Muhammad and the Jews

There are numerous written accounts of Muhammad having had contact with many Jews from tribes living in and around Medina. His relationship with Jews includes his theological teaching of them as People of the Book ("Ahl al-Kitab") and earlier receivers of Abrahamic revelation, and the failed political alliances between the Muslim and Jewish communities.

After his migration ("hijra") to Medina from his home-town of Mecca, he established an agreement known as the Constitution of Medina between the major Medinan factions, including the Jewish tribes of Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Nadir, and Banu Qurayza that secured equal rights for both Jews and Muslims as long as Jews remained politically supportive [Ahmed (1979), p. 46-7] . Muhammad later fought battles with these tribes on the basis of perceived violations of the constitution.

The Qur'an states that the Jews were specially chosen by God, who raised many prophets among them, blessed them and granted them favours, and held them over all other nations. [ [http://www.pakistanlink.com/religion/2002/0104.html Religion ] ]

Muhammad married two Jewish women, Safiyya bint Huyayy, a captive from the Banu Nadir, and Rayhana bint Zayd, though the latter is disputed. Rayhana is said to have poisoned him, though she is believe to have become a pious Muslim and regretted her hatred of Muhammad.

Muhammad and the Jewish tribes of Medina

In the course of Muhammad's proselytizing in Mecca, he viewed Christians and Jews, both of whom he referred to as "People of the Book", as natural allies, sharing the core principles of his teachings, and anticipated their acceptance and support. Muslims, like Jews, were at that time praying towards Jerusalem.Esposito, John. 1998. Islam: the Straight Path, extended edition. Oxford university press, p.17] During the height of Muslim persecution in Mecca, Muhammad was offered the position of arbitrator in the highly diverse Medina, which had a large Jewish community. "Encyclopedia of Religion", Second Edition, Lindsay Jones, Muhammad article, ISBN 0-02-865742-X ]

Many Medinans converted to the faith of the Meccan immigrants both before and after Muhammad's emigration , but only a few came from Jewish backgrounds because most of the Jewish community rejected Muhammad's status as a prophet. Their opposition "may well have been for political as well as religious reasons". [ Gerhard Endress, "Islam", Columbia University Press, p.29 ] According to Watt, "Jews would normally be unwilling to admit that a non-Jew could be a prophet." Mark Cohen adds that Muhammad was appearing "centuries after the cessation of biblical prophecy" and "couched his message in a verbiage foreign to Judaism both in its format and rhetoric." Mark R. Cohen, "Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages", p. 23, Princeton University Press ] As Muhammad taught that his message was identical to those of previous prophets (such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus), the Jews were furthermore in the position to make some Muslims doubt about his prophethood; the Jews, according to Watt, could argue that "some passages in the Qur'an contradicted their ancient scriptures". Watt also states that many of the Jews had close links with Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy, "the potential prince of Medina" who "is said that but for the arrival of Muhammad, had not become" [ The Cambridge History of Islam, p.40 ] the chief arbitrator of the community. The Jews may have hoped for greater influence if Ubayy had become a ruler."The Cambridge History of Islam", pp. 43-44 ] Watt writes that the Islamic response to these criticisms was:

The Qur'an, met these intellectual criticisms by developing the conception of the religion of Abraham. While the knowledge of Abraham came from the Old Testament and material based on that, Abraham could be regarded as the ancestor of the Arabs through Ishmael. It was also an undeniable fact that he was not a Jew or Christian, since the Jews are either to be taken as the followers of Moses or as the descendants of Abraham's grandson, Jacob. At the same time Abraham had stood for the worship of God alone. The Qur'an therefore claimed that it was restoring the pure monotheism of Abraham which had been corrupted in various, clearly specified, ways by Jews and Christians.

Watt states that the charge of altering the scripture may mean no more than giving false interpretations to some passages, though in contemporary Islam it is taken to refer to textual corruption. The corruption of previously revealed books is referred to as tahrif. The Qur'an also stated that there was nothing surprising in Muhammad's rejection by Jews, as that had occurred to other prophets mentioned in Jewish scripture. Watt claims that the Quran "also went on to criticize Jewish exaggerations of their claim to be the chosen people" Watt, "Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman", p. 116 ] and argued against the supposed claim of the Jews of Medina "that they alone had a true knowledge of God". [Watt, "Muslim-Christian Encounters", p.14] The Qur'an also criticized the Jews for believing that Ezra is the Son of God, a claim unattested either in Jewish or other extra-Qur'anic sources. [Kate Zebiri, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, "The Qur'an and Polemics"] David Waines opines that the Qur'an is mirroring contemporary popular beliefs many of which probably bordered on heresy. [David Waines, An Introduction to Islam, p. 27] Michael Cook considers the charge of considering Ezra as the Son of God to be petty or obscure. [Michael Cook, Muhammad, p. 34] However, the Encyclopedia Judaica states there may be some credence in the Qur'an's claims about Jews of the Arabian peninsula believing in this.Fact|date=August 2008

In the Constitution of Medina, Jews were given equality to Muslims in exchange for political loyalty. [Jacob Neusner, "God's Rule: The Politics of World Religions", p. 153, Georgetown University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-87840-910-6 ] However, after each major battle with the Medinans, there were accusations of Jewish tribal treachery for aiding the enemies of the community in violation of the Constitution of Medina. [See Quran-usc|2|100] After Badr and Uhud, the Banu Qainuqa and Banu Nadir, respectively, were expelled "with their families and possessions" from Medina.

Banu Qurayza

After the Battle of the Trench in 627, the Jews of Banu Qurayza were accused of conspiring with the Meccans. Though Qurayza does not appear to have committed any overt hostile actWatt in Encyclopedia of Islam, Banu Qurayza Article] and been overtly correct in their behaviour, The Cambridge History of Islam, p.49 ] they had most likely been involved in negotiations with the enemy . [ Watt, "Muhammad, Prophet and Statesman", Oxford University Press, p. 171 ] " Marco Scholler believes the Banu Qurayza were "openly, probably actively," supporting Meccans and their allies. [Qurayza article, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, vol. 4, p. 334] Nasr writes that it was discovered that Qurayzah had been complicit with the enemy during the Battle. [ Nasr in Muhammad article, "Britanica Encyclopedia" ] Finally, Welch states that Muslims "discovered, or perhaps became suspected" that the Jews were conspiring with the enemy. [ Welch, in "Encyclopedia of Islam", Muhammad Article ] "

The Qurayza were fought and then defeated in battle, and then were allowed an arbitrator to decide their punishment. Muhammad suggested Sa'd ibn Mua'dh, a leading man among Aws, whom they believed would judge in their favour, hence agreed to. However, he passed an execution sentence against the Qurayza and 600-900 Qurayza men were beheaded (except for the few who chose to convert to Islam), all women and children enslaved, and their properties confiscated. [ Esposito, "Islam: the straight path", extended edition, Oxford University Press, pp. 10-11] Watt writes that some of the Arab tribe of Aws wanted to honour their old alliance with Qurayza, are said to asked Muhammad to forgive the Qurayza for their sake as Muhammad had previously forgiven the Nadir for the sake of Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy.

A minority of Muslim and academic scholars reject the incident holding that Ibn Ishaq, the first biographer of Muhammad, supposedly gathered many details of the incident from descendants of the Qurayza Jews themselves. These descendants allegedly embellished or manufactured details of the incident by borrowing from histories of Jewish persecutions during Roman times. [ W. N. Arafat, "Did Prophet Muhammad ordered 900 Jews killed?", "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland"("JRAS"), pp. 100-107, 1976.] Watt, however, finds this argument "not entirely convincing." [Watt in "Encyclopedia of Islam", Banu Qurayza Article ]

ee also

*Judaism's view of Muhammad

References

External links

* [http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/ma_jews.shtml Muhammad and the Jews of Medina]