is more knowledgeable about the state of the people, the state of the enemy, their ambushes, their positions, and their proximity or distance. If someone leaves without his permission, he is not safe from encountering an enemy ambush, so they might capture him, or an advance scouting party of theirs, or the commander might depart with the Muslims and leave him behind, causing him to perish. If it is with the commander's permission, he does not grant them permission except to a safe place, and he may send with them from the army those who will guard them and look out for them. As for dueling (mubaraza), it is permissible with the commander's permission according to the general body of scholars, except for Al-Hasan, who did not recognize it and disliked it. Our argument is that Hamza, Ali, and Ubayda ibn al-Harith dueled on the day of Badr with the permission of the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - (3). Ali also dueled with Amr ibn Abd Wudd in the Battle of the Trench and killed him (4). He [the Prophet] also dueled with Marhab on the day of Hunayn. It is said: Muhammad ibn Maslama dueled with him. Before that, Amir ibn al-Akwa' dueled with him and was martyred (5). Al-Bara' ibn Malik dueled with the Marzban of Al-Za'ra (6) and killed him, taking his spoils (salab), which amounted to thirty thousand (7). It is narrated from him that he said: I killed ninety-nine leaders of the polytheists in duels, besides those I participated in killing (8). Shabr ibn Alqama dueled with an Aswar (9) and killed him; his spoils amounted to twelve thousand, and Sa'd awarded them to him as a voluntary gift (nafal) (10).
(3) Recorded by Al-Bukhari, in: Chapter on {These two are adversaries who have disputed over their Lord}, from Surah Al-Hajj, from the Book of Tafsir, and in: Chapter on the killing of Abu Jahl, from the Book of Military Expeditions (Al-Maghazi). Sahih Al-Bukhari 5/95, 96, 6/124. And by Muslim, in: Chapter on His saying, the Exalted: {These two are adversaries who have disputed over their Lord}, and from the Book of Tafsir. Sahih Muslim 4/2323. And by Ibn Majah, in: Chapter on Dueling and Spoils, from the Book of Jihad. Sunan Ibn Majah 2/946. (4) See: Al-Maghazi, by Al-Waqidi 2/470, 471. (5) See: Al-Sira, by Ibn Hisham 3/332-334. (6) Al-Za'ra: A thicket. Al-Marzban: A leader of the people among the non-Arabs (Ajam). (7) Recorded by Al-Bayhaqi, in: Chapter on what has been said regarding the khums (fifth) on spoils, from the Book of Distribution of Fai' and Booty. Al-Sunan al-Kubra 6/310, 311. And by Sa'id ibn Mansur, in: Chapter on what is subject to the khums in voluntary gifts, from the Book of Jihad. Al-Sunan 2/263, 264. And by Abd al-Razzaq, in: Chapter on Spoils and Dueling, from the Book of Jihad. Al-Musannaf 5/233. And by Ibn Abi Shaybah, in: Chapter on the one who assigns the spoils to the killer, from the Book of Jihad. Al-Musannaf 12/371, 372. (8) Recorded by Abd al-Razzaq, in: Chapter on Spoils and Dueling, from the Book of Jihad. Al-Musannaf 5/233, 234. It contains: "one hundred" instead of "ninety-nine". (9) Al-Aswar: A Persian leader. (10) Recorded by Al-Bayhaqi, in: Chapter on what has been said regarding the khums on spoils, from the Book of Distribution of Fai' and Booty. Al-Sunan al-Kubra 6/311. And by Sa'id ibn Mansur, in: Chapter on Voluntary Gifts in Raiding and Jihad, from the Book of Jihad. Al-Sunan 2/258. And by Abd al-Razzaq, in: Chapter on Spoils and Dueling, from the Book of Jihad. Al-Musannaf 5/235, 236. And by Ibn Abi Shaybah, in: Chapter on the one who assigns the spoils to the killer, from the Book of Jihad. Al-Musannaf 12/370, 371, 373.
