Muḥammad ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ, Sufyān, and ʿAmr ibn Rāfiʿ all narrated from Jarīr, who narrated from Muslim—Muslim being Ibn Kaysān al-Malāʾī, the one-eyed Kufan—from Anas, conveying the same report (1).

Al-Tirmidhī remarked: “We know it only through his narration, and he is considered weak.”

I say: What is firmly established in the Ṣaḥīḥ of al-Bukhārī (2) on the authority of Anas is that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ once ran through one of Khaybar’s alleyways until his lower wrap slipped from his thigh. This indicates that on that occasion he was riding a horse, not a donkey. If the foregoing report is sound, it is likely to mean that he rode a donkey on another day while besieging the fortress—Allah knows best.

Al-Bukhārī further said (3): Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al-Khuzāʿī related to us; Ziyād ibn al-Rabīʿ related to us; from Abū ʿImrān al-Jawnī, who said:

“Anas looked at the people on a Friday and saw them wearing taylasans (4). He said, ‘They look right now like the Jews of Khaybar.’”

Al-Bukhārī also said (5): ʿAbdullāh ibn Maslamah related to us; Ḥātim related to us; from Yazīd ibn Abī ʿUbayd; from Salamah ibn al-Akwaʿ, who said:

“ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib had stayed behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ during the campaign of Khaybar because he was suffering from an eye infection. He said, ‘Shall I remain behind the Prophet ﷺ?’ Then he caught up with him. When we spent the night preceding the conquest of Khaybar, the Prophet ﷺ announced:

‘Tomorrow I shall surely give the banner—or tomorrow a man whom Allah and His Messenger love, and who loves Allah and His Messenger, will take the banner—through whom Allah will grant victory.’

We all hoped to receive it. Someone said, ‘It is ʿAlī.’ So he gave it to him, and Allah granted victory at his hands.”

Al-Bukhārī has transmitted this ḥadīth, and so has Muslim (6) through the route of Qutaybah from Ḥātim.

Al-Bukhārī then said (7): Qutaybah related to us; Yaʿqūb ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us; from Abū Ḥāzim, who said:

Sahl ibn Saʿd informed me that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said on the day of Khaybar:

“Tomorrow I will give this banner to a man through whose hands Allah will grant victory, a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and whom Allah and His Messenger love.”

The people spent the night discussing which of them would receive it. When morning came they went to the Prophet ﷺ, each one hoping to be given the banner. He said:

“Where is ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib?”

They replied, “O Messenger of Allah, he is suffering from his eyes.” He said, “Send for him.” He was brought, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ spat in his eyes and prayed for him; the pain left him as though he had never been afflicted. He then handed the banner to him.

ʿAlī said, “O Messenger of Allah, shall I fight them until they become like us?” He replied:

“Advance calmly until you reach their courtyard, then invite them to Islam and inform them of what Allah has made incumbent upon them. For, by Allah, if Allah guides a single man through you, it is better for you than possessing red camels.”