Message for Muslims

The Jewish tribe Bani Nadhir ordered into exile

The Cause of the order:

The Bani Nadhir, one of the Jewish tribes inhabiting the vicinity of Medina, were confederate with the Bani Aamir with whom Muhammad had experienced conflict. Attended by a few followers Muhammad visited their village, and despite being treated courteously suddenly  arose, and, without saying a word to any one, walked out of the assembly. His followers waited a long time expecting his return. But they waited in vain; at length they also arose, and went back to Medina. They found, to their astonishment, that Muhammad had returned straightway to his home, and had given out that his hasty departure from the assembly was caused by a divine intimation that the chiefs of the Bani Nadhir were seeking treacherously to take his life. It is asserted that they had formed a plot to ascend the roof under which he sat, and roll down great stones upon him. But as his own followers saw nothing to excite suspicion, and as the chapter of the Quran specially devoted to the subject does not hint at any such perfidy, we must receive the narrative with distrust. However this may be, Muhammad resolved that Bani Nadhir should no longer remain in the neighbourhood of Medina.

 

The implementation of order:

Muh ammad pronounced the order of banishment and at first they began to make their preparations for departure. But it was a grievous prospect for them to be exiled from the home of their fathers, from their fertile fields, and their choice date-groves. However, when promises of support came from other tribes they resolved to hold fast. The Muslims armed themselves at once and they made ready for the campaign with Ali carrying the standard. The besiegers were kept at a distance by arrows and stones; but the Bani Nadhir looked in vain for help either from Medina or from the tribes of Nejd. The Bani Qurayza, their Jewish brethren, either swayed by ancient, jealousies or fearful of incurring the wrath of the vindictive Prophet, pretended that they could not break their treaty with him. Despite these disappointments, the Bani Nadhir held out gallantly and defied all the attempts of their enemy.

 

The Bani Nadhir’s date trees are burned:

Muhammad in order to hasten their surrender, had recourse to an expedient, unusual, if not wholly unwarranted, according to the laws of Arab warfare. He cut down the surrounding date-trees, and burned the choicest of them to the roots with fire. The Jews remonstrated against this proceeding as barbarous and opposed to the law of Moses (Deuteronomy 20:19) and Muhammad felt that his reputation demanded a special order from the Almighty, sanctioning the destruction of his enemy’s palm-trees.

 

The Banishment:

After the siege had lasted for fifteen or twenty days, the Bani Nadhir seeing no prospect of relief, sent to say that they were now ready to abandon the lands which had already to them lost their chief value. Muhammad was glad to accede to the offer. They submitted, moreover, to the stipulation that they should leave their arms behind them. The Bani Nadhir having laden the whole of their property even to their doors and lintels, upon camels, set out on the r oad to Syria, Some of their chiefs turned aside at Kheibar the rest went on to Jericho and the highlands south of Syria. Two of their number only abandoned their ancestral faith, and, having embraced Islam, were maintained in the possession of their fields and property. Thus early were the inducements of this life brought to bear on the advancement of the creed of Muhammad. The spoil consisted of fifty coats of mail, fifty portions of complete armour and three hundred and forty swords. But of greater importance was the fertile tract of land now at the disposal of Muhammad.

 

The importance of victory over the Bani Nadhir

One by one Muhammad was breaking up the adjoining Jewish settlements, and weakening the cause of disaffection; for a combination at any time, between the Jews and the other enemies of Islam, would have proved critical to his safety at Medina. The whole of Surah Al-Hashr 59 is devoted to the victory in which is ascribed the terror which struck the hearts of Bani Nadhir by the Almighty.

For about a year and a half after the expulsion of the Bani Nadhir, Medina was little disturbed by war either of aggression or defence.

 

 

Siege of Medina (battle of the Ditch)

The Meccans joined by Bedouin tribes to lay siege to Medina but were thwarted by the digging of a ditch. After several days wearied and damped in spirit, with the wind and rain beating mercilessly on the unprotected camp  it hardened into a hurricane. Fires were extinguished, tents blown down, cooking vessels and other equipment overthrown. Cold and comfortless, Abu Sofian suddenly resolved on an immediate march and retired. During the siege Abu Sofian succeeded in detaching the Jewish tribe of Qurayza from their allegiance to Muhammad an d it was agreed that the Qurayza would assist the Qurraish. Rumours of the defection reached Muhammad and this was confirmed by a small delegation which he sent to them. After Muhammad had repelled the Meccan alliance he, under divine instruction from Gabriel successfully laid siege on the Bani Qurayza. The grim details of how hundreds of prisoners were slaughtered is detailed. The butchery of the Qurayza an indelible blot upon the character of Muhammad.

 

Siege of the Qurayza

Divine instructions:

He had just begun to cleanse himself from the dust of the campaign, when suddenly Gabriel brought him command to proceed immediately against the Bani Qurayza. ‘What’ said the heavenly visitor, in the language of reproach, ‘hast thou laid aside thine armour, while as yet the angels have not laid theirs aside’ Arise and go forth against the Qurayza. Behold I go before thee to shake the foundations of their walls. Instantly Bilal was sent to make proclamation throughout the town. An immediate march was ordered; all were to be present at the evening prayer in the camp pitched before the fortress of the Qurayza, two or three miles to the south-east of Medina.  The standard was placed in the hands of Ali and Muhammad mounted his ass, and the army  three thousand strong, with thirty-six horses followed him.

The siege:

A discharge of archery fell on the fortress of the Qurayza. One man, approaching incautiously near, was killed by a Jewess, who cast down a millstone on him. But the im provident Jews had not calculated on the chances and necessities of a siege; they were soon reduced to great distress, and sought to capitulate on condition of quitting the neighbourhood even empty-handed. Muhammad, having no longer other Jewish neighbours to alarm or alienate by his severity, was bent on a bloody revenge, and he refused to listen. In their extremity, the Qurayza appealed to their ancient friendship with the Bani Aus, and the services rendered to them in bygone days. They begged that Abu Lubaba, a friend and ally belonging to that tribe, might be allowed to visit and counsel them. He came, and, overcome by the wailing of the children and the cries of the women, he had no heart to speak, but, symbolically drawing his hand across his throat, indicated that they must fight to the last, as death was all had to hope for.

The surrender:

At last the wretched Jews, brought now to the last verge of starvation, offered to surrender, on condition that their fate would be decided by their allies the Bani Aus. To this Muhammad agreed  and, after a siege of fourteen days according to others of twenty-five, the whole tribe, men, women and children, came forth from their stronghold. The men, handcuffed behind their backs, were placed on one side, under charge of Muhammad son of Maslama, the assassin of K’ab ; the women and children, torn from their fathers and husbands, were put under the care of Abdallah, a renegade Jew. As the women passed before the conqueror, his eye marked the lovely features of Rihana, and he destined her to be his own. The household stuff of the captives, their clothes and armour (there were 500 swords, 1,000 lances, 500 shields and 300 coats of mail), their camels and flocks, were all brought forth to await the arbiter’s award. The wine and fermented liquors were poured away, the use of such being now forbidden to believers. The Bani Aus were importunate that their ancient allies should be spared and when Muhammad suggested that their fate should be placed into the hands of one of their own tribe, they expressed satisfaction. Muhammad immediately nominated Sa’d ibn Muadz to be the judge.

The bloody judgement:

S’ad still suffered from the severe wound received at the trench. From the field of battle he had been carried to a tent pitched by Muhammad in the court-yard of the Mosque, where the wounded men were waited on by Rufeida an experienced nurse. His wound had begun apparently to heal. But the sense of the injury still rankled in his heart; and Muhammad knew well the bitter hate into which his former friendship had been turned by the treachery of the Qurayza. Muhammad then commanded that S’ad should pronounce his judgment on the Qurayza. After initial comments he proceeded : ‘’This verily is my judgement, that the male captives shall be put to death, and that the female captive and the children shall be sold into slavery, and the spoil divided amongst the army.’

Many a heart quailed, besides the hearts of the wretched prisoners, at this bloody decree but all questioning were stopped by Muhammad, who sternly adopted the verdict of his own by declaring it to be the solemn judgement of the Almighty: cold and unmoved he said: ‘Truly thou hast decided according to the judgement of God pronounced in high from beyond the seven heavens.’

The butchery of the Bani Qurayza:

No sooner was the sentence passed and ratified than the camp broke up and the people wended their way back to Medina. The captives, still under charge of Muhammad were dragged roughly along; one alone was treated with tenderness and care, – it was Rihana the beautiful Jewess, set apart for Muhammad. The men and women were penned up for the night in separate yards; they were supplied with dates and spent the night in prayer, repeating passages from their Scriptures and exhorting one another to constancy. During the night graves or trenches sufficient to contain the dead bodies of the men were dug in the chief market place of the city. When these were ready in the morning Muhammad, himself a spectator of the tragedy gave command that the captives should be brought forth in companies of five or six at a time. Each company was made to sit down by the brink of the trench destined for its grave, and there beheaded. One woman alone was put to death; it was she who threw the millstone from the battlements. When she heard that her husband had been slain, she loudly avowed what she had done, and demanded to be led too execution also, – a request which Muhammad granted in more mercy perhaps than he intended, and she met her death with a cheerful countenance. Ayesha relates that this woman, whose heart perhaps was sustained by faith in the God of her fathers went smiling and fearlessly to her fate. Ayesha said that she could never get this woman out of her imagination.

The murderous work begun in the morning lasted all day and was concluded by torchlight in the evening. Having sated his revenge and drenched the market-place with the blood of eight hundred victims, (the numbers are variously given from between six hundred to even nine hundred) and having given command for the earth to be smoothed over their remains. Muhammad turned from the horrid spectacle to solace himself with the charms of Rihana, whose husband and all her male relatives had just perished in the massacre. He invited her to be his wife ; but she declined, and chose to remain (as indeed, having refused marriage, she had no alternative ) his slave or concubine. She also declined the summons to conversion, and continued in the Jewish faith, at which the Prophet was much concerned. It is said, however, that afterwards she embraced Islam. She lived with Muhammad until her death.There were (besides little children who counted with their mothers ) a thousand captives; from his share of these, Muhammad made certain presents to his friends of slave girls and female servants. The rest of the women and children he sent to be sold among the Bedouin tribes of Nejd, in exchange for horses and arms.

The siege of Medina, the massacre of the Bani Qurayza are noticed in Surah Al-Ahzab 33 of the Quran revealed shortly after, and recited by Muhammad, as was customary, from the pulpit :

> “Ye that believe! Call to mind the favour of God towards you when hosts came upon you, and We sent against them a tempest and hosts which ye saw not” (Al-Ahzab 33:9)

> “And He hath caused to descend from their strongholds the Jews who assisted them; and He struck terror into their hearts. A part ye slaughtered and ye made captive a part. And He hath you inherit their land, and their habitations, and their wealth, and a land which ye had not trodden upon ; and God is over all things powerful.” (Al-Ahazab 26,27)

 

Muhammad’s position greatly improved

In reviewing these transactions it is evident that the position of Muhammad was now greatly improved in strength and influence. The whole weight of the Qurraish and of the Bedouin tribes, with all their mighty preparations, had been successfully repelled, and that with hardly any loss. The fate of the Qurayza had removed the last remnant of open opposition, political or religious, from the immediate neighbourhood of Medina; and though the deed did not at the time escape criticism, yet it struck so great a terror into the hearts of all, and the authority of the Prophet was already invested with so mysterious and supernatural a sanction, that no one dared openly impugn it.

 

Bearing on Muhammad’s character

That the massacre was barbarous and inhuman requires no comment to prove. The ostensible grounds upon which Muhammad proceeded were purely political, for as yet he did not profess to force men to join Islam, or to punish them for not embracing it. The compact with the Qurayza was indeed weak and precarious. Muhammad’s policy towards the Jews, from a period shortly after his arrival at Medina, had been harsh and oppressive; he had attacked and expatriated two whole tribes on very doubtful grounds; and had been involved in the assassination of several Jews; and had  felt that the existing treaty with the Jews had been practically set aside. All these circumstances must plead against the strength of obligation which bound the Qurayza to his cause.

Yet, the Qurayza had joined his enemies at a critical period, and he had now a good cause for warring against them. He had furthermore, fair grounds of political necessity for requiring them perhaps to quit altogether a vicinity where they must have continued to form a dangerous nucleus of disaffection, and possibly an encouragement for renewed attack. We might even concede that the conduct of their leaders amounted to treason against the city, and warranted a severe retribution. But the indiscriminate slaughter of eight hundred men, and the subjugation of the women and children of the whole tribe to slavery, can be recognised by no civilised people otherwise than as an act of enormous cruelty.

The plea of divine ratification or command may allay the scruples of the credulous Muslim; but it will be summarily rejected by others, who will call to mind that the same authority was now habitually produced for personal ends, and for the justification even of unhallowed actions. However much Muhammad may have deluded himself into the belief that he had the divine sanction for that which he did, a candid and severe examination of his heart must have shown him that these so-called revelations were but the counterpart of his own will, that they followed the course of his own longings and desires, and that he was himself was responsible for their shape and colour. The butchery of the Qurayza casts an indelible blot upon the character of Muhammad.