In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Treasures of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
The Battle of Khaybar.
This took place a few months after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.
We have mentioned that Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, revealed the entire Surah al-Fath to the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Immediately following Hudaybiyyah.
Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, stated in that Surah:
"Allah has promised you much booty that you will take."
"So He hastened this for you and restrained the hands of people from you."
This which He hastened for them was Khaybar.
The Messenger, peace be upon him, arrived in Medina in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah.
He stayed there until he marched toward Khaybar in the month of Muharram.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, encamped at al-Raji'.
Salamah Ibn al-Akwa' said:
"We set out with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, to Khaybar."
"We traveled for a night."
A man from the group said to 'Amir Ibn al-Akwa':
"Will you not let us hear some of your verses?"
'Amir was a man who composed poetry.
So he dismounted and began to chant for the people, saying:
"O Allah, had it not been for You, we would not have been guided,"
"Nor would we have given charity, nor would we have prayed."
"So forgive us, may we be sacrificed for You, those who follow us,"
"And make our feet firm if we encounter the enemy,"
"And send down tranquility upon us."
"Indeed, when we are called, we come,"
"And with the shouting, they rely upon us."
"And if they desire discord, we refuse."
The Messenger, peace be upon him, heard this.
Just as others heard this chant.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, asked:
"Who is this driver?"
They replied, "This is 'Amir."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"May Allah have mercy on him."
A man from the group said:
"It has been fulfilled, O Messenger of Allah."
"If only you had let us enjoy him longer."
Meaning, they understood from the Prophet's words:
"May Allah have mercy on him,"
That he would die in this battle.
He said:
"Then we arrived at Khaybar."
"We besieged them until we were struck by severe hunger."
Meaning, extreme starvation.
When evening came,
They lit many fires.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, asked:
"What are these fires?"
"And for what are you lighting them?"
They said, "For meat."
He asked:
"For what kind of meat?"
They said:
"For the meat of domestic donkeys."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"Spill it out and break the pots."
A man said:
"O Messenger of Allah,"
"Shall we spill it and wash them?"
He said:
"Or that."
When the people lined up the next day for battle,
Marhab the Jew came out, brandishing his sword and saying:
"Khaybar knows that I am Marhab,"
"Fully armed, a tested hero."
"When wars approach, they blaze."
Then 'Amir went down to meet him,
The one who was chanting earlier, saying:
"Khaybar knows that I am 'Amir,"
"Fully armed, a daring hero."
This was their custom in the past, before the battle.
The duel begins, as we mentioned regarding Badr.
When Hamzah, 'Ali, and Abu 'Ubaydah Ibn al-Harith dueled,
Against al-Walid Ibn 'Utbah, 'Utbah Ibn Rabi'ah, and Shaybah Ibn Rabi'ah.
And as 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib dueled with 'Amr Ibn 'Abd Wudd,
And al-Zubayr with the ram of the battalion.
Likewise, here, this man came out for the duel.
They exchanged two strikes.
Marhab's sword fell onto 'Amir's shield.
'Amir went to strike him from below,
Meaning he wanted to strike him with the sword from underneath.
But 'Amir's sword was short.
The tip of his own sword recoiled upon him,
And it struck the artery of his knee, and he died from it.
Salamah said to the Prophet, peace be upon him:
"They claim that 'Amir's deeds have been rendered void."
This is because he killed himself.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
"He who said that has lied."
"Indeed, he has two rewards."
And he, peace be upon him, joined his fingers together.
And said, "He is a striver and a fighter."
There is no Arab who walked with his like.
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, arrived,
He prayed the morning prayer there.
The Muslims mounted their horses.
The people of Khaybar came out with their shovels and baskets,
Meaning their farming tools.
They were unaware of the arrival of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
And his Companions toward them.
When they saw the army, they said:
"Muhammad, by Allah!"
"Muhammad and his army!"
Then they turned and fled back to their fortresses.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
"Allah is the Greatest!"
"Khaybar is ruined."
"Allah is the Greatest!"
"Khaybar is ruined."
"Indeed, when we descend into the courtyard of a people,"
"Evil is the morning of those who were warned."
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, drew near and overlooked Khaybar,
He said:
"Halt."
The army halted.
Then he said:
"O Allah, Lord of the seven heavens and what they overshadow,"
"Lord of the seven earths and what they carry,"
"Lord of the devils and those they lead astray,"
"We ask You for the good of this village, the good of its people, and the good of what is in it,"
"And we seek refuge in You from the evil of this village, the evil of its people, and the evil of what is in it."
"Advance in the name of Allah."
On the night of entering Khaybar,
And after the death of 'Amir Ibn al-Akwa',
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"I will certainly give the banner tomorrow to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger,"
"And whom Allah and His Messenger love."
"Allah will grant victory at his hands."
They spent the night speculating as to who would be given it.
Meaning, they were discussing this matter.
Everyone wished to be that man.
When morning came, the people went to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Each of them hoping to be given it.
He, peace be upon him, asked:
"Where is 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib?"
They said, "O Messenger of Allah,"
"He is suffering from his eyes."
He said:
"Send for him."
He was brought.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, spat into his eyes and prayed for him.
He was cured, as if he had never had any pain.
He gave him the banner.
'Ali Ibn Abi Talib asked:
"Shall I fight them until they are like us?"
He said:
"Proceed steadily until you descend into their courtyard,"
"Then invite them to Islam,"
"And inform them of what is incumbent upon them regarding the right of Allah therein."
"For by Allah, that Allah should guide one man through you,"
"Is better for you than having red camels."
Marhab came out, saying:
Meaning, as was his habit when he came out the first time.
"Khaybar knows that I am Marhab,"
"Fully armed, a tested hero,"
"When wars approach, they blaze."
'Ali stepped out to meet him, saying:
"I am the one whom my mother named Haydarah,"
"Like a lion of the forests, fearsome to behold,"
"I repay them with the measure of the Sandarah."
He struck Marhab and split his head.
Then victory was achieved.
It is mentioned in the hadith of Jabir Ibn 'Abd Allah, may Allah be pleased with them both,
That Muhammad Ibn Maslamah was the one who killed Marhab.
Jabir said in his hadith:
"Marhab the Jew came out from the fortress of Khaybar,"
"Having gathered his weapons, chanting and saying:"
"Who will duel?"
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, asked:
"Who will take care of this one?"
Muhammad Ibn Maslamah said:
"I will, O Messenger of Allah."
"I am, by Allah, the one seeking vengeance and retaliation,"
"They killed my brother yesterday."
He, peace be upon him, said:
"Go to him."
"O Allah, help him against him."
When they drew near to one another,
A tree came between them.
Meaning, each one went behind this tree.
Each of them began to take cover behind it from the other.
Every time one took cover behind it from the other,
The other would cut away at it with his sword.
Until each of them was exposed to the other.
The tree became like a standing man between them,
With no branches left on it.
Meaning the boughs.
All of them were cut off.
Then Marhab charged at Muhammad and struck him.
He warded it off with his shield,
Meaning the armor he held in his hand.
His sword struck it.
Then Muhammad Ibn Maslamah struck him and killed him.
It does not matter who killed Marhab the Jew.
The important thing is that he was killed.
However, the narration of Muslim is more correct,
Because it is in Sahih Muslim.
For it precedes [other events].
During this expedition,
a Bedouin man came to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
He believed in him and followed him.
He said to the Messenger, peace be upon him,
"I will migrate with you."
So he entrusted him to some of his Companions.
When the expedition of Khaybar concluded,
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had acquired much wealth.
He divided it among his Companions and [set aside a share] for the Bedouin,
because he had participated.
He said,
"Give this to so-and-so."
He had been tending the camels.
When the man arrived,
they gave it to him and said,
"This is your share."
The man asked,
"What is this?"
They replied,
"A share that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, set aside for you."
The Bedouin took it and came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and said,
"What is this, O Messenger of Allah?"
He said,
"A share I set aside for you."
He said, "O Messenger of Allah,
it was not for this that I followed you.
Rather, I followed you so that I might be struck here,"
and he pointed to his throat with an arrow,
"and die and enter Paradise."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
"If you are truthful with Allah, He will be truthful with you."
Then the Prophet, peace be upon him, rose to fight the enemy.
The Bedouin was brought to the Prophet, peace be upon him, having been killed.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, asked,
"Is it him?"
They said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah."
He said,
"He was truthful with Allah, so He was truthful with him."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, shrouded him in his own cloak,
then placed him forward and prayed over him.
Among his supplications, peace be upon him, he said,
"O Allah, this is Your servant,
who went out as a migrant in Your cause,
and was killed as a martyr,
and I am a witness to that."
This is a great testimony from a great Prophet, peace be upon him.
On the authority of Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both,
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, fought the people of Khaybar
until he forced them into their fortress.
He gained control over the crops, the palm trees, and the land.
They made a peace treaty with him on the condition that they would depart from it, taking only what their mounts could carry,
while the gold and silver belonged to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
He stipulated that they must not conceal or hide anything.
If they did so, they would have no protection or covenant.
'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar said,
"They concealed a leather bag containing wealth and jewelry belonging to Huyayy Ibn Akhtab,
which he had carried with him to Khaybar
when the Banu Nadir were exiled."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to the cousin of Huyayy Ibn Akhtab,
"What happened to the leather bag of Huyayy that he brought from the Nadir?"
He said, "The expenses and the wars have exhausted it, O Messenger of Allah."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
"The covenant is recent,
and the wealth is more than that."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, suspected that they had concealed something.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, sent him to Al-Zubayr,
who subjected him to questioning until he confessed.
This indicates that if there is suspicion and doubt
that someone is a liar, a thief, or a murderer,
there is no harm in subjecting them to pressure until they confess.
He subjected him to pressure,
and he said that before that, he had entered a ruin.
He said, "I saw Huyayy circling a ruin."
They went and searched,
and they found the leather bag in the ruin.
The Messenger of Allah killed the two sons of Abu Al-Huqayq,
one of whom was the husband of Safiyyah bint Huyayy Ibn Akhtab.
The Messenger, peace be upon him, took their women and children captive and divided their wealth,
due to the breach they had committed.
Because they had broken the covenant,
and he intended to exile them from it.
They said, "O Muhammad,
let us remain in this land;
we will cultivate it and manage it,
for we know it better than you do."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and his Companions did not have laborers to manage it,
so he gave them Khaybar
on the condition that they would have half of every crop and every fruit,
for as long as the Messenger of Allah wished to keep them there.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, took in this expedition
Safiyyah bint Huyayy Ibn Akhtab as a captive.
Then he manumitted her and married her,
and made her manumission her dowry.
Thus, she became one of the Mothers of the Believers.