Egyptian linen stretched out. And when his wife cried out at us, the man ¹ among us began to raise his sword against her. Then he remembered the prohibition of the Prophet of God. Therefore his hand dropped. If that had not been so, surely we had been quit of her in the night. Accordingly, when we struck him with our swords, 'Abdu'llah ibn Unais pressed upon him with his sword in his belly till he pierced him through ... And we went out. And 'Abdu'llah ibn 'Utaik was a man of bad sight, and he fell from the staircase, and his hands ² was sprained severely: and in what Ibn Hisham says it is said his foot. And we carried him till we came to an aqueduct of their springs, and into it we enter. And they lit fires and ran in every direction seeking for us, until, when they lost hope, they returned to their friend. And they encircled him while he died among them . . . . We carried our comrade and came to the Apostle of God and informed him of the killing of the enemy of God. And in his presence we differed among ourselves about his killing, each of us laying claim to it. Therefore the Apostle of God said, 'Bring your swords' We brought them to him. He looked at them and said, 'Truly the sword of this 'Abdu'llah ibn Unais has killed him: on it I see the trace of food'."

In this narrative we read that Muhammad forbade that any woman should be murdered on that particular occasion. But that this was not always the case is clear ³ from the story of 'Asma's fate (عصماء). Of her murder and of that of a very old man the following account is given by Ibn Ishaq. Abu 'Afak, a man of about 100 years of age, had written some verses against Muhammad. "Accordingly," says ⁴ Ibn Ishaq,

"the Apostle of God said, 'Who is for me in the matter of this vile fellow?' Therefore Salim ibn 'Umair, brother of the Banu 'Amr bin 'Auf, who was one of the Weepers, went forth and slew him."

'Asma', daughter of Marwan, was a poetess who also attacked Muhammad in her verses. Of her fate Ibn Ishaq ¹ writes thus: "When Abu 'Afak. was slain, she pretended [to embrace Islam]. She was under [i.e. married to] a man of the Banu Khatamah who was called Yazid bin Zaid . . . . The Apostle of God said, 'Shall I not exact satisfaction for myself from, the daughter of Marwan?' 'Umair ibn 'Udai the Khatami heard that from the speech of the Apostle of God, being near him. Accordingly, when that night drew on, he went by night against her in her house and killed her. Then in the morning he was with the Apostle of God, and said to him, 'O Apostle of God, verily I have killed her.' Then (Muhammad) said, 'Thou hast helped God and His Apostle, O 'Umair.' (Umair) said, 'Will there be any [danger] to me on her account, O Apostle of God?' He said, ' Two goats will not butt one another about her.' Accordingly 'Umair returned to his people. On that day the Banu Khatamah were much disturbed about the daughter of Marwan. On that day she had as sons five men. When 'Umair bin 'Udai came to them from the Apostle of God, he said, 'O Banu Khatamah, it was I who slew the daughter of Marwan: do you then all together avenge yourselves on me.' . . . On that day for the first time was Islam honoured in the abodes of the Banu Khatamah: for whoever among them had [up to that time] become a Muslim used to conceal his belief in Islam. And the first of the Banu Khatamah to accept Islam was 'Umair ibn 'Udai. . . . . And some men of the Banu Khatamah became Muslims on the day when the daughter of Marwan was slain, when they saw the honour shown to Islam.''

Another account tells us more particulars about this