The Night at the Fortress of Abū Rāfiʿ

ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk, one of al-Khazraj, was the man appointed to lead this special operations group, and they set out to go deep into the land of Khaybar. This was before the Battle of Khaybar, and Khaybar was the stronghold of the Jews. Nevertheless, the courage of the Companions led them deep into the land of Khaybar. Abū Rāfiʿ lived in a fortress of his own. He was not living in a normal house; he was living in a palace, and it was a fortress. So they marched out and arrived at the gates of the fortress of Abū Rāfiʿ. Now, how would they get in?

ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk played a trick on the Jews. There are two narrations of this in al-Bukhārī (4038, 4039). One narration says that the people of the fortress had lost a donkey, so they opened the gates, and some men came out to fetch this donkey. ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk stood next to the wall, and then he sat down and covered himself, as if he were answering the call of nature; he pretended this in front of them. So what they thought was that he had come out of the fortress, because in those days they did not have their restrooms inside their dwellings; they would go outside, far away from their houses, to answer the call of nature. So they thought he had come out of the fortress to answer the call of nature. When they went in they said: servant of Allah, if you want to come in, then now is the time. So he walked in normally. The trick he played on them worked.

So now he was inside the fortress, while all of his companions were outside; he told them to wait outside for him. He hid in a donkey stall and watched the gatekeeper, and he was able to see where he hid the keys. In one narration it says they were hung on a wooden peg, and in another narration it says they were in a niche in the wall. Anyway, ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk said that the men went on to have dinner with Abū Rāfiʿ. So he remained in hiding until all of these men had left and the lights were put out. It was a very dark night. ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk went and fetched the keys, and, subḥān Allāh, all of the keys were together — all of the keys of the fortress: the gate of the fortress and the keys of the palace of Abū Rāfiʿ, all of them were there.

So now he had the keys with him. He would open the doors, and then he would lock them from inside, so that if anyone came in to help Abū Rāfiʿ, he would find the gates closed and the keys not there. So he would open every door and lock it. Now, this is a double-edged sword: yes, it would prevent people from coming in to help him, but it would also hinder the escape of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk. But anyway, this is what he did, until he made it into the inner chambers of Abū Rāfiʿ.

Now he is with Abū Rāfiʿ in the same room, and Abū Rāfiʿ is asleep. The lights are out. How is he going to find his location? He can see nothing. What did ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk do? He just called out; he said, "Abū Rāfiʿ!" Now, it takes a lot of courage to do such a thing; it is a terrifying thing to call out for someone in such a situation. But on the other hand, it is more terrifying for Abū Rāfiʿ to hear this man calling him inside his room, inside his own bedroom. So ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk is calling Abū Rāfiʿ, and Abū Rāfiʿ woke up and said, "Who is this?" ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk said: so I struck with my sword at the source of the voice. He could not see anything; he just called him, and the reason he did so was that he wanted the man to speak, so that he could recognise the source of the voice and strike at it. So he struck with his sword at the source of the voice. He said: my blow was futile. Yes, he did hit him, but it was not an accurate enough strike — and obviously there is confusion in such a circumstance — so it did not kill him.

Abū Rāfiʿ yelled out for help; he screamed. What did ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk do? Mā shāʾ Allāh, ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk (may Allah be pleased with him) had a very good response and presence of mind on the spot, thinking on his feet. When Abū Rāfiʿ called out for help, ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk retreated, and then he came back, changing his voice, and said: Abū Rāfiʿ, what do you need? Abū Rāfiʿ said: woe unto your mother, there is a man right here, and he struck me with his sword. So ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk struck him again, again at the source of the voice. Abū Rāfiʿ called out for help again. ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk retreated another time, came in changing his voice, and said: Abū Rāfiʿ, what do you need? He said: woe unto your mother, there is a man in here trying to kill me.

ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk said: this time I came to him, and he was lying on his back. He had already been struck with the sword two times; now he was lying on his back, still alive. ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk said: this time I thrust my sword into his stomach until I found the bone, and then I cracked it. What bone is meant? He struck the spinal cord. So that was it. He said: I heard the bone crack — meaning that the man was dead; if the spine is broken, it is certain death. So now, ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk said, I retreated.

Now, the inner chambers, this bedroom of Abū Rāfiʿ, were on the upper level, and there was a wooden ladder leading up to them. ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk said that when he was coming down this ladder, or these stairs, in his confusion he thought he had reached the last step of the ladder when there was one more left. So he fell down and broke his leg. He said: and then I made it out to my companions and told them that I had killed Abū Rāfiʿ. But ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk, subḥān Allāh, still wanted to make definitely sure that he was dead. So he told his companions to go back and deliver the good news to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): I am going to stay behind and wait until I hear the announcement of his death. Keep in mind that he had broken his leg. So he stayed behind, and he heard the news of the death of Abū Rāfiʿ.

In the narration of Ibn Isḥāq he said: I heard his wife come to Abū Rāfiʿ and say, "He is dead, by the God of the Jews." And what did ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAtīk say? Pay attention to his words. He said: I swear, I never heard words sweeter to my ears than those. This statement will be returned to.

Why was Abū Rāfiʿ killed? Ibn Ḥajar says: Abū Rāfiʿ used to harm the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and assist against him. And Ibn ʿĀʾidh said that he was one of those who supported Ghaṭafān and other polytheist Arabs with money to fight the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). So his support was financial support, and also by word.