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The Battle of Khaybar was an Islamic battle.

In Dhu 'l-Hijjah of 8, 630, the Battle of Khaybar took place. One day, a Muslim man was grazing the camels received as Zakat near Khaybar. The Jews attacked him, killed him and stole the camels. In Khaybar, the Jews were preparing for war against Muhammad. They equipped themselves very well and stocked up on food supplies and arms. They also recruited Ghatafan and Fazarah which were two Jewish tribes living near Khaybar. In Madinah, Muhammad did not want war. He sent a group of Muslims to Khaybar to negotiate a peace agreement. The Muslims asked the chiefs of Khaybar to accompany them to Madinah in order to meet with Muhammad to finalize the peace agreement. The Jews accepted, However, while they were on their way to Madinah, the Jews attacked the Muslims. The two parties fought, but the Muslims managed to win the battle and returned to Madinah. They informed Muhammad of what had happened. That left Muhammad without any choice but to fight the Jews of Khaybar. Na'em was the first fortress to be opened, Al-Wateeh and As-Salalem (the stairs) were the last given after a dozen days of siege and Fadak gave up peacefully.

Muhammad only allowed 1,400 Muslims who attended Bai'atul Ridwan to join the army, no one else was allowed. First, the Muslims had to break the alliance between Khaybar and the tribes of Ghatafan and Fazarah. Muhammad executed a brilliant military strategy to neutralize the Ghatafan and Fazarah threat. He first directed the army towards the villages of Ghatafan and Fazarah. The people of Ghatafan and Fazarah who had already left their villages to join the army in Khaybar heard that the Muslim army was in its way to their villages. Therefore, they abandon their plans of joining the army in Khaybar and instead went back to defend their villages. When Muhammad was sure that Ghataffan and Fazarah's men had returned to their villages, he redirected the army towards Khaybar.

The Muslim army camped surrounding the forts for a long period of time waiting for the Jews to surrender. Soon, the forts of Khaybar fell in the hands of the Muslim army except for one which was very strong. Muhammad sent Ali ibn Abi Talib on a mission to conquer it and he succeeded. After the fall of Khaybar to the hands of Muslims, Muhammad made an agreement with the Jews. In the agreement, the Jews were allowed to live in Khaybar as long as they did not harm the Muslims or helped non-Muslims against Muslims.

Muslim army leaders

When the Muslim army reached Khaybar, Muhammad addressed the Muslims: "We do not have necessary means to conquer these huge and strong forts. We have only swords, bows and arrows. With these weapons, the massive forts, built of stone, cannot be demolished, but we can compel the Jews to surrender. We can besiege them and throw dikes on canals passing through their forts. If the Jews have no water, they will soon be compelled to surrender".

The Muslims decided to attack each fort by turn. When the Muslims started to lay siege around Khaybar, they faced a heavy bombardment of stones hurled by catapults ("Manjneeq") of the Jews. Here again, Muhammad the military strategis ordered movable turrets to be built so the walls of the forts could be reached. These turrets serving as armoured vehicles would enable the Muslims to reach the walls of the fort. The catapults were ineffective in targeting the Muslims who standing directly under the straight walls. The people standing under the wall could face danger only from stones being thrown at them from the fort towers. These stones could only be thrown down from slits that had been made in the forts for this purpose. The remaining positions of the wall were safe for shelter.

After some Muslims were killed during their siege of the fortresses, the Muslims attacked. Muhaamad could not lead the battle because of illness which was probably malaria. First Abu Bakr took the banner of the Immigrants to lead them in battle, but he bacame ill (probably malaria)and his health was badly impaired.. The next day Umar ibn al-Khattab carried it, but he too contracte malaria At last Muhammad said: "I shall give the banner tomorrow to one who attacks (karrar), and does not retreat. He is one who loves Allah and His Messenger, and whom Allah and His Messenger love. He shall not return until Allah opens (Khaybar) at his hands." The people of Quraysh wondered who such a man could be. "As for Ali", they said to one another, "you need not think of him, because he is sore-eyed, unable to see even the ground under his feet." But when Ali heard what the Muhammad said, he exclaimed: "O Allah, there is no one who can give what you withhold, nor is there anyone who can withhold what you give! Ali was given the Islamic flag.

When Ali was given this charge, he had also contracted mild fever. On his first day of command, he put to siege the fort of "Natat". Baghwa Ibn-e-Abi-Alhadeed, describes a person wearing a steel helmet appeared at the wall of the fort of Natat and addressed the Muslims, "Who is your Commander?" Ali replied, from the front of wall, "I am the Commander of the Muslim army. My name is Ali bin Abi Talib". That person called out, "O Ali, my name is Marhab. Out of these eight forts which you are seeing, one has been named after me. Have you the courage to face me?" Ali replied aloud, "I have never turned down any invitation to single combat, therefore I will not turn down your invitation".

Marhab said, "Then here I come to assess your strength outside this fort". After saying this, Marhab climbed down the wall, coming out of the fort. Although Ali’s eyes were sore and his body bare of armour, he faced Marhab resolutely who was clad in strong armour and a steel helmet. There was a long and hard fight and at last Ali sent Marhab to death.

After defeating Marhab, Ali ordered the door of Natat be broken by beams. On that day, the Muslims used three large tree trunks as beams each being carried by fifty men. While the Muslims were busy in breaking the door of the fort, Ali ordered some Muslims to climb up the walls of the fort by using a ladder. The Muslims first reached the walls of the fort and then through the ladder climbed into it. The Muslims also broke open the strong door of the fort and arrested the Jews who were inside. The Muslims were also able to recover large amounts of booty from the fort.

He then hoisted the banner of victory on its top. With these very battles which ended in the fifth year of Hijrah, the threat from the powerful Jews was neutralized.

After conquering the fort of Natat, Ali decided to attack the fort of "Naem". During the battle of Khaybar, Ali was able to conquer four forts in ten days. The inhabitants of the remaining four forts surrendered to Ali without resistance.

CLEMANCY FOR THE JEWS The Prophet Muhammad had just recovered when he received the news of the fall of the first fort to the Muslims. In front of all the Muslims, the Prophet embraced Ali and kissing his forehead said, "O Ali, you are Asad-Ullah, -- the Lion of Allah". This title of Ali is much remembered in Islamic tradition and is the one by which he was better known.

The Muslims received ample supplies of war-riches in this war. After the victory of Khaybar, the Prophet adopted great clemency towards the Jews. The Jews were allowed to leave Khaybar if they wanted to and were also allowed to take with them whatever they liked, except dates, sheep and grain. Those Jews who did not want to leave Khaybar were permitted to stay and were given the concession to continue their previous trade. They were expected to pay a small tax called Jizyah (i lieu of zakat which is obligatory on Muslims)to the Muslims in return for which the Muslims would provide them protection.

Jewish women were not violated.In addition, the commander of the Muslim army, Ali, also restricted the entrance of Muslim soldiers in Jewish orchards and oases so that their yield may not be damaged. The Prophet married a Jewish woman "Safiyyah". Her first marriage had ended in divorce. She was then wedded to Kananah bin Abi Alhaqeeq. This person died in the Battle of Khaybar. She, after arrest had come to the share of Waheyah Kalbi. In lieu of her father’s status who was the chief of Khaybar, the Prophet had paid for her freedom and wedded her. Safiyyah later on become a great source of knowledge and wisdom about Islam to Muslim women.

One day, a Muslim soldier, while passing through the forts of Khaybar was attacked and killed by an un-known assailant. Ali gathered the Jews and investigated the murder. The Jews swore that the murderer was not from the Jews of Khaybar and they were innocent. Ali presented the matter before the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and said that the Jewish heralds had absolved themselves from the murder. From whom was thus the blood-money to be sought?

The Prophet said that as those people had sworn that the murderer of the Muslim soldier was not from the Jews, therefore he would accept their statement. He himself was ready to pay the blood-money for the deceased that he then did.

After the victory of Khaybar, the two Jewish tribes which lived in the area of the valley "Alqara" and two other tribes which dwelt at the places of "Fidk" and "Taimah" adopted a conciliatory attitude towards the Muslims and consented to give them "Jizyah".

THE POISONING OF THE PROPHET While the Battle of Khaybar had been at its peak, two travellers arrived at Khaybar from Abyssinia. One of them was the Prophet’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) foster brother, Ja’far bin Abi Talib, the other Umroah bin Umayyah. Both of these had been among the first migrants to Abyssinia. After their return, none of the Arabs who had migrated, remained in Abyssinia. The Jews of Khaybar were granted many concessions after the battle. They reopened their places of worship and indulged in prayers as usual. All of their sacred books and important documents that had come to the hands of the Muslims were also returned. Their relations with the Muslims became so good that a Jewish woman announced that she would send meat to the Prophet cooked by her hands.

The name of this woman was Zaynab Bint Harth and she was the wife of Salaam bin Mashkam. She had a ram slaughtered as she had heard that the Prophet was very fond of lamb’s leg. She then added poison to both legs, roasted them and sent the meal to the Prophet. When this roasted meat was presented to the Prophet, a Sahabi, named Bashir bin Bira bin Ma’roor, was in his company. It was the Prophet’s habit: to share his meals with guests and the poor, the Prophet presented one leg to him and from the other he himself tore a slice to eat.

Bashir bin Bira took a bite, chewed it and swallowed, but the Prophet on chewing the first morsel spat it out. He told Bashir bin Bira urgently, "Do not eat this meat! It has been poisoned!" In bewilderment, Bashir threw away the leg, but the morsel of meat he had swallowed showed its effects and he soon died.

Zaynab bin Harth was arrested and questioned whether she had sent poisoned meat to the Prophet. She confessed saying, "I poisoned the meat with the view that the Prophet would not eat this meat. If he was the true Messenger of Allah, he would not be affected by the poison. As the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) spat out the meat instantly, the truth of his Prophethood has been proved to me".

Masoodi, Ibn-e-Hasham, Asad Baig, Tibri Ibu-Abi-Al-hadeed do not mention how the Muslims treated that woman.

Some Islamic scholars have written that the Prophet before his death mentioned to his loved ones that the cause of his death was the same poison that had been given to him at Khaybar. We know that the Prophet did not consume any of the poisoned meat but it has been conjectured that some fluid which would have oozed out of the meat by a little chewing could have been absorbed in his body, later becoming the cause of his illness and ultimately that of his death.

See also

• Ali ibn Abi Talib

• Battles of Muhammad