Al-Bukhārī relates (1): Abū al-Yamān narrated to us, Shuʿayb narrated to us, from al-Zuhrī, who said: Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib informed me that Abū Hurayrah said:
“We were present at Khaybar when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ pointed to a man who claimed to be a Muslim and said, ‘This fellow is one of the people of the Fire.’
“When the fighting began, the man threw himself into the thick of battle and fought with unmatched fury, receiving wound after wound—so much so that some of the people began to doubt the Prophet’s words. Feeling the agony of his injuries, the man reached into his quiver, drew out a handful of arrows, and slit his own throat. Some Muslims hurried to the Prophet ﷺ and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, Allah has confirmed the truth of your statement—so-and-so has taken his own life.’ He replied, ‘Rise, so-and-so, and announce that none shall enter Paradise except a believer, and that Allah may bolster His religion even through a profligate man.’

Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah (2) likewise reports the story of the black slave to whom Allah granted faith and martyrdom within a single hour; it is also transmitted by Ibn Luhayʿah, from Abū al-Aswad, from ʿUrwah, who said:
“A black Abyssinian slave from Khaybar was tending his master’s sheep. When he saw the Khaybarites taking up arms he asked, ‘What are you about?’ They replied, ‘We are going to fight this man who claims to be a prophet.’ Mention of the Prophet ﷺ struck a chord in his heart, so he drove his flock until he reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and asked, ‘To what do you call people?’
“‘I call you to Islam,’ he answered, ‘to testify that there is no deity but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah, and to worship Allah alone.’
“The slave said, ‘What will be mine if I testify to that and believe in Allah?’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, ‘Paradise, if you die holding fast to it.’
“He accepted Islam and then said, ‘O Prophet of Allah, these sheep are a trust in my care.’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ told him, ‘Drive them out of our camp and pelt them with pebbles; Allah will restore your trust for you.’ He did so, and the flock returned to its owner, who understood that his servant had embraced Islam.
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then addressed the people, recounting how he entrusted the banner to ʿAlī, how ʿAlī advanced toward the Jews’ fortress and slew Marḥab—and how that same black slave fought alongside ʿAlī and was killed. The Muslims carried the slave’s body back to camp and placed him in a pavilion. They say that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ looked in on him and then turned to his Companions and said, ‘Allah has honoured this man and guided him to the very best. He embraced Islam with true conviction, and I beheld two of the wide-eyed maidens of Paradise at his head.’

Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Bayhaqī (3) also reports—through Ibn Wahb, from Ḥaywah ibn Sharīḥ, from Ibn al-Hād, from Shuraḥbīl ibn Saʿd, from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allah—who said: “We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ during the campaign of Khaybar. A detachment went out and captured a man who was herding sheep, and a story much like that of the black slave ensued. He was killed as a martyr, though he had never prostrated to Allah even once.”

Then al-Bayhaqī adds (4): Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Maḥmish the jurist (5) informed us, Abū Bakr al-Qaṭṭān informed us, Abū al-Azhar informed us