Refuting the Allegation “Prophet Muhammad Murdered Jews of Quraizah”

From: www.thetruecall.com


Introduction

After hijra, the people present in Madinah besides the Muhajirs were the Ansar or the original inhabitants of Madinah and the Jews.

The Jews comprised three tribes living in and around Madinah, namely the Banu Nadir, the Banu Qainuqa and the Banu Quraizah. The Banu Qainuqa tribe lived in Madinah and paid tribute to the Arab tribe, Khazraj. The Banu Nadir and Banu Quraizah lived to the south of Madinah, behind it and they paid tribute to the Arab tribe of Aws. (Ar Raheeq il Mahktoom, page 282)

Though “the jews had originally come from outside Arabia and seized on the land near Madinah” (Abdullah Yusuf Ali, note 5379 on Al Hashr, verse 7, page 1718) in the face of oppression (being in reality Ibraani), they had totally soaked up the Arab language and culture. They even intermarried with the Arabs, but differences existed between them. Considering themselves a superior race, they looked down upon the Arabs and called them barbarians. The Jews considered the wealth of the Arabs ‘Mubah’, which meant that they could do as they pleased with it. (ibid, page 281)

Hence the verse in the Holy Qur`an-

‘Among the People of the Book are some who, if entrusted with a hoard of gold, will (readily) pay it back; others, who, if entrusted with a single silver coin, will not repay it unless thou constantly stoodest demanding, because, they say, “there is no call on us (to keep faith) with these ignorant (Pagans).” but they tell a lie against Allah, and (well) they know it.’ (Al Qur`an 3:75)

The Jews had a flair for trade and controlled the trade of dates, alcohol and farm produce. This made them extremely wealthy. They used to forward loans to the Arab chieftains at absurdly exorbitant rates of interest (which the Arabs squandered for show.) In return, the Jews kept as security their lands, farms and gardens.

The Jews conspired to spread mischief and cause war amongst the ignorant Arabs who had no idea of their subtle cunning and deceit. They followed the policy of ‘divide and rule’ and would incite the tribes against each other, then sit back to watch the spectacle of the Arabs destroying themselves. (ibid, page 282)

These Jewish tribes were responsible for the prolonged war between the two above mentioned tribes, Aws and Khazraj.

Hence, nothing other than hatred and malice for Islam could be expected from the Jews since the Prophet SAW did not belong to their race. This hadith recorded by Ibn Ishaaq explicitly shows their feelings- Abdullah b. Abu Bakr b. Muhammad b. Amr b. Hazm told me that he was told that Safiya d. Huyayy b. Akhtab said 'I was the favorite child of my father and my uncle Abu Yasir. When I was present they took no notice of their other children. When the apostle was staying in Quba with the B. Amr b. Auf tribe, the two went to see him before daybreak and did not return until after nightfall, weary, worn out, drooping and feeble. I went up to them in childish pleasure as I always did and they were so sunk in gloom that they took no notice of me. I heard my uncle say to my father,

“Is he ‘he’? Do you recognize him, and can you be sure?”

“Yes!”

“And what do you feel about him?”

"By God I shall be his enemy as long as I live!" (Ibn Ishaq, "The Life of Prophet Muhammad" p.241-242, Translation by A. Guillaume)

They realized that the universal message of love of Islam would invariably unite the warring Arabs and they would be out of the Jewish clutches (in which they were). The teachings of the new religion, Islam also prohibited the taking and giving of usury. The Jews would thus be deprived of the interest that they had successfully amassed till now and the Arab properties which they had illegally taken hold of.

The Treaty signed with Jews

After the hijra, the Prophet SAW set about laying the foundation of the new Islamic Ummah. One important task faced by him was the development of peaceful and cordial relations with the non-Muslims of Madinah.

As we already know, the nearest neighbours of Madinah were the Jews. Though they harboured malice for the Prophet SAW and Muslims in their hearts, they had not made it apparent as yet. The Prophet SAW signed a treaty with them, by which they were free to practice their religion and traditions and dispose of their wealth and property as they pleased.

Some important terms of the treaty were-

The Jews and Muslims would be considered one entity, the Jews and Muslims were free to follow their respective religions, freemen and slaves alike.
The Jews were responsible for their affairs and the Muslim for theirs.
If any member of the treaty went on war with another party, the other members would support it and cooperate with each other. As long as the war continued the expenditure would be born by all the members.
The Quraish and their helpers would not be given asylum in Madinah.
Any mutual dispute between the members of the treaty would be settled by Allah and His Messenger SAW. (Ar Raheeq il Makhtoom, page 298-300)
But the Jews were deceitful and frequently broke the terms of such a fair and generous treaty.

The period after the Battle of Uhud

The setback that the Muslims suffered during the Battle of Uhud (AH 3) served as a morale booster for the pagan Quraish and Jews who began to cherish the hopes that they could finish off Islam and Muslims.

They began to raise their heads against the Islamic state of Madinah, and the Muslims encountered as many as 8 such situations continuously (AH 3-4). They were dealt expertly with by the Prophet SAW.

The economic boycott of Madinah by the Arabs added to the troubles of the Muslims too. (Tafheem ul Qu`ran, volume 4, Introduction to Al-Ahzab, page 54)

Notable among these (in this context) is the continual breach of the treaty by the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir, which ultimately lead to their expulsion from Madinah. Encouraged by the uprisings against the state of Islam the Banu Nadir Jews plotted against the life of the Prophet SAW. When this evil conspiracy came to light, the Prophet SAW gave them the ultimatum to leave Makkah within 10 days and warned that anyone who remained behind would be put to death. But they defied the order and after the passage of ten days the Prophet SAW laid siege to their quarters. They surrendered conditionally and scattered themselves in Khyber, Wadi-e-Qura and Syria. (ibid, page 55)

The Battle of the Trench or Confederates

In spite of all the ignominy and humiliation that the Jews had to taste as a result of their scheming and vile plotting against the new Muslim Ummah, they had not learnt a lesson.

After their banishment to Khyber, the Jews of the banu nadir tribe kept a low profile and waited for the outcome of the armed skirmishes between the Muslims and pagans of Makkah. But, when they saw that the outcome was in the general favour of the new Ummah, they decided to act. A really nefarious plot was cooked up, which if succeeded, would have wiped the Muslims off the face of Arabia.

20 leaders and entrepreneurs of the tribe of banu nadir went to Makkah and presented themselves before the leaders of the Quraish. They incited them to take up arms against the Messenger SAW and pledged them their support. Then they garnered support from the other Arab tribes including Banu Gatfaan, Sulaim, Asad, Huzail etc and the Jewish Qainuka. (Ar Raheeq il Mahktoom, page 468-469)

The pagans (Quraish), Arab Bedouins (Banu Gatfaan) and Jews thus made a network of alliances, got together a force of 10,000 men in Shauwaal and Zul-qa`ada AH 5. The battle lasted over 2 weeks, some accounts say 27 days.

When the confederates, especially the Jews, felt that things were not going as planned, the last resort left for them was to convince the Banu Quraizah to rebel. With this purpose in mind, the main culprit of Banu Nadir, Huyayy bin Akhtab, went to the Banu Quraizah fortress to meet its head, Ka’ab bin Asad Qarzi. At first, Ka’ab bin Asad would have nothing to do with him. But, Huyayy bin Akhtab continued to coax and cajole him. When Huyayy bin Akhtab told him that he had the entire force of the Arabs on his side and this was the last opportunity they had to wipe out conclusively the entire Muslim Ummah, the Jewish hatred for Islam prevailed, the last of his moral fiber sapped and he agreed. But Ka’ab bin Asad kept a condition that if the Quraish turned back without completing their mission, Huyayy would also come along with the Banu Quraizah, to which he agreed.
The people of Banu Quraizah then started full scale preparation for war. (ibid, page 478-479)

A rumour of this happening reached the Prophet SAW who immediately sent four Ansar chiefs to investigate. Among them were Hazrats S’ad bin Mu’aaz RA and S’ad bin Ubadah RA. When they reached the Banu Quraizah Fortress, they found the people intent on treachery. When asked about their treaty with the Prophet SAW, they said “Who Prophet…?” and openly abused him SAW and Islam. (ibid, page 481)

This backstabbing by the Jews had put the Muslim in extreme jeopardy. Had Allah’s help not been with them, they would have been surely annihilated. These verses from the Al Qu`ran, chapter Al Ahzab give a graphic account of the situation-

“Behold! they came on you from above you and from below you, and behold, the eyes became dim and the hearts gaped up to the throats, and ye imagined various (vain) thoughts about Allah! Behold! They came on you from above you and from below you, and behold, the eyes became dim and the hearts gaped up to the throats, and ye imagined various (vain) thoughts about Allah!” 33:10

“In that situation were the Believers tried: they were shaken as by a tremendous shaking.” 33:11
But, Allah helped the Muslims and the confederates had to beat retreat without achieving their foul purpose.

“O ye who believe! Remember the Grace of Allah, (bestowed) on you, when there came down on you hosts (to overwhelm you): But We sent against them a hurricane and forces that ye saw not: but Allah sees (clearly) all that ye do.” 33:9

“And Allah turned back the Unbelievers for (all) their fury: no advantage did they gain; and enough is Allah for the believers in their fight. And Allah is full of Strength, able to enforce His Will.” 33:25
The raid on Banu Quraizah

When the Prophet SAW came back from the trench, Archangel Gabriel came to him with Allah’s command during the afternoon. It was not to lay arms aside until Banu Quraizah had been dealt with. So the Prophet SAW got this command announced “Everyone who is steadfast in obedience should not offer his Asr Prayer till he reaches the locality of the Banu Quraizah” (ibid, page 488). The prophet immediately dispatched some soldiers with Hazrat Ali as vanguard towards Quraizah. When they reached there, the Jews climbed their roof tops and started hurling abuses at the Muslims and the Prophet SAW. When they saw the entire Muslim army arrive under the commandership of the Prophet SAW, they were stumped. Now, nothing could save them from meeting the consequences of their treachery which had put the people of Madinah into mortal peril.

The Prophet SAW laid siege to their quarters which they could not stand for more than two or three weeks. They surrendered on the condition that Hazrat S’ad bin Mu’aaz, the chief of Aus, be made the arbitrator for their case. They reasoned that since they had paid tribute to the tribe of Aus in the pre-Islamic days, he would be lenient in giving them punishment, and that if worse came to worse, they would just be expelled.(like the Banu Nadir and Banu Qainuqa). But Hazrat S’ad had seen how the two expelled Jewish tribes had continuously backstabbed the Muslims and summoned an army of more then ten thousand against them. He was also aware of the treachery and betrayal at the last moment by the Quraizah tribe.

Hence his decision that all the adult male members of the tribe be killed, their women and children be taken prisoners and their properties distributed amongst the Muslims. This sentence was duly carried out. (Tafheemul Qu`ran, volume 4, Introduction to Al-Ahzab, page 62)

Al Qu`ran-

“And those of the People of the Book who aided them - Allah did take them down from their strongholds and cast terror into their hearts. (So that) some ye slew, and some ye made prisoners.” 33:26
When the Muslims entered their strongholds, they found out that the traitors had got together 1,500 swords, 300 coats of mail, 2,000 spears and 1,500 for the war. (Ar Raheeq il Mahktoom, page 492)

This was ample proof that the decision was taken by Hazrat S’ad bin Mu’aaz who was chosen by the Jews themselves as an arbitrator.

- Ayesha Khan

Blogger comment:

- Let us be clear there are very good Jews and there are wicked Jews.
- Actually God in the Quran said about them:


يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُواْ نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ (2:122)

2:122 (Picktall) O Children of Israel! Remember My favor wherewith I favored you and how I preferred you to (all) creatures.

- Muslims unlike a lot of the wicked Jews love and are proud with the Hebrew prophets who they put them with the prophet of Islam in great position. Other Mulims even the best come less than those prophets. Compare that with the wicked Jews who were jealous of having only one prophet not from them.
- When Muhammad or Jesus peace be on them went to the Jews to present their messages from God they were persecuted and hardly resisted. Jesus would show them a miracle after miracle and they rejected him. They would ask Muhammad questions in their religion and God would answer them through the angle Gabriel. They saw Muhammad face to face and people knew he does not have a face of a liar. God knew the Jews would do their evil acts against his prophets but this is his history with them, so in the day of judgament he would pusnish them for their acts and he has the right to do that.