Sahih al-Bukhari 3870 (Book 64, Hadith 86)
Narrated Al-Bara bin Azib: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) sent some men from the Ansar to ((kill) Abu Rafi`, the Jew, and appointed `Abdullah
bin Atik as their leader. Abu Rafi` used to hurt Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and help 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 (bin Atik) said to his
companions, “Sit down at your places. I am going, and I will try to play a trick on the gate-keeper so
that I may enter (the castle).”
So `Abdullah proceeded towards 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 gate-keeper
(considered `Abdullah as one of the castle’s servants) addressing him saying, “O Allah’s Servant!
Enter if you wish, for I want to close the gate.” `Abdullah added in his story, “So I went in (the castle)
and hid myself. When the people got inside, the gate-keeper 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 a room of his. 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` said, ‘Who is it?’ I proceeded towards the
source of the voice and hit him with the sword, and because of my perplexity, 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 have killed him.
I then opened the doors one by one 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 (ﷺ) and described the whole story to him. “He said,
‘Stretch out your (broken) leg. I stretched it out and he rubbed it and it became All right as if I had
never had any ailment whatsoever.”
bin Atik as their leader. Abu Rafi` used to hurt Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and help 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 (bin Atik) said to his
companions, “Sit down at your places. I am going, and I will try to play a trick on the gate-keeper so
that I may enter (the castle).”
So `Abdullah proceeded towards 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 gate-keeper
(considered `Abdullah as one of the castle’s servants) addressing him saying, “O Allah’s Servant!
Enter if you wish, for I want to close the gate.” `Abdullah added in his story, “So I went in (the castle)
and hid myself. When the people got inside, the gate-keeper 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 a room of his. 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` said, ‘Who is it?’ I proceeded towards the
source of the voice and hit him with the sword, and because of my perplexity, 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 have killed him.
I then opened the doors one by one 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 (ﷺ) and described the whole story to him. “He said,
‘Stretch out your (broken) leg. I stretched it out and he rubbed it and it became All right as if I had
never had any ailment whatsoever.”
حَدَّثَنَا يُوسُفُ بْنُ مُوسَى، حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُوسَى، عَنْ إِسْرَائِيلَ، عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ، عَنِ الْبَرَاءِ، قَالَ بَعَثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِلَى أَبِي رَافِعٍ الْيَهُودِيِّ رِجَالاً مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ، فَأَمَّرَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عَتِيكٍ، وَكَانَ أَبُو رَافِعٍ يُؤْذِي رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَيُعِينُ عَلَيْهِ، وَكَانَ فِي حِصْنٍ لَهُ بِأَرْضِ الْحِجَازِ، فَلَمَّا دَنَوْا مِنْهُ، وَقَدْ غَرَبَتِ الشَّمْسُ، وَرَاحَ النَّاسُ بِسَرْحِهِمْ فَقَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ لأَصْحَابِهِ اجْلِسُوا مَكَانَكُمْ، فَإِنِّي مُنْطَلِقٌ، وَمُتَلَطِّفٌ لِلْبَوَّابِ، لَعَلِّي أَنْ أَدْخُلَ. فَأَقْبَلَ حَتَّى دَنَا مِنَ الْبَابِ ثُمَّ تَقَنَّعَ بِثَوْبِهِ كَأَنَّهُ يَقْضِي حَاجَةً، وَقَدْ دَخَلَ النَّاسُ، فَهَتَفَ بِهِ الْبَوَّابُ يَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتَ تُرِيدُ أَنْ تَدْخُلَ فَادْخُلْ، فَإِنِّي أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُغْلِقَ الْبَابَ. فَدَخَلْتُ فَكَمَنْتُ، فَلَمَّا دَخَلَ النَّاسُ أَغْلَقَ الْبَابَ، ثُمَّ عَلَّقَ الأَغَالِيقَ عَلَى وَتَدٍ قَالَ فَقُمْتُ إِلَى الأَقَالِيدِ، فَأَخَذْتُهَا فَفَتَحْتُ الْبَابَ، وَكَانَ أَبُو رَافِعٍ يُسْمَرُ عِنْدَهُ، وَكَانَ فِي عَلاَلِيَّ لَهُ، فَلَمَّا ذَهَبَ عَنْهُ أَهْلُ سَمَرِهِ صَعِدْتُ إِلَيْهِ، فَجَعَلْتُ كُلَّمَا فَتَحْتُ بَابًا أَغْلَقْتُ عَلَىَّ مِنْ دَاخِلٍ، قُلْتُ إِنِ الْقَوْمُ نَذِرُوا بِي لَمْ يَخْلُصُوا إِلَىَّ حَتَّى أَقْتُلَهُ. فَانْتَهَيْتُ إِلَيْهِ، فَإِذَا هُوَ فِي بَيْتٍ مُظْلِمٍ وَسْطَ عِيَالِهِ، لاَ أَدْرِي أَيْنَ هُوَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ فَقُلْتُ يَا أَبَا رَافِعٍ. قَالَ مَنْ هَذَا فَأَهْوَيْتُ نَحْوَ الصَّوْتِ، فَأَضْرِبُهُ ضَرْبَةً بِالسَّيْفِ، وَأَنَا دَهِشٌ فَمَا أَغْنَيْتُ شَيْئًا، وَصَاحَ فَخَرَجْتُ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ، فَأَمْكُثُ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ ثُمَّ دَخَلْتُ إِلَيْهِ فَقُلْتُ مَا هَذَا الصَّوْتُ يَا أَبَا رَافِعٍ. فَقَالَ لأُمِّكَ الْوَيْلُ، إِنَّ رَجُلاً فِي الْبَيْتِ ضَرَبَنِي قَبْلُ بِالسَّيْفِ، قَالَ فَأَضْرِبُهُ ضَرْبَةً أَثْخَنَتْهُ وَلَمْ أَقْتُلْهُ، ثُمَّ وَضَعْتُ ظُبَةَ السَّيْفِ فِي بَطْنِهِ حَتَّى أَخَذَ فِي ظَهْرِهِ، فَعَرَفْتُ أَنِّي قَتَلْتُهُ، فَجَعَلْتُ أَفْتَحُ الأَبْوَابَ بَابًا بَابًا حَتَّى انْتَهَيْتُ إِلَى دَرَجَةٍ لَهُ، فَوَضَعْتُ رِجْلِي وَأَنَا أُرَى أَنِّي قَدِ انْتَهَيْتُ إِلَى الأَرْضِ فَوَقَعْتُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ مُقْمِرَةٍ، فَانْكَسَرَتْ سَاقِي، فَعَصَبْتُهَا بِعِمَامَةٍ، ثُمَّ انْطَلَقْتُ حَتَّى جَلَسْتُ عَلَى الْبَابِ فَقُلْتُ لاَ أَخْرُجُ اللَّيْلَةَ حَتَّى أَعْلَمَ أَقَتَلْتُهُ فَلَمَّا صَاحَ الدِّيكُ قَامَ النَّاعِي عَلَى السُّورِ فَقَالَ أَنْعَى أَبَا رَافِعٍ تَاجِرَ أَهْلِ الْحِجَازِ. فَانْطَلَقْتُ إِلَى أَصْحَابِي فَقُلْتُ النَّجَاءَ، فَقَدْ قَتَلَ اللَّهُ أَبَا رَافِعٍ. فَانْتَهَيْتُ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَحَدَّثْتُهُ فَقَالَ
“ ابْسُطْ رِجْلَكَ ”. فَبَسَطْتُ رِجْلِي، فَمَسَحَهَا، فَكَأَنَّهَا لَمْ أَشْتَكِهَا قَطُّ.
“ ابْسُطْ رِجْلَكَ ”. فَبَسَطْتُ رِجْلِي، فَمَسَحَهَا، فَكَأَنَّهَا لَمْ أَشْتَكِهَا قَطُّ.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3870 (Book 64, Hadith 86)
The above hadith is from the Sahih al-Buhari collection of hadiths. Among the six canonical hadith collections of Sunni Islam, known as the Kutub al-Sittah, Sahih al-Bukhari is frequently accorded the highest rank. This esteemed status is a testament to the rigorous scholarly methods employed by its compiler, Muḥammad al-Bukhārī, who finished his work around 847. The collection is vast, containing an estimated 7,563 individual reports detailing the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad. These are carefully categorized into 97 chapters, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding Islamic doctrine, law, and spiritual practice.
Use the tags to drill down deeper and find connections and new streams of information to help you fill gaps in knowledge and better connect the dots. Eman and Life is a growing database of knowledge with the mission to help further us in our pursuit of the best lifestyle through the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah.
For more Hadith in Book 64: Military Expeditions led by the Prophet (pbuh) (Al-Maghaazi)