Mu'jam Kabir Tabarani 5265 — The affair of Khubayb bin Abdullah

Urwah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: The affair of Khubayb bin Abdullah al-Ansari (then of Banu Amr bin Awf), Asim bin Thabit bin al-Aflah bin Amr bin Awf, and Zayd bin al-Dathinah al-Ansari of Banu Bayadah, was that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent them to Makkah as scouts so that they could bring him (peace and blessings be upon him) news of Quraysh. They travelled by the Najd route until, when they reached al-Raji', which is in Najd, the tribe of Banu Lihyan of Hudhayl blocked their way. Asim bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) fought with his sword until he was martyred, while Khubayb and Zayd bin al-Dathinah (may Allah be pleased with them both) climbed up the mountain, and those people could not seize them until they made covenants and pledges with the two of them. So the two came down, and those people bound them with ropes, then brought them to Makkah and sold them to Quraysh.

Khubayb (may Allah be pleased with him) was bought by Uqbah bin al-Harith bin Nawfal, the brother of Husayn bin al-Harith, and sharing with him in purchasing him was Abu Ihab bin Aziz bin Qays bin Suwayd bin Rabi'ah bin Adas bin Abdullah bin Darim (Qays bin Suwayd bin Rabi'ah was the maternal brother of Amir bin Nawfal; the mother of both was Bint Nahshal al-Tamimiyyah); likewise Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl, al-Akhnas bin Shurnun bin Ilaj bin Ghubrah al-Thaqafi, Ubaydah bin Hakim al-Sulami then al-Dhakwani, Umayyah bin Utbah bin Hammam bin Hanzalah (of Banu Darim and Banu al-Hadrami), Sa'yah bin Abdullah bin Abi Qays (of Banu Amir bin Lu'ayy), and Safwan bin Umayyah bin Khalaf bin Wahb al-Jumahi also shared in it. They handed him over to Uqbah bin al-Harith, who imprisoned him in a house of his. He stayed with him as long as Allah willed.

A woman of the household of Uqbah bin al-Harith bin Amir used to open the door for him and feed him. Khubayb (may Allah be pleased with him) said to her: When these people intend to kill me, inform me beforehand. When they intended to kill him, the woman informed him. Khubayb (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Bring me a razor so that I may shave my pubic hair. So the woman's son, who used to serve him, came in with the razor in his hand. Khubayb (may Allah be pleased with him) took hold of the boy's hand and said: Has Allah given (me) power over you? She said: I did not expect this of you. Then Khubayb (may Allah be pleased with him) handed the razor back to her and said: I was only joking.

Then the people who had shared in buying him took him out, and the people of Makkah came out with them, and they took a piece of wood with them. When they reached al-Tan'im, they set up that wood and crucified Khubayb (may Allah be pleased with him) upon it. Uqbah bin al-Harith took charge of killing him. Abu Husayn was young at that time and was with those people, and they killed Khubayb in retaliation for al-Harith bin Amir, who had been killed on the day of Badr as a disbeliever.

At the time of his killing, Khubayb (may Allah be pleased with him) said to them: Release me from the rope so that I may offer two rak'ahs of prayer. They released him, and he offered two light rak'ahs, then turned and said: Were it not that you would think I was afraid of death, I would certainly have lengthened them; that is why I kept them light. Then he said: O Allah, I see nothing but the face of an enemy. O Allah, I have no one to carry a message to Your Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), so convey my greeting of peace to him on my behalf. So Jibril (peace be upon him) came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and conveyed this news to him.

While they were raising Khubayb (may Allah be pleased with him) onto the wood, he said: "O Allah, count them all, kill them scattered in pieces, and do not leave a single one of them." Khubayb bin Adi (may Allah be pleased with him) was killed by the sons of the polytheists who had been killed on the day of Badr. When they began striking him with weapons while he hung on the cross, they called out to him and adjured him, saying: Would you like Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to be in your place? He said: No, by Allah the Mighty, I would not like even a thorn to prick his foot and that I be released in exchange for it. On hearing this, they laughed.

When they raised him onto the wood, Khubayb (may Allah be pleased with him) recited these verses:
"Indeed the confederates have gathered around me and rallied their tribes, and have assembled from every place.
They have gathered their sons and their women too, and I have been brought near a tall, sturdy trunk.
To Allah I complain of my estrangement after my affliction, and of what these confederates intend to do with me at the time of my killing.
O Lord of the Throne, grant me patience over what is intended for me; they have cut my flesh to pieces, and my hope has come to an end.
And all this is for the sake of Allah, and if He wills, He will send blessing upon every limb of this torn body.
By my life, when I die a Muslim, I do not care in what state my falling for the sake of Allah may be."

As for Zayd bin al-Dathinah (may Allah be pleased with him), he was bought by Safwan bin Umayyah bin Khalaf, who had him killed in retaliation for his father Umayyah bin Khalaf. He was killed by Nistas, the freed slave of Banu Jumah. Both of them were killed at al-Tan'im. Amr bin Umayyah buried Khubayb.

Hassan bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) composed these verses about Khubayb:
"Would that weakness had not betrayed Khubayb, and would that Khubayb had known those people.
Zuhayr bin al-Agharr and Jami' traded in him, and the two had long been involved in forbidden deeds.
You granted protection, then, once you had granted it, you betrayed, and you took part in the attack from the side of al-Raji'."

(Note: Zayd bin Abd Rabbih al-Ansari, Abu Abdullah, is the one who was shown the call to prayer (adhan) in a dream.)