06. Munafiqeen aur Yahood ki kaaristaaniyaan aur Musalmaanon ka tarz-e-amal [The Appearance of the Munafiqun (the Hypocrites) and the Jews and the Position of the Muslims in relation to Them]

 The Appearance of the Munafiqun (the Hypocrites) and the Jews and the Position of the Muslims in relation to Them 

✿The Appearance of Hypocrisy

In the new Madinan society, after the arrival of the Muslims, hypocrisy (Nifaq) appeared, and that is to give the appearance of goodness, while concealing evil. And what is meant here is to outwardly display Islam while concealing disbelief. And the presence of this outward display proves that the Muslims had acquired a toughness which was feared and a strength which was dreaded, for the weak person is not treated with hypocrisy. And many Verses were revealed concerning the hypocrites; and we observe that the characteristics of the hypocrites were only revealed in the Madinan Surahs, because there was no hypocrisy in Makkah; indeed, there existed its opposite: Those who gave the outward appearance of being disbelievers, while concealing inward belief in Islam. And at the start of the Hijrah, there was no hypocrisy in Al-Madinah, but af the power of the Muslims increased, following the Battle of Badr, hypocrisy began to appear and a number of people entered Islam, while they were concealing disbelief and

from there, it was found among the people of Al-Madinah and the Bedouins who lived around it. As for the Muhajirun, there was not a single hypocrite among them, for none of them migrated against his will, rather they migrated and abandoned their property, their children and their land desiring the reward which is with Allah in the abode of the Hereafter. The hypocrites existed among the tribes of Al- Aws and Al-Khazraj, as they existed among the tribes of the Jews and others.

The head of the hypocrites was ‘Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul and to him the hypocrites gathered. The reason for the feelings of hatred which harbored for Islam and his dislike of Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) was because he was about to be crowned king after the Battle of Bu’ath, before the Hijrah of the Prophet(ﷺ) to Al-Madinah. And this man, ‘Abdullah, was mainly responsible for spreading the lie about ‘Aishah(رضی اللہ عنہا) , for it was he who collected it and embellished it so that it entered the minds of some of the Muslims. And the Qur’ân said about him:

                                                    وَالَّذِي تَوَلَّىٰ كِبْرَهُ مِنْهُمْ لَهُعَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ

“Verily, those who brought forth the slander (against ‘Aishah(رضی اللہ عنہا) the wife of the Prophet(ﷺ) are a group among you. Consider it not a bad thing for you. Nay, it is good for you. Unto every man among them will be paid that which he had earned of the sin, and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be a great torment.” [An-Nur 24:11]

The Expulsion of the Jews From Al-Madinah

The hatred which the Jews bore for the Muslims increased after their victory in the Battle of Badr and they began to plot against them, for the Leader of Banu An-Nadir, Salam bin Mishkam helped Abu Sufyan to enter Al-Madinah in secret with two hundred fighters and he gave him food and drink and he sent people to spy on the Muslims and Abu Sufyan spent a night with him, then he went out to his companions and went into action with them, seizing an orchard, where they found two men from the Ansar whom they killed and then they set fire to the orchards and fled. When this news reached the Prophet(ﷺ) he sent some of the Muslims to give chase to them. Abu Sufyan and those with him sped away, throwing away all of their excess baggage and they saved themselves; following them was the Muslim force, but they did not catch them. And this battle was called the Battle of As-Sawiq.

In spite of the wickedness of act perpetrated by Salam bin Mishkam, Allah’s Messenger did not punish him at that time, nor did he attack Banu An-Nadir, for he was diverted from it by the plots which he observed on the part of another tribe, which was Banu Qainuqa’.

✿Getting rid of Banu Qainuqa’

Banu Qainuqa’ were the fiercest of the Jews and the wealthiest of them, which is why the Messenger (ﷺ)chose to deal with the matter of Banu Qainuqa’ first. He went out to them and collected them in their market and called them to Islam, but they rejected it in an ugly manner, saying: “Do not be deceived into thinking that you have met a people who do not know how to make war and whom you will defeat (by whom they meant the tribe of Quraish in the Battle of Badr); by Allah, if you try us, you will most certainly know that we are the people.” So, Allah’s Messenge(ﷺ)r left them on bad terms. After that, it happened that a Muslim woman went to their market and they tied up the end of her garment, which caused her ‘Awrah’[77] to be uncovered and she cried out for help to the Muslims and one of them rushed forward and killed the one who had done it, then the Jews ganged up against him and killed him, so Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) laid siege to them for fifteen days, after which, they surrendered. They were seven hundred fighters and Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) intended to have them killed, but their ally, ‘Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul interceded for them and he implored the Prophet(ﷺ) to save them. So, the Prophet(ﷺ)ordered that they leave Al-Madinah, and they departed for Adhru’at in the land of Ash-Sham[78]. Thereby Al-Madinah was purified of the first Jewish tribe.[79] The siege began on a Saturday in the middle of the month of Shawwal in the second year following the Hijrah, after Battle of Badr.[80]

[77:’Awrah: The part of a woman which must be covered from unrelated men, which is, according to some scholars, all of her body except her hands, while according to the Jumhur (majority), it is all of her body except her hands and face.]

[78: Ash-Sham: Present-day Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine].

[79: See At-Tarikh Ash-Shamil-lil-Madinatil-Munawwarah by Dr. ‘Abd Basit Badr (p. 165-166).]

[80: Ar-Raheequl-Makhtum (p. 282).]

✿Banu An-Nadir

There was an agreement between the Muslims and the Jews, included in the provisions of which was that the Jews would come to the aid of the Muslims, if they requested their help and that they would support them if they sought their support and it happened that Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) went to Banu An-Nadir in order to request their help in raising blood-moneys which the Muslims were required to pay, because the contract document between them provided for that, but they conspired to kill the Prophet(ﷺ) with a heavy rock, which they intended to throw down on him from the roof of a house in the shade of which he was sitting. But revelation came to him with news of it and so he stood up quickly and commanded the Muslims to march against them, so they marched and Banu An-Nadir took refuge in their forts and the Muslims besieged them and burnt some of their orchards. Then ‘Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul came to the Messenger(ﷺ) requesting that he allow them to go free, because they were his allies, so he permitted them to leave with what their camels could carry, except weapons, so they took what they were able to carry and went to Ash-Sham and Al-Madinah was freed from another Jewish tribe and this battle took place in the month of Rabi’ul-Awwal in the fourth year after the Hijrah.[81]

✿Banu Quraizah

Some of those from Banu An-Nadir whom the Messenger(ﷺ) expelled from Al-Madinah went to Quraish and urged them to make war against the Messenger(ﷺ) and they acceded to their request, then they went to Ghatafan and called upon them and they responded positively to them and Quraish and Ghatafan went out with approximately ten thousand fighters. When the Prophet(ﷺ) heard that they were marching, he ordered that a trench be dug around Al-Madinah, and Huyai bin Akhtab hastened to Banu Quraizah to induce them to fight, until they broke their agreement with the Messenger(ﷺ) and the disbelievers surrounded the Muslims in Al-Madinah. Then Allâh the Most Glorified and to Whom all praise is due, caused them to be divided and broke their unity, then He sent upon them the wind which shook them up and they were unable to fix up a camp, nor could they erect their tents, so they left. After the Prophet(ﷺ) returned from the Battle of the Trench, he went to Banu Quraizah and besieged them for twenty-five days, then they descended to the judgement of Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) and he designated Sa’d bin Mu’adh to pass judgement upon them according to their wish, and he judged that the men be killed and their wives and offspring be taken captive, so the necks of the men were cut and their women and children and their property were divided among the Muslims and Al-Madinah was freed from another Jewish tribe. And this battle took place in the month of Dhul-Qa’dah in the fifth year after the Hijrah.[82]

[81: Ar-Raheequl-Makhtum (p.353). ]

[82: Ar-Raheequl-Makhtum (p. 380).]

REFERENCE:

Book: “History of Madina Munawwarah”

Prepared by a group of Scholars  under the supervision of  Shaikh Safir ur Rahman Mubarak puri. (Darussalam)