He had with him three hundred men from among the Muslims, and his guide was Ḥusayl ibn Nuwairah—the same man who guided the Prophet ﷺ on the march to Khaybar. Al-Wāqidī (1) reports this.

The Expedition of Abū Hadrad to al-Ghabah

Yūnus, transmitting from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq (2), relates: The story of Abū Hadrad and his raid to al-Ghabah was narrated to me by Jaʿfar ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aslam, from Abū Hadrad, who said:

“I married a woman of my clan and gave her a dowry of two hundred dirhams. I went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ seeking assistance for my marriage. He asked, ‘How much did you give as a dowry?’ I replied, ‘Two hundred dirhams.’ He said, ‘Glory be to Allah! By Allah, even if you could gather it from every valley, I still have nothing with which to help you.’

“After some days a man of Jusham ibn Muʿāwiyah—called Rafāʿah ibn Qays, or Qays ibn Rafāʿah—arrived with a large contingent of Jusham and encamped with his people at al-Ghabah. He intended to rally the tribe of Qays to fight the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he held a great name and high standing among Jusham.

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ summoned me and two other Muslims and said, ‘Go to that man and bring me information about him.’ He provided us with a scrawny she-camel. One of us mounted her, but, by Allah, she was too weak to stand until the men pushed her up from behind with their hands; even then she scarcely managed to rise. He said, ‘Make your journey on this.’

“We set out with our weapons—bows and swords—and when we reached the outskirts of the encampment at sunset, I concealed myself in one spot and told my two companions to hide in another part of the settlement. I said, ‘When you hear me proclaim the takbīr and charge the camp, proclaim it and charge with me.’

“We waited, hoping for an opening, until the night grew deep and the darkness of late evening had passed. They had a shepherd who had taken the flock out; when he was slow to return they feared for him. Their leader, Rafāʿah ibn Qays, rose, slung his sword around his neck and said, ‘By Allah, I will find out what has become of our shepherd; something bad has surely befallen him.’ Some of his men said, ‘By Allah, do not go; we will go instead.’ He replied, ‘No one will go but me.’ They said, ‘Then we will go with you.’ He retorted, ‘By Allah, not one of you may follow me.’

“He came out and passed right by me. When he was within range I shot him with an arrow that lodged in his heart; by Allah, he did not utter a word. I leapt upon him and cut off his head, then charged toward the camp shouting ‘Allāhu akbar,’ and my two companions charged and shouted as well. By Allah, those who were there did nothing but flee, taking with them whatever women, children, and light belongings they could carry. We drove off a large number of camels and many sheep and brought them to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I carried Rafāʿah’s head with me. From that booty he allotted me thirteen camels toward my dowry, and thus I was able to bring my wife home.”