Surah al-Ahzab (The Confederates) 33 : 27

Overview (Verses 26 - 27)

The Other Enemy
 
It was not only the Quraysh and the Ghaţafān that suffered a miserable defeat. Their allies, the Jews of Qurayżah also shared the same outcome: “He brought down from their strongholds those of the people of earlier revelations who aided them, casting terror in their hearts: some you slew, and some you took captive. And He passed on to you their land, their houses and their goods, as well as a land on which you had never yet set foot. God has power over all things.” (Verses 26-27) However, before we discuss these verses we need to throw some light on the attitude the Jews in Madinah adopted towards Islam.
 
When Islam arrived in Madinah, the Jews there maintained peaceful relations with it for only a short period. Shortly after his arrival in Madinah, the Prophet signed a treaty with them with mutual obligations of support against outside enemies and clear conditions that they would never be in breach of their commitments, or aid any enemy, or take any hostile action against the Muslims.
 
The Jews, however, soon felt that Islam represented a threat to their traditional position as followers of the divine faith. Indeed they enjoyed much respect by the people of Madinah on account of this fact. Moreover, they felt that the new social system Islam established in Madinah under the leadership of the Prophet also constituted a threat to their position. Previously, they had very cleverly exploited the conflict between the two main Arab tribes in Madinah, the Aws and the Khazraj, to ensure that they themselves had the upper hand. The Prophet united the two tribes in a new social system which deprived the Jews of the chance to sew discord between them.
 
Perhaps the last straw that broke the camel’s back for them was that the rabbi they considered to be their master and leading scholar, `Abdullāh ibn Sallām, converted to Islam with all his family members. However, he feared that should he announce his conversion to Islam in public, the Jews might level false accusations against him. Therefore, he requested that the Prophet ask them about him and his standing among them before telling them that he had become a Muslim. When the Prophet asked the Jews as `Abdullāh had requested him, they said: ‘He is our master as his father was; and he is our rabbi and leading scholar.’ It was at this point that `Abdullāh came out to tell them that Islam was God’s message to mankind and he asked them to follow his example and become Muslims. They immediately turned against him, speaking ill of him and warning all the other Jews against him. Clearly they felt that Islam represented an imminent threat to their religious and political standing. They were determined to scheme against God’s Messenger allowing him no respite. This, then, was the beginning of the war between Islam and the Jews, which has never subsided.
 
At first, the war started as a cold war, as we say these days. That is to say, it began as propaganda against both Muĥammad (peace be upon him) and Islam. The tactics they employed varied from raising doubts about the message and the new faith, to sowing discord and creating division between the Muslims, as between the Aws and the Khazraj one day and between the Muhājirīn and the Anşār another day. They also spied on the Muslims for their idolater enemies, and befriended a group of hypocrites who pretended to be Muslim manipulating them to create trouble within the Muslim community. Ultimately, they openly urged other groups to unite against the Muslims, as happened in the encounter with the confederate tribes.
 
The major Jewish groups in Madinah were the tribes of the Qaynuqā`, al-Nađīr and Qurayżah. Each had its own ongoing situation with the Prophet and the Muslim community. The Qaynuqā` tribe, who were the best fighters among the Jews, begrudged the Muslims their victory at Badr. Therefore, they started to exploit little events against the Muslims, so demonstrating that they had little respect for their treaty with the Prophet, fearing that he would soon gather strength and gain mastery over them. Ibn Hishām mentions in his biography of the Prophet: “One aspect of the case of the Qaynuqā` Jews was that the Prophet addressed them in their market place, saying: ‘Take warning from what happened to the Quraysh and adopt Islam. You already know that I am a prophet sent by God with a message. You read this in your own scriptures and you are committed to believe in me by God’s promise to you.’ They replied: ‘Muĥammad! Do not take it as something great that you met people who have no knowledge of war and fighting and that you got the upper hand against them. Should we fight you, you will learn that we are the true fighters.’“
 
Ibn Hishām also reports on the authority of `Abdullāh ibn Jafar: “Behind the problem of the Qaynuqā` was an Arab woman who had brought some milk and sold it in the Qaynuqā Market. She then sat at a jeweller’s shop. People there wanted her to uncover her face, but she refused. The jeweller took the edge of her dress and tied it to her back, without her noticing. When she rose, her bottom was exposed and people laughed at her. She shouted for help. A Muslim attacked the Jewish jeweller, and killed him. The Jews then attacked the Muslim and killed him. His people shouted for other Muslims to come and help. The Muslims were very angry and trouble so erupted between them and the Qaynuqā` clan.”
 
Ibn Isĥāq continues this report of the events: “The Prophet laid siege to them until they agreed to accept his judgement. `Abdullāh ibn Ubayy [the chief of the hypocrites who was still accepted as a Muslim] went to the Prophet saying: ‘Be good to my allies.’ The Qaynuqā were formerly allied to the Khazraj. The Prophet made no reply. `Abdullāh repeated this but the Prophet turned away. `Abdullāh then put his hand inside the Prophet’s armour and the Prophet asked him to let him go. `Abdullāh did not listen. The Prophet became angry and said: let me go!’ `Abdullāh then said: ‘I will not let you go until you are good to my allies. They are 700 fighters who protected me against all my enemies and you come to finish them off in one day. I am a man who fears the turn of fortune.’ The Prophet then said to him: They are yours.’
 
`Abdullāh ibn Ubayy was clearly still held in high esteem by his clan. Furthermore, the Prophet accepted his intercession in favour of the Qaynuqā` Jews, provided they agreed to leave Madinah, taking their property with them, but not their weapons. Thus Madinah was rid of a powerful Jewish section.
 
As for the al-Nađīr tribe, the Prophet went to their quarters in the fourth year of his migration to Madinah, after the Battle of Uĥud, seeking their help in raising funds to pay the blood money for two people killed accidentally by one of his Companions. According to the provisions of the agreement between them and the Muslim state, they were bound to make such a contribution. When he explained his purpose, they said: ‘Yes, we will certainly make a contribution.’ He sat with his back to the wall of one of their houses. Then they consulted among themselves, and some suggested: ‘You will never again find this man in such a vulnerable state. Who can get to the roof of this house and throw a large rock to rid us of him?’
 
So they set about carrying out their wicked plot. The Prophet was informed of what they were planning; so he returned to Madinah. Once there, he ordered his community to prepare to fight the Jewish tribe of al-Nađīr. They retreated to their forts. `Abdullāh ibn Ubayy, the chief of the hypocrites, sent them word to remain steadfast promising to give them his full support. He added: ‘We will never let you down. If war is waged against you, we will fight alongside you; and if you are made to leave, we will go with you.’ The hypocrites, however, did not fulfil their promise to the Jews. Instead, God struck fear into the hearts of the al- Nađīr and they surrendered without a fight. They asked the Prophet to spare their lives in return for their departure. He agreed and allowed them a camel load each of their property, provided they surrendered any arms. They thus left Madinah, most settling in Khaybar, whilst others went further north to Syria. Among their leaders were Sallām ibn Abī al-Ĥuqayq, Kinānah ibn Abī al-Ĥuqayq and Ĥuyay ibn Akhţab, the three who had played a leading role in forging the alliance between the Quraysh and Ghaţafān and so forming the confederate tribes that sought to exterminate Islam and the Muslims.
 
Treachery of Great Magnitude
 
This left only the Qurayżah, the third major Jewish tribe in Madinah. As we now know, they too had sided with the confederate tribes against the Muslims, this at the instigation of the al-Nađīr chiefs, particularly Ĥuyay ibn Akhţab. This treachery by the Qurayżah, in violation of their treaty with the Prophet, was a much harder test for the Muslims than the external attack they faced from the confederates.
 
To be absolutely sure of this new situation, the Prophet sent four of his Companions — Sa`d ibn Mu`ādh, the chief of the Aws, Sa`d ibn `Ubādah, the chief of the Khazraj, `Abdullah ibn Rawāĥah and Khawāt ibn Jubayr — to the Qurayżah to ascertain their position: “If you find out that the intelligence we have received is true, give me a hint which I will understand. Try to avoid affecting the Muslims’ morale. If, on the other hand, you find that the Qurayżah remain faithful to their treaty with us, make the news known to everyone.” This shows how seriously he expected the news of treachery to affect the Muslim community as a whole.
 
The delegation went to the Qurayżah and met the people there, calling on them to maintain their peaceful relations and to confirm their alliance with the Prophet. However, they found that the Qurayżah had adopted a worse position than what they had heard about. Defiantly, they said: “You want us to confirm the alliance now, when we have been weakened by the departure of al-Nađīr. Who is God’s Messenger? We do not know him. We have no treaty or agreement with Muĥammad.”
 
The Muslim delegation then left the Qurayżah, returning to the Prophet with the bad news that the Jews no longer recognized their peace treaty with him. On arrival, they found the Prophet with a group of his Companions. Following his advice, they gave him a clear hint of the Qurayżah’s treachery rather than deliver the fact publicly. The Prophet was not perturbed. On the contrary, he said: “God is Supreme. Rejoice, you Muslims, for the end will be a happy one.”
 
In his report of these events, Ibn Isĥāq says: “This test was too hard for the Muslims: fear mounted; the enemy came upon them from the front and the rear; the Muslims’ thoughts went in all directions; hypocrisy was now in the open, etc.”
 
When God gave the Prophet His support so as to make his enemies withdraw without gaining any advantage, sparing the believers the need to fight, the Prophet returned to Madinah victorious. People put down their arms. Back in his wife, Umm Salamah’s home, the Prophet was washing himself after the long ordeal. Jibrīl, the angel, came to him saying: “The angels have not put down their arms yet. I have just come back from chasing the enemy.” He then said to him: “God commands you to march to the Qurayżah.” Their quarters were a few miles away from Madinah. This was after the noon Żuhr prayer. The Prophet issued an order to all his Companions: “He who obeys God must not pray ‘`Aşr except at the Qurayżah.” People started marching. On the way, the ‘`Aşr prayer became due. Some of them stopped to offer it arguing that the Prophet had only wanted them to start marching immediately. Others said they would prefer to delay it until they had arrived, taking the Prophet’s order at face value. Neither party blamed the other.
 
The Prophet marched behind them, having asked Ibn Umm Maktūm, his blind Companion, to deputize for him in Madinah. He also gave the banner to his cousin `Alī ibn Abī Ţālib. The Prophet laid siege to the Qurayżah quarter for 25 days. When they were in despair, they sent word to the Prophet saying that they would accept the judgement of Sa`d ibn Mu`ādh, the chief of the Aws tribe of the Anşār, as he was their ally in pre-Islamic days. They felt that he was bound to be lenient towards them, just like `Abdullāh ibn Ubayy had been lenient towards the Qaynuqā` Jews when he sought their release by the Prophet. They did not know, however, that Sa`d had received an injury to his arm during the earlier siege of Madinah and that the Prophet had the wound cauterized to stop it bleeding. He had also placed him in a tent close by where he was nursed. When he received his injury, Sa`d had prayed: “My Lord! If we are to fight the Quraysh again, spare me now for that fight. If you have willed that this encounter between us be the last, I pray to You, my Lord, to make this wound of mine my way to martyrdom, but spare me until I see our affair with the Qurayżah have a happy ending for Islam.’ God answered his prayer, making them choose him as their judge.
 
When the Qurayżah Jews intimated that they would accept Sa`d’s judgement, the Prophet gave instructions for him to be brought in. He came riding a donkey that had been saddled for him. On his way, his tribesmen, the Aws, tried to persuade him to be lenient. They said: ‘Be kind to your allies. The Prophet has chosen you to judge them in order that you be kind o them.’ Sa`d first chose o be silent. When he was tired of their insistence, he said: ‘It is time for Sa`d to disregard all criticism when it comes to something through which he hopes to please God.’ His tribesmen realized then that he would not be lenient.
 
As Sa`d approached the Prophet’s tent, the Prophet said o those who were with him: ‘Stand up to greet your master.’ This was to give Sa`d extra respect in his position as judge and to make his judgement binding. When he sat down, the Prophet said to him that the Qurayżah had agreed to accept his judgement in their case. Sa`d said: “Will my judgement be binding on them?” He was answered in the affirmative. He asked again: “And on all who are present [meaning the Muslims]?” Again he received a positive answer. He then lowered his head in deference to the Prophet, pointing his hand in the direction where the Prophet was sitting, without looking at him, and said: “Does this also apply to those who are on this side?” The Prophet answered: “Yes.” Sa`d said: “I hereby rule that all the men of the Qurayżah are o be killed, their properties to be divided and their women and children to be enslaved.” The Prophet endorsed the ruling and said to him: “You have given God’s own verdict.”
 
At the Prophet’s orders, moats were dug in the marketplace and the Qurayżah men were brought there with their hands tied. They were all executed. According o different reports they constituted somewhere between 700-800 people. Ĥuyay ibn Akhţab was among them, remaining faithful to his promise to stay with them and share their fate. Whoever of their young men was below the age of puberty was spared.
 
That day not only marked the humiliation of the Jews but also the weakness of hypocrisy. Thereafter, the hypocrites were reluctant to continue with their earlier trickery. Moreover, the idolaters no longer thought of attacking the Muslims in Madinah. In fact it was the Muslims who were now able to go on the offensive. Events thus moved in such a way as to lead to the fall of the two main cities in Arabia, Makkah and “Ţā’if, to Islam. It may be said that the actions of the Jews, the hypocrites and the idolaters were interlinked, and that the expulsion of the Jews from Madinah put an end to such affiliations. The whole episode thus marked a totally new stage in the history of the Muslim state.
 
This was the practical development to which God refers in the Qur’ānic verses:
 
He brought down from their strongholds those of the people of earlier revelations who aided them, casting terror in their hearts: some you slew, and some you took captive. And He passed on to you their land, their houses and their goods, as well as a land on which you had never yet set foot. God has power over all things.” (Verses 26-27)
 
The phrase, ‘a land on which you had never yet set foot,’ can refer either to a land that the Qurayżah owned outside their quarters, and which the Muslims took over along with the rest of their property, or it may refer to the fact that the Qurayżah surrendered their land without fighting. In this second sense, the Arabic phrase taţa`ū, meaning, ‘to set foot,’ indicates fighting, which involves taking land by force.
 
“God has power over all things.” This comment is taken from what takes place in reality. It refers all matters to God. The sūrah’s presentation of the battle and its commentary on events are altogether consistent with this. It attributes all matters and actions to God, so that this essential truth is firmly rooted in the hearts of all Muslims. We see how God establishes it in people’s hearts using first the actual events and then the Qur’ān as it makes a record of these events. Thus it takes its place at the centre of the overall Islamic concept.
 
In this way, the events become the subject matter of education, and the Qur’ān a manual and guide for life and all that relates to it. Values are well established and hearts reassured, using both the practical test and the Qur’ān as the means.