of Ibn ʿAtik.” Then I checked myself and said, “How could Ibn ʿAtik be in these parts at all?” She bent over him, stared at his face, and declared, “He has breathed his last, by the God of the Jews!” I have never heard words more delightful to me than those.

He came back and told us what he had heard. We hoisted up our injured companion and returned to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. After we reported the incident we disputed over who had actually struck the fatal blow, for each of us claimed the deed. He said, “Bring me your swords.” We brought them, and when he examined them he said of the sword of ʿAbd Allah ibn Unays, “This one finished him off; I can still see on it the traces of food and drink.”

Zakariyyā ibn Abī Zāʾidah narrated from Abū Isḥāq, from al-Barāʾ, who said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent a party of the Anṣār against Abū Rāfiʿ. ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAtik entered his house at night and killed him while he was asleep.” This is recorded by al-Bukhārī.

Isrāʾīl also narrated from Abū Isḥāq, from al-Barāʾ: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched some men of the Anṣār to Abū Rāfiʿ, with ʿAbd Allah—meaning Ibn ʿAtik—in command. Abū Rāfiʿ had been harming the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and aiding others against him, and he was ensconced in a fortified stronghold in the Hijaz. When the detachment drew near and the sun had set and the people had returned with their herds, ʿAbd Allah said to his companions, ‘Stay where you are; I shall go and win the gate-keeper’s confidence—perhaps I can get inside.’ He approached the gate, covering himself with his cloak as though answering the call of nature. By then the people had entered, and the gate-keeper called out, ‘ʿAbd Allah! If you wish to come in, then enter so I may close the gate.’ I went in and concealed myself. The man shut the gate and hung the keys on a peg; I rose and opened it.

Abū Rāfiʿ was upstairs spending the evening in conversation. When the gathering dispersed