Abū Dujānā Simāk bin Kharāshā (Arabic:أبو دُجانة سماك بن خرشة) was acompanion ofMuhammad and a skilled swordsman who is mentioned inHadith narrations from thesix major Hadith collections ofSunni Islam.
Abu Dujana was born as Simak ibn Kharasha, a member of theBanu Sa'idah tribe from theAnsar.[1]
Abu Dujana participated in theExpedition of Hamza ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib, where he faced the forces ofAmr ibn Hishām, but the two sides did not engage in battle due to the intervention of a third party named Majdi ibn Amr.[2]
During theBattle of Uhud, Abu Dujana was wearing his 'Death Scarf', a red scarf that signifying a willingness to fight until death.[1] Prophet Muhammad, who led the battle, personally gave Abu Dujana a sword and instructed him to fight with it until he was satisfied, the sword broke, or bent.[1] As the battle commenced, Abu Dujana charged into the enemy lines[3] and killed a polytheist soldier from the Banu Asad clan named Abdullah ibn Humayd al-Harith.[2] He continued his assault and confrontedHind bint Utbah, but he refrained from attacking her with the sword given by Muhammad, saying that he did not want to stain it with a woman's blood.[1][4]Zubayr recorded this incident inIbn Ishaq's account.[5]: 373 Zubayr also witnessed the fleeing Meccan women, and saw Hind bint Utbah's anklets as they slaughtered the Quraysh forces.[5]: 379 Abu Dujana's bravery, along with that ofHamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib, boosted the morale of the Muslim forces in the initial phase of the battle as they decimated the Quraysh army.[1]
However, the tide of the battle turned in favor of the Quraysh when cavalry forces led byKhalid ibn al-Walid attacked the Muslims from behind[1] dividing their ranks.[citation needed] During this critical moment, Muhammad became separated from the army, and Zubayr, along withAbu Bakr,Talhah, andHarith ibn Samma, formed an outer ring of protection around him, while the inner ring was filled byUmar,Ali,Anas ibn Nadhar, and Abu Dujana.[citation needed] Abu Dujana suffered several wounds to his back while shielding Muhammad from arrows.[4] Some Muslim soldiers, such as Ka'b ibn Malik, became anxious upon hearing rumors that Muhammad had been killed, and bent over Abu Dujana to check, only to find that Muhammad was still alive. They then rejoined the Muslim forces and regrouped with others.[4] The battle finally ended as Muhammad and his army retreated to Uhud mountain, and Muhammad delivered the final blow by hurling a javelin at a Qurayshite horseman named Ubay ibn Khalaf.[4]
Abu Dujana suffered great injury during theBattle of Yamama in 632. He later died of his wounds.
During the battle of Uhud, Abu Dujana frequently distinguished himself in battle by wearing a red band on his head, and engaged in bravado before fighting by strutting in front of his adversaries.[6]
Abu Dujana narrated and was depicted in manyHadiths.
Abu Dujana was mentioned in otherhadiths includingSahih al-Bukhari andSahih Muslim. He was found being served a drink byAnas alongside Abu Suhail bin Al-Baida' made from unripe and ripe dates. When theprohibition came on alcoholic drinks, Anas promptly rid them of this drink (he threw it away).[7]
قَالَ إِنِّي لأَسْقِي أَبَا طَلْحَةَ وَأَبَا دُجَانَةَ وَسُهَيْلَ ابْنَ الْبَيْضَاءِ خَلِيطَ بُسْرٍ وَتَمْرٍ إِذْ حُرِّمَتِ الْخَمْرُ، فَقَذَفْتُهَا وَأَنَا سَاقِيهِمْ وَأَصْغَرُهُمْ، وَإِنَّا نَعُدُّهَا يَوْمَئِذٍ الْخَمْرَ. وَقَالَ عَمْرُو بْنُ الْحَارِثِ حَدَّثَنَا قَتَادَةُ سَمِعَ أَنَسًا.