their story was related, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prohibited eating them.
He went on to say: An Abyssinian slave who lived among the people of Khaybar was out with his master’s flock. When he saw the inhabitants of Khaybar taking up arms, he asked, “What are you preparing for?” They answered, “We are going to fight that man who claims to be a prophet.” Something moved in his heart, so he drove the sheep over to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, embraced Islam, and said, “What will I receive?” The Prophet replied, “Paradise.” The man said, “Messenger of Allah, these sheep are a trust in my care.” The Prophet ﷺ answered, “Lead them out of our camp and throw pebbles at them; Allah will return your trust for you.” He did so, and the flock went back to its owner.
The Prophet ﷺ then addressed the people, and during his exhortation said, “The black slave from among the Muslims has been killed; carry him and place him in a tent.” They say that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ looked into the tent, then turned to his Companions and said, “Allah has honored this servant; I saw two maidens of Paradise at his head.”
Ibn Wahb reported: Ḥayywah ibn Shurayḥ told me, from Ibn al-Hād, from Sharahbīl ibn Saʿd, from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, who said: We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the Khaybar campaign when a patrol went out and captured a man tending some sheep. They brought him to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who spoke with him. The man said, “I have believed in you, but what about the sheep? They are a trust—each one or two belong to different people.” The Prophet said, “Throw pebbles in their faces and they will return to their owners.” He took a handful of pebbles—or of earth—cast it at their faces, and the sheep bolted off until every single ewe reached her owner. He then stepped forward to the battle line, where an arrow struck and killed him; he had never performed a single prostration to Allah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Take him into the shelter.” They carried him into the Prophet’s own shelter. The Prophet went in to see him and then came out saying, “Your companion’s Islam is truly sound; I entered and found that two of the maidens of Paradise were with him.”