6.1
ʿAbd al-Razzāq, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, according to his narration from ʿUrwah:
Then there transpired the raid on the clan of al-Naḍīr, a faction of Jews, six months after the incident at Badr.96 Their homes and date palms were located on the outskirts of Medina. The Messenger of God besieged them until they surrendered and entered exile, agreeing to take with them only what wealth and effects their camels could carry, minus any arms, meaning weaponry. Concerning them, God revealed:
«Everything in the heavens and earth glorifies God; He is the Almighty, the Wise. It was He who drove from their homes those of the People of the Book who broke faith at the first banishment . . .»97
The Prophet fought against them until they sued for peace and accepted exile. He exiled them to Syria, even though they were from a tribe that had not once been exiled in ages past. Yet God decreed exile as their punishment, and if it were not so, they would have been chastised with death and captivity in this world. As for God’s word «the first banishment», this means that their exile was the first time in this earthly life that Jews were banished to Syria.98
ʿAbd al-Razzāq, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, who said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kaʿb ibn Mālik reported to me on the authority of one of the Prophet’s companions that:
6.2.1
The infidel Quraysh wrote to ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl and also to those members of the Aws and Khazraj tribes who were idolaters. This occurred while the Messenger of God resided in Medina but before the incident at Badr. The infidel Quraysh said, “You have given shelter to our tribesman, and you remain the more numerous of Medina’s inhabitants. We swear by God that you had better either kill him or expel him, or else we will rally the Arabs to help us and march against you in our full numbers, slaying your warriors and ravishing your women!”
When word of this reached Ibn Ubayy and the idolaters who were with them, they exchanged messages and convened. They then dispatched a message to the Quraysh, agreeing to murder the Prophet and his Companions. When the Prophet caught wind of this, he and a band of his men confronted them, saying, “The threats of the Quraysh have certainly wreaked havoc upon you. They didn’t beguile you nearly as much as you wish to beguile yourselves. You are the ones who seek to kill your own sons and brothers.” When they heard the words the Prophet had spoken, they dispersed and went their separate ways, and word of these matters reached the infidel Quraysh.
6.2.2
Subsequently, the battle of Badr transpired. It was after the events at Badr that the infidel Quraysh wrote the Jews as follows: “Indeed, you are a well-armed and well-fortified people, so you had better kill our tribesman, or else we will surely take action and nothing will stand between us and the attendants of your womenfolk”—by “the attendents of your womenfolk” they meant their golden anklets.99 When their letter reached the Jews, the clan of al-Naḍīr chose treachery. Then they sent a message to the Prophet, saying, “Come out to meet us with thirty of your companions, and we will come forth with thirty rabbis. We can meet at such-and-such place, halfway between you and us, and listen to what you have to say. If the rabbis believe in the truth of what you say and believe in you, then we shall all believe.”
The Prophet then set out, taking thirty of his companions with him. Thirty of the Jews’ rabbis also came out to meet him, and eventually they had all gathered at an open expanse of earth. The Jews began to say to one another, “How will we be able to reach Muḥammad when he has thirty of his companions at his side—each of them more willing than the next to lay down his life for him?” So they sent him this message: “How can we understand what’s being said if we number altogether sixty men? Come forward with only three of your companions, and three of our scholars will set out to meet with you so that they can listen to what you have to say. And if they believe in your message, we too will believe, all of us, and testify to the truth of your message.”
The Prophet then set out with only three of his companions. The Jews had brought daggers and concealed them, for they wanted to assassinate God’s Messenger. However, an honest Jewess from al-Naḍīr sent word to her nephews—for her brother was one of the Muslim Allies—and she informed her brother about the plans of al-Naḍīr to betray the Messenger of God. Quickly her brother set off, and when he reached the Prophet he disclosed their secret plans before the Prophet had reached the Naḍīr clan.
The Prophet turned back and then came to the Naḍīr clan the next morning with several arrays of armed men and besieged them. He said to them, “Unless you enter into a pact with me, you’ll have no guarantee of protection.” They refused to agree to a pact with the Prophet, so he and the Muslims fought against them that very day. The following morning, the Prophet went to the Qurayẓah clan with cavalry and several arrays of armed men, leaving the Naḍīr clan behind.100 He summoned the Qurayẓah clan to make a pact with him, and so they did. The Prophet then turned away from the Qurayẓah clan and headed back to the Naḍīr clan with his armed men. He fought them and eventually they surrendered, agreeing to be exiled and to take with them only what their camels could carry, minus any arms—meaning weapons. The clan of al-Naḍīr left Medina carrying only as many of their effects as their camels could bear. These included even the doors of their homes and the wooden beams, for they had taken apart their houses and dismantled them to carry away all the wood they could salvage.
6.2.3
Their exile was the first time a people had been banished to Syria. The clan of al-Naḍīr was descended from one of the original tribes of the Israelites, and they had not suffered exile since God had decreed exile on the Children of Israel.101 This is the reason that the Messenger of God exiled them, for if God had not decreed exile against them, then He would have chastised them in this world, as was the fate of the Qurayẓah clan.102 Thus, God revealed:
«Everything in the heavens and earth glorifies God; He is the Almighty, the Wise. It was He who drove those People of the Book from their homes at the first banish-ment—you believers never thought they would go, and they themselves thought their fortifications would protect them against God. God came upon them from where they least expected and put panic into their hearts: their homes were destroyed by their own hands and the hands of the believers. Learn from all this, those of you with insight! If God had not decreed exile for them, He would have chastised them in this world. In the Hereafter, they will have the chastisement of Hellfire, because they set themselves against God and his Messenger: God is stern in punishment toward anyone who sets himself against Him. Whatever you believers may have done to their palm trees—cutting them down or leaving them standing on their roots—was done by God’s leave, so that he might disgrace those who defied Him. God turned their possessions over to His Messenger as spoils; spoils that you believers did not even have to spur on your horses or camels to acquire. God gives authority to His messengers over whomever He will: God has power over all things.»103
The date palms of the Naḍīr clan became the reserve of the Messenger of God, for God had given them to him and favored him thereby.104 Thus He addressed the believers: «God turned their possessions over to His Messenger as spoils; spoils that you believers did not even have to spur on your horses or camels to acquire»,105 meaning that it was accomplished without killing.
The Prophet gave most of the spoils to the Emigrants. He divided the spoils between them and also portioned out some to two men from the Allies who were in need, but no other Ally besides those two received any portion thereof. The remainder of the spoils was set aside as the charitable trust of God’s Messenger, now in the hands of his daughter Fāṭimah’s descendants.
6.3
ʿAbd al-Razzāq, on the authority of Maʿmar, who said: someone who heard ʿIkrimah informed me, saying:
The Prophet remained in Mecca for fifteen years.106 For four or five of those years, he summoned people to Islam in secret—for he feared for his safety—until God sent His word against those men concerning whom He revealed, «We are enough for you against all those who ridicule your message» and «Those who make out the Qurʾan to be sorcery, ʿiḍīn»107—in the language of the Quraysh the word ʿiḍīn means “sorcery,” and thus a “sorcerer” is called a ʿāḍiyah. God then issued the command to oppose them and decreed, «So proclaim openly what you have been commanded and ignore the idolaters.»108
Afterward, God issued the command for them to leave for Medina. The Prophet arrived on the ninth of the month of Rabīʿ I.109 Then the incident at Badr occurred, concerning which God revealed: «Remember how God promised you believers that one of the groups would fall to you»,110 and concerning which he revealed: «Their forces will be routed.»111 He also revealed concerning them: «When we bring our punishment on those corrupted with wealth»;112 and also: «And in order to cut off the flanks of the disbelievers’ army», as well as: «The matter is not for you, Prophet, to decide.»113 God sought to defeat the army, but the Messenger of God sought the caravan.114 Concerning them, God revealed: «Do you not see those who, in exchange for God’s favor, offer only ingratitude?»,115 and He revealed: «Consider those people who abandoned their homes . . .»116 Also, He revealed concerning them: «You have already seen a sign in the two armies that met in battle.»117 On the matter of the caravan, He revealed: «the caravan was below you»118 because they had entered the lowest part of the valley.
All of these verses relate to the combatants at Badr. Two months before Badr, there was a raid—it was the day on which al-Ḥaḍramī was slain.119 Then there was the battle of Uḥud, then the Battle of the United Clans took place two years after Uḥud. Then there was al-Ḥudaybiyah—the Day of the Tree—when the Prophet agreed to a treaty stipulating that he would undertake a lesser pilgrimage on the same month of the following year. On this matter, God revealed: «A sacred month for a sacred month,» that is, the month in the first year was exchanged for that of the second year and «violation of sanctity calls for fair retribution.»120 The conquest of Mecca followed the lesser pilgrimage, concerning which God revealed: «Until We open a gate to severe torment for them—then they will be plunged into despair.»121 That is because the Prophet raided them, but they had sufficiently prepared for battle. Of the Quraysh, four persons were killed and of their allies from the Bakr clan, at least fifty or more. Once they embraced God’s religion, He revealed concerning them: «It is God who endowed you with hearing and sight.»122 Then, twenty nights later, the Prophet set off for Ḥunayn, then went to Taif, and finally returned to Medina, whence he ordered Abū Bakr to lead the hajj. The Prophet undertook the hajj himself the following year, after which he delivered his farewell sermon. He returned to Medina, where he passed away on the third day of the month of Rabīʿ I.123 Also, when Abū Bakr had returned from the hajj, the Messenger of God raided Tabūk.124