ASSASSINATION OF ABU RAFI‘ SALAM IBN ABU AL-HUQAIQ THE JEW, MAY ALLAH CURSE HIM
When he had dispensed with the affairs of both the Battle of Khandaq and that of Banu Quraizah, the Khazraj obtained the permission of Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to assassinate Abu Rafi‘ Sallam Ibn Abu Al-Huqaiq at Khaibar. He was part of the confederates that besieged Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Meanwhile, the Aws had undertaken the assassination of Ka‘b Ibn Al-Ashraf before the Battle of Uhud.
Al-Bukhari related that Al-Bara’ Ibn ‘Azib, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sent some men from the Ansar to (kill) Abu Rafi‘, the Jew, and appointed ‘Abdullah Ibn Ateek, may Allah be pleased with him, as their leader. Abu Rafi‘ used to slander Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and aid his enemies against him. He lived in his castle in the land of Hijaz. When those men approached (the castle) after the sun had set and the people had brought back their livestock to their homes, ‘Abdullah (Ibn Ateek) said to his companions, “Sit down at your places. I am going, and I will try to play a trick on the gatekeeper so that I may enter (the castle).”
So ‘Abdullah proceeded toward the castle, and when he approached the gate, he covered himself with his clothes, pretending to answer the call of nature. The people had gone in, and the gatekeeper (considered ‘Abdullah as one of the castle’s servants) addressed him saying, “O Allah’s Servant! Enter if you wish, for I want to close the gate.” ‘Abdullah continued, “So I went in (the castle) and hid myself. When the people got inside, the gatekeeper closed the gate and hung the keys on a fixed wooden peg. I got up and took the keys and opened the gate. Some people were staying late at night with Abu Rafi‘ for a pleasant night chat in his room.
“When his companions of nightly entertainment went away, I ascended to him, and whenever I opened a door, I closed it from inside. I said to myself, ‘Should these people discover my presence, they will not be able to catch me till I have killed him.’ So I reached him and found him sleeping in a dark house amidst his family, I could not recognize his location in the house. So I shouted, ‘O Abu Rafi‘!’ Abu Rafi‘ and he said, ‘Who is it?’ I proceeded towards the source of the voice and hit him with the sword, and because of my anxiety, I could not kill him. He cried loudly, and I came out of the house and waited for a while, and then went to him again and said, ‘What is this voice, O Abu Rafi‘?’ He said, ‘Woe to your mother! A man in my house has hit me with a sword! I again hit him severely but I did not kill him. Then I drove the point of the sword into his belly (and pressed it through) till it touched his back, and I realized that I had killed him.
“I then opened the doors one after the other till I reached the staircase, and thinking that I had reached the ground, I stepped out and fell down and got my leg broken in a moonlit night. I tied my leg with a turban and proceeded on till I sat at the gate, and said, ‘I will not go out tonight till I know that I have killed him.’ So, when (early in the morning) the cock crowed, the announcer of the casualty stood on the wall saying, ‘I announce the death of Abu Rafi‘, the merchant of Hijaz’. Thereupon I went to my companions and said, ‘Let us save ourselves, for Allah has killed Abu Rafi‘.’ So I (along with my companions proceeded and) went to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and related the whole story to him. He said: “Stretch out your (broken) leg”. I stretched it out and he rubbed it and it became as if I had never had any problem with it.”
By: Ibn Katheer
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