The reports about the poisoned meat at Khaybar are authentic. They show a real assassination attempt and a lasting physical effect, but they do not contradict Allah's promise to protect the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Quranic promise was that people would not be able to defeat his mission or kill him before he conveyed what Allah commanded him to convey, not that he would be immune from every wound, illness, or human cause of suffering.

What Happened at Khaybar

After the conquest of Khaybar, a Jewish woman brought poisoned meat to the Prophet (PBUH). The authentic reports affirm the attempt, affirm that the poison affected him, and affirm that he survived it and continued his mission for several years afterward.

A Jewish woman brought a poisoned sheep to the Prophet (PBUH), and he ate from it. She was brought to him, and it was said, "Shall we kill her?" He said, "No." Anas said, "I continued to recognize the effect of it in the palate of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)."

Sahih al-Bukhari 2617; Sahih Muslim 2190

During his final illness, the Prophet (PBUH) mentioned that he still felt pain connected to that event:

The Prophet (PBUH) said, "O Aisha, I still feel the pain of the food I ate at Khaybar, and now I feel as if my aorta is being cut because of that poison."

Sahih al-Bukhari 4428

So the honest conclusion is this: the poisoning attempt was real, its effects were real, and it may have contributed to the suffering of his final illness. But it did not stop him from conveying the revelation, establishing the religion, and completing his prophetic mission.

What Does "Allah Will Protect You" Mean?

Critics often cite the verse:

O Messenger, convey what has been revealed to you from your Lord. If you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allah will protect you from the people. Indeed, Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.

Quran 5:67

The verse itself shows the nature of the promise: "convey what has been revealed." Allah promised that people would not be able to overpower him, silence him, or kill him before the message was delivered. The Arabic idea of protection here does not require immunity from every physical harm. It means that the plots of people would not frustrate Allah's purpose for His Messenger.

This is clear from the Prophet's (PBUH) life. He was mocked, boycotted, injured, made to grieve, and tested with illness. None of that contradicted divine protection. The Quran also repeatedly emphasizes that the Prophet (PBUH) was a human messenger who would die like others:

Muhammad is not but a messenger. Messengers have passed on before him. So if he dies or is killed, will you turn back on your heels?

Quran 3:144

Indeed, you are to die, and indeed, they are to die.

Quran 39:30

By the time of his final illness, the religion had already been completed:

This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.

Quran 5:3

Did the Poison Disprove His Prophethood?

No. The objection fails for several reasons:

  • The assassination attempt failed to stop the mission. The Prophet (PBUH) lived for years after Khaybar and completed the delivery of Islam.
  • Divine protection does not mean absence of trials. Prophets are the best of people, but they are not exempt from pain, illness, grief, injury, or persecution.
  • If the poison contributed to his final suffering, that is not a contradiction. His death came after the religion had been completed and the message had been conveyed.
  • Martyrdom is an honor, not a refutation. Some scholars regarded the lingering effect of the poison as an added honor of martyrdom, alongside his supreme honor of prophethood.

What About His Pardon of the Woman?

The report in al-Bukhari and Muslim establishes that, when asked whether she should be killed for the attempt against his own person, the Prophet (PBUH) said, "No." This shows his restraint and mercy regarding his personal right.

It should not be overstated as a claim that no legal consequence is mentioned in any report. Other narrations mention the death of Bishr ibn al-Bara from the poisoned food and connect later punishment to that homicide. The sound point is that the Prophet (PBUH) did not act out of personal revenge. If a separate legal consequence applied because another Muslim was killed, that would be a matter of justice, not vengeance.

What About the "Aorta" Wording?

Some polemics try to connect the hadith to the Quranic warning:

If he had made up about Us some sayings, We would have seized him by the right hand; then We would have cut from him the aorta.

Quran 69:44-46

This is a forced comparison. The Quran is speaking about a hypothetical divine punishment if the Prophet (PBUH) had fabricated revelation. The hadith is describing severe pain from poison during his final illness. The Quran uses "al-watin", while the hadith uses "abhari"; the terms are close in meaning but not the same wording. More importantly, the hadith is not an admission that the Quranic threat occurred. It is a description of the pain and weakness he felt from the poison after his mission had already been fulfilled.

The poisoning at Khaybar therefore proves neither a failure of divine protection nor a defect in prophethood. It shows the Prophet's (PBUH) humanity, patience, mercy, and completion of his mission despite the plots of his enemies. For related issues, see discussions on prophetic trials, miracles, and the human nature of the messengers.