Narrated Jabir bin Abdullah Al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“Who will deal with Ka‘b bin Al-Ashraf? He has greatly troubled Allah and His Messenger.”Upon this, Muhammad bin Maslamah Al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said,“O Messenger of Allah! Will you permit me to kill him?”The Prophet said,“Yes, I would like that.”He said,“Then grant me permission to say something to him.”The Prophet gave him permission.

So Muhammad bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) went to Ka‘b bin Al-Ashraf and said to him,“This man (meaning the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him) keeps asking us for charity and has exhausted us, so I have come to you to borrow something.”Ka‘b said,“Just wait and see, by Allah! You will become completely weary.”Muhammad bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“Since we have now followed him, it is not appropriate to leave him until it becomes clear what his end will be. I have come to borrow a wasq or (the narrator said) two wasqs of grain from you.”(And ‘Amr bin Dinar narrated this hadith once but did not mention a wasq or two wasqs of grain. I asked him,“Is there mention of a wasq or two wasqs in the hadith?”He said,“I also think that a wasq or two wasqs are mentioned in the hadith.”)

Ka‘b bin Al-Ashraf said,“Yes, but leave something with me as a pledge.”He asked,“What do you want as a pledge?”He said,“Leave your women with me.”He replied,“You are the most handsome man among the Arabs. How can we leave our women with you as a pledge?”He said,“Then leave your children as a pledge.”He replied,“How can we leave our children as a pledge? Tomorrow they will be insulted for having been pledged for a wasq or two wasqs of grain. That would be a great disgrace. However, we can leave our ‘lamah’ with you as a pledge (meaning weapons).”Sufyan said that by ‘lamah’ he meant weapons.

Muhammad bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) promised to meet him again and came to him at night. With him was Abu Na‘ilah, who was the foster brother of Ka‘b bin Al-Ashraf. Then, coming near his fortress, they called out to him. He was about to come out when his wife said,“Where are you going at this hour (so late at night)?”He said,“It is Muhammad bin Maslamah and my brother Abu Na‘ilah.”(Except for ‘Amr, the other narrator said that) his wife said to him,“This voice sounds to me as if blood is dripping from it.”Ka‘b replied,“It is my brother Muhammad bin Maslamah and my foster brother Abu Na‘ilah. If a nobleman is called to spearplay even at night, he goes out.”

The narrator said that when Muhammad bin Maslamah entered, there were two other men with him. Sufyan was asked,“Did ‘Amr bin Dinar mention their names?”He replied,“He mentioned the names of some of them.”‘Amr narrated that when they came, there were two other men with them, and except for ‘Amr bin Dinar, they were instructed that when Ka‘b comes, I will take hold of his (head) hair and start smelling it. When you realize that I have fully seized his head, then be ready and kill him. ‘Amr narrated once that then I will smell his head.

Eventually, Ka‘b came out wrapped in a cloak, and his body was exuding fragrance. Muhammad bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“I have never smelled a better fragrance than today.”Ka‘b replied,“I have with me an Arab woman who is always perfumed and whose beauty has no equal.”Muhammad bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him,“Will you allow me to smell your head?”He said,“You may smell it.”Muhammad bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) smelled his head, and then his companions also smelled it. Then he said,“May I smell it again?”He allowed it again. Then, when Muhammad bin Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) had fully seized him, he signaled to his companions to be ready, and so they killed him and went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him of it.

Hazrat Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set out for the Battle of Khaybar. We performed the Fajr prayer there while it was still dark, then the Prophet (peace be upon him) mounted his ride and Abu Talha also mounted, and I was sitting behind Abu Talha. The Prophet (peace be upon him) directed his mount towards the streets of Khaybar. My knee would touch the thigh of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him). Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) removed his lower garment from his thigh, to the extent that I began to see the whiteness and shine of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) clear and white thighs. When he entered the settlement of Khaybar, he (peace be upon him) said,“Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest), Khaybar is destroyed. When we descend into the courtyard of a people, then the morning of those who have been warned becomes evil.”He said this three times. Hazrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Jews of Khaybar had just come out for their work when they cried out,“Muhammad (peace be upon him) has arrived.”Thus, we fought and conquered Khaybar.

Hazrat Salamah bin Akwa’ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that we set out with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) towards Khaybar. We were traveling at night when a man (Usayd bin Hudayr) said to ‘Amir,“Amir! Recite some of your poetry for us.”‘Amir was a poet. At this request, he got down from his mount and began to chant poetry. He said,“O Allah! If it were not for You, we would not have been guided, nor could we have given charity, nor performed prayer. So forgive us quickly; as long as we live, our lives are sacrificed in Your path. And if we encounter (the enemy), keep us steadfast, send tranquility upon us. When we are called (towards falsehood), we refuse. Today, they have come out against us in force.”

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked,“Who is reciting poetry?”The people replied,“‘Amir bin Akwa’.”The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,“May Allah have mercy on him.”The companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said,“O Messenger of Allah! You have made him deserving of martyrdom. If only you had let us benefit from him a little longer.”

Then we reached Khaybar and besieged the fortress. During this, we suffered great hardships and hunger, until Allah granted us victory. On the night the fortress was to be conquered, fires were burning in many places throughout the camp. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked,“What are these fires? For what purpose have they been lit everywhere?”The companions (may Allah be pleased with them) replied,“For cooking meat.”He asked,“What kind of meat is it?”The companions (may Allah be pleased with them) said,“The meat of domesticated donkeys.”The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,“Throw away all the meat and break the pots.”One companion (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“O Messenger of Allah! Why not just throw away the meat and wash the pots?”The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,“Do so.”

Then, during the day, when the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) lined up for battle, since ‘Amir’s (may Allah be pleased with him) sword was short, when he tried to strike a Jew’s leg (by bending down), the edge of his own sword wounded the upper part of his own knee, and he was martyred as a result. Salamah bin Akwa’ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that when the army was returning, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw me, took my hand, and asked,“What is the matter?”I replied,“May my parents be sacrificed for you! Some people think that all of ‘Amir’s (may Allah be pleased with him) deeds have been wasted (because he died by his own sword).”The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,“The person who says such things is lying. He will receive a double reward.”Then he joined his two fingers together and said,“He endured hardship and strove in the path of Allah. There is hardly any Arab who has set an example like his.”

Narrated by Al-Bara' bin 'Azib (may Allah be pleased with him): I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the occasion of the Battle of Ahzab (the Trench), carrying earth himself (which was being dug out from the trench). The whiteness of his stomach was hidden by the earth, and he was reciting these verses: "If there were no guidance, how would salvation be attained... How would we pray... How would we give zakat... Now send down tranquility upon us, O Exalted King... Make our feet firm, grant us steadfastness in battle... Without cause, these disbelievers attack us with oppression... When they try to mislead us, we do not listen to their words."

Hazrat Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to us while we were digging the trench and carrying the soil on our shoulders. At that time, the Prophet (peace be upon him) supplicated:“O Allah! There is no real life except the life of the Hereafter, so forgive the Ansar and the Muhajirin.”

Hazrat Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said (while digging the trench): "The real life is only the life of the Hereafter, so O Allah! Bestow Your grace upon the Ansar and the Muhajirin."

Hazrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that while the Ansar were digging the trench (at the occasion of the Battle of the Trench), they were saying: "We are those who have pledged allegiance to Muhammad (peace be upon him) for jihad forever, as long as there is life in our bodies." Upon this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: "O Allah! True life is only the life of the Hereafter, so honor the Ansar and the Muhajirun (Emigrants) (in the Hereafter)."

Hazrat Salamah bin Al-Akwa’ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that before the Fajr adhan, I went out (towards Ghabah outside Madinah). The milch camels of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to graze at Dhat al-Qard. He narrated that on the way, I met the slave of Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the camels of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had been seized. I asked,“Who seized them?”He replied,“The people of the tribe of Ghatafan.”He narrated that then I called out loudly three times,“Ya Sabahah!”He narrated that I made my voice reach both ends of Madinah, and after that, I ran forward quickly and finally caught up with them. At that time, they had dismounted to water the animals. I began shooting arrows at them—I was skilled in archery—and I kept reciting this verse:“I am the son of Al-Akwa’; today is the day of the destruction of the lowly!”I kept reciting this rajaz and eventually recovered the camels from them, and even thirty cloaks of theirs came into my possession. Hazrat Salamah narrated that after this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also arrived with the companions (may Allah be pleased with them). I said,“O Messenger of Allah! I kept shooting arrows at them and did not let them drink water, and they are still thirsty. Please send an army after them at once.”The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,“O son of Al-Akwa’! When you overpower someone, then be gentle.”Sayyidah Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated,“Then we returned, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made me ride behind him on his camel until we returned to Madinah.”

Hazrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that on the occasion of the Battle of Uhud, when the companions began to scatter from near the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Abu Talha (may Allah be pleased with him) was protecting the Prophet (peace be upon him) with his shield at that time. Hazrat Abu Talha was a great archer and used to draw the bowstring with great force. Thus, on that day, he broke two or three bows. At that time, if any Muslim passed by carrying a quiver, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would say, "Give his arrows to Abu Talha." The Prophet (peace be upon him) would rise up to observe the situation, so Abu Talha (may Allah be pleased with him) would say, "O Prophet of Allah! May my parents be sacrificed for you. Do not look up, lest any arrow strike you. Let my chest be a shield for your chest." I saw Aisha bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both) and Umm Sulaim (the wife of Abu Talha) lifting up their garments. (In helping the warriors) they were engaged with great speed. (Due to their absorption and devotion in this service, they were unaware even of their clothes, to the extent that) I could see the ornaments on their shins. With utmost haste, they would carry water skins on their backs, give water to the Muslims, return, fill them again, and give water to the Muslims. And on that day, the sword fell from Abu Talha's hand two or three times.

Abdullah bin Yazid Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) went out for seeking rain. Bara bin Azib and Zaid bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with them) were also with him. When he prayed for water, he stood on his feet. There was no pulpit, and in this manner he supplicated and then offered two rak‘ahs of prayer in which he recited aloud. There was neither adhan nor iqamah.