From Al-Baraa ibn ‘Azib (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: The Messenger of Allah (SAW) sent out a group of people from the Ansar to Abu Rafi’, and Abdullah ibn ‘Atik went in to him in his house at night and killed him while he was sleeping.
- Sahih Al-Bukhari, The book of jihad and campaigns

In this is the permissibility of spying on Idolaters [Mushrikun] and finding out when they are not watching, and the permissibility of assassinating those of them who are causing excessive harm; Abu Rafi’ used to shout at the Messenger of Allah (SAW) and rally people against him. From this it can be taken that it is permissible to kill an Idolater without calling him to Islam [da’wah] if he had been given da’wah before this, and moreover, to kill him if he is asleep and his state is such that it is known that he persists in his disbelief, and that there is no hope for his deliverance; the way to know this is either by divine inspiration or by evidence that indicates it.