English translation
4040. Narrated Al-Barā': رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: 'Abdullāh bin 'Atik and 'Abdullāh bin 'Utba with a group of men to Abū Rāfi' (to kill him). They proceeded till they approached his castle, whereupon 'Abdullāh bin 'Atik said to them, "Wait (here), and in the meantime I will go and see." 'Abdullāh said later on, "I played a trick in order to enter the castle. By chance, they lost a donkey of theirs and came out carrying a flaming light to search for it. I was afraid that they would recognize me, so I covered my head and legs and pretended to answer the call of nature. The gate-keeper called, 'Whoever wants to come in, should come in before I close the gate.' So, I went in and hid myself in a stall of a donkey near the gate of the castle. They took their supper with Abū Rāfi' and had a chat till late at night. Then they went back to their homes. When the voices vanished and I no longer detected any movement, I came out. I had seen where the gate-keeper had kept the keys of the castle in a hole in the wall. I took it and unlocked the gate of the castle, saying to myself, 'If these people should notice me, I will run away easily.' Then I locked all the doors of their houses from outside while they were inside, and ascended to Abū Rāfi' by a staircase. I saw the house in complete darkness with its light off, and I could not know where the man was. So I called, 'O Abū Rāfi'!' He replied, 'Who is it?' I proceeded towards the voice and hit him. He cried loudly but my blow was futile. Then I came to him, pretending to help him, saying with a different tone of my voice. 'What is wrong with you, O Abū Rāfi'?' He said, 'Are you not surprised? Woe on your mother! A man has come to me and hit me with a sword!' So again I aimed at him and hit him, but the blow proved futile again, and on that Abū Rāfi' cried loudly and his wife got up. I came again and changed my voice as if I were a helper, and found Abū Rāfi' lying straight on his back, so I drove the sword into his belly and bent on it till I heard the sound of a bone break. Then I came out, filled with astonishment and went to the staircase to descend, but I fell down from it and got my leg dislocated. I bandaged it and went to my companions limping. I said (to them), 'Go and tell Allāh's Messenger ﷺ of this good news, but I will not leave (this place) till I hear the news of his (i.e., Abū Rāfi') death.' When dawn broke, an announcer climbed over the wall and announced, 'I convey to you the news of the death of Abū Rāfi'.' I got up and proceeded without feeling any pain till I caught up with my companions before they reached the Prophet ﷺ to whom I conveyed the good news."