Rafi ibn Khadij

Rafi ibn Khadij al-Ansari (died ca. 73–74 AH / 692–693 CE) was a Companion of the Prophet ﷺ from the Aws tribe of Medina, one of the longest-lived companions who transmitted many important hadith. He was young at the time of early Islamic campaigns, and his father reportedly asked the Prophet ﷺ to give him permission to participate in Uhud, but he was considered too young. He later participated in subsequent campaigns.

He narrated numerous hadith from the Prophet ﷺ on topics including agriculture, land-lease arrangements, and economic transactions. His narration about the Prophet's ruling against certain types of sharecropping (muzara'a) contracts became one of the most discussed economic hadith, with scholars debating the precise circumstances and scope of the prohibition. His agricultural narrations reflect the concerns of the Medinan Ansari community that was primarily engaged in farming.

He also narrated hadith on matters of prayer, the excellence of certain acts, and accounts of the Prophet's daily life. He was wounded at one of the early battles — an arrowhead remained lodged in his body throughout his life, and he reportedly would sometimes have it surgically removed when it caused pain.

He survived well into the Umayyad period, living through the turbulent events of the First and Second Fitnas and dying in Medina around 73–74 AH at an advanced age. His long life made him a valuable transmitter of prophetic traditions in a generation when direct links to the Prophet ﷺ were becoming rare.