We discussed the blessings of Madinah and the specialties mentioned about the city.
Demographics of Yathrib
Today, we will talk about the demographics of Yathrib — who lived there and can we have any population estimate. We all know there were two major ethnic groups living in Yathrib — the Jewish tribes and the Arab tribes. The first question is, where did these Jews come from? What are they doing in the middle of Arabia? Secondly, which Arabs are these? What's the relationship between them and the other Arabs? And what's the relationship between the Jews and the Arabs in Yathrib?
Realize this issue is a very politicized and polemical one: One of the accusations the non-Muslims in our time give of Islam is that Islam is antisemitic, and that the Prophet PBUH had inclinations to disregard the Jewish people. The way the three Jewish tribes in Madinah (Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Qurayza, and Banu Nadir) were treated one after the other is their basis for this accusation. So this is a very sensitive topic. And whenever you give dawah to non-Muslims, eventually, this topic comes up. So, it is important for Western Muslims to be aware of the details of what happened. And over the course of the Madani seerah (i.e., this episode onward), we will see what really happened.
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Demographics: 1. The Jews
Banu Nadir, Banu Qurayza, and Banu Qaynuqa
Banu al-Nadir (بنو النضير), Banu Qurayza (بنو قريظة), and Banu Qaynuqa (بنو قينقاع) — where did these Jews come from? And what are our sources for the stories about the Prophet PBUH and the Jews? One of the biggest problems (in light of responding to the accusation of antisemitism) is that non-Islamic sources have no mention of these Jewish people at all. There are references to Jews in Arabia, but as of yet, we have not discovered any history/chronicle that mentions the tribes in Madinah. The only reference we have to these tribes is from within the Islamic tradition. This is considered problematic by non-Muslims because they say, "These sources are biased. They all (the Muslims) have an agenda to defend the Prophet PBUH at all costs." They think we Muslims paint anyone who opposes the Prophet PBUH in a negative light. So in the name of undoing this alleged implicit bias, some of them went even as far as viewing the leader of the munafiqun (Abdullah ibn Ubayy) as being a noble man. They flip the entire narrative around.
So we need to be very cautious and careful about how we are going to interpret the sources.
We begin by saying there are a number of theories as to where these Jewish tribes came from. Some of these theories were simply said by the early scholars, and some are propounded by later scholars:
1. One theory is that these tribes were sent by Prophet Musa (Moses) himself. That Musa AS sent a small group to the land of Hejaz, as he knew the Prophet PBUH would come from that land, so he wanted a group of his followers to believe in him and welcome him. This theory is found in early Islamic sources —and Allah AWJ knows best— but it does seem a bit strange, and not very sound. Why would Musa send some of his followers to such a land when he was the prophet of that time himself? — The people should remain with him. And he knows that there is going to be another prophet (i.e., Prophet Isa/Jesus AS) between himself and the Prophet PBUH. [So why skip Isa AS and jump straight to Prophet Muhammad PBUH?]
2. Another theory, which seems more reasonable, is that the Jews of Yathrib settled in Yathrib after they were expelled from Jerusalem. Now, we all should know that once upon a time, when Prophet Sulayman (Solomon) AS was the king and prophet, all the Jews lived in Jerusalem. And Sulayman AS had built the big Temple of Sulayman. Over the course of the next hundreds and thousands of years, the power of that state collapsed, and it was controlled by different groups at different times (e.g., the pagan Romans, the Christian Romans, the Sassanids), until Umar RA conquered it. In the course of those years, two major expulsions of the Jews occurred. (And according to the majority of scholars of Islam, it is these two expulsions that are mentioned in the Quran in Surah al-Isra'. On the first page of Surah al-Isra', Allah SWT mentions two expulsions and two punishments sent upon the Jews. [Footnote: Some modern scholars of the Quran say this reference in Surah al-Isra is to future events and not past ones — but the majority of scholars have understood it to be history (i.e., the two expulsions), and not prophecy.]) These two expulsions are:
i) 587 BC: Nebuchadnezzar (بختنصر), who was an oppressive tyrant, surrounded Jerusalem, and for the first time in the history of the Jewish empire, he destroyed the actual, original Haykal Sulayman (هيكل سليمان - Temple of Solomon). It was a structure the likes of which man had never seen. It was considered to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was massive, beautiful, and a feat of architecture — and as Muslims, we believe the reason why was because Sulayman AS had the jinn built it for him. Allah says in the Quran, some of the jinn were architects and divers [38:37], and they dived into the sea to get pearls and treasure. The Haykal stood solid for 400-500 years untouched. But then Allah willed the first destruction to occur in 587 BC. And this was the first time the Jews had to flee: It's called a diaspora. The Jewish people call themselves "the wandering people" — why? Because since that time, they have never had a unified land [up until 1947].
It was at that diaspora that large groups left for many lands. We know for a fact that the majority of them went to Iran, until after decades, finally, Cyrus the Great (كورش الكبير) allowed them to come back. Many of them came back, but some of them remained in Iran. (Thus Iranian Jews are considered to be the most ancient of the Jews.) Also, they went to areas of Iraq. Early Umayyads were full of Jews (e.g., in Kufa and Baghdad). It's also mentioned some Jews went to Yemen — but some scholars say they went to Yemen only during the second expulsion. Allah knows best. In any case, there is one theory that a small group of Jews, in 587 BC, emigrated to Hejaz (Arabia). But to Sh. YQ, this theory is doubtful, as it takes the presence of the Jews a thousand years before the coming of the Prophet PBUH, and that seems far too early for their entrance.
ii) One of the emperors rebuilt the Temple for the Jews, but this as well was destroyed in 70 CE. And this led to a second diaspora. (This happened under Emperor Titus [تيتوس], after the coming of Isa ibn Maryam AS.)
iii-a) There was a third major diaspora in 132 CE — when a group of Jews revolted against the ruler of the time, Emperor Hadrian (هادريان), the emperor brutally slaughtered hundreds and thousands of them — so they fled once again. It is said that this wave of emigrants, some of them wandered down into Arabia; they came across this fertile ground with date palms with no inhabitants at the time, so they settled down there, i.e., in the Yathrib area. So according to this narrative, the Jews are the ones who found Yathrib. One group of them settled in Yathrib, and another group settled in Khaybar (and these two settlements are relatively close to each other). It's also said a large group of them continued down until they reached Yemen. (And the Yemeni Jews were the largest quantity of Jews in the Arabian Peninsula. In fact, when the Prophet PBUH sent Mu'adh ibn Jabal to Yemen [much later on, in 9 AH], he told him, "You are going to go to a land of the Ahl al-Kitab [the People of the Book, i.e., the Jews and Christians]." Yemen was the only land in Arabia that had a lot of Christians. Because there was a Christian Himyarite Kingdom — when Abraha conquered parts of Yemen, he installed the governor there, so a lot of people converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity.)
iii-b) Yet another theory is the opposite: The Jews of Yathrib are from the Jews of Yemen. The first theory has it the people from Jerusalem wander down, small pockets settle in Yathrib, and the bulk go to Yemen. But the second theory says from Yemen, small pockets emigrated to varying lands, working their way up, and some of them ended up in Yathrib. In either case, it establishes some type of relationship between the Jews in Yathrib and the Jews in Yemen. This makes complete sense and fits in perfectly, as we will see.
(Tangent: Some modern researchers, looking at the reports of the Jews in Madinah and seeing what they had [their institutions, the Arabic phrases they used to use, etc.], they tried to reconstruct who these Jews were. And they came up with a theory that the Jews of Madinah were not from the sects of mainstream Judaism. Rather, they were from an ancient sect called the Karaites. The Karaites reject the authority of the rabbis and say to follow the Torah directly. [In our times, they number only ~40,000 in the whole world.] This is opposite to Rabbinic Judaism which follows what the rabbis say. Rabbinic Judaism began only after 400-500 CE. So it seems that the theory of the researchers that say the Jews of Madinah were Karaites Jews adds weight to the fact that they came from the expulsion of Hadrian or Titus — since the expulsion took place around 70-130 CE, and at the time, Karaites Jews were predominant.)
Sh. YQ's theory: There is an element of truth in more than one of these stories. Looking at how the Jews in Yathrib were divided into different tribes (Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Qurayza, and Banu Nadir), it appears that these tribes represent three different emigrations to Yathrib from the times of diaspora. Because the Jews typically do not have tribes. This was an Arab phenomenon. In ancient times, yes, they had "the 12 tribes of Bani Israel," but it's long gone. Even at the time of the expulsions, there were no tribes; they were just one nation, one ethnic group. How did these Jews of Yathrib get divided into three tribes when, if the story is correct, they all came from one area and settled together in Yathrib? In the Wars of Bu'ath, these three tribes were even having battles with each other. The Arabs were fighting among themselves, and so were the Jews. The Aws were fighting the Khazraj, and the Jewish tribes themselves were divided and fighting each other. So Sh. YQ's theory is that these tribes represent three different emigrations to Yathrib. Each time a new group arrived, they were not considered part of the old one.
And Allah knows best.
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Demographics: 2. The Arabs
The Aws and the Khazraj
The second group of people in Yathrib are the Arabs: The Aws (الأوس) and the Khazraj (الخزرج). And unlike the Jewish tribes, we know where they came from; and in fact, their lineage is mapped out. (Some modern non-Muslim scholars say actually, the Madinan Jews were really just Arabs that converted to Judaism — but this is a ridiculous theory, though, because if that is the case, we would know their lineage. But these three tribes appear out of nowhere. There is no connection to Adnan or Qahtan at all. We can trace every single Arab tribe back to one of them. But we simply cannot for the Jewish tribes. Even their names are not typical Arab names: Qaynuqa, Qurayza, Nadir. These are Arabized Jew names.)
The Aws and the Khazraj are descendants of Qahtan. They are Qahtani. Yathrib was the only region in the entire Hejaz (Middle Arabia) where Qahtanis were present. The bulk of Hejaz is Adnani. (Sidenote: The Prophet PBUH was Adnani.)
Where did the Aws and the Khazraj come from? They came from the city of Ma'rab (مأرب), i.e., they are the people of Saba (سبأ). In the Quran, Allah SWT mentions an amazing feat of the people of Saba, and that is: they were the first civilization ever to build a dam; as found in verse [34:15]. They had rivers flowing from this dam, and through these rivers, Allah blessed them with beautiful gardens on the right and on the left of the city; but when they turned away in disobedience, Allah punished them by causing the dam to collapse [see Quran, 34:16]. This most likely occurred around 300 CE. This led to hundreds and thousands of people dying, and many had to migrate away. Some of these people were the Aws and the Khazraj (they were cousin tribes that literally go back to the same person), and they ended up in Yathrib. Why Yathrib? Again, nobody knows — but we do have theories:
If we say the Jews of Yathrib had relationships with Yemen, it makes complete sense for the Yemeni Qahtanis to be aware of an established settlement that had nothing to do with the Adnanis. (Sidenote: There was animosity between Adnanis and Qahtanis.) If those Jews had some type of relationship with Yemen, then it makes complete sense that the Aws and the Khazraj would have known of a group of Jews that they would have felt comfortable being with — because they are already comfortable with the Jews in Yemen.
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Relationships Between the Jews and the Arabs of Yathrib
So the Aws and the Khazraj settled down in Yathrib, and the Jews and the Arabs benefited each other. The Jews were skilled in agriculture, weaving, and businesses; and the Arabs had knowledge of war and language. So the Arabs Arabized the Jews, i.e., the language and culture became theirs — the Jews began speaking fluent Arabic (even though they still speak Hebrew obviously — we know this from the seerah; and it is understood that any minority retains its language for many generations).
A theory goes that the Aws and the Khazraj didn't arrive at Yathrib at the same time. Maybe a few years apart. The Aws probably arrived first, and we know for a fact that they had asked permission from the Banu Qurayza and Banu Nadir to live there, and formed an alliance with them. The Khazraj arrived later and took permission from the Banu Qaynuqa. This theory seems to explain why these two Arab tribes had different Jewish alliances. This also explains why the Aws were richer, socioeconomically better off, and they occupied the better land of Yathrib, compared to the Khazraj. It is said that the Jews needed manual labor, so they allowed the Aws the opportunity to basically fraction it out, "You take charge of the land, you give us a fraction of the produce, and you take the rest."
Over the course of the next 150-200 years, this solidified the relationships. The Aws and the Khazraj had their alliances with the Jews, and each of them had wars with each other. The civil wars between the Aws and the Khazraj lasted for more than 100 years, and the worst of them was the Wars of Bu'ath which took place 5 years before the Hijrah of the Prophet PBUH.
It's also known that the allied Jewish tribes financed the Arabs in the civil war — Banu Nadir financed the Aws on the one side, and Banu Qaynuqa financed the Khazraj on the other side. So the Jews were involved in the civil war — but whether they actually fought physically, we don't know.
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How Many People Were Living in Yathrib?
The total population of the three Jewish tribes seems to have been around 2,000 men. Adding the women and children, we can say roughly 6,000 Jews.
We also know that in the Conquest of Makkah, the Ansar had 4,000-5,000 men participating, so that's around 15,000 Arabs. So they were far more in number. (But the Jews had the power because they had the money, land, and fortresses.)
So roughly around 20,000 people were in Yathrib. So it was a relatively large town for the time.
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The Prophet's PBUH Arrival in the City of Yathrib
We conclude by talking about the Prophet's PBUH arrival into Yathrib. We discussed the Hijrah and the various stories that happened along the way.
So now the news has spread that the Prophet PBUH is about to arrive. Every single day, the Ansar would go outside the city towards Quba (قباء), waiting for the Prophet PBUH to arrive. Every day, they would go in the morning and wait until around 11 AM until the sun got too hot, and then they would have to go back because of the heat. One day, when they went back to their houses, the Prophet PBUH and Abu Bakr appeared in the distance. It so happened one of the Jews was on the top of the tree plucking the dates — so he was the first to see in the distance the Prophet PBUH coming. The excitement of waiting for the Prophet PBUH was so immense among the people of Yathrib that it even affected the Jews. So the man shouted out, "O Arabs, your king has arrived!" (Notice he knows that the Aws and the Khazraj have taken the Prophet PBUH as their 'king.' Also, notice he says "your" — he doesn't ascribe it to the Jews. Because up until this point, the Jews always felt that, "That's their business, and we have ours. And they will not interfere in our businesses.")
When the news of the arrival spread, the Ansar rushed out in hoards — hundreds of them. The Prophet PBUH entered on a Monday, in the 14th year of the dawah (which was to become the 1st year of the Hijrah), on the 2nd or 12th of Rabi' al-Awwal.
Al-Bara' ibn Azib (البراء بن عازب) narrates in Sahih Muslim, "I saw the Ansar all dressed up and coming out. Over 500 men came outside; all of them armed and dressed to accompany the Prophet PBUH. The women climbed up on the houses. The children thronged around to see. The Prophet PBUH was surrounded by hundreds of people, all believing in him."
Al-Bara' ibn Azib (البراء بن عازب) narrates in Sahih Muslim, "I saw the Ansar all dressed up and coming out. Over 500 men came outside; all of them armed and dressed to accompany the Prophet PBUH. The women climbed up on the houses. The children thronged around to see. The Prophet PBUH was surrounded by hundreds of people, all believing in him."
For the first time, we get a glimmer of hope that change is in the air. There is a freshness happening that people in the thousands are thronging to welcome and greet the Prophet PBUH. And we can sense the joy and vibrancy that a new tide is coming, that the change has begun, that the blessings of Allah SWT will signal a new era.
And this is the seed of the first Islamic nation. And the story of its nurturing, expansion, and flourishing, will insha'Allah be the story of the Madani/Madinan seerah.
[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, November 2023]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, November 2023]
