He said, “Bring me your swords.” We laid them before him and he inspected them. Looking at the sword of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Unays, he remarked, “This is the one that finished him off—I can still see traces of food upon it.”

Ibn Isḥāq relates that Ḥassān ibn Thābit composed the following verses on the event (in the Kāmil metre):

For Allah’s sake—what a gallant band I met,
O son of Ḥuqayq, and you, son of al-Ashraf!
With light, gleaming blades they travelled toward you,
Bounding like lions from a lofty lair.
They reached you in the very heart of your own land
And made you drink sure death from polished swords.
Clear-sighted in securing triumph for their Prophet’s faith,
They deemed all other burdens trivial and slight.

Thus Imām Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq—may Allah have mercy upon him—transmitted the story.

Imām Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Bukhārī also recorded: “Isḥāq ibn Naṣr narrated to us; Yaḥyā ibn Ādam narrated to us; Ibn Abī Zāʾidah, from his father, from Abū Isḥāq, from al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, who said: ‘The Prophet ﷺ sent a party against Abū Rāfiʿ. ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAtīk entered his house at night while he was asleep and killed him.’”

Al-Bukhārī further reported: “Yūsuf ibn Mūsā narrated to us; ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Mūsā narrated to us; from Isrāʾīl; from Abū Isḥāq; from al-Barāʾ, who said:

‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched some men of the Anṣār against Abū Rāfiʿ the Jew, putting ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAtīk in command. Abū Rāfiʿ used to harm the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and aid his enemies. He was in a fortified stronghold in the Hijaz. When we approached it, the sun had set and the people were bringing in their livestock.

ʿAbd Allāh told his companions, “Stay here while I go and win over the gate-keeper; perhaps I can get inside.” He advanced until he reached the door, then covered himself with his cloak as though answering the call of nature, for the people had already gone indoors. The gate-keeper called: “Servant of God! If you wish to enter, do so, for I want to shut the door.” I went in and lay in wait.

When everyone was inside, he closed the gate and hung the keys on a peg. I rose, took the keys, and opened the door. Abū Rāfiʿ was accustomed to sit up late conversing, and he was in an upper chamber. When his companions withdrew, I climbed up. Each time I opened a door I locked it behind me from within, saying to myself, “If they discover me, they will not reach me before I have killed him.”

I reached him while he was in a dark room among his family; I did not know exactly where he lay.

I called out, “Abā Rāfiʿ!”

He answered, “Who is that?” I moved toward the voice and struck him with my sword, but in my confusion the blow was ineffectual and he shouted. I left the room and waited a short while, then returned and asked, “What is this crying, Abā Rāfiʿ?”

He said, “Woe to you! A man in the house has just struck me with a sword!”

I struck him again, wounding him grievously but not killing him. Then I drove the point of the blade into his belly until it came out his back, and I knew I had slain him. I then began to open…"