Muʾammil ibn Ismāʿīl narrated to us; Ḥammād narrated to us; Thābit narrated to us from Anas:

A man came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I am a man with dark skin, an ugly face, an unpleasant odor, and I possess no wealth. If I fight these people until I am killed, will I enter Paradise?”

He replied, “Yes.” The man advanced, fought, and was killed. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by his body and said, “Allah has beautified your face, sweetened your scent, and increased your wealth.” He added, “I have just seen his two wives from among the wide-eyed maidens of Paradise pulling at his cloak, pressing themselves between his skin and the cloak.”

Al-Bayhaqī (1) also relates—through Ibn Jurayj, who said: ʿIkrimah ibn Khālid informed me, from Ibn Abī ʿAmmār, from Shaddād ibn al-Hād—that a Bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, believed in him, and followed him. He said, “May I emigrate with you?” The Prophet ﷺ entrusted him to some of his Companions.

When the campaign of Khaybar took place, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gained spoils and distributed them, assigning a share to that Bedouin. The Companions who were tending the mounts brought him his portion. He asked, “What is this?” They said, “A share the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has set aside for you.” He replied, “I did not follow you for this. I followed you so that I might be struck here”—and he pointed to his throat—“by an arrow, die, and enter Paradise.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “If you are truthful with Allah, Allah will be truthful with you.”

They then engaged the enemy. The man was carried to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with an arrow lodged exactly where he had pointed. The Prophet ﷺ asked, “Is this the same man?” They said, “Yes.” He said, “He was truthful with Allah, so Allah was truthful with him.” The Prophet ﷺ shrouded him in his own cloak, led the funeral prayer over him, and part of what was heard from his supplication was: “O Allah, this is Your servant who went forth as a migrant in Your cause, was killed a martyr, and I bear witness to that.”

Al-Nasāʾī (2) transmits the same report through Suwayd ibn Naṣr, from ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Mubārak, from Ibn Jurayj, with similar wording.

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Ibn Isḥāq (3) states: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ advanced upon the estates, taking them property by property and fortress by fortress. The first stronghold to fall was the fortress of Nāʿim, where Maḥmūd ibn Maslamah was killed when a mill-stone was hurled down upon him. Next came al-Qamūṣ, the fortress of Abū al-Ḥuqayq. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ captured a number of captives, among them Ṣafiyyah bint Ḥuyayy ibn Akhṭab—who had been married to Kinānah ibn al-Rabīʿ ibn Abī al-Ḥuqayq—and two of her cousins. The Prophet ﷺ selected Ṣafiyyah for himself. Dihyah ibn Khalīfah had previously asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for Ṣafiyyah; when the Prophet chose her for himself, he granted Dihyah her two cousins instead.

Ibn Isḥāq adds: The captives of Khaybar became widespread among the Muslims, and the people began to eat the meat of domesticated donkeys. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade them to eat it.