The Dispatch of Ibn Rawahah to Khaybar
Summary
Asir ibn Zaram, the leader of the Jewish community of Khaybar decided that along with the help of the tribe of Ghatafan, that they would attack the house of Prophet Muhammad. Kharijah bin Husayn al-Ashaji came to the Prophet and informed him of the plans and as a result, the Prophet dispatched Abdallah bin Rawahah along with thirty soldiers towards Khaybar. In the end, this party was successful in killing Asir bin Zaram.
Time and Place
This dispatch was sent to Khaybar during Ramadhan in the year 6 A.H. [1].
Causes of the Battle
Waqidi writes, according to a chain of narrators from Ibn Abbaṣ that when Abu Rafi al-Sallam bin Abi al-Haqiq, the leader of the Jewish community of Khaybar was killed, Asir bin Zaram took over the leadership of Khaybar. He was a brave man who stood up amongst his people and said,
“I swear by God, Muhammad has not moved towards any of the Jewish tribes except that he has sent one of his companions towards them and has somehow managed to cause them suffering. I want to do something that none of our companions have done.”
His people asked,
“What do you want to do?”
He replied,
“I will go to the tribe of Ghatafan and will unite them with us. Then we will attack Muhammad in his house, and no one else will be not be attacked unless his enemy does not find what he wants”
His community accepted the plan, praising him for coming up with such a good idea and so as decided, they went to the tribe of Ghatafan and united them with his tribe [2]
Narrative of the Battle
Gaining Information about the Positions of the Jewish People in Khaybar
Waqidi has narrated from Urwah bin Zubayr that,
“Prophet Muhammad sent Abdallah bin Rawahah along with thirty people towards Khaybar so that they could gather information about what was going on in that region with the Jewish tribes and then relate these details back to the Prophet. Upon reaching Khaybar, Abdallah sent his forces to the secret areas of the Jewish people, namely the regions of Shaqq, Kutaybah and Natat. They remained in those areas for three days and gathered information about prisoners and other vital details and then returned to the Prophet to inform him about what they had learnt – and all of this took place just two nights before the end of the Month of Ramadhan”
Dispatch of a group under the leadership of Ibn Rawahah to fight the Jews of Khaybar
Ibn Abbas narrates that,
“The Prophet wanted some people to volunteer to go to Khaybar. When thirty people came forward, the Prophet appointed Abdallah bin Rawahah as their leader.”
Abdallah bin Anis says that,
“I saw a small group of my friends getting ready to go toward Asir bin Zaram and I heard that Prophet of Allah saying, ‘I do not want to see Asir bin Zaram’ - that is, he wanted him killed. I joined this group and we travelled together, reaching Khaybar.” [3]
The Meeting between the Muslims and the Leader of the Jews of Khaybar
Abdallah bin Anis said,
“We sent a message to Asir asking whether we were in his protection so that we could approach him and tell him what we were asked to convey. To this, he replied in the affirmative but also asked whether he was safe from us. We replied, ‘Yes,’ and then entered into his presence and said, ‘The Prophet of Allah sent us towards you so that you may come with us to see him.’”
Asir consulted with his companions and they told him that Muhammad had never appointed someone from the children of Israel as a leader. He acknowledged this fact but said that he had become tired of war. [4]
The Treason of the Leader of the Jews and the Occurrence of Battle
It has been narrated from Musa bin Aqabah that Asir, along with thirty of his companions from amongst the Jews began the trip towards Medina [4] and reached Qarqarat al-Thabar (an area about six miles away from Khaybar) [4]. Musa relates,
“I saw that he (Asir) had extended his hand towards the sheath of my sword to draw it out. I quickly understood what was going on and pulled my camel away from him and said, ‘O enemy of God, do you wish to carry out trickery?’ Some time later, I tested him by acting as if I was resting, and once again, I approached him on my camel so that I could see what he would do. One again, he extended his hand towards my sword. Quickly, I pulled my camel to the side and disembarked off of it. I indicated to the others in my group that they too should descend from their camels, and thus, Asir was the only one left sitting on his camel. I took one swing at his thigh and severed his leg. He fell off of his camel and my men quickly attacked Asir’s followers and killed them all except for one man who managed to run away.” [3]
Narrative after the Battle
News of the Battle Reaches the Prophet and His Reaction
Musa bin Aqil continues to narrate that, After the battle, we arrived back to the Prophet who was in Thaniyat al-Wada on his way to Syria. We narrated the events that had occurred and upon hearing what we had to say, he said,
“God has saved you from the hands of an oppressive people.” [5]
References
- ↑ Muhammad bin Umar al-Waqidi, al-Maghazi Volume 2 Page 566
- ↑ Fadhl bin al-Hasan al-Tabrisi, Ilam al-Wara bi Ilam al-Huda Volume 1 Page 211; Muhammad bin Umar al-Waqidi, al-Maghazi Volume 2 Page 566
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Muhammad bin Umar al-Waqidi, al-Maghazi Volume 2 Page 566; Muhammad bin Ishaq, al-Sirat al-Nabawiyyah Volume 4 Page 266
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ali bin Abdallah al-Samhudi, Wafa al-Wafa bi Akhbar Dar al-Mustafa Volume 2 Page 361
- ↑ Muhammad bin Umar al-Waqidi, al-Maghazi, Volume 4 Page 266