Wahshi (RA) was an African slave who had killed Hamzah (RA), the great warrior and beloved uncle of Nabi ﷺ. There is not much known about his early life or of how he came to becoming a slave. The most famous incidents in his life was his killing of Hamzah (RA), his reversion to Islam and his killing of Musaylamah, the liar who claimed Prophet hood after the demise of Nabi ﷺ .

Jafar ibn ‘Amr ibn Umayyah al Damari and ‘Ubaidullah ibn ‘Adi arrived at Hims. ‘Ubaidullah ibn ‘Adi suggested to Jafar, “Would you like to see Wahshi so that we may ask him about the killing of Hamzah (RA)” Jafar agreed. So they made investigations about his whereabouts and arrived at his house.

‘Ubaidullah ibn ‘Adi and Jafar greeted him with salaam and he replied to their greeting. The former―who was wearing a turban and only his eyes and feet were uncovered―asked Wahshi (RA) if he recognised him. Wahshi (RA) looked at him and said, “No, by Allah. But I know that Adi ibn al Khiyar married a woman called Umm Qital, the daughter of Abu al ‘Is and she delivered a boy for him at Makkah. I looked for a wet nurse for that child. (Once) I carried that child along with his mother and then I handed him over to her, and your feet resemble that child’s feet.” What a remarkable memory and amazing sense of distinction!

They requested him to narrate to them the story of the killing of Hamzah (RA). Going down memory lane, he recalled the happenings of that tragic day. He began relating the development of events, by mentioning that Hamzah (RA) killed Tu’aymah ibn ‘Adi ibn al Khiyar at Badr so his master Jubayr ibn Mut’im made a deal with him, that if he killed Hamzah in revenge for his uncle, he will be emancipated.

The people set out for Uhud the following year and Wahshi joined them. When the army aligned for the fight, Siba’ came out and shouted, “Is there any one to accept my challenge to a duel?” Instantly, Hamzah ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib (RA) stepped forward and yelled, “O Siba’! O son of Umm ‘Anmar, the one who circumcises other ladies! Do you challenge Allah and His Messenger!” Hamzah (RA) then attacked him ferociously and finished him in seconds, causing him to be non-existent like the bygone yesterday.

During the course of the battle, Wahshi hid behind a rock with his lance. As soon as Hamzah (RA) came close to him, he threw his lance at him, driving it into his umbilicus so that it came out through his rear, causing him to fall to the ground, lifeless. He then walked over to his victim and took his lance, to keep it for future battles.

He was now a free man. When Islam spread and reached Makkah, he ran away to Ta’if for safety. In Ramadan 9 A.H, the delegation of Thaqif (from Ta’if) sent their messengers to Rasulullah ﷺ and he was told that Rasulullah ﷺ did not harm the messengers so he went out with them.

At this meeting, Wahshi (RA) embraced Islam. Rasulullah ﷺ asked him, “Are you Wahshi?” “Yes,” he replied nervously. “Was it you who killed Hamzah?” was the next question. It send a shiver down his spine. How to reply to this question? He said, “What happened is what you have been told of.” Rasulullah ﷺ requested him, “Can you hide your face from me?” The memory of his uncle was still fresh in his mind.

Wahshi (RA) returned without delay to Ta’if and lived there. He would avoid Rasulullah ﷺ so that the latter may not see him. His regret and remorse over his past crimes was overwhelming him.

Hardly two years later, Rasulullah ﷺ passed away. Apostasy spread across Arabia like wild fire. But the people of Ta’if remained resolute and did not forsake their Deen. Around that time, Musaylamah al Kadhab came onto the scene claiming to be a prophet.

Although his Islam had wiped out all his previous sins, Wahshi (RA) found a golden opportunity. “I will go out to Musaylamah and kill him, and make amends for killing Hamzah,” he determined. He grabbed hold of the very lance he used to slay Hamzah (RA) and joined the army of Khalid ibn al Walid (RA) who marched towards Yamamah to battle against Musaylamah al Kadhab and his formidable force, the Banu Hanifah.

It was an extremely tough battle, but the Muslims managed to defeat the enemy on the battlefield. The enemy fled and took refuge in a garden, the garden of death. Bara’ ibn Malik (RA) told them to hurl him over so that he might open the door from inside. His near suicidal plan worked out perfectly and after killing many of the infidels, he was successful in opening the door from the inside of the garden.

The Muslims rushed into the garden and began attacking the apostates of the Banu Hanifah. Wahshi (RA) also entered the garden of death with the firm intent to kill the devil. He had been supplicating to Allah to grant him the opportunity to kill Musaylamah. “Suddenly, I saw a man standing near a gap in a wall. He looked like an ash-coloured camel and his hair was dishevelled,” he relates. Wahshi (RA) moved forward towards him and sized him up. He lifted his lance and with a grunt, hurled it in the direction of Musaylamah. It soared through the air and plunged into the centre of Musaylamah’s chest till it passed out through his shoulders. Seconds later, an Ansari man, Abu Dujanah (RA), attacked him and struck him on the head with a sword, finishing him off for good.

Seeing this, a slave girl on the roof of a house said, “Alas! The chief of the believers (actually imposters) has been killed by a black slave.” [Sahih al-Bukhari 4072]

He had killed the best of people in his Jahiliyyah and the worst of men in his Islam.
The following year, he participated in Yarmuk and thereafter settled in Hims where he passed away.