islam.museum

Abdullah ibn Khatal

عبد الله بن خطل

January 630 CE · Ramadan 8 AH

Mecca

A former Muslim sent by the Prophet to collect sadaqa; he killed his Muslim servant over a meal, apostatized with the collected camels, and kept two singing girls who performed lampoons against the Prophet; he was ordered killed on the Conquest and slain clinging to the Kaaba curtains.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Arabia
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

In time

525550575600625650675700725
al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib · Abdullah ibn Abbas · Abdullah ibn Abi Umayya · Abdullah ibn Mas'ud · Abdullah ibn Salam · Abdullah ibn Ubayy

In space

Mecca

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Converts and those who leaveLaws of war and peace

Place in the story

  • Left IslamTradition
  • VictimTradition

Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.

Summary

A man of Banu Taym ibn Ghalib who had become Muslim and whom the Prophet had sent as an alms-collector; he treacherously killed his Muslim servant boy, apostatised and took the alms, and kept two singing-girls who lampooned the Prophet. His blood was declared lawful on the day of the conquest and he was killed clinging to the Ka'ba's curtains 1.

His death on the conquest day

The Prophet had sent Abdullah ibn Khatal with an Ansari man and a servant who served them both; they halted somewhere and he ordered him to cook a meal, then slept — waking to find nothing made, he set upon him and killed him, then apostatised into polytheism and took the alms camels 2.

He had two singing-girls, Fartana and her companion, who sang lampoons of the Prophet and his companions 2. When the army entered Mecca the Prophet declared his blood lawful; he took refuge in the Ka'ba clinging to its curtains, and was killed between the corner and the Station — Sa'id ibn Hurayth al-Makhzumi and Abu Barza al-Aslami killed him 1.

For young visitors

A man who murdered his servant and fled with the alms money; the conquest amnesty did not cover him because of his treachery and crime, and he was killed on the day the army entered.

Connections

Member of
Quraysh
Died in
Mecca
Participated in
The proscribed persons on the day of the Conquest

People and things also explored

Miqyas ibn Subabaal-Huwayrith ibn NuqaydhThe Conquest of Mecca (Fath Makka)Abdullah ibn Sa'd ibn Abi SarhMeccaThe proscribed persons on the day of the ConquestThe Treaty of HudaybiyyaThe early Muslim community

Sources

  1. al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936), 4/52-53
  2. al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936), 4/52
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Abdullah ibn Khatal”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/abdullah-ibn-khatal/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.

Improve this page on GitHub · Report an error · JSON

Wing

People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story.
Related

Miqyas ibn Subaba

A man of Banu Sahm who came to Medina feigning Islam to claim blood money for his brother killed accidentally; after accepting the wergild, he murdered his brother's killer and fled back to Mecca an apostate; proscribed on the day of the Conquest and slain by Numayla ibn Abdullah.