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The Battle of Khaybar stands as one of the most significant military campaigns of the Prophetic era. Fought in Muharram of the seventh year after the Hijrah, it eliminated the last major center of organized opposition to Islam in the Hejaz and secured the northern approaches to Medina.
The Jewish settlement of Khaybar, located approximately 150 kilometers north of Medina, had long served as a hub of political and military activity against the Muslim community. After the expulsion of Banu Nadir from Medina in 4 AH, many of their leaders resettled in Khaybar and used their wealth and influence to rally opposition against the Prophet ﷺ.
The people of Khaybar played a central role in organizing the Confederate forces during the Battle of the Trench (5 AH). Huyayy ibn Akhtab of Banu Nadir personally traveled to Mecca to persuade the Quraysh to march on Medina, and Khaybar's leaders contributed funds and supplies to the coalition. They also incited Banu Qurayzah to break their treaty with the Muslims during that siege.
Following the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (6 AH), which neutralized the Quraysh as an immediate military threat, the Prophet ﷺ turned his attention to Khaybar. The settlement continued to conspire with hostile tribes and posed a persistent danger to Muslim trade routes and security.
The Prophet ﷺ marched with approximately 1,400 to 1,600 companions. Khaybar was not a single fortress but a complex of eight fortified strongholds spread across the oasis, divided into three main districts: al-Natat, al-Shiqq, and al-Katibah. The fortresses were built on rocky volcanic ground and were considered nearly impregnable.
The Muslims laid siege to the forts one by one. The initial assaults proved difficult, and several days passed with limited progress against the well-defended positions.
The most celebrated episode of the campaign came when the Prophet ﷺ announced, as recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim: "Tomorrow I shall give the standard to a man whom Allah loves and who loves Allah. Allah will grant victory at his hands." The companions spent the night wondering who it would be. The following morning, the Prophet ﷺ called for Ali ibn Abi Talib, who had been suffering from an eye ailment. The Prophet ﷺ applied his saliva to Ali's eyes, and they were healed immediately. He then handed him the standard.
Ali led the decisive assault on the fortress of Qamus, the strongest of the Khaybar fortifications. In the fighting, Ali reportedly tore off the door of the fortress and used it as a shield. The garrison fell, and the remaining forts surrendered in succession. This event holds a distinguished place in Islamic history as a testament to Ali's courage and the Prophet's recognition of his merit.
After the conquest, the surviving Jewish population requested permission to remain on their lands and continue farming. The Prophet ﷺ agreed to an arrangement in which they would cultivate the date palms and fields, surrendering half the produce to the Muslims. This agreement, one of the earliest examples of a sharecropping arrangement in Islamic governance, remained in effect until Umar ibn al-Khattab relocated the Jewish communities from the Hejaz during his caliphate, fulfilling the Prophet's instruction that two religions should not coexist in the Arabian Peninsula.
Shortly after the victory, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib arrived from Abyssinia with the last group of emigrants who had taken refuge with the Negus. The Prophet ﷺ embraced him and said, as reported by Abu Dawud: "I do not know which makes me happier, the conquest of Khaybar or the arrival of Ja'far." The returning emigrants were given a share of the Khaybar spoils by agreement of the companions who had fought.
The conquest of Khaybar had far-reaching consequences. It eliminated the most powerful remaining center of opposition in the region, secured Medina's northern border, and brought substantial agricultural wealth under Muslim control. The produce from Khaybar's lands provided a steady source of sustenance for the Muslim community, alleviating much of the economic hardship that had marked the earlier years in Medina.
Militarily, the campaign demonstrated the growing strength and tactical capability of the Muslim forces. Politically, it sent a clear message to the remaining hostile groups in Arabia that opposition to the Muslim state carried consequences. The fall of Khaybar, combined with the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, set the stage for the rapid expansion of Islam across the peninsula in the years that followed, culminating in the peaceful conquest of Mecca just two years later.
Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Hisham, and later historians such as al-Waqidi and Ibn Sa'd recorded the campaign in detail, preserving it as one of the defining moments of the Prophetic biography.