Abū Dujānah struck him down and took his armour. The defenders then shrank from further single combat, whereupon the Muslims raised the takbīr, pressed the assault on the fortress and entered it with Abū Dujānah at their head. Inside they discovered furnishings, household goods, sheep and provisions, while the fighting men fled, scrambling over the walls like gazelles. They made their way to the fortress of al-Nazzār in al-Shiq and entrenched themselves there with the utmost determination. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ advanced against them with his Companions; volleys were exchanged, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself loosed arrows with his blessed hand until their shafts struck his very garments. He then scooped up a handful of pebbles, cast them at their fortress, and it shook so violently that it sank into the ground, enabling the Muslims to seize the defenders as though taking them with their bare hands.
Al-Wāqidī (1) relates: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ next turned to the people of al-Katībah, al-Waṭīḥ and al-Sulālim—the two fortresses of the Banū Abī al-Ḥuqayq. They fortified themselves with great resolve, and every routed band that had fled from al-Naṭāḥ and al-Shiq joined them. They took refuge in al-Qamūṣ—a formidable stronghold within al-Katībah—as well as in al-Waṭīḥ and al-Sulālim, and kept out of sight upon their ramparts, to the point that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ considered setting up a mangonel against them.
When they realised that destruction was inevitable—for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had besieged them for fourteen days— Ibn Abī al-Ḥuqayq came down and sought terms: their lives would be spared, they would be allowed to depart, and they would relinquish to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ all their land, property, gold, silver, riding beasts, weapons and goods, save only what a man could carry on his body—namely his clothing.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared: “Allah’s protection and the protection of His Messenger are void for you if you conceal anything.” They accepted these terms.
[Ibn Kathīr comments:] Thus, when they did conceal, lie about and hide that leather bag containing a large amount of wealth, it became clear that they respected no covenant; Ibn Abī al-Ḥuqayq and a number of his household were therefore executed for breaking their treaties.
Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Bayhaqī (2) reports: Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Muqriʾ al-Isfarāyīnī narrated to us there (3); al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq related to us; Yūsuf ibn Yaʿqūb related to us; ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Ghiyāth related to us; Ḥammād ibn Salamah related to us; ʿUbayd-Allāh ibn ʿUmar—so Abū Salamah believes—from Nāfiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ fought the people of Khaybar until he forced them into their citadel and gained control of the land, the crops and the date-palms. They then made peace on condition that they would evacuate the area, keeping only what their mounts could carry, while the gold and silver would belong to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. They were to depart and not conceal or withhold anything; should they do so, they would forfeit all protection and covenant.
Yet they hid a leather bag (4) containing money and jewellery belonging to Ḥuyayy ibn Akhṭab, which he had brought with him to Khaybar when the Banū al-Naḍīr were expelled. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked Ḥuyayy’s uncle, “What became of the leather bag of Ḥuyayy that he brought from the Naḍīr?” He replied, “Expenditures and warfare have consumed it.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “The exile was recent, and the property was far more than that.”