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Conquest of Khaybar: Difference between revisions
→Problems with the Traditional Narrative
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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><ref>''The Life of Muhammad'', (tr. A. Guillaume), Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 515</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><ref>''The Life of Muhammad'', (tr. A. Guillaume), Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 515</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 who swallowed it | 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 who swallowed it died<ref>Meraj Mohiudeen Revelation The Story of Muhammad Whiteboard Press 2016 page 290 </ref>, although in a different narration Bishr died within a year of swallowing the meat 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, 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 <ref>Robert Spencer Muhammad: A Critical Biography Simon and Schuster 2024, pages 253</ref>. | ||
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 <ref>Hans Jansen Mohammed Eine Biographie Verlag C.H Beck oHg page 360-361 </ref>. | 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 <ref>Hans Jansen Mohammed Eine Biographie Verlag C.H Beck oHg page 360-361 </ref>. | ||
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==Modern Views and Perspectives== | ==Modern Views and Perspectives== | ||
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 | 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 discovery 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."<ref>Robert Spencer Muhammad: A Critical Biography Simon and Schuster 2024, pages 255</ref> 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. | 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."<ref>Robert Spencer Muhammad: A Critical Biography Simon and Schuster 2024, pages 255</ref> 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. | ||
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==Problems with the Traditional Narrative== | ==Problems with the Traditional Narrative== | ||
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 | 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 expels 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. | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||