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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. Shortly after his arrival in Medina, Muhammad expelled them from Medina and divided their land among his followers, taking a share for himself. When Muhammad defeated 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 the widow of the tribe's slain treasurer 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. Among his first actions was the promulgation of a document known as the Constitution of Medina, which was supposed to regulate the matters of governance of the city, including relations between the various groups living in it. This constitution confirmed Jews as members of the city community with certain rights and responsibilities, but their status was conditional upon their not "acting wrongfully", a qualification which provided Muhammad with a convenient pretext for nullifying his obligations toward Jews at a later time.

Expulsion of the Banu Qaynuqa from Medina

In March 624, Muslims defeated the Meccans of the Quraysh tribe in the Battle of Badr, and Muhammad felt himself strong enough to finally move against the Jews of Medina. As his first target, Muhammad chose Banu Qaynuqa, the weakest of the Jewish tribes, who were the clients of the Khazraj, and forced them to surrender unconditionally after a short siege. Muhammad consented to the Banu Qaynuqa being expelled when Abdallah ibn Ubayy, the chief of the Khazraj, pleaded before Muhammad on their behalf. The Banu Nadir remained passive during the whole Banu Qaynuqa episode, apparently because they failed to grasp Muhammad's intentions at that time and viewed the conflict as a usual tribal struggle.

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

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, Norman (1979). The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America. pp. p. 11. ISBN 082760198. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
3. Stillman (1979), p. 13