Banu Qaynuqa
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Further information: Military career of Muhammad |
The Banu Qaynuqa (
Islamic tradition says that in the year 624, when a Muslim woman came to the shop of a Banu Qaynuqa goldsmith, the goldsmith played a prank on her. She screamed, and a Muslim man killed him. His fellows took revenge and killed the Muslim man. Muhammad regarded this as a casus belli.[2][3] The Muslims accuse the tribe of breaking the Constitution of Medina.[4] Muhammad then besieged the tribe for fourteen or fifteen days, after which they surrendered unconditionally.[5][6] Following their capitulation, Muhammad had wanted to slaughter the Banu Qaynuqa men en masse, but was forced by Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, the chief of the Khazraj, to change his mind and let them live and expel them instead.[7][8] The Muslims also took the tribe's property as their booty.[9] It is suggested that this invasion was a way for Muhammad to eliminate the tribe from the market competition in the city.[7]
Background
In the 7th century, the Banu Qaynuqa were living in two fortresses in the south-western part of the city of Yathrib, now Medina, having settled there at an unknown date. Although the Banu Qaynuqa bore mostly Arabic names, they were both ethnically and religiously Jewish. They owned no land, earned their living through commerce and craftsmanship, including goldsmithery.[5] The marketplace of Yathrib was located in the area of the town where the Qaynuqa lived.[10] The Banu Qaynuqa were allied with the local Banu Khazraj tribe and supported them in their conflicts with the rival tribe of the Banu Aws.[5][11]
Arrival of Muhammad
In May 622,
The nature of this document as recorded by Ibn Ishaq and transmitted by Ibn Hisham is the subject of dispute among modern historians many of whom maintain that this "treaty" is possibly a collage of agreements, oral rather than written, of different dates, and that it is not clear when they were made or with whom.[15]
Expulsion
Traditional Muslim sources view these episodes as a violation of the Constitution of Medina.
Muhammad then approached the Banu Qaynuqa, gathering them in the marketplace and addressing them as follows,
O Jews, beware lest God brings on you the like of the retribution which he brought on Quraysh. Accept Islam, for you know that I am a prophet sent by God. You will find this in your scriptures and in God's covenant with you.[20]
To which the tribe replied,
Muhammad, do you think that we are like your people? Do not be deluded by the fact that you met a people with no knowledge of war and that you made good use of your opportunity. By God, if you fight us you will know that we are real men![20]
After the surrender of Banu Qaynuqa, their men were about to be beheaded by the order of Muhammad, but Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, the chief of a section of the clan of Khazraj̲ urged him to spare them and drive them away instead.[24][12] According to Ibn Ishaq:
The Messenger of God besieged them until they surrendered at his discretion. ‘Abd Allah ibn Ubayy ibn Saul rose up when God had put them in his power and said, "Muhammad, treat my mawali well." The Prophet turned away from him, and he put his hand into [the Messenger’s] collar. The Messenger of God said, "Let me go!" — He was so angry that they could see shadows in his face (that is, his face was colored). Then he said, "Damn you, let me go!" He replied, "No, by God, I will not let you go until you treat my mawali well. Four hundred men without armor and three hundred with coats of mail, who defended me from the Arabs and the non-Arabs alike, and you would mow them down in a single morning? By God, I do not feel safe, and I am afraid of what the future may have in store." So the Messenger of God said, "They are yours."
Muhammad then ordered his men to let them go and said, “may God curse them, and may he curse (Abd Allah ibn Ubayy) with them.[9]
According to
Aftermath
The Banu Qaynuqa left first for the Jewish colonies in the
Muhammad divided the property of the Banu Qaynuqa, including their arms and tools, among his followers, taking for the Islamic state a fifth share of the spoils for the first time. Some members of the tribe chose to stay in Medina and convert to Islam. One man from the Banu Qaynuqa,
See also
- Banu Nadir
- Banu Qurayza
- Jihad
- Rules of war in Islam
References
- ^ (Bosworth et al. 1998, p. 824)
- ^ a b c d Guillaume 363, Stillman 122, ibn Kathir 2.
- ^ Watt (1956), p. 207–9.
- ISBN 978-0-7914-1875-8.
- ^ a b c d e f g Wensinck, A.J. "Kaynuka, banu". Encyclopaedia of Islam
- ^ a b Stillman 123.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-88607-9.
- ISBN 978-1-61592-243-7.
- ^ ISBN 0-88706-345-4.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ Peters 182.
- ^ Guillaume 1955, p. 253
- ^ a b al-Mubarakpuri (1996), pp. 197-8.
- ^ Ibn Hisham, as-Seerat an-Nabaweeyat, Vol. II, pp. 147-150.
- ^ Ibn Ishaq, pp. 231-235.
- ^ Firestone 118; Welch, "Muhammad", Encyclopaedia of Islam. For opinions disputing the early date of the Constitution of Medina, see e.g., Peters 119.
- ^ Watt (1956), p. 209.
- ^ Peters 218.
- ^ Donner 231–232.
- ^ Stillman 13.
- ^ a b Guillaume 363.
- ^ Nomani 90-91, al-Mubarakpuri 239.
- ^ Guillaume 363, Stillman 123.
- ^ Watt (1956), pg. 209-10.
- ^ al-Isaba fi tamyiz al-Sahaba, Ibn Hajar, part 4[4617].
- ^ *Watt, Muhammad prophet and statesman, p. 131
- William Montgomery Watt. "Abd Allah b. Ubayy b. Salul." Encyclopaedia of Islam.
- ^ William Montgomery Watt. "Abd Allah b. Ubayy b. Salul." Encyclopaedia of Islam, see also Stillman 13, 123.
- ^ Ben-Zvi 147.
Notes
- Bosworth, C. E.; Lewis; Pellat; Donzel, E. J. van, eds. (1998-05-28). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume V (Khe-Mahi): [Fasc. 79-98, 98a]. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-07819-2.
- Encyclopaedia of Islam. Ed. P. Bearman et al., Leiden: Brill, 1960-2005.
- Ben-Zvi, Yitzhak. The Exiled and the Redeemed. Jewish Publication Society, 1957.
- Donner, Fred M. "Muhammad's Political Consolidation in Arabia up to the Conquest of Mecca". Muslim World 69: 229-247, 1979.
- Firestone, Reuven. Jihad: The Origin of Holy War in Islam. Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-19-512580-0
- ISBN 0-19-636033-1
- Mubarakpuri, Safi ur-Rahman (1996). Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum. Riyadh: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam.
- ISBN 0-7914-1875-8.
- ISBN 0-8276-0198-0
- Watt, W. Montgomery (1956). Muhammad at Medina. Oxford University Press.
- Watt, W. Montgomery (1961). Muhammad Prophet and Statesman. Oxford University Press.
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