Imam Aḥmad (1) related: ʽAffān reported to us; Wahīb reported to us; Khuthaym—meaning Ibn ʿIrāk—reported to us from his father that Abū Hurayrah arrived in Madinah with a party of his people while the Prophet ﷺ was at Khaybar, and Sibāʿ ibn ʿUrfuṭah, the man from Ghatafān, had been left in charge of the city.

He (the narrator) said: I reached him while he was leading the dawn prayer. In the first rakʿah he was reciting, “Kāf Hā Yā ʿAyn Ṣād” (Maryam 19:1), and in the second, “Woe to those who give short measure” (al-Muṭaffifīn 83:1).

I said to myself, “Woe to so-and-so: when he takes a measure he insists on full weight, but when he gives a measure he cheats and gives less.”

When the prayer was finished he supplied us with some provisions, and we set off for Khaybar—by which time the Prophet ﷺ had already conquered it. He (Sibāʿ) spoke to the Muslims on our behalf, and they allotted us a share of the spoils along with them.

Al-Bayhaqī (2) transmitted the same report, through Sulaymān ibn Ḥarb, from Wahīb, from Khuthaym ibn ʿIrāk, from his father, from a number of the Banū Ghifār, who said: “Abū Hurayrah came to Madinah …” and so on.

Ibn Isḥāq (3) said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ left Madinah for Khaybar he took the route through ʿIṣr, where a mosque was built for him; then he proceeded to al-Ṣahbāʾ. From there he advanced with his army until he encamped at a pass called al-Rajīʿ, halting between Khaybar and Ghatafān so as to prevent Ghatafān from reinforcing the people of Khaybar, for they had been siding with the enemy against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I have been informed that when Ghatafān heard of this they mustered and set out to aid the Jews, but when they had travelled only a short distance they heard a commotion behind them among their families and possessions, and imagined that the Muslims had attacked from the rear. They therefore turned back, remained with their property and households, and left the Messenger of Allah ﷺ free to deal with Khaybar.

Al-Bukhārī (4) recorded: ʽAbd Allāh ibn Maslamah narrated to us, from Mālik, from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, from Bushayr, that Suwayd ibn al-Nuʿmān informed him that he accompanied the Messenger of Allah ﷺ during the Khaybar campaign. When they reached al-Ṣahbāʾ—one of the closest points to Khaybar—the Prophet prayed ʿAṣr, then called for the food bags. Nothing was brought except sawiq (parched barley). He ordered it to be mixed with water; he ate and we ate. He then rose for Maghrib, rinsed his mouth, and prayed without performing a fresh ablution.

Al-Bukhārī (5) likewise recorded: ʽAbd Allāh ibn Maslamah narrated to us; Ḥātim ibn Ismāʿīl narrated to us; from Yazīd ibn Abī ʿUbayd; from Salamah ibn al-Akwaʿ, who said: We went out with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to Khaybar, travelling by night. A man from the party said to ʽĀmir, “ʽĀmir, will you not entertain us with some of your verses?”—for ʽĀmir was a poet. He dismounted and began chanting for the people, saying:

O Lord, were it not for You we would not have been guided,
Nor given charity nor offered prayer.
So grant forgiveness for all we have done for Your sake,
And make firm our feet whenever we meet the foe.