In pre-islamic times when the Medinite Arabs of Aws and Khazraj were permanently in a state of war, the Jews of Bani Qaynuqa and Nadir were allied with Khazraj, while the Bani Qurayzah was allied with Al-Aws. Thus, in the course of their warfare, Jews would kill, expel or ransom Jews in alliance with pagans
2:84-85"And when We made a covenant with you: You shall not shed your blood and you shall not turn your people out of your cities; then you gave a promise while you witnessed. Yet you it is who slay your people and turn a party from among you out of their homes, backing each other up against them unlawfully and exceeding the limits; and if they should come to you, as captives you would ransom them-- while their very turning out was unlawful for you".
This attitude was a twofold crime from the viewpoint of Mosaic Law. But it wasnt a novelty in their history, as is seen during the revolt of the Maccabees. Prior to that, Jews had joined the pagan enemy ranks of the Phillistines and fought their fellow brethren, changing sides during the course of warfare 1Sam13:21. So lacking in faith had they become towards the end of Solomon's reign and after him, and neglectful of what was once their holiest site that under Jehoash the king of Israel, they invaded and plundered their own temple, taking even hostages among the rival kingdom of Judah, the king included 2Kings14:13-14. Again later on the king Pekah of Israel would ally himself to Rezin king of Syria to attack and subdue the Judeans of king Ahaz, killing tens of thousands, taking many more captives among their women and children, as well as loots and plunders. They eventually gave up these loots following a severe rebuke from a prophet among them. King Ahaz of Judah in turn allied with the Assyrians to fight back the Israel-Syrian alliance, which proved to be a double edged sword since he became completely subdued to the Assyrian king, paying him from the Temple's riches 2Kings15,2Chron29.
Even while Jeremiah's prophecy of destruction by the Babylonians was being inflicted, when the king of Judah called for the release of all Jewish slaves, including those held by their priests, they reluctantly abided by the command. Their reluctance to free their own brethren was such that moments later they turned back upon their word and forcibly recaptured those freed Jewish slaves Jer34:7-11. Even in such eye opening moments, they still remained obdurate in their disbelief. In the times of Moses, and just as they came out of their Egyptian bondage, they showed similar disdain in freeing their own enslaved brethren Jer34:13-14.
So corrupt and greedy the majority of the elite has always been that, just following the nation's release from the Babylonian captivity, the wealthy would force their poor brethren to sell their own sons and daughters to repay their loans, and would then resell them to the heathen, those pagans whom Moses was instructed to wipe out the face of the earth. The prophet Nehemiah heavily condemned their behavior and urged them to return the children to their families and cancel the loans they had given to the poor Neh5. This pattern reveals a deep defect in their outlook on life, summed up in the Quran as such
59:13"You are certainly greater in being feared in their hearts than Allah; that is because they are a people who do not understand".
The Medina Jews feared more the prophet's retaliation for their mischievous activities, instead of fearing God. A sensible person knows where ultimate authority comes from. He will avoid every such thing as may call for God's punishment, even if he has to confront enmity along the way. On the other hand, he will come out to accomplish any duty which Allah has enjoined on him, whether he is opposed and hindered by all the powers of the world. But a senseless man, devoid of spirituality thinks strictly in worldly terms, without any higher perspective in mind. To him, divine power is an abstract concept while human power is all that matters.
They would thus, shortly before the advent of Islam, ransom their mutual captives in obedience to that very same Law and it is this glaring inconsistency to which the Quran alludes next
"..and if they should come to you, as captives you would ransom them, while their very turning out was unlawful for you. Do you then believe in a part of the Book and disbelieve in the other?"
The historicity of the Jews of Yathrib can be divided into 2 main categories, those that arrived much before the common era into the lands of the Ishmaelites whom they viewed as their cousins, and those that joined later following the 2nd destruction of the Temple. The community, although split into about 20 tribes with the most prominent being the Qurayza, Nadir and Qaynuqa, became very well established both politically and economically in the fertile areas of Yathrib. They had built fortresses there, in anticipation of possible invasion by neighboring Arab tribes. This was before the Aws and Khazraj reached and settled in the centre of Yathrib. Through a game of alliances, the Jewish tribes tried their best to remain as the main source of power in Yathrib.
At one point, Aws and Khazraj asked the Jews for an agreement of peaceful business cooperation, which was accepted as it did not compromise their political and economical ascendant. They in addition benefited from the expertise of the Arabs in the areas of agriculture and business.
Soon later, however, a shift in power occurred in Yathrib, due to demographics, with the Arabs starting to seriously outnumber the Jews. They therefore broke their agreement a number of times and attacked some of Aws and Khazraj which prompted these latter 2 to unite, and in addition to ask for the help of Abu Jubayla the king of Qassan, in modern day Syria. With the help of his army they defeated the Jews of Yathrib and from that point on the tribes of Aws and Khazraj remained in power in Yathrib and the Jews continued to live with them in a powerless position. This is when the enmity between Aws and Khazraj started. According to some historians, aiming to reclaim their power, the Jews of Yathrib were the main cause of this enmity between the two tribes. The Jews had not only become disunited, but through a game of alliance and incitements among the Aws and Khazraj, they were competing with one another to regain dominion over the city, which led to the previously mentioned wars among Jews. This enmity and the fights that were caused by it continued till when Aws and Khazraj decided to invite the Prophet of Islam to their city. The migration of the Prophet changed the whole scenario in Yathrib which then was renamed Medina.
After the divine victory of Badr, the idolators and the Jews of Medina were greatly troubled. They felt that their position was now degenerating into one of weakness and isolation. Only 2 years after his migration, the Prophet of God had managed to break the traditional pattern of power distribution in the desert.
The enemies of Islam would meet clandestinely and encourage the composition and recitation of divisive poetry. Ka'ab ibn Ashraf, a Jewish chieftain of Banu Nadhir, was a poet of considerable fame and he used to recite in the gatherings fiery poems inciting the people to rise up against Islam. This was a clear breeching of the Medina covenant of peace with the Muslims, non partisanship which eachother's enemies. ibn Ashraf's particularity as compared to the other non Muslims and hypocrites that secretly disliked Islam and conspired against it, is that he openly joined the Meccan ranks with whom the community was at war, becoming a propaganda tool that composed eulogies mourning the Meccan chiefs slain in the battle of Badr and defamed Muslim women.
The closest one can come to the kind of impact this kind of poetry had in Arabian tribal life in those days, is to remember the role propaganda played during the world wars of the 20th century, more particularly the 2nd one. The chief propagandists among the Nazis were regarded as top priority targets by Western authorities. The issue here is thus not that of low-level disparaging comments and mockeries, rather the kind of criticism with deadly ramifications. The Quran and hadith contain many instances of the prophet and the Muslims being the targets of mockery and ridicule, both in times of political weakness and strength, yet neither responded in kind nor retaliated violently. The Quran for instance in sura tawba relates how the Medina hypocrites would engage in injurious talk about the prophet, and this at a time where the Muslim community had become powerful. The only response they got from the prophet was that he socially ostracized them, refusing their charity donations, and leaving their fate to Allah in the Hereafter
9:66"If We pardon one faction of you - We will punish another faction because they were criminals".
As to Kaab, his animosity was such that it is said the verse 4:51 speaking of Jews believing in idols alludes to him, when he accompanied a delegation from Medina to Mecca in search of an alliance against the Muslims, and publicly bowed to the idols to reassure the suspecting Quraysh
"Your are people of Scripture and Muhammad has a Scripture and we are not completely sure that this is a scheme that you devised. So if you want us to go along with you, you have to prostrate to these two idols and believe in them".
But being a coward he never attended the battles himself, preferring to plot and incite behind closed doors. His role in galvanizing the Quraysh prior to the battle of Uhud is well known, his wife herself is reported to have warned him that his life was at threat because of his actions. Although the prophet said that Kaab was deserving of being put to death since he should be treated as a combatant, he nevertheless did not plan the execution. It is to be noted that any modern government seeking to preserve the survival of its people in times of war, would look to target specific opponents whose death would have a more significant impact in the long-run in terms of avoiding further bloodshed. He was thus incited out of his hiding place and killed, which successfully prevented an all out war with the Bani Nadir. Other opinions say his assassination occurred after the battle of Uhud in response to an attempted murder of the prophet.
Now the dispute was not over Muhammad's religious views but over his political power which grew tremendously after the victory of Badr. They increased their plotting in the most mischievous of ways.
They would try causing dissensions among the former enemies of Aws and Khazraj, now united under the banner of Islam, by arousing memories of the terrible war of Bu'ath when the Aws eventually came out victorious against Khazraj. But Muhammad continued to talk to them, emphasizing their Islamic unity and brotherhood until their tears ran down in emotion and they embraced one another. The Quran reminds of this tension in 2:87-89 and further stresses how it was Allah who facilitated the union of the various rival and waring tribes under the prophet's guidance
8:63"had you spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts, but Allah united them; surely He is Mighty, Wise".
Street fights would erupt between the 2 communities, Muslims and Jews. At one point a Muslim woman was publicly humiliated, her clothes brought down by a group of Jews from the Bani Qaynuqa. The physical altercation that ensued resulted in deaths from both sides, igniting a cycle of revenge killing. This malicious and provocative stance was at complete odds with that of the Muslims towards them. The prophet went to such extents in respecting his side of the pledge in maintaining a peaceful coexistence, that he for instance rebuked a Muslim who in his argument with a Jew, boasted of Muhammad's superiority over Moses
“It is not your task to go about speaking of the superiority of God’s Messengers in comparison to one another.” Then, the Holy Prophet mentioned a partial superiority of Moses and consoled the Jew."
After that incident with the Muslim woman that led to people dying, the Prophet urged their notables to honor their agreement. Instead of expressing remorse or apologies, being their community's representatives, they responded with arrogance, retracting themselves officially from the accord, challenging the prophet to war and retreating behind their stronghold. In reference to Badr they said
"We are not weak like the Quraysh, we are a people that know fighting until death. You will have an experience of courage when you encounter us".
Islam and its message of universal brotherhood and indiscriminate justice, that knows no boundaries of races, affiliations, or social background, was threatening their political and economic grip, all of which depended on the traditional clan system of the Arabs, as well as the unjust economic system that crushed the weak. They needed to act fast before Islam's popularity would grow bigger. Until now the Muslims were told to pardon and turn away from the treacherous among them 5:13. But when they retreated behind their fortress and started making preparations for war, the Muslims had to take action in defense
"Among the Jews of Madina, the Banu Qaynuqa were the first to break the treaty which had been settled between them and the holy prophet" (ibn Hisham, and many other independant sources confirm his views).
The Qaynuqa were besieged for 15 days without fighting until they came out, promising to accept the prophet's ruling. This led to the expulsion of the whole tribe from Medina. They were allowed to take all their movable possessions to Syria
8:56-58"Those with whom you make an agreement, then they break their agreement every time and they do not guard (against punishment). Therefore if you overtake them in fighting, then scatter by (making an example of) them those who are in their rear, that they may be mindful. And if you fear treachery on the part of a people, then throw back to them on terms of equality; surely Allah does not love the treacherous".
The prophet of God acts first and foremost according to the divine directives of the Revelation, as is explicitly stated in the verse; those who repeatedly break the agreements, after being overtaken in battle, must be exiled as an example, not killed. As to those from whom one fears imminent treachery, then one may pre-emptively break the agreement. The historical records speak of an ally of the Qaynuqa, Abdullah Ibn Ubayy, as pleading for their banishment instead of a harsher treatment. Even if we consider this report, containing the rejected Waqidi in its chain, then still, there is no indication the prophet thought otherwise than to banish them. At most, what can be said is that ibn Ubayy may have personally assumed that they would be treated more harshly, given their provocations, hence his intervention. The prophet even allowed them the unmerited favor of keeping some of their precious possessions in the process, something not made obligatory in the verse.
Prior to exiting their stronghold, they were also assured that their lives and families would be spared in exchange of their wealth (Muhammad b. Saad). The prophet however neither asked for their death, nor their lives when the matter was settled. These people of Babu Qaynuqa had clearly shown they were untrustworthy and in addition could instigate further, worse potential conflicts by lobbying other tribes. Their expulsion and cutting of ties within the area of the Muslim community was meant at preventing such a possibility.
Shortly after the battle of Uhud between the Muslims and the Idolaters, came the confrontation with the Jews of Banu Nadir who were still bitterly enraged at their sister tribe Qaynuqa's banishment. The Prophet went to one of their notable, Huyayy ibn Akhtab asking for the payment of the diyat (blood money)-a tax imposed on all members of the community- for the two victims whom Ibn Umayyah had killed by mistake. He got a warm welcome but did not like the idea of collecting the tax inside their fortress. A man from inside the fortress climbed up the wall and attempted at throwing a huge boulder at the prophet so the Muslims got up and left quickly for their homes. Ibn Surya, the most learned man from the Banu Nadir knew that after such an incident Muhammad would only offer 2 options: war, or leave at once with all their belongings and the possibility to return every year to gather the produce of their date groves, which would thus remain their property.
They first agreed to the second alternative, and were granted - ten days of respite. In the meantime they secretly conspired with the hypocrites among the Arabs of Medina, led by Abdallah ibn Ubayy, who promised them armed support by two thousand warriors in case they decided to remain in their fortified settlements. Motivated by this proposition, they decided to take up arms against the prophet. The Muslims besieged them for 20 days, without actual fighting, but when ibn Ubayy's promise didnt materialize, they decided to surrender
59:11-14"...They will not fight against you in a body save in fortified towns or from behind walls; their fighting between them is severe, you may think them as one body, and their hearts are disunited; that is because they are a people who have no sense".
Just as the satan whispered false hopes to the Quraysh alliance at the battle of Badr but immediately deserted them as he witnessed the unseen at the battlefield 8:48, so too did the whispering of the satan among the men, in this case ibn Ubayy, abandon the Jews after inciting them into treachery. The Quran alludes to this principles many times, that the satan from among the men or jinn will eventually dissociate themselves from those who willingly followed their footsteps despite the warnings, whether in this world or the next, and will have to stand to account for their deeds.
They were banished and allowed to take all the movable properties they could pack on their camels, but not their weapons. Those whom the Arabs thought could not be banished from their land, had to leave eventually and in a manner in which they had to ruin and ravage the houses they had built by their own hands. The foes of a prophet always meet this fate
59:2"He it is Who caused those who disbelieved of the followers of the Book to go forth from their homes at the first banishment you did not think that they would go forth, while they were certain that their fortresses would defend them against Allah; but Allah came to them whence they did not expect, and cast terror into their hearts; they demolished their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers; therefore take a lesson, O you who have eyes".
Allah cast terror into the hearts opposing the establishment of His way 3:151,8:12 as He did aforehand with the enemies of the Israelites themselves, who were in addition confused Deut2:24-25,Ex23:27,Josh10:10. Once military might is established through undeniable divine assistance, terror and fear are in fact the means by which the disbelieving nations are dominated and prevented from rekindling the flames of war
1Chr14:17"David's fame went forth throughout all the lands, and the Lord placed the fear of him upon all the nations".
The believers on the other hand are tranquilized and appeased, given confidence and hope
9:26"Then Allah sent down His tranquillity upon His Messenger and upon the believers, and sent down hosts which you did not see, and He punished those who disbelieved, and that is the reward of the infidels".
They passed through Medina's market singing and beating drums to show that they were not disheartened by that banishment and that they would soon avenge this defeat. Some of them went to Syria while others settled with the Jews of Khaybar, an agricultural oasis situated approximately 165 kilometres to the north of Medina, inhabited by a mixture of Arabs and Jews. The merciful decision of allowing them to emigrate and take most of their possessions with them without harm would have grave consequences later, against the Muslims
33:60-62"If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease and the agitators in the city do not desist, We shall most certainly set you over them, then they shall not be your neighbors in it but for a little while; Cursed: wherever they are found they shall be seized and murdered, a (horrible) murdering. (Such has been) the course of Allah with respect to those who have gone before; and you shall not find any change in the course of Allah".
This unalterable law of God of punishing both in this world and the hereafter
34:38"those who strive in opposing Our communications"
would soon be fulfilled.
At this point, Muslims felt they had to develop a system of control, as they felt they werent in security in their own town of Medina. This prevented their engagement in agriculture or commerce which was somehow balanced through the spoils acquired until now through the preceding battles. Fearing enemy attacks at any moment, the Prophet organized a channel of communication throughout the Arabian Peninsula which was at the time composed of a complex net of autonomous little republics. This network of clans depended for its security on an intricate system of intertribal customs, pacts, and traditions. Muslims had to be vigilant against these various coalitions, each looking to avenge the defeats some of their allies had suffered. They in addition deeply resented the threat to their tribal laws and order which Islam was causing, as it promoted brotherhood in faith regardless of any worldly affinities such as tribal, ethnic, social, familial etc. The animosity against Muhammad was such that the Jews turned against their own religion, disregarding their Ishmaelite brethren's pure call to monotheism and preferred allying with the paganism which Moses and other biblical prophets fought. Their prophets in addition warned them not to ever ally and coexist with pagans ever. They were again going through the same spiritual failures, as their forefathers did when they were influenced by the pagan people's religions
5:80"You will see many of them befriending those who disbelieve; certainly evil is that which their souls have sent before for them, that Allah became displeased with them and in chastisement shall they abide".
The Quran relates how they openly favoured polytheism to Islamic monotheism in order to appease the Meccans. This is unsurprising to anyone familiar with their history as described in their own books, treacherously allying with one another's pagan enemies for the fleeting benefits of this world. They knew the Arabs would naturally assume that they, monotheists like Muhammad, were most likely to adhere to his message. This made the Meccans hesitant in allying with them against Islam. To appease their suspicions, the Jews would publicly deny the concept of prophethood altogether, even paying their respects to the idols. They denied God had ever revealed Books to prophets previously
6:91"Allah has not revealed anything to a mortal. Say: Who revealed the Book which Musa brought, a light and a guidance to men, which you make into scattered writings which you show while you conceal much? And you were taught what you did not know, (neither) you nor your fathers".
The traditions speak of a delegation of Medinite Jews sent to Mecca after the battle of Uhud, seeking to form a political alliance
"Your are people of Scripture and Muhammad has a Scripture and we are not completely sure that this is a scheme that you devised. So if you want us to go along with you, you have to prostrate to these two idols and believe in them".
The Quran flagged them with a description that echoed throughout history, past, as attested in their own books, present, as they were doing during the rise of Islam, and modern
5:80"You will see many of them befriending those who disbelieve; certainly evil is that which their souls have sent before for them".
The Jewish delegation preferred revering the idols whom their prophets warned them against, so as to reassure the Quraysh
2:109,4:51"Have you not seen those to whom a portion of the Book has been given? They believe in idols and false deities and say of those who disbelieve: These are better guided in the path than those who believe".
Up until 4:54, the passage relates the same prejudiced theme the Jews had in regards to prophethood. They could not fathom how would God favor another nation in that aspect. But they were told and reminded that the object of their envy, ie prophethood, when it came in the line of Ibrahim, it was never meant to be the prerogative of one branch or another. It was given to Ibrahim's progeny indiscriminately. Ibn Kathir reports from ibn Abbas that he equally interpolated the Jews' "envy" towards the Muslims as
"We are the worthy people, rather than the rest of the people".
This contradicts al-Suyuti's strange reason of revelation of 4:54 also attributed to ibn Abbas;
"The people of Scripture said: “Muhammad claims that he has been given what he has been given; yet he is humble. But he has nine wives and his main concern is to have sexual intercourse (with his wives). Which dominion is better than this?”
It would be strange for the Jews to envy the prophet for having 9 wives when their own scriptures put no limit on polygamy, beside the fact that this "envy" is in relation to the Muslims in general not to the prophet in particular, as accurately interpreted by ibn Kathir.
This self-contradiction, this favoring of idolatry over monotheism and the encouragement of pagan forces to rise against the monotheistic forces would reach its peak in the Month of Shawwal 5/626 when the Jewish leaders of Bani Nadir and Qaynuqa who were mercifully left to migrate with their wealth and families after their defeat in battle, and settle in Khaybar, covenanted with the leaders of Quraysh (promising them a whole year's crop from their Jewish settlement of Khaybar in case of victory), Kinanah and Ghatafan tribes among others to unite as one front against the Muslims.
It is to be noted, the Jews of Khaybar did not show any hostility toward the Muslims until the leaders of Banu Nadir -Salam ibn Abu al Haqiq, Kinanah ibn Abu al Haqiq/Huqayq (also named ibn al Rabi'), and Huyayy ibn Akhtab- settled among them.
The Muslims were struck with panic when news of the huge coalition of almost all tribes of the Arabian Peninsula (enemies and allies alike) were preparing to attack Medina. The Prophet consulted with Salman the Persian, and decided to dig a trench in preparation. All Muslims were put at task, including the Prophet who worked with his hands alongside his companions lifting the dirt, encouraging the Muslim workers, and exhorting everyone to multiply his effort. The women and children were removed to the interior and placed within fortified walls.
The battle known as Battle of the Trench/Ditch/Confederates or al-Khandaq/Ahzab started. When the Confederate armies showed up, the Muslims were troubled by their large number and retreated behind their trench for 20 days only exchanging stones and arrows with the enemy, the story is related in Sura 33/Ahzab. The Muslims survived on their food reserves as well as the continuous supply of crops from the Jews of Banu Qurayzah who had stayed truthful to their covenant with Muhammad, within Medina. The difficulty of overcoming the innovative trench fighting was such that the enemy forces had to resort to another strategy. They decided to starve the Muslims by cutting their food supplies, which was mainly coming from the Banu Qurayzah. They could not find a way through the trench and the good Muslim defense so their only solution was to force them out. The polytheist coalition had to act quick because a general withdrawal would render such a future coalition almost impossible.
Huyayy ibn Akhtab, went to find Ka'b ibn Asad, chief of the Banu Qurayzah and convince him of reversing against the Muslims. At first Ka'b would not receive him, knowing well that treason might bring some advantages in case of Muslim defeat but that it would provide the cause for extermination in case of Muslim victory. Huyayy appeased his fears by describing the extent of the pagan forces and their desire to exterminate the Muslims once and for all, but Ka'b still hesitated, remembering Muhammad's loyalty to his covenant with him and his tribe. After much talks, and a pledge from Huyayy that he would stand by his brothers of Banu Qurayzah in case of defeat followed by sanctions, Ka'b's Jewish feelings stirred, moving him to yield to Huyayy, to accept his demands and to repudiate his covenant with Muhammad and the Muslims. By breaking their covenant with men, the Banu Qurayzah were once again confirming Moses' foreseeing of the corruption of his descendants Deut31.
They were perpetuating the tradition of their forefathers who could not even stand firm to their covenant with God, reverting to idol worship in Moses' own life and later, despite all the miracles they had witnessed.
They thus joined the pagan ranks, the very people whom Moses and subsequent prophets fought. This betrayal shook the Prophet greatly as well as the rest of the Muslims, so he sent his companion Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, leader of the Aws and close ally to Banu Qurayzah to confirm the bad news, which he did. With the last Jews joining the pagan ranks, cutting the food supply and threatening the Muslims from within the city, the pagan forces had their moral uplifted. They prepared an invasion from 3 fronts and it was with reference to this deployment of enemy forces that the Quran said
33:10-13"When they came upon you from above you (the pagans) and from below you (the hypocrites and traitors), and when the eyes turned dull, and the hearts rose up to the throats, and you began to think diverse thoughts of Allah. There the believers were tried and they were shaken with severe shaking. And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was a disease began to say: Allah and His Messenger did not promise us (victory) but only to deceive. And when a party of them said: O people of Yathrib! there is no place to stand for you (here), therefore go back; and a party of them asked permission of the prophet, saying: 'Surely our houses are exposed; and they were not exposed.' they only desired to fly away".
The enemy managed to enter through a narrow breach in the trench, and engulfed their men inside but Ali managed to fend off the attack, forcing them to retreat.
The night came and the Prophet asked volunteers to go spy on the enemy and only one stood up, it was Hudhayfah. When he departed, the Prophet made a long cry and prayer to God to protect this man and bring victory over the unbelievers. Hudhayfah came back from the enemy camp unharmed and recounted what he had witnessed: a strong wind came out of nowhere, striking panic among them, blowing away their encampment. The pebbles carried by the wind, forced them to retreat for shelter
"and I heard the clatter of the pebbles against the shields. Abu Sufyan rushed up to his mount and cried out: 'Save yourselves, save yourselves!' Thus the Confederates went away".
This completely frustrated their plans, not only were they unable to pierce the Muslim defense, but in addition had to face a bitterly-cold storm wind that raged for several days, making life unbearable even for hardened warriors
33:25"And Allah turned back the unbelievers in their rage" 33:9"call to mind the favor of Allah to you when there came down upon you hosts, so We sent against them a strong wind and hosts, that you saw not, and Allah is Seeing what you do".
As happened before when the besieged and starved Israelites and their prophet Elisha, were rescued from the Syrians, by God who terrorized the hearts of their enemies, forcing them to retreat and break the siege, leaving their camps and all belongings intact and for the Israelites to plunder as spoils of war 2Kings6:24-33,7:1-20, the Muslims were freed by divine intervention. They went back next morning to Medina, baffled but joyful at what had happened. The prophet did not have time to cheer, the angel Gabriel appeared to him telling him to pursue the retreating armies, including those among the People of the Book that supported them.
Bani Qurayza were besieged for several war crimes. They did not abide by the Medina covenant saying they had to defend the city against foreign invasion, they in addition provided logistical support to the enemy, participating in the attack against the fortress where Muslim women and children were lodged for safety. This time God did not side with them as He did in the times of Elisha, He did not break the siege of their enemies; the Muslim siege lasted 25 days without fighting until the Qurayza surrendered. They realized, just as they had deceived the Muslims, the pagans in turn deceived them by not coming to their rescue as promised. This means they didnt surrender out of any change of heart, but because they had no choice
3:111"They shall by no means harm you but with a slight evil; and if they fight with you they shall turn (their) backs to you, then shall they not be helped".
Thus the parable of the 2 sons of Adam was repeating itself 5:27-31. It was recited to the Children of Israel as a warning not to reject and kill their Ishmaelite brothers, out of jealousy that God has now chosen them instead. Just as happened to the one that murdered his brother, they would similarly be thrown into intense remorse and regret. The Israelites plotted against the Ishmaelite prophet for the same reason for which the erring son of Adam had slain his pious brother. They could not see the obvious fact that God withdrew His favor from them and bestowed it upon their more God-conscious brothers, just as Cain's offering was refused for lack of piety while that of the God-fearing Abel was accepted. Instead of considering the matter, and reforming their evil ways, they plotted to kill those whom God had blessed with His favors.
At that point, Ka'b, the leader of the Qurayza, sought the prophet for a lenient verdict. But the prophet refused giving him the benefit of the doubt as he had done with the Jews of the Banu Nadir who were freely left to relocate following their treacheries. The crime of the Qurayza was much more grievous.
He then turned to the tribe of Aws, the former allies of his tribe back in preislamic times. They intervened with the prophet before declaring his verdict, pleading for the lives of the combatants among the Qurayza.
The prophet of God, even though he knew that whatever punishment he would have requested be imposed upon the Qurayza, it would have been unquestionably executed, stepped down from his prerogative, telling the notables of Aws to have their leader issue his own verdict instead. Saad ibn Muaad, the leader of Aws, who was being treated for a severe battle injury, received the notables. They began telling him of their plea to the prophet, reminding him of the preislamic times when Aws and Qurayza were friends and allies, pressuring him for a lenient verdict. Saad was on his deathbed and about to succumb to his wounds, which he had suffered during the battle against their alliance. He made at that point a decision that disregarded all political wisdom, one that could have otherwise secured his remembrance as a popular leader who heard his people's wishes before breathing his last.
His judgement was directly related to the Jews' own ethics of war for national expansion. That divinely sanctioned option stipulates, in their own scriptures, should a random nation be given the choice of a "peaceful" surrender to the Israelites army, and that this nation accepts, it would result in the enslavement and taxation of its population. Notice here it is speaking of purely arbitrary aggression, not a war in self-defense as was the case with the Muslims against whom the Qurayza had allied at the battle of the Trench earlier. Neither did the prophet arbitrarily choose to go and conquer them, neither did he propose any conditional peace offer. He was going after them to sanction them. Anyway, Should the randomly chosen nation reject the appealing "peace offer" then it would result in military subjugation with the execution of all adult males, confiscation of all their belongings, as well as capture of their women, children, and livestock Deut20:10-14. Should it be necessary to completely subdue that nation
2Kings3:19"you shall fell every good tree, and you shall stop up all springs of water, and you shall clutter every good field with stones".
This was the case that applied most to the current situation, even though the Qurayza werent a randomly chosen nation, they were a people living in complete and unrestricted freedom according to the "peace offer" that was agreed upon between them and the Muslims. This "peace offer" was not conditional on the enslavement and taxation of their population, as their scriptures allows them doing. They nevertheless rejected peace, and even though, according to their own war ethics, the only fact of rejecting a non-appealing offer results in complete destruction, in this case they not only rejected a truly appealing peace offer but also fought with the purpose of exterminating those that lived in peace with them.
Even if we just consider these factors, we see that, per their own standards, the punishment to be inflicted should be much higher. But it wasnt. And we're not even getting into the indiscriminate dispossessions and massacres of the Canaanites. We're not talking of Joshua and subsequent leaders, down to David who after beating the Moabites, measured them off
"with a line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two cord-lengths to put to death, and one full cord-length to keep alive"(2Sam8:2)
and enslaved the remaining population. The prophet did not go to these lowly "divine" standards.
As Saad announced the verdict, the prophet, who knew the divine standard of justice in such cases did not object and said
"You have given the judgement of Allah above the seven heavens".
All adult males suspected of being fighters among the Qurayza were executed. This concerned only those above the age of puberty, meaning fighting children, if there were, could not be subject to law of equal retribution. Others came to the prophet and sought amnesty, which was granted to them based on the fact they hadnt participated in the treachery, had left their stronghold prior to the siege and hadnt fought the encircled Muslims at the trench battle. In some cases the individual amnesty was extended to the close family relations despite them having actively taken part in the anti-Muslim preparations and attacks. These men later converted. The number of men executed on the other hand varies greatly from one source to another, despite these sources being unreliable to begin with. What is sure is that, there was no "genocide", and certainly not one on the scale of what their own people have done throughout their history. No such "massacre" is spoken of anywhere despite the Quran itself and the Muslim traditions reporting some of the silliest contentions the prophet's enemies had. No such news ever reached the Jewish diaspora with whom the Medina Jews had regular contacts, including those of Syria or Iraq which was the seat of their religious authority at the time.
The cutting down of some of their trees occurred prior to the battle. The prophet ordered some of their palm-trees adjacent to their stronghold be felled to incite them to come out and confront the Muslims, seeing some of their most precious trees being destroyed. The Quran describes those trees as "linat" denoting that they were the choicest 59:5. But the treacherous cowards remained behind their fortress until they could not bare the siege anymore.
Saad imposed his judgement just before the wound which he had suffered in his arm during the battle suddenly opened and the blood continued to gush out until he died. The women and children that had now no fathers and husbands were taken as captives, which in Islam implies in no way oppressive slavery. The land was distributed to the Muslims immigrating to Medina, and their wealth shared among all Muslims with one-fifth for public purposes. Bani Israel were thus once again destroyed through divine punishment for their treachery and transgression, as it happened to them twice before, and on a divinely sanctioned scale far surpassing their punishment at the hands of the Muslims 17:4-8. The Quran prophecises that this threat of destruction will remain hanging above them until the Day of Resurrection 7:167. This severe decree does not contravene God's attribute of forgiveness, since both His punishment and mercy are contingent on the people's behavior
"And when your Lord proclaimed that He would surely send against them, until the day of Resurrection, those who would inflict on them a terrible punishment. Indeed your Lord is swift in retribution, and indeed He is all forgiving, ever merciful".
Abasement and humiliation, as well as insecurity and vulnerability, were stamped upon them wherever they went. This was due to their ungratefulness, transgressions which they persistently and sometimes even provocatively committed throughout their history, from the time they were led out of bondage 2:16,3:112. They were once again engulfed by the divine curse and wrath and whenever they kindled a fire for war after that, Allah put it out
33:26-7"And He drove down those of the followers of the Book who backed them from their fortresses and He cast awe into their hearts; some you killed and you took captive another part. And He made you heirs to their land and their dwellings and their property".
The prophet was at war for over 13 years with various tribes, including other Jews than Bani Qurayza. If he was a war lord that loved blood as the critics claim by raising this incident, then it would be easy to provide evidence for this lust for be-heading and decapitating to establish a precedent. History on the other hand says that Jews continued to live in that region. They should have all fled following the supposed massacres, but didnt. They were only to be expelled many years after the Prophet died, by Umar. They were shifted to other regions within the Peninsula, Tayma and Ariha, and given paid settlements. The Jews of Khaybar for example, after they had violently attacked a Muslim were exiled and compensated for their lands
"When the people of Khaibar dislocated `Abdullah bin `Umar's hands and feet, `Umar got up delivering a sermon saying, "No doubt, Allah's Messenger made a contract with the Jews concerning their properties, and said to them, 'We allow you (to stand in your land) as long as Allah allows you.' Now `Abdullah bin `Umar went to his land and was attacked at night, and his hands and feet were dislocated, and as we have no enemies there except those Jews, they are our enemies and the only people whom we suspect, I have made up my mind to exile them." When `Umar decided to carry out his decision, a son of Abu Al-Haqiq's came and addressed `Umar, "O chief of the believers, will you exile us although Muhammad allowed us to stay at our places, and made a contract with us about our properties, and accepted the condition of our residence in our land?" `Umar said, "Do you think that I have forgotten the statement of Allah's Messenger, i.e.: What will your condition be when you are expelled from Khaibar and your camel will be carrying you night after night?" The Jew replied, "That was joke from Abul-Qasim." `Umar said, "O the enemy of Allah! You are telling a lie." `Umar then drove them out and paid them the price of their properties in the form of fruits, money, camel saddles and ropes, etc."
Umar was being lenient here, considering that their expulsion was due to them breaching a non-aggression treaty with the Muslims.
Clearly the prophet's conflict with his Israelites brethren was neither arbitrary or prejudiced. It is also to be noted it is Umar who, upon Jerusalem's conquest, cleaned the garbage dump which Christians purposefully left over the Jewish temple mount. It is Umar who invited 70 Jewish families of a nearby refugee village back into Jerusalem giving them the right to return after centuries of banishment by successive Christian leadership. Many attempts were made to reason and coexist with them. This is nothing like the 2000 years of humiliating abasement, mass expulsions, rounding up, forced conversions, false accusations and calumnies, extortions and indiscriminate mass killings of Jewish "Christ-killers" by Christians. What is even more disturbing is that this type of behavior was viewed as theologically and eschatologically justified and positive, in the sense that Christians were being "loving" and "charitable" by inciting Jews to be healed from their cursed and harmful faith.
Here is a timeline of Jewish persecution https://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/historyjewishpersecution/.
Jewish "persecution" began since before any Temple was standing, such as in ancient Egypt. As already pointed 99% of such persecution as well as the killings from that time till now come from non-Muslims. But what is most important to note is the Jewish persecution and genocides of other people, through divinely ordained commands still applicable and compulsory to this day, as well as the persecution and killing of Jews by Jews throughout their biblical history.
As to recent times, the Arab nations had no "Jewish problem". They've been living side by side with them for centuries, even helped them escape the Nazis, especially in North Africa. Its not German antisemitic propaganda that turned the tide, causing Nazis and Arabs to ally, rather the shared hatred of the colonizers (British, French or Italian) and opposition to fascism and communism. It is known that the Arab elites did not endorse Nazism either, just as Hitler despised the Arabs. The Mufti of Jerusalem on the other hand had a "Jewish problem" (the massive influx of Jews into Palestine in the late 30s), combined with hatred of the British who opposed their nationalism. When Jews were targeted by Arabs in Arab lands, it was to prevent their emigration to Palestine, by sympathizers of the Mufti. There were no genocidal attacks/pogroms except for the event of Baghdad in '41, again in the backdrop of the politics of the time, blaming the Jews for the British invasion (they were seen as allies in relation to Palestine). But the scale of victims and damage to property is widely disputed, and some Iraqis risked their lives to hide Jewish neighbours. Although the authorities did not immediately intervene, they eventually conducted an investigation, even executed army officers. Sure, life for a Jew in Arab lands was sometimes far from perfect, just like Muslim life is far from perfect in Israel (killings, destruction of land and property etc). But how many antisemitic incidents throughout ancient history until the 20th century came from Muslims, and were actually ordered by the authorities (as is done today in Israel)? Compare it to the scale of antimuslim attacks in Israel's short history.
The defeat the Jews had suffered at the battle of the Trench, where they had allied with the near totality of the Arab pagan tribes for the purpose of exterminating the Muslims, did not deter them. They were making preparations behind their settlements of Khaybar and the gardens of Fadak where 14000 of them lived inside 7 well fortified strongholds, for a final showdown with the Muslims. Their chief, Yusayr ibn Razam, joined with the Arab tribe of Ghatfan, along with the banished Jewish tribes of Nadir and Qaynuqa that were allowed, by the prophet, despite their former treacheries, to find refuge within the fortress with their Jewish brethren. A little prior to the battle of Khaybar, another Jewish leader against whom similar targeted assassination was allowed was Sallam ibn al-Huqayq al-Nadri, also known as Abu rafi'. He is not the same person as Kinana ibn Al Rabi' as some misinformed critics have tried portraying. Ibn Khatir for example in his tafsir cites them both as actively participating in the battle of the confederates, with al Huqayq playing a prominent role in gathering and inciting the Meccans in their bid to inflict a crushing blow on the nascent Muslim community. Elsewhere, by al Bayhaqi, he is said to have financed the coalition and provided weapons.
After the issue of Bani Qurayza was settled, the Khazraj tribe, a rival of Al-Aws, asked for the Prophet’s permission to kill al-Huqayq, aka Abu Rafi, in the same manner that the Aws were permitted to execute a criminal mastermind, Kaab bin Al-Ashraf. Permission was granted provided that no women or children would be harmed, an instruction that was respected despite Abu Rafi's wife almost foiling the attempt. This happened prior to the siege of Khaybar, where he was mercifully allowed to remain following the defeat of the Jewish-Meccan alliance, and from where he kept on actively inciting the Muslims' enemies. Wars were started and innocent people lost their lives because of such incitements.
The prophet thought that such a move would dissuade the people of Khaybar from pursuing their belligerent attitude but it did not. To demonstrate their strength, Ghatfan captured 20 camels of the Prophet after killing their herdsman and capturing his wife. Their intriguing and use of their wealth to incite tribes against the Muslims left the prophet Muhammad with no choice but to put an end to their machinations and betrayals. Leaving them to freely behave in that way and slowly build up their opposing alliances would again put the Muslim survival at risk, just as they had almost caused the extermination of the Muslim community in the previous battle. Ibn Ishaq reports that when the prophet arrived at Medina he invited the peaceful Jews of Khaybar to Islam with a letter, which after reminding them of the prophetic history and how he fits in it, does not put any blame on them if they sincerely reject his call
"I adjure you to tell me if you find in that revelation which Allah sent down to You, that you should believe in Muhammad. If you cannot find that in your scripture, no displeasure will fall on you. Guidance will be distinguishable from error, and I invite you to Allah and to His prophet".
This call, from which they arent liable in case of rejection after sincerely and objectively considering the prophet's message, in light of their own scriptures, was made at a time where they had not yet displayed the machinations, war incitements and enemy alliances they would actively participate in a few years later against the Muslims at the battle of the Trench. A few years later then, as he reached the fortress and to make sure that he would not inadvertently cause innocent Muslim casualties, who would have accepted the invitation he had made a few years back in times of peace, he waited for the sound of the morning call to prayer. This was a common practice of the prophet which he had done in other cases
"Whenever the Prophet went out with us to fight (in Allah's cause) against any nation, he never allowed us to attack till morning and he would wait and see: if he heard Adhan he would postpone the attack and if he did not hear Adhan he would attack them".
When the time came and the call to prayer wasnt heard, the green light was given to attack and to apply the unalterable divine law of retribution, as amply demonstrated in both their scriptures and the Quran.
Whenever a messenger is sent to a people with an undeniable manifestation of the truth, and that the people reject it knowingly and attempt to kill him, then they are destroyed either by a heavenly disaster or by the hands and swords of the prophet and his partisans. Those believers and their prophet are then made their successors in the land. This is an unquestionable pattern in the semitic prophetic history.
When Ali spearheaded the assault he asked the prophet on which basis (not that there were no basis, rather which among the basis) should he fight them, the prophet replied, on the basis of that very divine law alluded to earlier
"O Messenger of Allah, on what basis should I fight the people?” He said: “Fight them until they bear witness that none has the right to be worshiped but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. If they do that, then they have protected from you their blood and their wealth, except for a right that is due, and their reckoning will be with Allah".
Again, a very important point to reiterate, these Jews were peacefully invited to Islam many years back and were never bothered for their refusal to accept it. The prophet only engaged them in battle when they initiated hostile activities against him and the Muslim community. It is the mercy of the prophet that, despite having full authority of applying the divine penalty for continuously rejecting a prophet's call, in addition attempting to murder him and his followers, gave them nevertheless the option of surrendering to the divine law and walk free. This also shows that the Muslims' priority in their case was not their wealth rather the application of the divine law. Yet they still refused, just as they had in the past stubbornly and arrogantly rejected prophets from their own people telling them to adhere to their own books. They were thus forcefully subdued for 2 completely legitimate reasons, first their worldly crimes, and then the transgression of rejecting a prophet in their midst. It is to be noted, as said in the report, had they accepted Islam at that moment then it would have only warded off the divine worldly destruction from them but not their moral accountability before God for their past crimes.
Before getting into the details of that battle, it would be appropriate to compare the progressive manner that inevitably led the prophet Muhammad finally engaging to war with the settlement of Khaybar, and the Jews' own standards of behavior in wars.
The Hebrew Bible sanctioned letter for letter by Jesus, allows the extermination of entire population save their virgins, regardless of age. All visibly mature women are killed while the visibly virgin, meaning children, are distributed among the invading Israelites Numbers31:17-18etc. The Hebrew speaks of
"every woman who can lie with a man"
in contrast to the
"young girls who have no experience of intimate relation with a man".
The text is thus clearly speaking in terms of physical appearance. Obviously the soldiers weren't going around verifying each captive's private parts to distinguish the virgins. Those children may be disposed of according to one's whims, as the passage gives no regulation in the matter. This is in the context of genocidal warfare, binding on Jews of all times where specific nations must be annihilated, like the Amalekites and six other Canaanite nations and any of their descendants whenever they are identified Deut20:16,25:19.
In another context, that of optional warfare, Deut21 instructs the soldiers to marry the captive he lusts for, prior to sexual intimacy. She has no choice and say in the matter. She is brought to the soldier's household, her hair trimmed (the Hebrew does not mean shaved off), nails shortened, previous clothes put aside, and given a month to mourn her decimated family, right in front of her captors' eyes v13. This period of mourning provides no mechanism by which to ascertain former pregnancy. The potential child's lineage is this way cut off and assimilated into his captor's tribe. Also, the passage only mentions the captive girl's murdered parents, which implies again she could be very young, or mature and unmarried (unlikely in those days for a woman that is so attractive that the soldier lusts after), or with a husband who is still alive. The altering of her physical appearance is understood differently among the commentators, some seeing it as a means by which she is beautified, and others that she is made purposefully unattractive.
If after that process the Jewish man still lusts for her, he may then marry her, keeping her alongside the "preferred" wife. If not, she is simply abandoned to fend off for herself, returning to whatever is left of her ravaged home.
As already said, Numbers31 and Deut21 are contextually unrelated. This undermines the argument that marriage is always a precondition to sexual intimacy. In Numbers31 the option of forced marriage isnt given as the female captive is from among the nations whom the Israelites are to be at war with forever. In Deut21, the context is that of optional wars. In that sub-category, the Israelites are permitted to prey on the weak nation of their choice, subdue and abuse its people as they wish. These are the wars labelled up to this day by the rabbis as wars of "national glory". This isnt a war necessary for the survival of the Jewish people, or in response to provocation, not even under divine injunction. In such a case a random nation is given the choice between a "peaceful" surrender, that would result in the enslavement and taxation of its population, or in case of their rejection of the "peace offer", a military subjugation resulting in the execution of all adult males, the capture as spoils of war of their women, children, and livestock Deut20:10-14.
Should it be necessary to completely subdue that nation
2Kings3:19"you shall fell every good tree, and you shall stop up all springs of water, and you shall clutter every good field with stones".
In the land of Canaan, those natives that werent driven out or exterminated as per the Torah's injunctions during the invasion, were subdued into slavery Josh17:13. Their descendants suffered the same fate under Solomon's rule 1Kings9:20-1. After all and as stated in both the HB and the Talmudic writings (Eleazar ben Shammua) the purpose of creation and the reason why the heavens and earth are maintained is for the chosen race to observe Torah.
That is what the Quran would have looked like, and how it would have instructed its people to behave towards the foreign nations and the weak that come under their possession, had it been penned by the ancients of its time to whom such attitude was regarded as expected and acceptable.
We now return to the events of Khaybar.
A detachment of above 1000 men was sent to their fortresses. It took the Muslims 20 days of siege and several assaults led by Abu Bakr then Umar and finally Ali who valiantly pierced the fortress and inflicted heavy casualties in the Jews and pagan ranks. After their defeat, the tribes of Bani Nadir and Qaynuqa were expelled and over those that remained, Muhammad proposed putting their own chief Yusayr ibn Rizam as Governor of Khaybar over his fellow Jews. In exchange he had to recognize the Prophet's legislative authority, not religious. He was allowed to keep his and his people's religion. He in addition was to ensure that none among his people would ever again engage in hostilities or stir up anyone against the Muslims. He accepted but on his way back to Khaybar where he was escorted with his 30 men and some armed Muslim men, he regretted his decision and attacked the Prophet's messenger, killing him. Followed a heavy fight from which no Muslim died and all Jewish soldiers were killed except 1 who escaped. The history books report that one of the chiefs of the Bani Nadir named Kinana ibn Rabi, who had been given amnesty and relocated to Khaybar, was put to death under the prophet's orders, by Muhammad ibn Maslama in retaliation for the murder of his brother Mahmud.
With the collapse of their last fortress, the Jews did not pose any more threat to the Muslims. Those that were expelled had their immovable properties confiscated and redistributed to the homeless among Muslims, who still had no dwelling places since their migration from Mecca. Those that were allowed to stay, remained on the condition that they could be expelled anytime should they return to treachery, desire for war or instigating others against the Muslims. They could keep their property but in exchange had to provide the Muslims with part of their crops, they had to relinquish their insularity and participate in the life of the whole community with the rights and obligations that naturally ensue.
Following the death of Yusayr ibn Rizam, another Jew, Ibn Rawahah was placed as governor. This is the prophet's mercy, as a chief of state and having that community entirely subdued to him, did not place a Muslim nor a tyrant above them. Instead, he instructed the Jews be allowed free practice of their religion. Now the believers had inherited under divine sanction their lands and wealth just as other unrighteous people's possessions were entirely given to the Israelites as spoils
Neh9:25"And they captured fortified cities and fat soil, and they inherited houses full of all good, hewn cisterns, vineyards, and olive trees, and fruit trees in abundance, and they ate and were sated, and they became fat, and they enjoyed pleasures with Your great goodness".
The Ishmaelites and their prophet however did not behave anywhere remotely like the Israelites and their prophets did whenever the lands of their enemies were granted to them by God, disregarding all ethics of war and humanitarian principles.
Further reading
