Jews in Medina
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Praise
be to Allah, the most Merciful and the most Compassionate, whose guidance and
grace assisted in the completion of this assignment. Peace be upon His
messenger, the living Sign of His benevolence to humankind, whose tradition enlighten
Muslims as to scholarship and thus, accommodates this study.
We
are indeed grateful to our lecturer, Prof. Dr. Israr Ahmad Khan, for his
insightful instruction, perspective comment and thorough supervision throughout
the completion of this assignment. We are also indebted to the IIUM library for
providing us with all kind of sources which we found beneficial in completing
this task.
To
our beloved parents, for their priceless attention, encouragement, ceaseless
prayer for our success in this world and the Hereafter, is our undying
affection and gratitude. Appreciation also goes to our siblings need no
mention, likewise to trusted friends for their companionship throughout the
period of study.
May
Allah accept this work as ‘amal salih and jihad fi sabilillah-InshaAllah.
INTRODUCTION
An
understanding of the prophetic history is of a significant obligation placed
upon all Muslims admitted to be his followers. Knowing all his contributions in
the spreading of Islam will make us appreciate him more as the prophet; the
efforts and struggles that he made throughout the period of carrying the
mission as the Messenger, which was to ensure the spread of Islam as a true
religion all over the world. To carry out the duty as God’s Messenger is indeed
not an easy task. One of the problems faced by the prophet was to deal with the
groups of unbeliever; the Christians and the Jews.
In
relation to that, this piece of work was made with the objective of exposing
readers with the story of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) particularly when dealing
with the Jews. In brief, Judaism was already well established in Medina two
centuries before Muhammad's birth. Although influential, the Jews did not rule
the oasis. Rather, they were clients of two large Arab tribes there; the
Khazraj and the Aws, who protected them in return for feudal loyalty. Medina
was mainly divided into two Arab tribes; the Aws and Khazraj and Jewish tribes.
There were many Jewish clans-some records indicate more than twenty, of which
three were prominent-the Bani Nadir, the Bani Qaynuqa, and the Bani Qurayza[1]. Medina's
Jews were expert jewellers, and weapons and armor makers.
Originally,
the Jews came to the Arab Peninsula because of the Babylonian and Assyrian
oppression in Palestine where their Temple was destroyed and thousands of them
were taken captives at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B.C. As a result some
of them immigrated to Hijaz where they settled in its northern part. In 7 B.C.,
as a result of Roman oppression, some other Jewish tribes immigrated to Hijaz
and settled in Yathrib, Khaybar, Taymaa etc. A limited number of Arabs embraced
Judaism as well.
These
gatherings were very introverted. They kept their racial and religious
idiosyncrasies though they spoke Arabic and used Arabic names and clothes.
Although Arabs allow them to live peacefully and dealt with them fairly, they
despised Arabs and called them illiterates. They had the belief that the wealth
of Arabs was their right. Allah (SWT) says in the Noble Qur’an what can be
translated as “and they said, ‘There is no way over us as to the common folk. (i.e.,
the illiterates or the Gentiles)’ and they say lies against Allah, and they
know (that).” (3:75). They did not even have the enthusiasm to spread their
religion. They rather devoted their efforts to magic, predictions, and usurious
practices.
They
also controlled the trade traffic in general and the trade of wine and weapons
in particular. They used usury widely and did their best to raise Arab tribes
against one another in order to keep wars going on. Through this they would
ensure their continuous gain through selling weapons and lending by usury. As a
result they became powerful and wealthy.
The
prophet’s migration, his flight to Medina, was the turning point in his career
and in the history of Islam. It occurred on the 12 Rabi’ul-awal A.D.
622. For a long time he had realized that his work in his native city was all
in vain, and so he had long been seeking to make an alliance with the Arabian
chiefs who came to Mecca for the great pilgrimage. Even though the prophet
succeeded beyond all expectation in welding the believers in Medina into a
unified and devoted organization, nevertheless his attempt to win the Jews
proved fruitless[2].
Out
of their knowledge of the Scriptures, Jews were sure of the truthfulness of
Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) and that he was really the Last Prophet. However,
stubborn as usual, they refused to follow him and embrace Islam. Allah (SWT)
says what can be translated as “And as soon as a Book came to them from the
Providence of Allah, sincerely (verifying) what was with them-and they earlier
prayed for an opening (victory, conquest) over the ones who disbelieved-yet, as
soon as there came to them what they recognized, they disbelieved in it; so the
curse of Allah is on the disbelievers.” (2:89).
This
paper will put more emphasis on 1) the three prominent clans of Jews as been
mentioned above, 2) the prophet and the Jews, 3) the Jewish tactics against the
prophet and finally, 4) the methods or treatments used by the prophet in dealing
with them.
About the Jews
Jews according to Oxford Dictionary means a member
of the people and cultural community whose traditional religion is Judaism and
who come from the ancient Hebrew people of Israel.[1]
Generally, Jews in Prophet’s (pbuh) life begin when the Prophet (pbuh) migrated
from Makah to Medina. As we all know, the reason why Prophet (pbuh) migrated to
Medina is because of commands from Allah swt. The musyrikin Quraysh actually
want to kill the Prophet (pbuh) because they cannot accept the religion that
was brought by our beloved Prophet (pbuh) that is Islam. So, through this
migrating, Islamic teaching was spread peacefully and freely in Medina.
After the mosque in Medina and house of Prophet (pbuh)
was built, Prophet (pbuh) started to bind the relationship between the Muslim
of Muhajirin and Ansar in order to establish the strong ummah of the new world
of Islam. Then, Prophet (pbuh) also made a treaty with the Jews in order to
protect Medina from any threats and for not disturb each others. The contract
afforded fair benefits to both Muslim and Jew.
Community
of Medina were divided into three groups
which is Christian, Jews and Arab. In fact, the Jews people were the main
community in which there were like the host of Medina at that time. They can be
classified into a few of tribes, but from that tribes there is only three
tribes as the main tribes of Jews which is Bani Nadhir, Bani Qainuqa’ and Bani
Quraizah. Bani Qainuqa’ has the highest number of population with around 1500
of people. Then, it’s followed by Bani Quraizah with the population of around 1400
people. Even they were divided into tribes, but they still united.
Jews people were a tribe that always damned by Allah
swt. This is because, they have killed many of prophets that from their own
nation itself. Thus, here it shows that how wicked they were. As a punishment,
Allah swt always made them lose when they was attacked by other nations. [2]
Background and History
of Jews
Jews came from the descendants of the Prophet
Ya’kub. The 12 children of Prophet Ya’kub that had mentioned as ‘al-asbat’ in the Holy Quran refer to
the ancestors of Jews that lived at Medina during the prophet period. They came
from Kan’an Iraq. Then they migrated to Egypt during the ruling of King Hayksos
in which the Minister of Economic at that time was their relative that is
Prophet Yusuf.
When the great kings attacked and invaded Palestine,
a part from them that was saved from being prisoner had fled to the south. This
incident had happened during the time when Babylon attacked Baitul Maqdis.
Then, the Jews also were attacked by the ruling of Rom. There were many of
their people was killed by the king of Rom when they refused to embrace Christian.
So, that is why a part of them came to Medina and live there.
The Jews also were described to be the son of Israel
who was always guided to go back to the truth. They were also known as the
People of the Book. However they became arrogant and unwilling to accept Islam
because they always thought that they were the only chosen one. The Jews had
been waiting for the last prophet, but when they knew that the last prophet was
not a Jew they refused to accept Prophet Muhammad as the prophet.[3]
Bani Qainuqa’
They lived in wealthy settlement where they had a
market in the outskirt of Medina. As for jobs, they took up goldsmithery,
blacksmithing and crafts of making household instruments, that is why war
weaponry was available in large quantities in their house. They also were good
in business activity. So, when they
noticed that Muslim people very interested and has the good skill in business,
they felt so worry. This is because they afraid that Muslim people would take
place their position in business area as they monopolized this trade since a
long time ago. For example, Abdul Rahman ibn Auf among the Muslim people who
very good when dealing with business.
Prophet Muhammad was established a market for Muslim
people that located nearby their market. This market named “Market al-Ansari”.
Start from that, their hatred and jealousy to Muslim people cannot be
controlled especially when they heard that Prophet (pbuh) and his people were
won in the battle of Badr. Thus, they violated the treaty and betrayed the
Prophet.[4] In
their market, an incident occurred which brought things to a climax. A Muslim
woman who had come to sell or exchange some good was grossly insulted by one of
the Jewish goldsmiths. An Ansar who happened to be present came to her rescue
and the offender was killed in the fight which ensued, whereupon the Jews fell
upon the Muslim and killed him. Then, when this incident knew by Prophet (pbuh),
the Jews people were advised by Prophet (pbuh) to take lesson from what
happened to the Quraysh and Prophet (pbuh) also asked them to accept Islam.
But, they remained obdurate and paid no heed to Prophet advice.
From this situation we
can see that, our Prophet was very patient when handled this problem despite he
actually angry with the action of Jews toward Muslim people. He tried to win their favour regardless of their
attitude but when the Jews itself refused and against the teaching of Prophet,
they were punished by Prophet to move out from Medina. [5].
Bani Nadhir and
Bani Quraizah
They possessed large and fertile agricultural lands
in the oasis of Medina. When
Prophet Muhammad expelled the Jewish tribe of the Bani
Qainuqa’, the Bani Nadir did not get involved. Bani Qurayza, they were also agriculturist like Bani
Nadhir. They were allied with the Qurarysh against Muslim. The prophet tried
very hard to achieve co-existence between muslim and the Jew.He gave the jews
an important position in the new Islamic state. They were acknowledged in the
charter of Medina.However the Jews eventually violated the treaty and were
punished by the prophet.They did many things that offended then prophet, Muslim
and Islam.
It is clear that, the Jews will do all they can do
to ruin Muslim people, and they love to cause Muslim people trouble. Their
hatred is clear from what their mouths utter, and what their breasts conceal is
greater
[1] Sally Wehmeier.Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. (7th
ed.).(2005).(pp.798),China. Pp 798
[2]
Maulana Syed Abul Hassan Ali an-Nadwi. (2009). Sejarah dan Perjalanan Hidup Nabi Muhammad .Kuala
Lumpur: Warisan Ilmu Publication.
[3]
Maulana Syed Abul Hassan Ali an-Nadwi. (2009). Sejarah dan Perjalanan Hidup Nabi Muhammad Kuala
Lumpur: Warisan Ilmu Publication.pp 542
[4]
Maulana Syed Abul Hassan Ali an-Nadwi.
(2009). Sejarah dan Perjalanan Hidup Nabi
Muhammad .Kuala Lumpur: Warisan Ilmu Publication. pp 511
Before
the prophet (SAW) came to Medina, the Arab tribes were already in argument
within them. The Muslims disunity was the Jewish superiority. They love it when
the Muslims are not united. However, after the prophet came and under his
leadership, the Arab tribes become united. The Jews hate to see the harmony and
planned to destroy the peacefulness among them. They were actually afraid of
the Muslim’s unity and afraid that the Muslims would become stronger. Jews
moved in many fronts to fight the Islamic call and launch a hostile propaganda
against Islam, the Prophet (SAWS) and his wives. They paid money to Arab tribes
to wage wars against the nascent society. They also planned many times to
assassinate the Prophet (SAWS).
Such
rejection of Prophet Muhammad’ s (SAWS ) call was out of their pride on one
hand and their fear that they would lose their power and wealth because they
knew that such call would change the face of the Earth culturally, economically
and politically. Therefore, they exerted their utmost effort to undermine the
nascent state in Medina. They prepared for war and although they perpetrated
many crimes and wove many plots, the Prophet (SAWS) gave them one chance after
another until it was clear that they would never change their attitude. Only
then, it was imperative on Muslims to defend themselves against the serpent in
their lap.
The
Jews went too far in their transgression, presumptuous behavior and licentious
practices. One day a Jewish goldsmith provoked a Muslim woman whose genitals
become uncovered when he had tied the edge of the garment to her back. A Muslim
man happened to be there and killed the man; the Jews retaliated by killing
that Muslim[3].
The man’s family called the Muslims for help and war started. This event was
the last straw that put an end to any agreement between the Muslims and the
Jews (Bani Qaynuqa’). Assaulting the Muslim woman was not the first accident.
They took pride in their military powers and wanted to fight Muslims. They
threatened Muslims once and again. They were the cause of troubles and unrest
within the society and were once about to cause a civil war.
As
for the Jews of Bani Nadir, they violated the provisions of the Charter and
broke their promises and obligations. Like all other Jews, they had malice and
grudge against Muslims. They funded the propaganda campaigns against Islam and
encouraged Arab tribes to attach Medina. The frequency of their plots increased
significantly after the Battle of Uhud when Quraysh defeated the Muslims. The
Jews of Bani Nadir exploited such a demoralizing situation to contact the
disbelievers and the hypocrites and prepare schemes against Muslims. However,
the Prophet (SAWS) did not want to fight them. He went to them to negotiate a
peaceful agreement. However, they tried to assassinate him. He would have been
killed if Allah (SWT) had not told him to leave the place immediately.
The
betrayal of Bani Qaynuqa’ and Bani Nadir did not affect the way the Prophet
(SAWS ) dealt with the only Jewish tribe that was remaining in Medina, that is,
Bani Qurayza. This remained until they committed the greatest treason ever. In
collaboration with other Jewish tribes, they prepared, funded and helped Arab
tribes in the Battle of Khandaq (Trench). They even told the invading forces
that they would let them enter Medina through stronghold. Once the invading
forces surrounded Medina, the Prophet (SAWS) sent some of his Companions to
Bani Qurayza to know their situation. They told the delegation that they did
not have any agreement with Muslims. They even started to abuse the Prophet
(SAWS) himself and threaten Muslims. Afterwards, they tried to intrude into one
of the forts at which Muslim women took protection but they failed because of
the courage of Safiyyah binti Abdul Muttalib who killed one of the attacking
Jews so that the attacking force thought there were a lot of men inside.
Apart
from all that, the Jews have paid a man by the name Shah ibn Qays who was a
poet to write two different set of poems. One in condemnation of Khazraj but
praise the Aws (this went to the Khazraj and the othet way around). This tactic
was planned to cause civil war among the Muslims of Arab tribes (Aus &
Khazraj). A battle was so close to start but fortunately the prophet was able
to settle it.
They
also always looked for the opportunity to prove Islam as a wrong religion. They
would go to the prophet and spend the day with him talking about their
acceptance of the religion. However, when they went back to their tribe, they
would make fun of the prophet (SAW) and would condemn Islam as a true religion.
The Jews also bother the prophet (SAW) with their question. For example, they
asked the prophet about ‘ruh’ as mentioned in surah al-Isra’.
Another
tactic used by the Jews to disrupt the spread Islam as a true religion is by
making fun of the revelation; the Qur’an. They would manipulate the meaning and
interpret the Qur’anic verses with their own interpretation. For example, they
interpreted one verse in surah al-Baqarah that encouraged people to feed the
needy by saying that Allah is poor. Nauzubillahi min zalik.
THE
PROPHET’S TREATMENT OF THE JEWS
Once
the Prophet (SAWS) settled in Medina and started to establish the nascent
Muslim society, he drew a written agreement to delineate the relations of all
the powers, sects, gatherings and individuals within that society. Given the
tolerance of Islam and its protection of the rights of minorities, the Prophet
(SAWS) allowed the Jews to be a part of that Charter that was and still is the
greatest document regarding the protection of the rights of ethnic and
religious minorities and a true embodiment of the supreme principles of Islam.
We have to put in mind that Medina society at that time was a distinctive
political entity with the Prophet (SAWS) as a supreme leader, Muhajirin and
Ansar the majority, and Jews the minority.
The
Charter stated the rights and obligations of the Jews. It gave them the freedom
to participate in any battles and take their share in war spoils. The Charter
also stated that Jews would not cooperate with any of the enemy forces –
Quraysh, for instance-, betray the people of Medina, and disclose the secrets
of the society. Otherwise, this would be a violation of the provisions of the
Charter. The Jews accepted that and it was supposed that they would respect the
Charter. However, Jews did not fulfill their promises and it was logical that
the Prophet’s (SAWS) policy would change as well. He considered the Charter
regarding the participating parties as null and void and dealt with the other
parties on the basis of reaction to individual events.
Every
time the Jews did a hostile action, the Prophet (SAWS) used to advise them not
to repeat that and to fulfill their obligations and promises. However, they
insisted on undermining the society and Muslims had to take a decisive action.
The prophet had tried to win the Jews by making concessions to their religious
customs. For example, in conformity with the Jewish custom, he commanded
believers to turn their faces toward Jerusalem when praying and he adopted
‘Ashura; the great day of atonement of the Jews which at this time fell upon
the tenth of the month of Muharram as a festival[4].
The
Prophet (SAWS) dealt with them as fairly as possible. He was so patient and
advised them once and again to respect the society they were living in.
However, when it became evident they were intent on dismantling social security
of Medina society, the Prophet (SAWS), being the supreme leader of that
society, saw that his duty was to face plots and put an end to the cause of
unrest in order to take care of other important constructive steps in
establishing the nascent society. Even when he surrounded Bani Qaynuqa’ he did
not order Muslims to kill them. Rather, they surrendered after fifteen days.
Although it was the right of the Prophet (SAWS) to take them as captives, he
allowed them to go safely out of Medina. Through this, he achieved social
security inside Medina society and punished the Jews, mildly though, for their
conspiracies.
The
Prophet (SAWS) wanted to co-exist peacefully with Bani Qaynuqa’ according to
the values of Islamic justice. However, Bani Qaynuqa’ did not opt for peace and
stability. Then, the Prophet (SAWS) punished only them and not the other Jews.
As for Bani Nadir and Bani Qurayza, he continued to deal with them according to
the terms and condition of the Charter until they themselves violated it. Although
the settlement with Bani Qaynuqa’ was not that harsh, it achieved the aim: the
internal front of Medina society needed protection. Once Bani Qaynuqa’ left Medina,
this was materialized.
Later,
the conspiracy was revealed. It was not an individual action. Rather, it was a
decision taken by their leaders to kill the Prophet (SAWS) while at their
place. It was like waging war against Muslims. As a punishment of such a
betrayal, the Prophet (SAWS) asked them to leave Medina. When they refused,
Muslims surrounded them for six days until they surrendered. They were allowed
to leave Medina and take what they can carry from their luggage and wealth but
leave weapons. Compared to what they had been doing, this was a merciful
punishment.
Allah
(SWT) helped Muslims in the Battle of Khandaq and sent down a storm that forced
the attacking tribes to withdraw. It was natural that Bani Qurayza must be
punished for their various betrayals during that critical time in spite of the
agreement between them and the Prophet (SAWS). Once the Prophet (SAWS) returned
to Medina, he ordered the army not to take rest and to march toward Bani
Qurayza. Muslims surrounded them until they surrendered. As they were allies to
the tribe of Aws, they asked for Sa’d Ibn-Mu’az, the leader of Aws to mediate
the settlement. He judged that the betraying men to be killed, women to be
taken captives, and money to be distributed among Muslims. It was a just
punishment for their multi-faceted betrayals.
CONCLUSION
A
glimpse at the way the Prophet (SAWS) dealt with the Jews would show absolute
justice and reflect Islamic supreme principles in dealing with the other. The
Prophet (SAWS) tried hard to achieve co-existence between Muslims and Jews.
This was a unique experience of the co-existence between the majority and the
minority in all times and places. The Prophet’s (SAWS) concern regarding
developing the said Charter was a unique precedent.
These
were the practices of the Prophet (SAWS) with the Jews of Medina. At the
beginning, he gave them the chance to co-exist peacefully with Muslims. He gave
them the same rights of citizenship he gave Muslims and asked them for the same
obligations. However, they betrayed Muslims on many occasions and were a
destructive force. Therefore, they deserved to be punished. However, their punishment
was proportionate to or less than their serious violations.
It
is clear now that the way the Prophet (SAWS) dealt with the Jews was fair. He
wanted to co-exist with them. However, he had to defend his society at times
against the hostile attempts of the Jews to undermine the nascent Islamic
society in Medina. The Prophet (SAWS) knew how to deal with the various
situations whether through peaceful settlements or war but he always had the
initiative.
[1] Tor Andrae(1936), Mohammed: the man
and his faith, p. 134.
[2] Tor Andrae(1936), Mohammed: the man
and his faith, p. 133-137.
[3] Mohd
Yusoff, Z., & Abd. Rahman, N. N. (2011). Biografi Muhammad bin Abdullah: Perjalanan hidup seorang nabi, p. 169
[4] Tor Andrae(1936), Mohammed: the man
and his faith, p. 137.
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