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2007-06-02 19:17:42 UTC
What Muhammad did to the Jews? - The Invasion of Banu Qainuqa
There were three Jewish tribes living in Medina, the Banu Qainuqa, the
Bani Nadir and the Bani Quraiza. Each of these tribes had alliances
with other Arab tribes and if there were skirmishes between their Arab
allies and the other Je wish tribes they would have sided with their
Arab friends. This is the proof that in Medina prior to Islam there
were no religious strives. All the religious intolerance was
introduced by the Prophet.
When the Prophet entered Medina, he was hopeful that the Jews would
accept his religion. He was preaching the same god of the Jews,
approving of their prophets and telling their stories. He had chosen
their holy land as his qibla (point of adoration) and was humbugging
them for their allegiance.
W. N. ARAFAT who denies the first holocaust writes; "It is also
generally accepted that at first the Prophet Muhammad hoped that the
Jews of Yathrib, as followers of a divine religion, would show
understanding of the new monotheistic religion, Islam." (1)
But to his dismay the Jews, just like the Quraish, ridiculed him and
paid little heed to his calling. After his hopes were shattered and
his patience vexed the Prophet grew hostile towards the Jews and it
became evident that he would one day take his revenge.
INVASION OF BANI QAYNUQA:
The first group of the Jews that fell under the wrath of the Prophet
were the Banu Qaynuqa. They lived in quarters within Madinah named
after them. 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 houses.
Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri in AR-Raheeq Al-Makhtum writes;
"They (the Banu Qaynuqa) started a process of trouble-making, jeering
at the Muslims, hurting those who frequented their bazaars, and even
intimidating their women. Such things began to aggravate the general
situation, so the Prophet (Peace be upon him) gathered them in
assemblage, admonished and called them to be rational, sensible and
guided and cautioned against further transgression. Nevertheless they
remained obdurate and paid no heed to his warning, and said: "Don't be
deluded on account of defeating some Quraishites inexperienced in the
art of war. If you were to engage us in fight, you will realize that
we are genuine war experts." (2)
Whatever those few Jews retorted to Muhammad, it was not the official
voice of the whole population. But for a man looking for an excuse to
strike it was a golden opportunity. Maududi says, "This was in clear
words a declaration of war."
But it wasn't. These words did not come from the chief of the Bani
Qainuqa and they were not threatening. They were shouted down by a
bunch of hooligans, to someone who tried to bully them while they were
acting on the instructions of their own religion and took a life for a
life. Only one whose brain is numbed by his religious fanaticism can
interpret the defiant words of a few youth as the declaration of war
made by the entire Jews against Muslims. It is the ultimate injustice
to punish an entire population with such severity with the pretext
that few of them killed one man in retaliation of him killing one of
theirs. That is despite the verse that says "... no bearer of burdens
can bear the burden of another" (Q. 53: 38)
The Muslim historians want to blame it all on the Jews and depict them
as the villains of the story. Jeering, however is not a crime. But by
paying a little attention to the response of the Jews to the Prophet
it is not difficult to see that he did not go there to counsel them
but to threaten them.
The following verse that was issued for that occasion reveals the
hostile tone of the Prophet when he met the Jews.
"Say [O Muhammad to those who disbelieve: 'You will be defeated
and gathered together to Hell, and worst indeed is that place to
rest.' There has already been a Sign for you (O Jews) in the two
armies that met (in combat - i.e. the battle of Badr): One was
fighting in the cause of Allâh, and as for the other (they) were
disbelievers. They (the believers) saw them (the disbelievers) with
their own eyes twice their number (although they were thrice their
number). And Allâh supports with His Victory whom He pleases. Verily,
in this is a lesson for those who understand." [Q.3: 22,13]
"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. The man's family called the Muslims
for help and war started." (2)
Incidents like these often happen in primitive societies. As a matter
of fact even in very civilized societies many people are killed over
something as trivial as road rage. Humans are not completely rational
beings. Most people react in a very unpredictable way often with dire
consequences. Any wise man, in similar situations would have eased the
tension and would have calmed the mob without taking sides. But
Muhammad was far from it. Already emboldened by his plundering of the
passing caravans, he had his eyes on the wealth of the Jews in Yathirb
and was looking for an excuse to make his move. This incident
presented the golden opportunity that the Prophet was waiting for and
On Saturday, Shawwal 15th, 2 A.H., he marched out with his soldiers,
and laid siege to the Jews' forts for 15 days. Without the water, the
Bani Qainuqa was forced to surrender and defer to the Prophet's
judgement on their lives, wealth, women and children.
Maududi writes, "Consequently, the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's
peace) laid siege to their quarters towards the end of Shawwal (and
according to some others, of Dhi Qa'dah) A. H. 2. The siege had hardly
lasted for a fortnight when they surrendered and all their fighting
men were tied and taken prisoners. Now Abdullah bin Ubayy came up in
support of them and insisted that they should be pardoned. The Holy
Prophet conceded his request and decided that the Bani Qainuqa would
be exiled from Madinah leaving their properties, armour and tools of
trade behind. (Ibn Sa'd, Ibn Hisham, Tarikh Tabari). (3)
The details of Ubayy's intercession with the Prophet is reported in
the first Islamic history book, Sirat.
"Asim b. `Umar b. Qatada said that the B. Qaynuqa` were the first of
the Jews to break their agreement with the apostle and to go to war,
between Badr and Uhud, and the apostle besieged them until they
surrendered unconditionally. `Abdullah b. Ubayy b. Salul went to him
when God had put them in his power and said, 'O Muhammad, deal kindly
with my clients' (now they were allies of Khazraj), but the apostle
put him off. He repeated the words, and the apostle turned away from
him, whereupon he thrust his hand into the collar of the apostle's
robe; the apostle was so angry that his face became almost black. He
said, 'Confound you, let me go.' He answered, 'No, by God, I will not
let you go until you deal kindly with my clients. Four hundred men
without mail and three hundred mailed protected me from all mine
enemies; would you cut them down in one morning? By God, I am a man
who fears that circumstances may change.' The apostle said, 'You can
have them.' [Sirat, p. 363]
In the words of al-Mubarakpuri "Banu Qainuqa' handed over all
materials, wealth and war equipage to the Prophet (Peace be upon him),
who set aside one fifth and distributed the rest to his men. After
that they were banished out of all Arabia to Azru'a in Syria where
they stayed for a while and soon perished away." (2)
No one ever asked, why? Why a trivial incident should become the
excuse for the envoy of God to banish a whole population and
confiscate their entire belongings. The scene of the exiles from
Kosovo is too fresh in our memories yet even Milosovic who is now a
war criminal did not put hand on the properties of the refugees. And
the Jews did not have a UN refugee camp set for them out of Medina
with Red Cross and and other humanitarian organizations waiting to
alleviate their pain. How any decent human being could justify these
ruthless genocidal acts of the Prophet? How can any person call
himself a Muslims after learning these historic truth about Muhammad?
The fact that Abdullah bin Ubayy, whom al-Mubarakpuri does not
hesitate to call a "hypocrite" came to the prisoner's support pleading
that they be pardoned demonstrates that Muhammad's original plan was
to execute them all. It was bin Ubayy's intervention that saved their
lives. How is it that a "hypocrite" was more compassionate than the
Messenger of Allah and Allah himself? Wasn't he a superior man to
Muhammad?
There were three Jewish tribes living in Medina, the Banu Qainuqa, the
Bani Nadir and the Bani Quraiza. Each of these tribes had alliances
with other Arab tribes and if there were skirmishes between their Arab
allies and the other Je wish tribes they would have sided with their
Arab friends. This is the proof that in Medina prior to Islam there
were no religious strives. All the religious intolerance was
introduced by the Prophet.
When the Prophet entered Medina, he was hopeful that the Jews would
accept his religion. He was preaching the same god of the Jews,
approving of their prophets and telling their stories. He had chosen
their holy land as his qibla (point of adoration) and was humbugging
them for their allegiance.
W. N. ARAFAT who denies the first holocaust writes; "It is also
generally accepted that at first the Prophet Muhammad hoped that the
Jews of Yathrib, as followers of a divine religion, would show
understanding of the new monotheistic religion, Islam." (1)
But to his dismay the Jews, just like the Quraish, ridiculed him and
paid little heed to his calling. After his hopes were shattered and
his patience vexed the Prophet grew hostile towards the Jews and it
became evident that he would one day take his revenge.
INVASION OF BANI QAYNUQA:
The first group of the Jews that fell under the wrath of the Prophet
were the Banu Qaynuqa. They lived in quarters within Madinah named
after them. 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 houses.
Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri in AR-Raheeq Al-Makhtum writes;
"They (the Banu Qaynuqa) started a process of trouble-making, jeering
at the Muslims, hurting those who frequented their bazaars, and even
intimidating their women. Such things began to aggravate the general
situation, so the Prophet (Peace be upon him) gathered them in
assemblage, admonished and called them to be rational, sensible and
guided and cautioned against further transgression. Nevertheless they
remained obdurate and paid no heed to his warning, and said: "Don't be
deluded on account of defeating some Quraishites inexperienced in the
art of war. If you were to engage us in fight, you will realize that
we are genuine war experts." (2)
Whatever those few Jews retorted to Muhammad, it was not the official
voice of the whole population. But for a man looking for an excuse to
strike it was a golden opportunity. Maududi says, "This was in clear
words a declaration of war."
But it wasn't. These words did not come from the chief of the Bani
Qainuqa and they were not threatening. They were shouted down by a
bunch of hooligans, to someone who tried to bully them while they were
acting on the instructions of their own religion and took a life for a
life. Only one whose brain is numbed by his religious fanaticism can
interpret the defiant words of a few youth as the declaration of war
made by the entire Jews against Muslims. It is the ultimate injustice
to punish an entire population with such severity with the pretext
that few of them killed one man in retaliation of him killing one of
theirs. That is despite the verse that says "... no bearer of burdens
can bear the burden of another" (Q. 53: 38)
The Muslim historians want to blame it all on the Jews and depict them
as the villains of the story. Jeering, however is not a crime. But by
paying a little attention to the response of the Jews to the Prophet
it is not difficult to see that he did not go there to counsel them
but to threaten them.
The following verse that was issued for that occasion reveals the
hostile tone of the Prophet when he met the Jews.
"Say [O Muhammad to those who disbelieve: 'You will be defeated
and gathered together to Hell, and worst indeed is that place to
rest.' There has already been a Sign for you (O Jews) in the two
armies that met (in combat - i.e. the battle of Badr): One was
fighting in the cause of Allâh, and as for the other (they) were
disbelievers. They (the believers) saw them (the disbelievers) with
their own eyes twice their number (although they were thrice their
number). And Allâh supports with His Victory whom He pleases. Verily,
in this is a lesson for those who understand." [Q.3: 22,13]
"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. The man's family called the Muslims
for help and war started." (2)
Incidents like these often happen in primitive societies. As a matter
of fact even in very civilized societies many people are killed over
something as trivial as road rage. Humans are not completely rational
beings. Most people react in a very unpredictable way often with dire
consequences. Any wise man, in similar situations would have eased the
tension and would have calmed the mob without taking sides. But
Muhammad was far from it. Already emboldened by his plundering of the
passing caravans, he had his eyes on the wealth of the Jews in Yathirb
and was looking for an excuse to make his move. This incident
presented the golden opportunity that the Prophet was waiting for and
On Saturday, Shawwal 15th, 2 A.H., he marched out with his soldiers,
and laid siege to the Jews' forts for 15 days. Without the water, the
Bani Qainuqa was forced to surrender and defer to the Prophet's
judgement on their lives, wealth, women and children.
Maududi writes, "Consequently, the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's
peace) laid siege to their quarters towards the end of Shawwal (and
according to some others, of Dhi Qa'dah) A. H. 2. The siege had hardly
lasted for a fortnight when they surrendered and all their fighting
men were tied and taken prisoners. Now Abdullah bin Ubayy came up in
support of them and insisted that they should be pardoned. The Holy
Prophet conceded his request and decided that the Bani Qainuqa would
be exiled from Madinah leaving their properties, armour and tools of
trade behind. (Ibn Sa'd, Ibn Hisham, Tarikh Tabari). (3)
The details of Ubayy's intercession with the Prophet is reported in
the first Islamic history book, Sirat.
"Asim b. `Umar b. Qatada said that the B. Qaynuqa` were the first of
the Jews to break their agreement with the apostle and to go to war,
between Badr and Uhud, and the apostle besieged them until they
surrendered unconditionally. `Abdullah b. Ubayy b. Salul went to him
when God had put them in his power and said, 'O Muhammad, deal kindly
with my clients' (now they were allies of Khazraj), but the apostle
put him off. He repeated the words, and the apostle turned away from
him, whereupon he thrust his hand into the collar of the apostle's
robe; the apostle was so angry that his face became almost black. He
said, 'Confound you, let me go.' He answered, 'No, by God, I will not
let you go until you deal kindly with my clients. Four hundred men
without mail and three hundred mailed protected me from all mine
enemies; would you cut them down in one morning? By God, I am a man
who fears that circumstances may change.' The apostle said, 'You can
have them.' [Sirat, p. 363]
In the words of al-Mubarakpuri "Banu Qainuqa' handed over all
materials, wealth and war equipage to the Prophet (Peace be upon him),
who set aside one fifth and distributed the rest to his men. After
that they were banished out of all Arabia to Azru'a in Syria where
they stayed for a while and soon perished away." (2)
No one ever asked, why? Why a trivial incident should become the
excuse for the envoy of God to banish a whole population and
confiscate their entire belongings. The scene of the exiles from
Kosovo is too fresh in our memories yet even Milosovic who is now a
war criminal did not put hand on the properties of the refugees. And
the Jews did not have a UN refugee camp set for them out of Medina
with Red Cross and and other humanitarian organizations waiting to
alleviate their pain. How any decent human being could justify these
ruthless genocidal acts of the Prophet? How can any person call
himself a Muslims after learning these historic truth about Muhammad?
The fact that Abdullah bin Ubayy, whom al-Mubarakpuri does not
hesitate to call a "hypocrite" came to the prisoner's support pleading
that they be pardoned demonstrates that Muhammad's original plan was
to execute them all. It was bin Ubayy's intervention that saved their
lives. How is it that a "hypocrite" was more compassionate than the
Messenger of Allah and Allah himself? Wasn't he a superior man to
Muhammad?