Banu Qurayza
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Banū Qurayẓa (Arabic: بنو قريظة) was a Jewish tribe inhabiting Medina in the first years after the migration of the Prophet (s). The Prophet's (s) war with Banu Qurayza in 5/627 was his last war with the Jews of Medina, which came to be called the Battle of Banu Qurayza.
After the Battle of Ahzab, the Prophet (s) and his army went to Banu Qurayza, and after fifteen days of siege, they proposed a compromise and agreed on Sa'd b. Mu'adh as the arbiter. Contrary to what his tribe preferred, Sa'd ruled that male warriors of Banu Quraza be killed and their property be divided up among Muslim warriors. However, Sayyid Ja'far Shahidi, a contemporary scholar and historiographer, has cast doubts on the accuracy of this account because of inconsistencies in historical sources and certain external evidence. The reason for the Battle of Banu Qurayza was their cooperation with polytheists in the Battle of Ahzab.
According to historical sources, Banu Qurayza and Banu Nadir tribes were from the progeny of Aaron, the brother of the Prophet Moses (a), who lived in and governed Yathrib before the migration of Aws and Khazraj tribes to the town. However, when the Jewish government of Yemen was defeated by the Christian king of Abyssinia, Jews in Yathrib were also defeated by Khazraj in a battle. Since then, the town has been governed by the Khazraj tribe.
General Facts
In many historical sources, the Jewish tribes of Banu Qurayza and Banu Nadir are said to be from the progeny of Aaron, the brother of the Prophet Moses (a).[1] However, in some other sources, Banu Qurayza is said to be from the Judham clan in Palestine who converted to Judaism in the period of 'Adiya b. Samawa'al.[2]
Allegedly, the Jews of Banu Qurayza lived in Yathrib before the migration of the Arabian tribes of Aws and Khazraj to the town.[3] Thus, in the wake of Jewish-Roman wars in the 70s, Banu Qurayza fled to Hijaz and inhabited Mahzur near Yathrib.[4]
Along with other Jewish tribes, Banu Qurayza governed Yathrib. Allegedly, their commander was al-Qaytuwan or Fatyun, who was a taxpayer to the Iranian ruler, al-Zarih (in Bahrain).[5] According to historical sources, when the Jewish government in Yemen was defeated by the Christian king of Abyssinia, the Jews of Medina were undermined. Finally, in a battle between Khazraj and the Jews, their commander was killed, and Arabs overtook the town.[6]
Because of the dominance of Arab tribes in Medina, many Jews left the city.[7] It is also reported that near the emergence of Islam, Jewish tribes lived outside the city in their forts.[8] In this period, Banu Qurayza had greater population and influence than Banu Nadir and Banu Qaynuqa'.[9] They lived in the southeast of Medina[10] and were mainly engaged in agriculture.[11]
Battle of Banu Qurayza
According to some authors, the only independent account of Banu Qurayza in Islamic sources is the one concerning Muslims' war with them in 5/626. Other accounts of their history and events appear in the histories of Aws and Khazraj.[12]
The Battle of Banu Qurayza allegedly occurred in late Dhu l-Qa'da and early Dhu l-Hajja in 5/April 627 and was the last conflict between Muslims and the Jews of Medina. According to Islamic sources, immediately after the Battle of Ahzab and the retreat of the enemies, the Prophet (s) raged a war against Banu Qurayza. Muslims besieged the forts and homes of Banu Qurayza for fifteen days,[13] and then the Jews proposed a compromise and agreed on Sa'd b. Mu'adh as their arbiter.[14]
According to historical sources, despite his injuries and sickness, Sa'd b. Mu'adh left his tent and went to Banu Qurayza, and contrary to what his tribe, as an ally with Banu Qurayza, expected, he ruled that male warriors of Banu Qurayza must be killed, their property must be divided up, and their children must be captivated.[15] According to sources, the Prophet (s) characterized Sa'd's ruling as the ruling of God.[16] The war with Banu Qurayza occurred because they had violated their pact with Muslims and cooperated with polytheists in the Battle of Ahzab against Muslims.[17]
Sayyid Ja'far Shahidi, a contemporary scholar and historiographer, cites remarkable inconsistencies in historical sources as well as external facts such as the population of Medina and the Prophet's (s) kind character, and thereby, casts doubts over the accuracy of the account, and in particular, the massacre of six hundred to nine hundred people from Banu Qurayza. He characterizes the event as a myth fabricated by the people of Khazraj to downgrade the status of Aws in the eyes of the Prophet (s).[18]
In his al-Maghazi al-nabawiyya, Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (51/671-2 ; 124/741-2) refers to Sa'd b. Mu'adh's ruling and the Prophet's (s) endorsement of the verdict. However, he only confirms the killing of Huyayy b. Akhtab, the senior figure of Banu Nadir, encouraged Banu Qurayza to be hostile towards the Prophet (s).[19]
See Also
Notes
- ↑ Abū al-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, al-Aghānī, vol. 22, p. 343; Muqaddasī, Kitāb al-badʾ wa al-tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 129- 130; Ḥamawī, Muʿjam al-buldān, vol. 5, p. 84.
- ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 1, p. 408.
- ↑ Abū al-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, al-Aghānī, vol. 22, p. 343; Muqaddasī, Kitāb al-badʾ wa al-tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 129- 130; Ḥamawī, Muʿjam al-buldān, vol. 5, p. 84.
- ↑ Abū al-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, al-Aghānī, vol. 22, p. 344.
- ↑ Ḥamawī, Muʿjam al-buldān, vol. 5, p. 83, 85.
- ↑ Muqaddasī, Kitāb al-badʾ wa al-tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 130.
- ↑ Ṭuʿayma, al-Tārīkh al-Yahūdī al-ʿāmm, vol. 2, p. 12; Murṣafī, al-Rasūl wa al-yahūd wajhan li-wajh, vol. 7, p. 10- 12.
- ↑ Majdūb, al-Mustawṭanāt al-Yahūdiyya ʿalā ʿahd al-Rasūl, p. 45.
- ↑ Majdūb, al-Mustawṭanāt al-Yahūdiyya ʿalā ʿahd al-Rasūl, p. 43.
- ↑ Ṭuʿayma, al-Tārīkh al-Yahūdī al-ʿāmm, vol. 2, p. 15.
- ↑ Murṣafī, al-Rasūl wa al-yahūd wajhan li-wajh, vol. 1, p. 123.
- ↑ Āhanchī, Banī Qurayẓa, p. 469.
- ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 2, p. 57.
- ↑ Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, al-ʿIqd al-farīd, vol. 3, p. 327.
- ↑ Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 2, p. 222- 223.
- ↑ Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī, Usd al-ghāba, vol. 2, p. 222- 223; Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 1, p. 412; vol. 2, p. 52; Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 2, p. 57- 59; Ḥāfiẓ Mizī, Tahdhīb al-kamāl, vol. 10, p. 302.
- ↑ Wāqidī, al-Maghāzī, vol. 1, p. 503, 504.
- ↑ Shahīdī, Tārīkh-i taḥlīlī-yi Islām, p. 88- 90.
- ↑ Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī, al-Maghāzī al-Nabawiyya, p. 82- 83.
References
- Āhanchī, Ādhar. Banī Qurayẓa; in Dānishnāma-yi Jahān-i Islām. Tehran: Bunyād-i Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Islāmī, 1377 Sh.
- Abū al-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, ʿAlī b. Ḥusayn. Al-Aghānī. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1414-1415 AH/1994 AD.
- Ḥamawī, Yāqūt b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Muʿjam al-buldān. Beirut: [n.p], 1408 AH.
- Ḥāfiẓ Mizī, Yūsuf b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. Tahdhīb al-kamāl fī asmāʾ al-rijāl. Edited by: Bashār ʿAwād Maʿrūf. Beirut: Muʾassasat al-Risāla, 1409 AH.
- Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī, ʿAlī b. Muḥammad. Usd al-ghāba fī maʿrifat al-ṣaḥāba. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1409 AH.
- Ibn Saʿd, Muḥammad b. Manīʿ al-Ḥāshimī al-Baṣrī. Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā. Edited by Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qādir ʿAṭā. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1410 AH.
- Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī, Muḥammad b. Muslim. Al-Maghāzī al-Nabawiyya. Edited by: Suhayl Zakār. Damascus: Dār al-Fikr, 1401 AH.
- Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad. Al-ʿIqd al-farīd. Edited by: Mufīd Muḥammad Qumayḥa. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīya, 1407 AH.
- Majdūb, Aḥmad ʿAlī. Al-Mustawṭanāt al-Yahūdiyya ʿalā ʿahd al-Rasūl. Cairo: Al-Dār al-Miṣriyya al-Lubnāniyya, 1417 AH.
- Murṣafī, Saʿd. Al-Rasūl wa al-yahūd wajhan li-wajh. Kuwait: Maktabat al-Manār al-Islāmiyya, 1413 AH.
- Muqaddasī, Muṭahhar b. Ṭāhir. Kitāb al-badʾ wa al-tārīkh. Paris: [n.n], 1899- 1919 CE.
- Shahīdī, Jaʿfar. Tārīkh-i taḥlīlī-yi Islām. Tehran: Markaz-i Nashr-i Dānishgāhī, 1392 Sh.
- Ṭuʿayma, Ṣābir. Al-Tārīkh al-Yahūdī al-ʿāmm. Beirut: Dār al-Jayl, 1411 AH.
- Wāqidī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar al-. Al-Maghāzī. Edited by Marsden Jones. Qom: Maktab al-Aʿlām al-Islāmī, 1414 AH.
- Yaʿqūbī, Aḥmad b. Abī Yaʿqūb al-. Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī. Beirut: [n.n], 1379 AH.