THE STORY OF THE POISONED LAMB
Al-Bukhari related on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: When Khaibar was conquered, a (cooked) sheep containing poison, was given as a present to Allah’s Messenger.”
Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, also narrated: When Khaibar was conquered, a roasted poisoned sheep was presented to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as a gift (by the Jews). The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, ordered:
“Let all the Jews who have been here, be assembled before me.” The Jews were collected and the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said (to them): “I am going to ask you a question. Will you tell the truth?’’ They said, “Yes.’ The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked: “Who is your father?” They replied, “So-and-so.” He said: “You have told a lie; your father is so-and-so.” They said, “You are right.” He said: “Will you now tell me the truth, if I ask you about something?” They replied, “Yes, O Abul-Qasim; and if we should tell a lie, you can realize our lie as you have done regarding our father.” On that he asked: “Who are the people of the (Hell) Fire?” They said, “We shall remain in the (Hell) Fire for a short period, and after that you will replace us.” The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “May you be cursed and humiliated in it! By Allah, we shall never replace you in it.’’ Then he asked: “Will you now tell me the truth if I ask you a question?” They said, “Yes, O Abul-Qasim.” He asked: “Have you poisoned this sheep?” They said, “Yes.” He asked: “What made you do so?” They said, “We wanted to know if you were a liar in which case we would get rid of you, and if you are a prophet then the poison would not harm you.”
Ibn Ishaq said: When Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, finished with Khaibar, he departed for Wadi Al-Qura and laid siege on its inhabitants for several nights. Thereafter, he returned homeward to Madinah.
Then he mentioned the incident of the stray arrow which killed Mid‘am. The people said, “Congratulations to him for the martyrdom.” Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “No, by Him in Whose Hand my soul is, the sheet (of cloth) which he had taken (illegally) on the Day of Khaibar from the booty before the distribution of the booty, has become a flame of Fire burning him.”
Muhammad Ibn Ishaq also mentioned in his biography that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, consummated his marriage with Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, at Khaibar or while on the way. The person who embellished, combed her hair and beautified her for Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was Umm Sulaym Bint Milhan, Anas Ibn Malik’s mother. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed the night with her in his tent and Abu Ayoob, may Allah be pleased with him, stood guard with his sword patrolling the tent throughout the night. When Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, noticed his presence he asked: “What is the matter with you O Abu Ayoob?” He responded: “I was afraid of your safety from this woman. You had killed her father and husband coupled with the fact that she had newly accepted Islam so I nursed fear of her concerning your safety.” They claimed that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, supplicated: “O Allah, protect Abu Ayub as he protected me through the night.”
Then he said: Az-Zuhri relate on the authority of Sa‘eed Ibn Musayyab mentioning their oversleeping beyond the time of Salat us-Subh on their way back from Khaibar and that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was the first to wake up and said: “O Bilal, what did you do to us?” He responded, “O Messenger of Allah, the One who took your soul (in sleep) also took mine.” And the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “You have spoken the truth.” The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, steered his camel a short while and then alighted, performed ablution and offered his prayer as he used to offer it before. This is how Malik has related on the authority of Az-Zuhri from Sa‘eed in mursal form.
Abu Dawood has related on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that while Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was returning from the Battle of Khaibar, he traveled through the night till sleep overtook us and he said to Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him: “Keep the vigil for us, Bilal.” He (the narrator) added: sleep overtook Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, while he was leaning against his riding animal. Neither did the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, nor Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, nor anyone else among his companions wake up till the sun shone on them. Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was the first to awake and, being startled, he called to Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: “O Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be offered as ransom for you, the same thing that overpowered me which overpowered you.” He (the Messenger of Allah) then said: “Lead the beasts on.” So they led their camels to some distance. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, then performed ablution and gave orders to Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, who pronounced the Iqamah and then led them in the morning prayer. When he finished the prayer he said: “When anyone forgets the prayer, he should observe it when he remembers it, for Allah has said: “and perform As-Salat (Iqamat as-Salat) for My Remembrance.’” (Surah Ta Ha 20:14) Yoonus said: Ibn Shihab used to recite it in a similar manner.
On the authority of Ibn Mas’ood, may Allah be pleased with him, (who said): This occurred on their return from Al-Hudaibiyyah and in his own version: that it was Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, who was guarding them. And in yet another narration from him, he was the one who was guarding them.”
Al-Hafiz Al-Baihaqi said: It is possible that this occurred twice. In the Hadith of ‘Imran Ibn Husain and Abu Qatadah, their sleep was beyond the time of Salat. There is the Hadith of Al-Meeda’ah concerning that and it is possible that this is one of those two times or the third time. Al-Waqidi said in the Hadith of Abu Qatadah, may Allah be pleased with him, that this occurred on their return journey from the Battle of Tabook. And Allah (SWT) knows best.
Then Al-Baihaqi cited a Hadith related by the author of Sahih from the story of ‘Awf, the bedouin on the authority of Abu Raja’ from ‘Imran Ibn Husain concerning the incident of his sleeping beyond the time of Salat and that of the woman with the two buckets and how he took the two buckets of water with which he watered the entire army and the water did not reduce from its original quantity even slightest. Then he also mentioned the incident related by Muslim from the Hadith of Thabit AlBunani on the authority of Abdullah bin Rabah from Abu Qatadah and it is a lengthy hadeeth, in which they slept beyond the time of Salat and the increment in water quantity from the water basin.”
Al-Bukhari related on the authority of Abu Moosa Al-Ash‘ari, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: When Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, fought the Battle of Khaibar, or when he went toward it, (whenever) the people passed over a high place overlooking a valley, they raised their voices saying, “Allahu-Akbar! Allahu-Akbar! None has the right to be worshipped except Allah.” On that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said (to them): “Lower your voices, for you are not calling a deaf or an absent one, but you are calling a Hearer Who is near and is with you.” I was behind the riding animal of Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and he heard me saying, “La ilaha ill-Allah wala hawla wala quwwata illa billah” (There is neither might, nor power but with Allah). On that he said to me: “O Abdullah Ibn Qais!” I said, “Labbaik, O Allah’s Messenger!” He said: “Shall I tell you a sentence which is one of the treasures of Paradise?” I said, “Yes, O Allah’s Messenger! Let my father and mother be sacrificed for your sake.” He said: “It is: ‘La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah.’” (There is neither might nor power but with Allah).”
By: Ibn Katheer
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