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The Banu Nadir (Template:Lang-ar) were one of the three main Jewish tribes living in Medina, now in Saudi Arabia, in the 7th century. Years after his return to Medina, Muhammad, after a war with another Jewish tribe, expelled them and divided their land among his followers, taking a share for himself. After Muhammad defeated attacking Meccans and Bedouins who were assisted by the Jews of Khaybar, an oasis near Medina where most members of Banu Nadir had found refuge, his followers killed all male Banu Nadir and divided their wives and property among themselves. Muhammad took a share of the spoils, and took a captive Jewish woman as his wife.

Background

The Banu Nadir settled outside the city of Yathrib, now Medina, because of the Roman persecutions of the Jews in Palestine. According to the Muslim historian al-Yaqubi, Banu Nadir were an Arab tribe ethnically, which had converted to Judaism and initially settled on the eponymous Mount Nadir. Academic historians, however, believe them to be an ethnically Jewish tribe connected with the Khaybar Jews . Like other Medinese Jews, the Banu Nadir bore Arabic names, but spoke a distinct dialect of Arabic. They earned their living through agriculture, money lending, and trade in weapons and jewels, maintaining commercial relations with Arab merchants of Mecca. Their fortresses were located half a day's march to the south of Medina. The Banu Nadir were clients of the local Arab tribe of Aws and supported them in their conflicts with the rival Arab tribe of Khazraj. The chiefs of Banu Nadir were Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, a gifted poet, and Huyayy ibn Akhtab.

Arrival of Muhammad

In September 622, Muhammad arrived at Medina with a group of his followers. The Jewish tribes in Medina were generally welcoming, many even converting to Islam. Those who had remained Jewish in Medina were generally unaffected. Three of the Jewish tribes, the Banu Qurayza, Banu Qaynuqa, and Banu Nadir, signed a non-aggression pact and military alliance with Mohammed, called the Constitution of Medina. Jews and other non-Muslims accepting the protection of the Muslim authorities at that were considered dhimmi. In exchange for paying tax (jizya), the Muslims provided military protection and granted the dhimmi citizenship rights, and were allowed to continue their culture and worship, even being exempt from military conscription at that time. Female dhimmi were allowed to marry Muslim men, although male dhimmi were required to convert to Islam before they could take Muslim brides.

In March 624, Muslims led by Muhammad defeated the Meccans of the Quraysh tribe in the Battle of Badr. Muhammad had been in conflict with his own former tribe, the Banu Quraish, since he left it to found Islam. His victory allowed him to return to Medina and focus on civil governance. Muhammed and his followers consolidated their power as the ruling party in Medina.

Expulsion of the Banu Qaynuqa from Medina

After a few years, a member of the Banu Qaynuqa was alleged to have murdered a Muslim woman, and was killed in retaliation by a Muslim. This escalated to a chain of revenge killings. Soon full scale war broke out, until Abdallah ibn Ubayy, an old Muslim ally of Qaynuqa and the chief of the Khazraj, interceded on their behalf and persuaded Mohammed to send the entire Banu Qaynuqa into exile, confiscating their land and property.

The Banu Nadir remained passive during the Banu Qaynuqa episode viewing the conflict as a usual tribal struggle. The conflict led to a ruling that such future action by any of the other parties to the Constitution of Medina would constitute a voiding of their benefits under the system, and subsequent punishment.

Assassination of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf

Infuriated at Muhammad's execution of a number of Meccan notables who had been captured after the Battle of Badr, Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf wrote a poetic eulogy commemorating the slain Quraysh prisoners of war; later, he also wrote erotic poetry about Muslim women, which Muhammad and his followers found offensive. Because the norms of the Arab society of that period demanded retaliation for a slight to a group's honor, Muhammad called upon his followers to kill Ka'b, and Muhammad ibn Maslama offered his services, collecting four others. By pretending to have turned against Muhammad, they enticed Ka'b out of his fortress on a moonlight night, and killed him in spite of his vigorous resistance. The Jews were terrified at his assassination, and as a Muslim biographer of Muhammad put it "...there was not a Jew who did not fear for his life".

Expulsion of the Banu Nadir from Medina

Having suffered a defeat at the hands of the Quraysh at Mount Uhud, Muhammad needed a victory to regain his prestige. The Banu Nadir were a suitable target; in violation of the Constitution of Medina, they did not come to Muhammad's aid during the Battle of Uhud because the battle took place on Shabbat, and they were generally satisfied at the Muslim defeat. In addition, the Banu Nadir were wealthy and occupied some of the best lands in Medina, while Muslims were in a difficult financial condition.

Muhammad accused the Banu Nadir of plotting to assassinate him and through Muhammad ibn Maslama, ordered them to leave Medina within ten days. The tribe at first decided to comply, but Abdullah ibn Ubayy, the chief of the Khazraj, persuaded them to resist in their fortresses, promising to send 2,000 men to their aid. Huyayy ibn Akhtab decided to put up resistance, hoping also for help from Banu Qurayza, despite opposition within the tribe. The Banu Nadir were forced to surrender after the siege had lasted for 14 days, when help from the Khazraj and Banu Qurayza failed to materialize and when Muhammad ordered the felling of their palm-trees. Under the conditions of surrender, the Nadir could only take with them what they could carry on camels with the exception of weapons.

The Banu Nadir left on 600 camels, parading through Medina to the music of pipes and tambourines. A Muslim historian described their impressive farewell: "Their women were decked out in litters wearing silk, brocade, velvet, and fine red and green silk. People lined up to gape at them." Most of the Banu Nadir found refuge among the Jews of Khaybar, while others emigrated to Syria.

Muhammad divided their land between his companions who had emigrated with him from Mecca. Until then, the emigrants had to rely upon the Medinese sympathizers for financial assistance. Muhammad reserved a share of the seized land for himself, which also made him financially independent.. To prevent abuse of females and children, Muhammad married with a widow from Banu Nadir that encouraged other people to behave more humanely with them. Also in Quran (5:5), it is mentioned that Muslim men can marry with women from christians and jews, which helped in integrating these women and children in society without sacrificing their right to have their own faith.

Upon expulsion of the Banu Nadir, Muhammad said to have received a revelation of Sura 59 of the Qur'an.

Battle of Khaybar

After their expulsion from Medina, the Banu Nadir, along with the other Jews living in Khaybar, understood that Muhammad might attack them again. Their chief Huyayy ibn Akhtab together with his son joined the Meccans and Bedouins besieging Medina during the Battle of the Trench. Both of them were killed by order of Muhammad alongside the men of the Banu Qurayza.

Muhammad and his followers attacked Khaybar in May 629. Although the Jews put up fierce resistance, the lack of central command and their unpreparedness for an extended siege sealed the outcome of the battle in favor of Muslims. When all but two fortresses were captured, the Jews managed to negotiate their surrender. The terms required them to hand over one-half of the annual produce to the Muslims, while the land itself became the collective property of Muslims.

The agreement, however, did not cover the Banu Nadir tribe. Muslims killed all the men of Banu Nadir and divided the women among themselves. Muhammad chose for himself Safiyya bint Huyayy, daughter of the killed Banu Nadir chief Huyayy ibn Akhtab and widow of Kinana ibn al-Rabi, the treasurer of Banu Nadir, whom Muhammad's followers first tortured, demanding that he reveal the location of the tribe’s hidden treasures, and then killed.

Muslim biographers of Muhammad tell a story that a Jewess of the Banu Nadir attempted to poison Muhammad to avenge her slain relatives. She poisoned a piece of lamb that she cooked for Muhammad and his companion, putting a particularly high amount into the shoulder — Muhammad's favorite part. The attempt on Muhammad's life failed because he reportedly spit out the meat, feeling that it was poisoned, while his companion ate the meat and died. Muhammad's companions then reported that on his deathbed Muhammad said that his illness was the result of that poison.

References

1. ^ Vacca, V. "Nadir, Banu 'l". In P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
2. ^ Stillman (1979), p. 13
3. ^ Montgomery Watt, W. "Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf". In P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
4. Ibn Hisham (1955). Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya. Vol. vol. 2. Cairo. pp. pp. 51–57. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); |volume= has extra text (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) English translation from Stillman (1979), pp. 125–126
5. Ibn Hisham (1955). English translation from Stillman (1979), p. 127
6. Stillman (1979), pp. 13–14
7. ^ Stillman (1979), p. 14
8. Al-Waqidi (1966). Marsden Jones (ed.). Kitab al-Maghazi. London. pp. pp. 363–375. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) English translation from Stillman (1979), p. 136
9. Stillman (1979), p. 17
10. ^ Veccia Vaglieri, L. "Khaybar". In P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
11. Ibn Hisham (1955). English translation in Stillman (1979), pp. 145–146
12. Ibn Hisham (1955). English translation in Stillman (1979), pp. 148–149

External links

• Muhammad and the Jews of Medina
• Ex-Muslims denounce Islam: Banu Nadir
• Were the Jews 'maltreated' by the Prophet Muhammad?

• People killed by or on behalf of Muhammad
• Banu Nadir
• Muhammad and the Jews
• Jewish history