What the Practical Sunnah Indicates About the Ruling on One Who Harms the Prophet ﷺ

What the Practical Sunnah Indicates About the Ruling on One Who Harms the Prophet ﷺ

This article is a documentary compilation rather than an essay. It gathers reports from the Prophet’s practice and the events of the Sirah that bear on how those who reviled or harmed him were treated, quoting each with its full chain and naming the collection, book and chapter in which it appears. The Alukah article quotes six such reports; this in-site version adds a seventh, the killing of Abu Rafi’ as reported by al-Bukhari. The article itself adds no commentary between the reports; it lets the practical Sunnah they record stand as its evidence.

The first report: Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf at Badr. Al-Bukhari reports in his Sahih (Book of the Obligation of the Khumus, chapter on one who did not take a fifth from the spoils of a slain enemy) that Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf was standing in the ranks at Badr when he found himself between two young men of the Ansar. Each of them, without the other knowing, asked him whether he knew Abu Jahl, saying he had been told that Abu Jahl reviled the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and swearing that if he saw him he would not leave him until one of them died. When Abd al-Rahman pointed Abu Jahl out, the two rushed at him with their swords and killed him, then went to the Prophet ﷺ. Each claimed to have killed him; the Prophet ﷺ examined their swords, said, “Both of you killed him,” and awarded his spoils to Mu’adh ibn Amr ibn al-Jamuh. The two were Mu’adh ibn Afra’ and Mu’adh ibn Amr ibn al-Jamuh.

The second report: the killing of Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf. Al-Bukhari reports in his Sahih (Book of the Military Expeditions, chapter on the killing of Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf), from Jabir ibn Abd Allah, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Who will deal with Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf, for he has harmed Allah and His Messenger?” Muhammad ibn Maslamah offered to kill him, and the Prophet ﷺ agreed and gave him permission to say what he needed to. Muhammad ibn Maslamah went to Ka’b on the pretext of seeking a loan of food, and after a negotiation over what would be left as security, they agreed to pledge their weapons. He came to Ka’b by night with Abu Na’ilah, Ka’b’s foster brother, and other men. When Ka’b came down from his fortress, Muhammad ibn Maslamah asked to smell the perfume in his hair, and once he had a firm hold of his head, he told his companions to strike, and they killed him. They then came to the Prophet ﷺ and informed him.

The third report: Abd Allah ibn Unays. Ibn Khuzaymah reports in his Sahih (Book of Prayer, chapter on the permission to pray while walking when pursuing an enemy) that the Prophet ﷺ sent Abd Allah ibn Unays to Khalid ibn Sufyan ibn Nubayh al-Hudhali, having learned that he was gathering forces against him, and told him to kill him. When the time of Asr came as he drew near, Abd Allah prayed while walking toward him, indicating the movements with gestures, fearing that delay might prevent him from reaching his target. He joined Khalid, presented himself as an Arab who had heard he was gathering against “this man”, and, when the opportunity came, killed him. On his return the Prophet ﷺ gave him a staff and, when Abd Allah asked why, said it would be a sign between them on the Day of Resurrection, when those carrying staffs would be the fewest of people. Abd Allah kept it with his sword all his life and asked that it be buried with him, and it was placed in his shroud.

The fourth report: the conquest of Makkah. Al-Diya’ al-Maqdisi reports in al-Ahadith al-Mukhtarah, from Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, that on the day Makkah was conquered the Prophet ﷺ granted safety to the people except for four men and two women, saying they were to be killed even if found clinging to the curtains of the Ka’bah; the men named are Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl, Abd Allah ibn Khatal, Miqyas ibn Subabah and Abd Allah ibn Sa’d ibn Abi al-Sarh. Ibn Khatal was found clinging to the Ka’bah’s curtains and killed; Miqyas was caught by people in the market and killed. Ikrimah fled by sea, and when a storm struck and the sailors told the passengers that their gods could not help them there and they must turn sincerely to Allah, he reasoned that if only sincere devotion could save him at sea, nothing else could save him on land; he vowed to come to Muhammad ﷺ and place his hand in his, expecting to find him forgiving and generous, and he came and embraced Islam. Abd Allah ibn Sa’d ibn Abi al-Sarh hid with Uthman ibn Affan, who brought him to the Prophet ﷺ when the people came to pledge allegiance and asked him to accept his pledge. The Prophet ﷺ raised his head and looked at him three times, declining each time, then accepted it after the third. He then turned to his Companions and asked whether there had not been a man of sound judgment among them who would have risen and killed him when he saw him withhold his hand from the pledge. They said, “How were we to know what was in your mind, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “It is not fitting for a prophet to have a treacherous eye.” Al-Diya’ notes that Abu Dawud and al-Nasa’i also narrated it.

The fifth report: the blind man and his umm walad. Al-Diya’ al-Maqdisi reports in al-Ahadith al-Mukhtarah, through al-Tabarani, from Ibn Abbas, that a blind man had an umm walad (a slave woman who had borne him children) who would revile the Prophet ﷺ and disparage him at length; he would forbid and rebuke her, but she would not stop. One night, when she again spoke against the Prophet ﷺ, he could not restrain himself and killed her. When this was mentioned to the Prophet ﷺ, he gathered the people and adjured whoever had done it to stand. The blind man came forward trembling, explained that she was the mother of his two sons, “like two pearls”, and had been kind and gentle to him, but that she kept reviling the Prophet ﷺ despite his warnings. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Bear witness that her blood is unavenged (hadar).”

The sixth report: the Jewish woman. Al-Diya’ al-Maqdisi reports in al-Ahadith al-Mukhtarah, through Abu Dawud, from al-Sha’bi from Ali, that a Jewish woman used to revile the Prophet ﷺ and disparage him, and a man strangled her until she died, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared that no retribution or blood money was due for her. Al-Diya’ notes that this is how Abu Dawud narrated it.

The seventh report: the killing of Abu Rafi’. Al-Bukhari reports in his Sahih (Book of the Military Expeditions, chapter on the killing of Abu Rafi’ Abd Allah ibn Abi al-Huqayq, hadith 4039), from al-Bara’ ibn Azib, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent men of the Ansar to Abu Rafi’ the Jew and placed Abd Allah ibn Atik in command of them. Abu Rafi’ used to harm the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and aid others against him, and he lived in a fortress of his in the land of the Hijaz. At sunset, as the people returned with their flocks, Abd Allah told his companions to wait while he went to try his way past the gatekeeper. He covered himself with his garment near the gate as if relieving himself, and the gatekeeper, wanting to close the gate, called to him to come in if he wished to enter. He went in and hid, and once the gatekeeper had hung the keys on a peg, he took them and opened the gate. When Abu Rafi”s night companions had left his upper chamber, Abd Allah climbed to him, locking each door behind him so that no one could reach him before he had done what he came for. He found Abu Rafi’ in a dark room among his family, called his name to locate him and struck toward the voice, but the blow did not kill him. He withdrew, then returned with a changed voice as though coming to help, and when Abu Rafi’ told him that a man in the house had just struck him, he struck him again and then drove the point of his sword into his belly until it reached his back. On his way out he misjudged the last step of a staircase on a moonlit night, fell and broke his leg, bound it with his turban, and sat by the gate resolved not to leave until he knew the outcome. At cockcrow the announcer of deaths stood on the wall and proclaimed the death of Abu Rafi’, “the merchant of the people of the Hijaz”, and Abd Allah went to his companions and told them to make haste, for Allah had killed Abu Rafi’. When he reached the Prophet ﷺ and told him what had happened, the Prophet ﷺ said, “Stretch out your leg.” He stretched it out, the Prophet ﷺ wiped over it, and it was as though he had never had any complaint in it. Al-Bukhari also narrates a shorter version of the report (hadith 3022). In explaining the hadith, the Dorar hadith encyclopedia notes among its lessons that it shows the killing of one who aided others against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ with his hand, his wealth or his tongue, and that it records a clear miracle of the Prophet ﷺ in the healing of Ibn Atik’s broken leg.