Hadith: Your companion Hanzhalah is being washed by the angels, so ask his wife

عن عبد الله بن الزبير رضي الله عنهما قال: سمعتُ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: وقد كان الناسُ انهزموا عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حتى انتهى بعضُهم إلى دُون الأَعْراض على جبلٍ بناحيةِ المدينة، ثم رجعوا إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وقد كان حَنْظَلة بن أبي عامر الْتَقَى هو وأبو سفيان بن حرْب، فلمَّا اسْتَعْلاه حَنْظَلة رآه شَدَّاد بن الأسْود، فعَلَاه شَدَّاد بالسيْف حتى قتله، وقد كاد يَقْتل أبا سفيان، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : «إنَّ صاحبَكم حَنْظَلةُ تُغَسِّلُه الملائكةُ، فسَلُوا صاحبتَه»، فقالت: خرج وهو جُنُبٌ لما سمِع الهائِعَة، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : «فذاك قد غَسَّلَتْه الملائكةُ».
[حسن] - [رواه ابن حبان والحاكم والبيهقي]

‘Abdullāh ibn Az-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "(During the battle of Uhud) people retreated and left the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) until some of them reached the villages near a mountain close to Madīnah. They then went back to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). (During the battle) Hanzhalah ibn Abu ‘Āmir confronted Abu Sufyān ibn Harb. When Hanzhalah was about to kill him (Abu Sufyān), Shaddād ibn al-Aswad saw him and struck him with his sword and killed him. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then said: ‘Your companion Hanzhalah is being washed by the angels, so ask his wife.’ She said: ‘He left in a state of ritual impurity when he heard the call for the battle.’ So the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘That was why the angels were washing him.’”
[Good hadith] - [Narrated by Ibn Hebban - Al-Bayhaqi - Al-Haakim]

Explanation

The Muslims initially emerged victorious from the battle of Uhud, but the archers disobeyed the Prophet's command and eventually the Muslims were defeated. Some of the Muslims fled the battlefield, until they reached some villages close to a mountain near Madīnah. They then returned to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). During the battle, Hanzhalah ibn ‘Āmir fought against Abu Sufyān ibn Harb, the leader of the polytheists. When Hanzhalah was about to kill him, a polytheist called Shaddād ibn al-Aswad saw Hanzhalah and killed him with his sword. When the battle was over, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told the Muslims that the angels were washing Hanzhalah. He asked them to ask his wife about his condition before he set out for the battle. They asked her, and she told them that when Hanzhalah heard the call for Jihad he set out in a state of ritual impurity. So the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told them that the angels had washed Hanzhalah because he was martyred in a state of ritual impurity.