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The Battle of Khaybar was fought in the year 629 between Muhammad and his followers against the Jews living in the oasis of Khaybar, located 150 kilometers (95 miles) from Medina in the north-western part of the Arabian peninsula, in modern-day Saudi Arabia. Contemporary scholars such as Norman Stillman and Laura Veccia Vaglieri believe that one reason for Muhammad's decision to attack Khaybar in order to raise his prestige among his followers, as well as to capture booty to sustain subsequent conquests. Furthermore, William Montgomery Watt notes the presence of the Banu Nadir in Khaybar, who were inciting hostilities along with neighboring Arab tribes against Muhammad.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

The defeated Jews were reduced to serfdom. They surrendered on condition of paying tribute to Muhammad and giving up all their land to Muslims. According to Stillman, this agreement did not cover the Banu Nadir tribe, which had sought refuge in Khaybar after their expulsion from Medina, and the Muslims beheaded all the men of Banu Nadir, taking the surviving women and children as slaves, and sparing only the lives of the Khaybarian Jews. Jews continued to live in the oasis for several more years until they were finally expelled by caliph Umar. The imposition of tribute upon the conquered Jews served as a precedent for provisions in the Islamic law requiring the exaction of tribute known as jizya from non-Muslims under Muslim rule, and confiscation of land belonging to non-Muslims into the collective property of the Muslim community.

Khaybar in the 7th century

In the 7th century, Khaybar was inhabited by the Jews, who pioneered the cultivation of the oasis and made their living growing date palm trees, as well as through commerce and craftsmanship, accumulating considerable wealth. Some objects found by the Muslims in a redoubt at Khaybar — a siege-engine, 20 bales of Yemenite cloth, and 500 cloaks — point out to an intense trade carried out by the Jews. While in the past some scholars attempted to explain the presence of a siege-engine, suggesting that it was used for settling quarrels among the families of the community, nowadays the common opinion among academics is that it was stored in a depôt for future sale, in the same way that swords, lances, shields, and other weaponry had been sold by the Jews to Arabs. Equally, the cloth and the cloaks must have been intended for sale, as it is not conceivable that such a quantity of luxury goods was kept for the exclusive use of the Jews.

The oasis was divided into three regions: al-Natat, al-Shikk, and al-Katiba, probably separated by natural diversions, such as the desert, lava drifts, and swamps. Each of these regions contained several fortresses or redoubts containing homes, storehouses and stables. Each fortress was occupied by a separate family and surrounded by cultivated fields and palm-groves. In order to improve their defensive capabilities, the fortresses were raised up on hills or basalt rocks.

Pretext to battle

Banu Nadir

In 625, after the defeat in the Battle of Uhud at the hands of the Meccan army, Muhammad besieged and expelled the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir from Medina. Many of the Banu Nadir found refuge in Khaybar. In 627, Huyayy ibn Akhtab, the chief of Banu Nadir, went with his son to join Quraysh and Ghatafan Bedouins besieging the Muslims at Medina during the Battle of the Trench. After the battle proved unsuccessful, Muhammad and his followers besieged the Banu Qurayza, the only major Jewish tribe remaining in Medina at that time. Both Akhtab and his son defended Banu Qurayza. Upon surrender, the adult men of Banu Qurayza, as well as Akhtab and his son, were killed and the women and children of the tribe were enslaved.

After the death of ibn Akhtab, Abu al-Rafi ibn Abi al-Huqayq took charge of the Banu Nadir at Khaybar. Al-Huqayq soon approached neighbouring tribes to raise an army against Muhammad. After learning this, the Muslims, aided by an Arab with a Jewish dialect, assasinated him.

Al-Huqayq was succeeded by Usayr ibn Zarim. It has been recorded by one source that Usayr also approached the Ghatafan and rumors spread that he intended to attack the "capital of Muhammad". A combination of the willingness of the Jews to negotiate with Muhammad, and Muhammad's inability to communicate with Khaybar, caused Muhammad to send emissaries to Khaybar, inviting them to Medina to parley. Usayr along with thrity tribesmen set off to Medina, unarmed. On the way, Unays, a Muslim, became suspicious of Usayr, who tried once or twice to grab Unays's sword. Watt and Nomani both speculate that it is probable that Usayr changed his mind about the negotiations. A quarrel broke out between parties, in which Unays was wounded, and all but one member of the Jewish delegation were killed.

Reasons for attack

Modern historians agree that one reason for Muhammad's decision to attack Khaybar was the need to raise his prestige among his followers, which had been eroded by the Treaty of Hudaybiyya, in March 628. In addition, the Hudaybiyya agreement gave Muhammad the assurance of not being attacked by the Meccans during the expedition. Watt sees the intriguing of the Banu Nadir in Khaybar as the primary motive for the attack. The Banu Nadir had paid Arab tribes to go to war against Muhammad, Watt argues, leaving him little choice but to attack Khaybar. Vaglieri concurs that the Jews were responsible for the coalition that besieged the Muslims in the Battle of the Trench, but suggests that Muhammad's attacks against the Jews, first in Medina and then in Khaybar, had economic roots similar to those which have brought about persecutions and pogroms in other countries in the course of history. The conquest of Khaybar, Vaglieri argues, would enable him to satisfy with ample booty his companions who hoped to capture Mecca and were discontented at the treaty with the Quraysh. Stillman adds that Muhammad needed the victory to show the Bedouins, who were not strongly tied to the rest of the Muslim community, that the alliance with him would pay off. Shibli Nomani, sees Khaybar's alliance with the Ghatafan tribe, which had attacked Muhammad during the Battle of the Trench, as the main reason for the battle. He also draws attention to the actions of Banu Nadir's leader Huyayy ibn Akhtab, who had gone to the Banu Qurayza during the battle to instigate them to attack Muhammad.

Political situation

As war with Muhammad seemed imminent, the Jews of Khaybar entered into an alliance with the Jews of Fadak oasis. They also successfully persuaded the Bedouins of Ghatafan tribe to join their side in the war in exchange for half their produce. However, the lack of central authority at Khaybar prevented any further defensive preparations, and quarrels between different families left the Jews disorganized. The Banu Fazara, related to the Ghatafan, also offered thier assistance to Khaybar, after their unsuccessful negotiations with the Muslims.

Course of battle

The Muslims marched to Khaybar in May 628, Muharram 7 AH. According to different sources, the strength of his army varied from 1,400 to 1,800 men and between 100 and 200 horses. Some Muslim women (including Umm Salama) also joined the army, in order to take care of the wounded.

Before the battle, the people of Khaybar no doubt knew of the war. However, the Muslims' swift march to Khaybar, caught the Jews by surprise. As a result, the Jews failed to mount a centrally organized defense, leaving each family to defend its own fortified redoubt.

Knowing the outcome of Muhammad's battles with other Jewish tribes, the Jews of Khaybar put up fierce resistance, and Muslims were forced to take fortresses one by one. During the battle, the Muslims were able to prevent Khaybar's Ghatafan allies (consisting of 4,000 men) from providing them with reinforcements. One reason given is that the Muslims were able to buy off the the bedouins allies of the Jews. Watt, however, also suggests that rumors of a Muslim attack on Ghatafan strongholds might also have played a role.

The Jews, after a rather bloody skirmish in front of one of the fortresses, avoided combat in the open country. Most of the fighting consisted of shooting arrows at a great distance. On atleast one occasion the Muslims were able to storm the fortresses. There were also some single combats, the most notorious one bieng between Ali and Marhab, a famed Arab warrior.

The besieged Jews managed to organize, under the cover of darkness, a transfer of people and treasures from one fortress to another as needed to make their resistance more effective.

Neither the Jews nor the Muslims were prepared for an extended siege, and both suffered from a lack of provisions. The Jews, initially overconfident in their strength, failed to prepare thier water supplies even for a short siege.

After the forts at an-Natat and those at ash-Shiqq were captured, there was little resistance. The Jews speedily met with Muhammad to discuss the terms of surrender.

In Classic Islamic literature

The traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad report that in one of the fortresses, first Abu Bakr, then Umar, took up the standard in the hope of breaking down their resistance, by putting themselves at the head of the attacks, but both failed. According to this tradition, Muhammad then called to his standard-bearer Ali, who killed a Jewish chieftain with a sword-stroke, which split in two the helmet, the head and the body of the victim. Having lost his shield, Ali is said to have lifted both of the doors of the fortress from its hinges, climbed into the moat and held them up to make a bridge whereby the attackers gained access to the redoubt. The door was so heavy that forty men were required to put it back in place. This story is one basis for the Muslim view, especially in Shi'a Islam, of Ali as the prototype of heroes.

One single narration regarding temporary marriage (Arabic: Nikah Mut'ah) that most, but not all Sunnis regard as authentic claim that Nikah Mut'ah was forbiden by Muhammad at this moment. Shi'a view that narration as fabricated.

On one occasion, Muslim soldier killed and cooked a score of donkeys, which escaped from a farm. The incident led Muhammad to forbid to Muslims the meat of horses, mules, and donkeys, unless consumption was forced by necessity. Muhammad ordered the felling of 400 palms around one fortress to force its defenders to capitulate. Finally, the Jews surrendered when after a month and a half of the siege, all but two fortresses were captured by the Muslims.

Aftermath

Muhammad met with Ibn Abi Al-Huqaiq, al-Katibah and al-Watih to discuss the terms of surrender. As part of the agreement, the Jews of Khaybar were to evacuate the area, and surrender their wealth. The Muslims, would cease warfare, and not hurt any of the Jews. The agreement also mandated that the Jews would not conceal anything from the Muslims. After, the agreement some Jews approached Muhammad, with a request to continue to cultivate their fine orchards, and remain in the oasis. In return, they would give one-half of their produce to the Muslims. Muhammad accepted the proposal. He also ordered the restitution to the Jews of their holy scriptures.

The pact didn't define the situation of the Jews, nor specify whether the Jews were to remain owners of the land. Modern historians suggest that the lack of precision was an ex-post justification for the subsequent expulsion of Jews from Khaybar. The agreement with the Jews of Khaybar served as an important precedent for Islamic Law in determining the status of dhimmis, (non-Muslims under Muslim rule).

Among the Jewish women there was one who was chosen by Muhammad as wife. It was 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. According to Ibn Ishaq, when Muhammad asked him to locate the tribe's treasure, al-Rabi denied knowing where it was. A Jew told Muhammad that he had seen Al-Rabi near a certain ruin every morning. When the ruin was excavated, it was found to contain some of the treasure. Muhammad ordered Al-Zubayr to torture al-Rabi until he revealed the location of the rest, then handed him to Muhammad ibn Maslamah, whose brother had died in the battle, to be beheaded.

Muslim biographers of Muhammad tell a story that a Jewish woman of Banu Nadir tribe attempted to poison Muhammad to avenge her slain relatives. She poisoned a piece of lamb that she cooked for Muhammad and his companion, putting especially much poison into the shoulder — Muhammad's favorite part of lamb. 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 reported that, on his deathbed, Muhammad said that his illness was the result of that poisoning.

The victory in Khaybar greatly raised the status of Muhammad among his followers and, local Bedouin tribes, who, seeing his power, swore allegiance to Muhammad and converted to Islam. The captured booty and weapons strengthened his army, and he captured Mecca just 18 months after Khaybar.

See also

• Muhammad as a warrior
• Jihad
• Rules of war in Islam

Notes

1. ^ Veccia Vaglieri, L. "Khaybar", Encyclopaedia of Islam
2. Stillman 18
3. Stillman 14, 18
4. Stillman 18–19
5. Lewis 10
6. Stillman 14–16-17
7. Nomani (1979), vol. II, pg. 156
8. Urwa, Fath al-Bari, Vol. VII, pg. 363
9. ^ Stillman 17
10. Zurqani, Ala al-Mawahib, Vol. II, p.196, Egypt
11. Nomani (1979), vol. II, pg. 157
12. Watt (1956), pg. 213
13. ^ Stillman 18
14. Watt 188–189
15. Lewis Arabs in History 43
16. Watt 189
17. Nomani (1979), vol. II, pg. 156
18. Nomani (1979), vol. II, pg. 159
19. Watt 1956), pg. 341
20. Nomani (1979), vol. II, pg. 162
21. Watt (1956), pg. 93
22. Watt (1956), pg. 218
23. Nomani, vol. II, pg. 165-6
24. Watt (1956), pg. 219
25. Watt (1956), pg. 218
26. Jafri_
27. Watt 1956), pg. 218
28. Mubarakpuri (1996), pg. 372
29. Watt 1956), pg. 218
30. Stillman 18–19
31. Lewis 10
32. Ibn Hisham. Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya (The Life of The Prophet). English translation in Guillame (1955), pp. 145–146
33. Ibn Hisham.Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya (The Life of The Prophet). English translation in Stillman (1979), pp. 145–146
34. Ibn Hisham. Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya (The Life of The Prophet). English translation in Stillman (1979), pp. 148–149

References

• Encyclopaedia of Islam. Ed. P. Bearman et al., Leiden: Brill, 1960-2005.
• Guillaume, Alfred. The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah. Oxford University Press, 1955. ISBN 0-1963-6033-1
• Jafri, S.H.M. The Origins and Early Development of Shi'a Islam. Longman;1979 ISBN 0-582-78080-2
• Lewis, Bernard. The Jews of Islam. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984. ISBN 0-691-00807-8
• Lewis, Bernard. The Arabs in History. Oxford University Press, 1993 ed. (reissued 2002). ISBN 0-19-280310-7
• Nomani, Shibli (1970). Sirat al-Nabi. Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society.
• Stillman, Norman. The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1979. ISBN 0-8276-0198-0
• Montgomery Watt, W. (1956). Muhammad at Medina. Oxford University Press.
• Montgomery Watt, W. (1964). Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. Oxford University Press.
• Hekmat, Anwar, Women and the Koran The Status of Women in Islam, (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1997), ISBN 1-57392-162-9

• 629
• Battles of Muhammad
• Muhammad and the Jews