Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Ka'b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from his paternal uncle that Ka'b bin al-Ashraf used to compose satire against the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) to send five men to him. They came to him while he was sitting in a gathering of his people in the outlying area (al-Awali). When he saw them he became alarmed about them. He asked: "What has brought you?" They said: "We have come to you because of a need." He said: "Let one of you come close to me and talk to me about his need." One of them came close to him, and they made it appear: "We have come to you so that we may sell you our coats of mail." He said: "By Allah, if you want to do this, then the fact is that ever since this man came among you, you have been suffering continuous hardship" (the narrator is in doubt about one word here). Then they made an appointment with him that they would come to him after night had fallen. When they came to him, he got up to go out to them. His wife said to him: "These people will not have come to you at this hour for anything that you would like." He said: "They have already told me about their need." When he came close to them, Sayyiduna Abu Abs (may Allah be pleased with him) seized him by the neck, and Sayyiduna Muhammad bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) struck him with the sword. They struck him in his flank with the sword and killed him. In the morning the Jews came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned to those Jews that he used to satirise the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his poems and used to cause harm to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) invited the Jews to have a treaty written between himself and them. The narrator says: That document was with Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was walking along with the people towards Baqi' al-Gharqad. Then he turned towards them and said: "Set off in the name of Allah. O Allah, help them." The narrator says: That is, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said this for the men whom he sent to Ka'b bin al-Ashraf.
Ahmad and al-Bazzar recorded it; however, he (al-Bazzar) recorded these words: "When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Muhammad bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) and his companions to Ka'b bin al-Ashraf so that they might kill him (at that time this incident took place)"; the rest of the report is as before.
Al-Tabarani recorded it and added these words: "Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) returned to his house." The chain of this report contains Ibn Ishaq, and he is a mudallis; the rest of the narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه البزار فى المسند (1801 و 1802) اخرجه الطبراني فى المعجم الكبير (11554) اخرجه احمد فى المسند 2391 ، أخرجه مسند أحمد برقم: 2387، وأخرجه المستدرك على الصحيحين برقم: 2525»
Sayyiduna Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Ka'b bin al-Ashraf, while staying with Abu Wada'ah in Makkah, composed satire against the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave an order to Sayyiduna Hassan bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), and he composed satire against him. When Quraysh learned that Sayyiduna Hassan (may Allah be pleased with him) had satirised Abu Wada'ah, they expelled Ka'b bin al-Ashraf from there. When he came to Madinah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Muhammad bin Maslamah, Abu Abs bin Jabr and Abu Na'ilah for him, and they killed Ka'b bin al-Ashraf beside the watercourse called al-Ujul, in the area of Banu Umayyah bin Zayd.
Al-Tabarani recorded it. The narrator named Ishaq bin Yahya did not live in the time of Sayyiduna Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him); the rest of the narrators of this report are thiqat (trustworthy).