The Battle of Khaybar

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said concerning the Qur'anic verse "Indeed, We have granted you a clear victory" [Al-Fath: 1] that it is Khaybar (the victory of Khaybar).

Iyas bin Salamah narrates: My father informed me that on the day of Khaybar my uncle fought a duel with Marhab the Jew. Marhab said: "Khaybar (the land) knows that I am Marhab, fully armed, a seasoned hero. When wars come on, they blaze." To this my uncle replied with this verse: "Indeed Khaybar (the land) knows me, that I am Amir, fully armed, a brave one who risks his life." Then the two began exchanging blows. Marhab's sword came down into the shield of Sayyiduna Amir (may Allah be pleased with him), (because of which) Sayyiduna Amir's sword struck his own shin and cut his vein, and his death came from it. Sayyiduna Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I met some of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and they said: "Amir's deeds have gone to waste; he killed himself." Sayyiduna Salamah said: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) weeping and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), have Amir's deeds gone to waste?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Who said this?" I said: "Some people from among your Companions." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever said this has spoken falsely. Rather, he has a double reward." When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set out for Khaybar, Sayyiduna Amir was reciting rajaz verses to the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and among those Companions was he (peace and blessings be upon him) too. Sayyiduna Amir was driving the riding camels and saying: "By Allah! Had Allah not guided us, we would neither have given charity nor prayed. Indeed, those who have transgressed against us, when they intend a trial, we refuse. We cannot do without Your favour, so if we meet (the enemy), keep our feet firm, and send down tranquillity upon us." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Who is this?" Someone said: "It is Amir, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May your Lord forgive you." The narrator said: Never did he (peace and blessings be upon him) seek forgiveness specifically for any man but that he was martyred. When Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) heard this, he said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), why did you not let us benefit longer from Amir?" Then Sayyiduna Amir stood up (in the battlefield in response to the challenge) and was martyred. 6. Sayyiduna Salamah said: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "Today I shall give this banner to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger," or he said, "whom Allah and His Messenger love." Salamah said: So I brought Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), leading him, while he had an eye ailment. The narrator said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) put his blessed saliva into his eye, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave him the banner. Marhab came out waving his sword up and down and saying: "Indeed (the people of) Khaybar know me, that I am Marhab, fully armed, an experienced brave one. When wars advance, I blaze." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said in reply: "I am the one whose mother named him Haydar (lion). Like the lion of the forests, most terrifying in appearance, I repay the enemy in full measure with their own measure." Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) split Marhab's head (in two) with the sword. And this victory was gained at the hand of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

Sayyiduna Jubayr bin Mut'im (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) distributed the share of the near kin from Khaybar among Banu Hashim and Banu al-Muttalib. He said: So I and Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) went out until we came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and we said: "O Messenger of Allah, these are your brothers of Banu Hashim. The virtue that Allah Almighty has granted them by sending you among them cannot be denied. But what do you say about our brothers of Banu al-Muttalib? You have given to them and left us out, while we and they stand at one and the same rank in lineage." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "They never left us, either in the state of Islam or in the Jahiliyyah."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would not attack (any settlement) until morning came and he (peace and blessings be upon him) had listened. If he (peace and blessings be upon him) heard the sound of the adhan, he (peace and blessings be upon him) held back, and if he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not hear the sound of the adhan, he (peace and blessings be upon him) attacked (the settlement). The narrator said: So when he (peace and blessings be upon him) came to the territory of Khaybar, those people had (by then) come out of their fortresses and spread out over their lands, and with them were their baskets, axes, spades and the like. When they saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), they said: "Muhammad and the army!" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allahu Akbar! Khaybar is ruined. When we camp in the territory of a people, then evil is the morning of those who were warned." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) fought them until Allah Almighty granted him (peace and blessings be upon him) victory, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) distributed the spoils. Safiyyah fell to the share of Sayyiduna Dihyah al-Kalbi (may Allah be pleased with him). It was said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "A beautiful slave-girl has fallen to the share of Sayyiduna Dihyah al-Kalbi." So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) bought her in exchange for seven slaves and sent her to Sayyidah Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) to prepare her. The narrator said: To my knowledge he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "She is to observe her waiting period with her." Then when he (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to depart (from there), the people began saying: "We do not know whether he (peace and blessings be upon him) has taken Safiyyah as a concubine or has married her." When he (peace and blessings be upon him) mounted, he (peace and blessings be upon him) veiled Safiyyah and seated her behind him. Then the people set off, until when they came near Madinah they urged their mounts to speed, for this was the habit of the people: when they returned (from a journey) and came near Madinah, they would do so. The she-camel of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stumbled, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fell, and Safiyyah fell too. The wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) were watching expectantly, and they said: "May Allah Almighty distance the Jewess (Safiyyah) and destroy her!" Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) veiled Safiyyah and mounted her (on the she-camel).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him): On the day of Khaybar I was riding behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When we reached (Khaybar), those people had come out (to their fields) with their spades. When they saw us, they said: "Muhammad! By Allah, Muhammad and the army!" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allahu Akbar! When we descend into the courtyard of a people, then evil is the morning of those who were warned."

It is narrated from Amir that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) leased out Khaybar for half (of its produce). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Ibn Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) at the time of the division, and he gave them the choice.

Abdullah bin Buraydah al-Aslami narrates from his father, Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him), that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) halted in the territory of Khaybar, the people of Khaybar became alarmed and said: "Muhammad has come with the people of Yathrib!" The narrator said: Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) with some people. They met the people of Khaybar, but the people of Khaybar turned him and his companions back. So they came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this state: Sayyiduna Umar was calling his companions cowards and his companions were calling him a coward. The narrator said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Tomorrow I shall place the banner in the hand of a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and Allah and His Messenger love him." The narrator said: When the next day came, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Umar were hoping for this banner. The narrator said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) called Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), who was at that time suffering from an eye ailment. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spat into his eye and handed him the standard. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) set out with the people. The narrator said: Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) faced the people of Khaybar and he faced Marhab of Khaybar, who was reciting this rajaz: "Indeed the people of Khaybar know that I am Marhab, fully armed, an experienced brave one. When the lions advance, I blaze; sometimes I thrust with the spear and sometimes I strike with the sword." The narrator said: Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and Marhab clashed, and Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) struck him on the skull with the sword such a blow that the sword cut from his skull down to his molars, and the whole army heard the sound of his blow. The last of the army had not yet fully arrived when Allah Almighty granted victory to the front part of the Muslim army.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him): We set out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) from Makkah towards Khaybar when twelve days of Ramadan remained. Some of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fasted and some did not fast, but he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not reproach anyone.

Al-Hakam narrates that on the day of Khaybar the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) included Sayyiduna Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) and his companions in the distribution, although they had not taken part in the battle of Khaybar.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Tomorrow I shall give the banner to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger; Allah, the Pure, will grant victory through him." Sayyiduna Umar said: I never wished for leadership except on that day. When the next day came, I began raising myself up to look for it. Sayyiduna Umar said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), stand up, go and fight, and do not turn your attention to anything until Allah Almighty gives victory at your (hand)." So Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) turned to go, then he disliked to turn (back). He said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), on what basis shall I fight these disbelievers?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(Fight) until they say: La ilaha illallah (there is no god but Allah). When they have said this, their wealth and their blood will be protected, except in the case of some right."

Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Layla narrates from his father that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Abu Layla, were you not with us at Khaybar?" I said: "Yes indeed! By Allah, I was with you." (Then) Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and he set out with the people (towards the field) but was driven back, and he returned to him (peace and blessings be upon him). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and he too was driven back along with the people, until he came back to him (peace and blessings be upon him). Upon this the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(Now) I shall give this banner to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and Allah and His Messenger love him. Allah Almighty will grant victory at his hand. He is not a man who flees." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a man to me and called me. I came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) in this state: I was suffering from an eye ailment and could not see anything. He (peace and blessings be upon him) gave me the banner. I said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), how (can you give this to me) when I have an eye ailment and cannot see anything?" Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) put his saliva into my eyes, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated: "O Allah, suffice him against cold and heat." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: After that, neither cold nor heat ever troubled me.

It is narrated from Abu Marzuq, the freed slave of Tujib: We went on a campaign towards the west with Sayyiduna Ruwayfi' bin Thabit al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), and we conquered a town called Jarbah. The narrator said: He stood up among us to deliver a sermon and said: I shall say to you only what I heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), which he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us on the day of Khaybar. (It is this:) "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him not water the crop of another with his water, nor sell anything of the spoils before it is divided, nor ride an animal from the fay' (public war gains) of the Muslims in such a way that when it grows weak he returns it to the fay', nor wear a garment from the fay' of the Muslims in such a way that when he has worn it out he returns it to the fay'."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him): It was the day of Khaybar, and a group of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came (to him (peace and blessings be upon him)), and they began saying: "So-and-so is a martyr, so-and-so is a martyr," until they came to a man and said: "(This) so-and-so too is a martyr." (Upon this) the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Certainly not! I have seen this man in Hell in the cloak or the cloak-garment that he stole from the spoils." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ibn al-Khattab, go and proclaim among the people that none will enter Paradise except the believers." Sayyiduna Umar said: So I went out from there and proclaimed that none will enter Paradise except the believers.

Hashraj bin Ziyad al-Ashja'i narrates from his paternal grandmother that she took part in the campaign with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the year of Khaybar, the sixth of six women. This reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a messenger to us and asked: "At whose bidding have you come out (on this campaign)?" We sensed anger in this question of his (peace and blessings be upon him), so we said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), we have come out (on the campaign) and we have medicines with us with which we shall give treatment. We shall hand over arrows, give sawiq to drink and spin hair, by which we shall help (the fighters) in the path of Allah." Upon this the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then stay (here)." Then when Allah Almighty granted him (peace and blessings be upon him) victory in the battle of Khaybar, he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us a share just as he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave the men a share.

Sayyiduna Umayr, the freed slave of Abi al-Lahm (may Allah be pleased with him), narrates: I took part in the campaign of Khaybar, and I was an owned slave. When the Companions conquered Khaybar, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave me a sword and said: "Gird on this sword." And he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave me some household goods, but he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not allot me a share.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: We came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) three (days) after the conquest of Khaybar, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) included us in the distribution. Apart from us, he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave no share to any of those who had not taken part in the conquest.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the day of Khaybar the people slaughtered donkeys, and they had been put in the pots and were being brought to the boil, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him), and he made this proclamation: "Indeed Allah and His Messenger have forbidden you the meat of domestic donkeys, for they are impure." So (on hearing this) the pots were overturned.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mughaffal (may Allah be pleased with him): On the day of the campaign of Khaybar a bag of fat was let down. Abdullah said: I clung to it and said: "I will not give anyone anything from this." Abdullah said: Then I turned and looked, and there was the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) standing and smiling. I felt very ashamed (at this).

Abdullah bin Abi Salit narrates from his father, Sayyiduna Abu Salit (may Allah be pleased with him), who was a Companion who took part in Badr, that he said: The prohibition from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of eating domestic donkeys reached (us) while this very meat was boiling in the pots. Abu Salit said: So we tipped the pots over on their faces.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the day of the battle of Khaybar the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade eating domestic donkeys, and forbade eating every predatory animal with fangs. And he forbade intercourse with a pregnant woman before she gives birth, and forbade selling a share of the spoils before it is divided, and forbade selling fruit before its soundness becomes apparent. And on that day he (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the woman who attaches another woman's hair and the woman who has it attached, and likewise cursed the woman who tattoos and the woman who has herself tattooed, and cursed the woman who scratches her face, and also cursed the one who tears open her garment at the neck.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the day of the battle of Khaybar (severe) hunger struck the people. The people took domestic donkeys, slaughtered them and filled the pots with their meat. This news reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Jabir narrates that he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered us, so we overturned the pots. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah Almighty will soon give you provision that is more lawful and purer than this." So we overturned those pots while they were boiling. On that day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) declared the meat of domestic donkeys and mules unlawful, and likewise he (peace and blessings be upon him) declared unlawful every predatory animal with fangs, and declared unlawful every bird that hunts with talons. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) declared unlawful the mujaththamah (the goat that is pelted with stones until it dies), what is snatched and what is plundered.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) travelled to Khaybar. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) reached Khaybar, he (peace and blessings be upon him) dispatched Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and some people with him towards the city or fortress of the people of Khaybar. They (went and) fought them, but in a short while this group of Muslims, Sayyiduna Umar and his companions, was driven back. So Sayyiduna Umar returned (to him (peace and blessings be upon him)), with him taunting his companions with cowardice and his companions taunting him. This displeased him (peace and blessings be upon him) and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Now I shall certainly send to the Jews a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and Allah and His Messenger love him. He will go on fighting them until Allah Almighty grants victory at his hand. That man will not be one who flees." (On hearing this) many people began hoping for it and stretching out their necks, and they began waiting to see what he (peace and blessings be upon him) had said applied to themselves. He (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent for a while, then said: "Where is Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)?" The people said: "He is suffering from an eye ailment." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Call him to me." When I came to him (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) opened my eyes and put his blessed saliva into them. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave me the banner. I set off running with this banner, for fear that some thought might occur to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about me or about someone else. Then I reached the enemy and fought them. Marhab the Jew came out to duel, reciting rajaz verses, and I too came out to duel in response, reciting rajaz verses. Then we clashed, and Allah Almighty had him killed by my hand. His companions were driven back and shut themselves up in the fortress, and they closed the gate. We reached the gate, and I kept striking the gate until Allah Almighty opened it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Today I shall place the banner in the hand of a man whom Allah and His Messenger love." Upon this the people began raising themselves up to look. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Where is Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)?" The people said: "He has a complaint in his eye." He (peace and blessings be upon him) called Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) spat on both his palms and passed them over the eye of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) handed the banner to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). And on that very day Allah Almighty granted victory at the hand of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Were it not for the fear that the people who come later would get nothing, I would divide every settlement of the disbelievers that the Muslims conquer among the Muslims in shares, just as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) divided Khaybar among the Muslims in shares. But I want a continuing allowance to keep reaching the Muslims, and I dislike that the people who come later should be given nothing.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that on the day of Khaybar a man took a woman captive and seated her behind him. The woman struggled with the man over the hilt of his sword, so the man killed the woman. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw this woman (slain) and said: "Who killed this woman?" The people told him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the killing of women.

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Ka'b bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had forbidden the force that he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent to kill Ibn Abi al-Huqayq at Khaybar from killing women and children.