The report attributed to Jabir in al-Bukhari’s collection describes the assassination of כעב בן אלאשרף KAʾAB BEN AL-AŜRAF by men led by Muhammad ibn Maslama, with authorization from Islam’s founder Mohamed. It narrates a deceptive approach, a nighttime meeting and the killing. Al-Zurqani’s later commentary identifies the victim’s connection with בני נדיר BNEI NADIR. These are transmitted accounts, not a contemporary judicial record. 1 2

What does the authorization show?

The English digital rendering attributes the question Who is willing to kill Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf who has hurt Allah and His Apostle? to Mohamed. It then recounts permission to deceive the intended victim. The report’s explanation of motive belongs to the narrating tradition; it is not independent proof of every accusation against כעב KAʾAB. On that tradition’s own terms, however, the killing was authorized and planned. 3

Why keep the date separate from the killing account?

Al-Bukhari’s report supplies no numbered calendar day. Al-Zurqani instead transmits the fourteenth night of Rabi I, twenty-five months after the migration. Converting that later dating requires interpreting the transmitted chronology and projecting a calendar model backward. No anniversary is assigned here. 4

Guided reflections

  • How does the account’s permission to deceive clarify responsibility for the assassination?
  • Why does a report describing the killing not by itself verify the date supplied by a later commentary?

Footnotes

  1. Al-Bukhari, report 4037 Report 4037, opening exchange and conclusion. ↩
  2. Al-Zurqani, Sharh al-Mawahib Volume 2, page 368. ↩
  3. Al-Bukhari, report 4037 Opening exchange; quoted English digital translation. ↩
  4. Al-Zurqani, Sharh al-Mawahib Volume 2, page 368, opening dating clause. ↩

Works cited

  1. Al-Bukhari. Sahih, report 4037, chapter on the killing of Kaab ibn al-Ashraf; attributed to Jabir ibn Abdullah. Sunnah.com digital English rendering, read through the web tool; original HTML fetch returned HTTP 403. No print witness or Arabic text independently collated. https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4037 Accessed October 27, 2026.
  2. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Baqi al-Zurqani. Sharh al-Mawahib al-Ladunniyya bi-l-Minah al-Muhammadiyya, volume 2, page 368. Shamela hosted Arabic transcription, especially opening dating clause and identification; no print-page facsimile collated. https://shamela.ws/book/26568/882 Accessed October 27, 2026.