that 'Utba was the first to call the codex a mushaf, according to Ibn Wahb's Jami'. ⁴ Al-Suhayli explains the old men's phrase "owls of today or tomorrow" as a figure for death, from the Arab belief that a dead man's spirit becomes an owl, and "a donkey's interval between drinks" by the donkey being the beast that can go the shortest time without water. ⁵