A Cloak From the Spoils, the Donkeys, and a Bribe Refused

Another incident that occurred: there was a servant of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) who was struck by an arrow and died. So the Companions said: congratulations to him on dying as a martyr. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: no, by Him in whose hand is my soul, the cloak he took on the day of Khaybar from the ghanīmah is blazing upon him — flames. And this is in al-Bukhārī (4234). So that cloak is burning him — a single piece of cloth that was taken from the ghanīmah. This was a Muslim, a muʾmin, a mujāhid, and a person who died; but the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) refused to pray the janāzah for him^*, and he said: no, he is not a shahīd. Why? Because of that cloak he had taken. So this is how dangerous it is to take anything from the ghanīmah.

Also, in the Battle of Khaybar, when the Muslims were laying siege to some of the fortresses, they were very hungry, so they ended up slaughtering donkeys and cooking them. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: what is boiling in these pots? They said: we slaughtered some donkeys. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: throw it all away. That is when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) made the eating of the flesh of donkeys ḥarām. It was something the Arabs would do before that, but Islam made it ḥarām. So it is not allowed to eat the flesh of donkeys; it was made ḥarām during the Battle of Khaybar.

The Jews remained in Khaybar, working the land, and the Muslims would send someone to collect the fifty per cent of the harvest. Once, ʿAbdullāh ibn Rawāḥah was the one who went to them, and they tried to bribe him. They tried to bribe him — and this shows the corruption of the Jews. ʿAbdullāh ibn Rawāḥah was very rough with them when they did this, and he made it clear to them: I will not betray the trust of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), no matter what you try to do, no matter what you give me.