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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 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

Shortly after killing Ka'b, Muhammad attacked the Banu Nadir and expelled them 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 found a casus belli by claiming to have received a divine revelation that the Banu Nadir were 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 decided to depart with their head held high. They 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.

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 could 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.

See also

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

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, 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
4. ^ 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)
5. 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
6. Ibn Hisham (1955). English translation from Stillman (1979), p. 127
7. Stillman (1979), pp. 13–14
8. ^ Stillman (1979), p. 14
9. 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
10. Stillman (1979), p. 17
11. ^ 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)
12. Ibn Hisham (1955). English translation in Stillman (1979), pp. 145–146
13. 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