Conquest of Khaybar: Difference between revisions

Although exiled, the Jews continued to agitate and plot against Muhammad there, and also hired the sorcerer Labid to curse Muhammad, vexing him with confusion, feelings of weakness, and the impression that he had had sex with his wives when he had not <ref>Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 71, Number 660 </ref>. They also bank rolled Arab tribes like their allies the Ghatafan and the Meccans who military opposed Muhammad, and engaged in a plot with the remaining Jews of Medina, the Banu Qurayzah, to betray Muhammad during the battle of the trench (this Jewish treachery would lead to the [[The Massacre of the Banu Qurayzah|Massacre of the Banu Qurayzah]]).  

During the battle, Muhammad forbade his men from sexually taking the pregnant women of their enemies, and decreed that the Muslims must await an [[Iddah]] before sexually enjoying captured women in [[Jihad]]<ref> Sunan Abi Dawud Book 12, Hadith 110 </ref>. He also forbade the eating of all birds and beasts of prey<ref>Sunan Abi Dawud Book 28 Hadith 70 </ref>, mules, and asses<ref>Sunan Abi Dawud Book 28 Hadith 54</ref>.   

After the conclusion of the battle Kinanah agreed to terms, that the Jews would leave Khaybar but also leave all of their wealth to the Muslims. A Jewish traitor informed Muhammad that Kinanah had hidden some treasures around an old ruin. Muhammad asked Kinanah about his treasure, which he denied having. The Muslims excavated the ruin and found his treasure. When they confronted him and demanded to know where the rest of it was, Kinanah refused. Muhammad ordered that a fire be kindled on his chest to torture him into revealing the location of the hidden treasure. After he was tortured for this information, he was beheaded, and Muhammad took [[Safiyah]], his bride, as his own wife <ref>Robert Spencer Muhammad: A Critical Biography Simon and Schuster 2024, pages 249-252</ref>.

After Khaybar had been subdued, Muhammad commanded a captive Jewish woman, Zaynab bint al-Harith, to prepare a meal for him. Zaynab asked what part of the animal Muhammad liked the most, and he answered that it was the shoulder. Zaynab's father had been killed during the conquest of Khaybar, and she poisoned the shoulder. Muhammad took a bite of the poisoned shoulder meat, but he spit it out, while the Companion Bishr swallowed it lived <ref>Meraj Mohiudeen Revelation The Story of Muhammad Whiteboard Press 2016 page 290 </ref>, but Bishr died within a year according to Waqidi <ref>Robert Spencer Muhammad: A Critical Biography Simon and Schuster 2024, pages 252</ref>. Although Muhammad lived, he would later tell Bishr's mother on his death bead that it was this poisoned meat which killed him. According to ibn Hisham and Bukhari, the Zaynab told him that if he was a prophet he would be protected, and Muhammad let her live, while in Sunan Abi Dawud (below) Muhammad ordered that she be executed.   

Muhammad divided the spoils of Khaybar amongst his followers, taking a larger share and the Jewish princess Safiyyah for himself. The Jews were eventually allowed to stay in Khaybar and til the land in exchange for paying the [[Jizyah]] and accepting Muslim rule, making them the first [[Dhimmi|Dhimmis]]. The Jews would stay in Khaybar after the death of Muhammad, until they were expelled by 'Umar, who justified his actions with the saying of the prophet that no religion should exist in Arabia save for Islam.

{{Quote|{{Quran|48|27}}|He knew what you did not know and has arranged before that a conquest near [at hand].}}

As with many of the hadith about the maghazi (raids) of the prophet, the division of the spoils is dealt with extensively, showcasing how important this aspect of the prophet's career was to the Muslims who were at the time engaged in the process of massive [[jihad]] warfare against infidels in many places and the taking of booty from the expiditions and campaigns.

{{Quote|{{Abudawud|19|3001}}| Umar said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had transaction with the Jews of Khaybar on condition that we should expel them when we wish. If anyone has property (with them), he should take it back, for I am going to expel the Jews. So he expelled them.}}

The battle of Khaybar was viewed at the time of the writing and collecting of the [[sirah]] and [[hadith]] literature as an unabashed triumph of the prophet and Islam over the Jews and unbelief (kufr) in general. The Islamic literature took great pride in recounting the defeat of the Jews, the seizure of their property, the discovry of the treasure of [[Kinana]], his torture, the taking of his wife [[Safiyya]] by Muhammad, and the reduction of the Jews of Khaybar to [[dhimmitude]]. The narrative of Khaybar served as a template for the Muslims when dealing with Christian enemies in terms of governance, booty, and terms of surrender.  

Modern Muslims and Arab nationalists, when facing the state of Israel in battle, have often invoked the memory of Khaybar to encourage their people to fight the Jews. Muslims around the world have repeated to chant "Khaybar, Khaybar ya yahud, jaysh Muhammad saya'ud"<ref>Dziadosz, Alexander (2012-11-15). [https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-palestinians-israel-islamists-idUKBRE8AE1GP20121115/ "Islamist leaders vow unity against Israel".] ''[[Reuters]]''. Retrieved 28 November 2023.</ref> "Khaybar, Khaybar oh Jews, the army of Muhammad shall return."  Modern Jews have described such invocations as manifestations of anti-Semitism, while liberal Muslims have cast doubt on this and many other sirah and hadith narratives, using the Qur'an as a template for more convivial inter-faith relations than those portrayed in the sirah-maghazi literature.

As with the incident of the [[Banu Qurayzah]] a glaring hole in the Muhammad vs the Jews narrative is the Constitution of Medina. This document, preserved in the history of Al-Tabari despite its incongruence with the emerging sirah narrative, portrays the Jews and Muhammad's "believers" of Medina as being in one community, or ummah. More troubingly for the Islamic narrative, this document painstakingly lists a number of Jewish tribes subject to Muhammad's authority, but nowhere are the Jews of Khaybar, the Banu Nadir and Banu Qaynuqa', ever mentioned, nor do any available Jewish sources outside of Arabia ever mention them. The issue of the proceeds of agriculture from Khaybar crops up again in regards to the claims of Fatimah and Ali vs the Rashidun state, and a number of hadith and other Islamic sources mention that the Jews of Khaybar were later expelled by 'Umar despite their pact with Muhammad. No source, however, corroborates the fate of the Jews of Khaybar after 'Umar expells them, and these hadith and sirah accounts come hundreds of years after the alleged fact. The mufassirun claim that the battle of Khaybar was the ocassion of revelation for a number of Qur'an verses and injunctions of the prophet, but as with the rest of his career in the sirah-maghazi literature these explanatory stories have no corroboration within even 100 years of their supposed ocurrence.