Musnad Ahmad 334:11

Hashim ibn al-Qasim narrated to us, Ikrima ibn Ammar narrated to us, he said: Iyas ibn Salama ibn al-Akwa’ narrated to me, from his father, who said: We arrived in Medina at the time of al-Hudaybiyyah with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I and Rabah, the servant of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), went out with the mounts of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and I went out with a horse belonging to Talha ibn Ubayd Allah, intending to graze it with the camels. When it was still dark, Abd al-Rahman ibn Uyaynah raided the camels of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), killed their shepherd, and went out driving them away, he and some people with him on horses. I said: "O Rabah, mount this horse and take it to Talha, and inform the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that his livestock has been raided." I stood on a hill, turned my face toward Medina, and called out three times: "Ya sabahah!" (A cry for help). Then I followed the people, with my sword and my arrows. I began to shoot at them and hamstring their mounts. This was in a place with many trees. Whenever a horseman turned toward me, I would sit at the base of a tree and shoot, and no horseman approached me but that I hamstrung his mount. I began shooting at them while saying: "I am the son of al-Akwa’, and today is the day of the sucklings." I would catch up to one of them and shoot him while he was on his mount, and my arrow would strike him until it pierced his shoulder. I would say: "Take that, and I am the son of al-Akwa’, and today is the day of the sucklings." When I was among the trees, I would burn them with arrows, and when the mountain passes became narrow, I would climb the mountain and pelt them with stones. That remained my affair and theirs; I followed them and recited poetry until there was nothing of the mounts of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) that God had created except that I left them behind my back and rescued them from their hands. Then I continued to shoot at them until they threw down more than thirty spears and more than thirty cloaks to lighten their load. They would not throw anything down except that I placed stones upon it and gathered it on the path of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). When the morning was well advanced, Uyaynah ibn Badr al-Fazari came to them as reinforcements while they were in a narrow pass. I climbed the mountain and was above them. Uyaynah said: "What is this that I see?" They said: "We have met from this one such hardship that we have not parted from him since dawn until now. He took everything that was in our hands and placed it behind his back." Uyaynah said: "If this man did not think that there was a pursuit behind him, he would have left you. Let a group of you stand up to him." A group of four of them stood up and climbed the mountain. When I made them hear my voice, I said: "Do you recognize me?" They said: "And who are you?" I said: "I am the son of al-Akwa’. By the One who honored the face of Muhammad (ﷺ), no man among you will pursue me and catch me, nor will I pursue him and he escape me." One of them said: "I think so." I did not leave my position until I saw the horsemen of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) weaving through the trees. The first of them was al-Akhram al-Asadi, followed by Abu Qatadah, the horseman of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and following Abu Qatadah was al-Miqdad al-Kindi. The polytheists turned in retreat, and I descended from the mountain. I intercepted al-Akhram and took the reins of his horse, saying: "O Akhram, beware of the people, for I do not feel safe that they might cut you off. Wait until the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and his companions arrive." He said: "O Salama, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day, and know that Paradise is true and Hell is true, then do not stand between me and martyrdom." I released the reins of his horse, and he caught up to Abd al-Rahman ibn Uyaynah. Abd al-Rahman turned on him, and they exchanged two spear thrusts. Al-Akhram hamstrung Abd al-Rahman’s mount, and Abd al-Rahman struck him and killed him. Abd al-Rahman then switched to al-Akhram’s horse. Abu Qatadah caught up to Abd al-Rahman, and they exchanged two spear thrusts. He hamstrung Abd al-Rahman’s mount and killed him, and Abu Qatadah switched to al-Akhram’s horse. I went out running in pursuit of the people until I could no longer see the dust of the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ). Before sunset, they turned toward a valley containing water called Dhu Qarad. They wanted to drink from it, but they saw me running behind them, so they turned away from it and hurried into the pass—the pass of Dhu Nathr. The sun set, and I caught up to a man and shot him, saying: "Take that, and I am the son of al-Akwa’, and today is the day of the sucklings." He said: "May your mother mourn you, O son of al-Akwa’, a young camel?" I said: "Yes, O enemy of his own soul." The one I had shot was a young camel. I followed him with another arrow, and two arrows stuck in him. They left behind two horses, and I brought them, driving them to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) while he was at the water I had kept them away from, Dhu Qarad. The Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) was there with five hundred men, and Bilal had slaughtered a camel from those I had recovered, and he was roasting its liver and hump for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, let me choose one hundred of your companions, and I will take the disbelievers by surprise in the darkness, and not a single messenger will remain among them but that I will kill him." He said: "Would you really do that, O Salama?" I said: "Yes, by the One who honored you." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) laughed until I saw his molars in the light of the fire. Then he said: "They are now being hosted in the land of Ghatafan." A man from Ghatafan came and said: "They passed by such-and-such a Ghatafani, and he slaughtered a camel for them." He said: "When they began to skin it, they saw dust, so they left it and fled." When morning came, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "The best of our horsemen today is Abu Qatadah, and the best of our foot soldiers is Salama." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave me the share of both the foot soldier and the horseman. Then he let me ride behind him on al-Adba’ (his camel) as we returned to Medina. When we were close to it, around mid-morning, there was a man among the Ansar who could not be outrun. He began calling out: "Is there anyone to race? Is there no man who will race to Medina?" He repeated that several times while I was behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), riding behind him. I said to him: "Do you not honor a noble person, nor fear a man of status?" He said: "No, except for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)." I said: "O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you, let me race the man." He said: "If you wish." I said: "Go ahead." He jumped off his mount, and I bent my legs and jumped off the camel. I then ran for a distance or two, meaning I saved my energy, then I ran until I caught up to him and struck him between his shoulders with my hand. I said: "I have beaten you, by Allah," or words to that effect. He laughed and said: "I think so," until we arrived in Medina.