The Fortresses of Khaybar
After this, the Prophet ﷺ gave the banner to Hubab ibn Mundhir رضي الله عنه and encouraged the people to fight.
Those Jews who had managed to escape from the fortress of Na‘im reached the fortress of Sa‘b. This was one of the fortresses of Fadak.
The siege of this fortress continued for two days.
There were five hundred Jewish fighters inside the fortress.
After the siege, one of their warriors came out into the battlefield and challenged the Muslims to fight.
His name was Yusha‘.
Hubab ibn Mundhir رضي الله عنه went out to face him and succeeded in defeating him with his very first strike.
After that, another Jew came out and issued a challenge.
His name was Diyal.
‘Amr ibn ‘Uqbah al-Ghifari رضي الله عنه came forward to face him.
He immediately struck Diyal and said:
«“Take this! I am a Ghifari.”»
Diyal fell with the very first strike.
Now the Jews launched a powerful attack.
As a result, the Muslims were forced to retreat, and they began scattering in different directions.
The Jews continued advancing until they reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
At that time, the Prophet ﷺ had dismounted from his horse and was standing on the ground.
In this situation, Hubab ibn Mundhir رضي الله عنه remained completely steadfast and continued fighting firmly.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ called out to the Muslims and encouraged them.
They turned back and attacked the Jews.
They launched a powerful attack against them.
Hubab ibn Mundhir رضي الله عنه made a tremendous assault upon the enemy.
The Jews could not withstand this attack and quickly retreated until they reached their houses.
As soon as they entered, they closed the doors.
The Muslims then launched an assault, fighting the Jews and capturing them.
Eventually, the fortress was conquered.
From this fortress, the Muslims obtained large quantities of wheat, dates, clarified butter, honey, sugar, olive oil, and animal fat.
The Muslims also obtained a great deal of military equipment from there, including catapults, coats of armor, swords, and other items.
Those Jews who managed to escape from this fortress took refuge in a fortress called Qullah.
This fortress was situated on the top of a mountain.
The Muslims also laid siege to it.
Three days had passed during the siege when a Jew came to the Prophet ﷺ and said:
«“O Abu al-Qasim! If you grant me safety, I will give you such important information that you will be able to conquer the fortress with ease.»
«“Otherwise, even if you besiege this fortress for a whole month, you will not be able to conquer it, because there are underground channels of water inside this fortress. At night, they come out and obtain the water they need from these channels.»
«“If you cut off their water supply, they will easily surrender.”»
The Prophet ﷺ granted him safety.
After that, he went with him to those water channels and cut off the water supply of the Jews.
The Jews were then forced to come out of the fortress.
A fierce battle took place, and eventually the Jews were defeated.
In this way, the Muslims conquered all three sections of Fatat.
The Fortresses of Shiqq
The Muslims then advanced toward the fortresses of Shiqq.
There were several fortresses there as well.
The Muslims first advanced toward the fortress of Abi.
A fierce battle took place there.
First, a Jewish warrior came out and challenged the Muslims.
His name was Ghazwal.
In response to his challenge, Hubab ibn Mundhir رضي الله عنه came forward.
As soon as he reached Ghazwal, he attacked him.
With the very first strike, his right hand was cut at the wrist.
Wounded, he fled.
Hubab رضي الله عنه pursued him and, while he was fleeing, struck him again.
This blow struck Ghazwal’s heel.
He fell after being wounded, and Hubab رضي الله عنه finished him there.
At that time, another Jew came out to fight.
Another Muslim came forward to face him, but that Muslim was martyred by him.
The Jew remained standing in his place.
This time, Abu Dujanah رضي الله عنه came forward from the Muslim side.
As soon as he reached him, he attacked him.
With his first strike, he cut his foot, and with the second strike, he defeated him.
After this, no Jew came into the battlefield to challenge the Muslims.
The Muslims raised the cry of Takbir and attacked the fortress.
The Muslims entered the fortress.
Abu Dujanah رضي الله عنه was at the very front of them.
The Muslims also obtained a great deal of wealth from this fortress, including livestock and food supplies.
The people inside the fortress fled from there and took refuge in another fortress of Shiqq.
Its name was Fortress Bari.
There were only two fortresses in Shiqq: one was Abi and the other was Bari.
The Jews had made extremely strong defensive arrangements in Fortress Bari.
They launched very heavy attacks with arrows against the Muslims and also threw stones.
Some arrows even fell near the place where the Prophet ﷺ was sitting.
Upon this, the Prophet ﷺ picked up a handful of pebbles and threw them toward the fortress.
When he threw them, the fortress shook.
The Jews fled from it.
The Muslims also obtained spoils from this place.
They even obtained the utensils belonging to the Jews.
The Prophet ﷺ said regarding them:
«“Wash them and then use them.”»
In this way, the Muslims gained control over the five fortresses of Fatat and Shiqq.
The Fortresses of Qutaybah
The Jews who fled from these places took refuge in the fortresses of Qutaybah.
There were also three fortresses in Qutaybah.
The first was called Ghus, the second Wati, and the third Salalim.
Of all these fortresses, Ghus was the largest and strongest.
The Muslims besieged it for twenty days.
Finally, Allah Almighty granted the Muslims victory over this fortress at the hands of ‘Ali رضي الله عنه.
It was from this very fortress that Safiyyah bint Huyayy ibn Akhtab was taken captive.
Later, Allah Almighty granted her the great honor of accepting Islam and becoming one of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ.
The Fortresses of Wati and Salalim
After the conquest of Qamus, the Muslims laid siege to the fortresses of Wati and Salalim.
The siege of both fortresses continued for fourteen days, but no one came out of either fortress.
After fourteen days, they requested peace.
The agreement was made on the condition that these Jews would leave the area with their wives and children and would not take anything with them except the clothes they were wearing.
In this way, both fortresses were conquered without bloodshed.
The Muslims also obtained a great treasure.
The Arrival of the Ash‘aris and Dawsis
While the Muslims were in Khaybar, people from the tribes of Ash‘ar and Daws came to the Prophet ﷺ.
Among the Ash‘aris was Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari رضي الله عنه.
Among the Daws was Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه.
These Companions were also given a share of the spoils of war.
Ja‘far رضي الله عنه Arrives from Abyssinia
At the time of the conquest of Khaybar, Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه arrived there from Abyssinia.
He had migrated from Makkah to Abyssinia, and now he had returned on this occasion.
When the Prophet ﷺ saw him, he became extremely happy.
He stood up to welcome him and kissed his forehead.
On this occasion, the Prophet ﷺ said:
«“By Allah! I do not know whether I am happier at the conquest of Khaybar or at the arrival of Ja‘far.”»
At that time, many people from Abyssinia were also with Ja‘far رضي الله عنه.
The Prophet ﷺ recited Surah Ya-Sin to them.
Upon hearing it, these people began to weep and accepted Islam.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ treated them with great hospitality and said:
«“These people had shown great honor and hospitality to my Companions.”»
The meaning was that when the polytheists of Makkah had persecuted the Muslims, many Muslims had migrated to Abyssinia.
At that time, these people had treated them with great honor and hospitality.
Umm Habibah رضي الله عنها
Among the people who came from Abyssinia was Umm Habibah bint Abu Sufyan رضي الله عنها.
Umm Habibah رضي الله عنها was one of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ.
While she was living in Abyssinia, she married the Prophet ﷺ.
She had migrated to Abyssinia during the second migration from Makkah.
At that time, her first husband, ‘Abdullah ibn Jahsh, was also with her.
However, after reaching Abyssinia, he became an apostate.
He accepted Christianity and died in that state.
Umm Habibah رضي الله عنها, however, remained firm upon Islam.
In Muharram of 7 AH, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent ‘Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri رضي الله عنه to the Negus so that he would arrange the marriage of Umm Habibah رضي الله عنها to the Prophet ﷺ.
Accordingly, the Negus conducted this marriage.
Before this marriage, Umm Habibah رضي الله عنها had seen a dream.
In the dream, someone was calling her:
«“Umm al-Mu’minin — Mother of the Believers.”»
Umm Habibah رضي الله عنها became somewhat frightened by this.
When she received the proposal of marriage from the Prophet ﷺ, she then understood the interpretation of her dream.
Her mahr was also paid by the Negus.
The wedding meal was also provided by him.
The female servant through whom all these arrangements were made also accepted the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as a believer.
She sent a message announcing her acceptance of faith to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ through Umm Habibah رضي الله عنها.
When the Prophet ﷺ received the message from this female servant, he smiled and said:
«“Peace be upon her.”»