English Translation

He said: Sufyan informed us, from Yahya ibn Sa'id, who heard Bushayr ibn Yasar, the freed slave of Banu Harithah — Sufyan said, this is the hadith of Ibn Hathmah, narrating from Sahl ibn Abi Hathmah — that 'Abdullah ibn Sahl, of the Ansar, was found killed in a well among the wells of Khaybar. His two paternal uncles and his brother came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him — his brother 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Sahl, and his two uncles Huwayyisah and Muhayyisah. 'Abd al-Rahman went to speak before the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, but he said, "The elder, the elder." So one of his two uncles spoke — either Huwayyisah or Muhayyisah (Sufyan said: I forgot which of them was the elder) — and he said, "O Messenger of Allah, we found 'Abdullah killed in a well among the wells of Khaybar." Then he mentioned the Jews and their evil and their enmity. He said, "Let fifty of you swear an oath that the Jews killed him." They said, "How can we swear to something we did not witness?" He said, "Then the Jews will clear themselves with fifty oaths, swearing that they did not kill him." They said, "How can we accept their oaths when they are polytheists?" He said: So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, paid the blood-money for him from his own resources. Then a young she-camel from among them kicked me. It was said to Sufyan that in the hadith it says, "...and you deserve the blood of your companion." He said, "Yes, that is it."