The Battle of Khaybar (غزوة خيبر) represents the final expulsion of Jewish tribes in central Arabia at the time. (For a detailed discussion on the origin of the Jews of Khaybar, see episode 29.)
Recall the first Jewish tribe to be expelled from Madinah was the Banu Qaynuqa. They were expelled right after Badr in Shawwal of the second year of the Hijrah. Why? Because they gave veiled threats to the Prophet PBUH, "If you fought real men, you would not have won" [see episode 43]. The second tribe was the Banu Nadir because they tried to assassinate the Prophet PBUH by throwing a rock on him [see episode 53]. And the final tribe was the Banu Qurayza who was executed for treason after the Battle of Khandaq [see episode 61]. So with these expulsions, there was no Jewish tribe left in Madinah. However, the two tribes who had been expelled migrated to Khaybar, 180 km to the north of Madinah. Their leaders, Huyayy ibn Akhtab and Sallam ibn Abi al-Huqayq were especially very open and hostile enemies to the Muslims. We know in the Battle of Khandaq, the Jews of Khaybar helped some of the enemies of the Muslims [see episode 57] and persuaded the Banu Qurayza to also break the treaty with the Prophet PBUH [see episode 58]. And they also helped with their arms and weapons.
Therefore, as soon as the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah is finalized (i.e., the threat from the Quraysh is eliminated), now the Prophet PBUH can worry about the one potential threat in his local vicinity left, and that is Khaybar.
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Khaybar
What is Khaybar? It is a luscious city north of Madinah. And it sits at the top of a huge underground river. Khaybar and Madinah both sit on top of these large currents. And Khaybar actually has far more fertile land than Madinah — it has much more land, but the quantity of people living there is less than in Madinah. The name Khaybar goes back to one of the Amalekites; or according to another opinion, a Jewish name for a fortress "khayabir[?] (Hebrew for fortress)"; or according to another opinion, comes from an Arabic word "khabira (خَبِرَ)" which means fertile. Khaybar was one of the largest date-producing lands in the whole of Arabia, it was populated only by Jewish tribes, and they had done what they had done in every other land, which was to build their unique fortresses. This shows us the Jews of central Arabia came from Yemen where there was the knowledge of building dams and fortresses. The Arabs had not mastered this art, and the Jews kept it a secret. One or two Arabs tried to imitate them, but it was second-rate. And Khaybar was known to have the biggest and most magnificent fortresses in Arabia. It was not just one fortress, rather, every mini-tribe had their own fortress. So we can imagine every mini-tribe of around 100-500, they were living inside these completely walled fortresses — and they were initially impenetrable for the Muslims who didn't have any major weapons at the time. As we will see, this was one of the big issues during the Battle of Khaybar.
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Reason to Attack Khaybar
As we said, the main reason the Muslims attacked Khaybar was to preemptively attack. There was no immediate threat from Khaybar, i.e., there was no plot coming that Khaybar was going to attack Madinah — but as we said, the Madinan Jews who had migrated to Khaybar were treacherous — they would do anything to get their land back in Madinah. So the Muslims decided to preemptively attack them so that they would not launch an attack on Madinah. Some people in our time try to problematize the Battle of Khaybar and say the attack was unjustified — but to them, we simply say that this is how things worked in those days. It was the survival of the fittest. Every single land had to be prepared for attack — and why do you think the Jews had huge fortresses in the first place? Because the lay of the land was that you could attack other tribes. Every group did it — Muslim, Christian, Jewish, pagan, etc. That was the law in those times. And since there was no treaty between the Muslims and the people of Khaybar, they were completely legitimate targets.
So the Prophet PBUH announced he was going to Khaybar, and he took with him around 1,700 men.
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When Did the Battle of Khaybar Take Place?
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Marching to Khaybar
All the books of hadith (Bukhari, Muslim, etc.) say the Muslims left Madinah in high spirits. They say when the Muslims were marching, they were so enthusiastic they were shouting at the top of their voices, "Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! La ilaha illaLlah!" But the Prophet PBUH said, "O people, be gentle with yourselves. For verily, the One you are calling out to is not deaf. He can hear you and see you and is nearer to you than your jugular vein," and in another version, he PBUH said, "He is with you." Khaybar was around 180 km away — and the Prophet PBUH reached there in probably less than two days. He did not stop until he was right outside Khaybar.
Note Khaybar wasn't a real city — it was just a bunch of fortresses. How many? The books say many — at least 8 or 9, or most likely 15. And each of these fortresses is its own mini-camp. Khaybar is a large land; many acres of green lush land on which dates are being harvested. And within this land, the land had basically two halves — on one half there were 6-8 fortresses, and on the other half which was a few hours of marching away, there were another 6-8 fortresses. When the Prophet PBUH came to Khaybar, it was a complete surprise for its people. They never expected it. Bukhari says the Prophet PBUH intentionally camped the night away from Khaybar, and started marching to the fortresses before Fajr to completely surprise them. And when the Muslims finally came within the distance of the first fortress, they saw the people exiting the fortress with their plows, axes, and tools to harvest their dates and take care of their fields — but when they saw the Muslims, they rushed back running, saying, "Muhammad and his army has arrived!" Note the very fact that they say this shows that even though they were surprised, they knew it was going to happen and somewhat expected it. They knew they had crossed some boundaries, and they knew if anybody was going to attack them, it was going to be the Prophet PBUH and his army.
Note Khaybar wasn't a real city — it was just a bunch of fortresses. How many? The books say many — at least 8 or 9, or most likely 15. And each of these fortresses is its own mini-camp. Khaybar is a large land; many acres of green lush land on which dates are being harvested. And within this land, the land had basically two halves — on one half there were 6-8 fortresses, and on the other half which was a few hours of marching away, there were another 6-8 fortresses. When the Prophet PBUH came to Khaybar, it was a complete surprise for its people. They never expected it. Bukhari says the Prophet PBUH intentionally camped the night away from Khaybar, and started marching to the fortresses before Fajr to completely surprise them. And when the Muslims finally came within the distance of the first fortress, they saw the people exiting the fortress with their plows, axes, and tools to harvest their dates and take care of their fields — but when they saw the Muslims, they rushed back running, saying, "Muhammad and his army has arrived!" Note the very fact that they say this shows that even though they were surprised, they knew it was going to happen and somewhat expected it. They knew they had crossed some boundaries, and they knew if anybody was going to attack them, it was going to be the Prophet PBUH and his army.
So they yelled out, "Muhammad has arrived," and they ran inside, shut the doors and sealed them. Here is when the Prophet PBUH uttered his famous lines mentioned in every book of seerah and hadith, "Allahu'akbar, Allahu'akbar. Khaybar has been destroyed. And whenever we arrive at the border of a land/country/people, then what an evil morning it is for those that have been warned."
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The Battle of Khaybar
The books of seerah mention a bunch of incidents — and as usual, we piece them together. So what happens? All of the individual tribes have locked themselves up. So the Prophet PBUH and the sahaba conquer one fortress at a time. This actually was partly the cause of the downfall of the Jews of Khaybar. Why? In their ingenuity, they never thought, "What if an army comes straight to our land? We won't be able to help one another! And each group will have to face the entire army on their own." And this is exactly what happened. No doubt, if a small raiding party would come, these fortresses would help. But what if an army would come? Each of these mini-fortresses would not have more than 500 men, and they would have to face up to 2,000 men alone. It was a gaping hole in the construction of the fortresses and that is they could not unite against a large army. And in this was their downfall. The Prophet PBUH kept on targeting one fortress after another. Some of the names of the fortresses have been preserved: one was called al-Nizar (النزار), another was al-Sa'b (الصعب), and one of the largest was Na'im (ناعم) and it took Muslims 10 days to conquer it. They threw arrows and did whatever they could for 10 days straight — Abu Bakr RA took charge for a few days, then Umar RA. And one of the famous sahaba, Mahmud ibn Maslamah al-Ansari (محمود بن مسلمة الأنصاري) RA, he died a shaheed when the people of the fortress threw a large log on him. One of the tactics of the people of the fortress is to throw things (boiling oil, heavy objects, etc.). The Muslims never experienced this before and did not quite know how to set up to defend, so when Mahmud ibn Maslamah came too close to the fortress, the Jews threw a large log on him and it squashed him to death. And this was very demoralizing for the sahaba.
For 10 days straight, the Muslims fought this one fortress Na'im, and on the 10th night, the Prophet PBUH made an announcement and said, "Tomorrow at Salat al-Fajr, I will hand the banner to someone whom Allah and His Messenger love. And Allah will grant us victory at his hands." Umar RA remarked, "Never in my life did I wish to become a leader like I did on that night"—because the Prophet PBUH testified Allah SWT and His Messenger love him.
In the morning, the Prophet PBUH prayed Fajr, then he turned around and said, "Where is Ali ibn Abi Talib?" They said, "He has some problem with his eyes (infection), so he is remaining in his tent." The Prophet PBUH said, "Bring him to me." When Ali RA came, the Prophet PBUH spat into his eyes and he became cured. And he then handed the banner to Ali RA and said, "Go forth. And in the name of Allah SWT, keep on going and do not turn back." And this was a great blessing for Ali ibn Abi Talib. So he came forth with the banner — and then he paused because he wanted to ask a question. But the Prophet PBUH had told him, "Go forth and don't turn back," so he paused where he was, and instead of turning around, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Ya Rasulullah! What conditions should I give them?!" Subhan'Allah, he doesn't want to turn around because that would be disobeying. So he shouts out, "What are the conditions?!" The Prophet PBUH said, "Fight them until they testify there is no god except Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. If they do so, then their lives and properties are protected from you and me, and their affair is with Allah SWT. For by Allah, if Allah guides through you even one person, then it is better than a herd of camels (i.e., a million dollars)." And this shows us that the ultimate goal of these types of expeditions is not killing nor is it conquest of lands; it is inviting others to the Way of Allah SWT.
The chieftain of [one of] the fortress[es] was Mirhab (مرحب), and he felt bold enough to challenge the Muslims to a duel. And firstly, Amir ibn al-Akwa (عامر بن الأكوع), an Ansari, took on the challenge — but Mirhab killed him. The next person to take up was Ali RA, and he managed to get rid of Mirhab. And this was one of the biggest victories for the Muslims and a huge demoralization factor for the Jews.
After Mirhab died, eventually, the people came out to face the Muslims and fought a severe battle. The Muslims eventually overcame. And it is during this expedition that the famous incident we know happened in which Ali's RA shield was knocked out, and he was left defenseless, so he went to the door of the fortress —and it was a massive structure— and he used the entire door as a shield for the remainder of the battle. And when it was over, he threw it aside, and Abu Rafi', the narrator, said, "[After the incident,] seven of us tried to pick up the door, but we were not able to pick it up" — and there is no doubt this is a karamah (mini-miracle) given to Ali RA.
After Mirhab died, eventually, the people came out to face the Muslims and fought a severe battle. The Muslims eventually overcame. And it is during this expedition that the famous incident we know happened in which Ali's RA shield was knocked out, and he was left defenseless, so he went to the door of the fortress —and it was a massive structure— and he used the entire door as a shield for the remainder of the battle. And when it was over, he threw it aside, and Abu Rafi', the narrator, said, "[After the incident,] seven of us tried to pick up the door, but we were not able to pick it up" — and there is no doubt this is a karamah (mini-miracle) given to Ali RA.
When Na'im was conquered, the Muslims moved on to the next fortress which was al-Sa'b, and it took them three days to conquer this — it was a great miracle from Allah that they conquered it at all, because their food supplies had dwindled to nothing and they had nothing left. And when they conquered it, it was full of grain, food, water, etc., so they used this and lived off of it for the remainder of the Battle of Khaybar.
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Mini-Stories
A number of stories are mentioned in this battle.
1. Of them is the story of the slave of Khaybar who came to the Prophet PBUH who had heard that there is a man with a new religion (i.e., he had heard about the Prophet PBUH), so he asked the Prophet PBUH, "What are you about?" The Prophet PBUH said, "I am a prophet." So he said, "What have you come with?" The Prophet PBUH explained what Islam is, and when he heard this, the slave accepted Islam then and there. And he said, "My master has sent me to graze the flock, what do I do with the flock?" The Prophet PBUH said, "You must return it to your master"—it's an amanah. So the Prophet PBUH rubbed the heads of the sheep and told the slave, "Go to such a place and the sheep will return to their master." So the slave went to a certain place, he let the sheep go, and the sheep returned to the master. And the slave then came back to the army and fought a severe fight on the side of the Muslims until a stray arrow killed him. After the battle was over, the Prophet PBUH stood over his body, and as he was being buried, the Prophet PBUH closed his eyes. When the sahaba asked why, the Prophet PBUH said, "His two Hoorun Ayn (حور عين) have come to greet him." In this story, subhan'Allah, we see the honesty of the Prophet PBUH in rejecting the sheep. Even though he is at war with the tribe, he PBUH knows the slave has been given an amanah by the master — so he PBUH returns all of the sheep to the master.
2. This next story appears in multiple battles, and scholars differ if it only happened once or more than once. This story is authentically mentioned in Sahih Bukhari that it occurred at Khaybar, so we mention it here, and that is the story of a Bedouin who was fighting a mighty fight. The sahaba are impressed and say, "This is a man from Jannah!" But the Prophet PBUH said, "No, rather he is a man from Jahannam." So one of the sahaba followed the Bedouin until an arrow injured his (the Bedouin's) hand, and when he saw that his hand was no longer usable, he took his sword, put it on the ground, and he jumped onto the sword to commit suicide. The reason he was fighting was to basically be called powerful and mighty, for ego and honor, not for the sake of Allah. Then the sahabi who was following him went back to the Prophet PBUH and repeated the kalimah. The Prophet PBUH asked what was the matter, so he explained what happened and the Prophet PBUH said, "A person may do the deeds of the people of Jannah until there is only a cubit or two between him and Jannah, and then qadr catches up to him and he does the deeds of the people of the Fire and enters it. And a person among you may do the deeds of the people of the Fire until there is only a cubit or an arm-breadth distance between him and the Fire, but then qadr catches up to him and he does the deeds of the people of Jannah and enters it." The point is "الأعمال بالخواتيم " — Allah judges us depending on the state we die in.
2. This next story appears in multiple battles, and scholars differ if it only happened once or more than once. This story is authentically mentioned in Sahih Bukhari that it occurred at Khaybar, so we mention it here, and that is the story of a Bedouin who was fighting a mighty fight. The sahaba are impressed and say, "This is a man from Jannah!" But the Prophet PBUH said, "No, rather he is a man from Jahannam." So one of the sahaba followed the Bedouin until an arrow injured his (the Bedouin's) hand, and when he saw that his hand was no longer usable, he took his sword, put it on the ground, and he jumped onto the sword to commit suicide. The reason he was fighting was to basically be called powerful and mighty, for ego and honor, not for the sake of Allah. Then the sahabi who was following him went back to the Prophet PBUH and repeated the kalimah. The Prophet PBUH asked what was the matter, so he explained what happened and the Prophet PBUH said, "A person may do the deeds of the people of Jannah until there is only a cubit or two between him and Jannah, and then qadr catches up to him and he does the deeds of the people of the Fire and enters it. And a person among you may do the deeds of the people of the Fire until there is only a cubit or an arm-breadth distance between him and the Fire, but then qadr catches up to him and he does the deeds of the people of Jannah and enters it." The point is "الأعمال بالخواتيم " — Allah judges us depending on the state we die in.
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(Cont.) The Battle of Khaybar
The Muslims conquered fortress after fortress, and eventually, they came to another called "the Castle of Zubayr (قلعة الزبير)," and this fortress did not have its own internal well, rather, it was fed via an external water supply, so the Muslims blocked the water supply so the men had to come out and fight. And eventually, when they came out and fought, they were defeated. And with this defeat, the one half of Khaybar was conquered. So the Prophet PBUH and the sahaba then crossed over to the other side of Khaybar and began another series of mini-conquests, and in the exact same manner, they engaged with each fortress individually. Remember, the Battle of Khaybar was not simple: It was a series of at least 9 battles. Some lasted 10 days, some lasted 1 day, and some 3 days. And note every time one fortress fell, the group of remaining fighters there ran to another fortress for protection. Of course, they wouldn't just surrender. So they would run all the way to the big fortress which had the best protection. The Muslims conquered each mini-fortress until eventually, there was one of the largest fortresses left, and all of the people from the tribes that were already conquered were in that fortress. The Prophet PBUH and the Muslims just camped outside and waited, because this fortress was just too big. A solid two weeks went by, until finally, the people inside realized they were outnumbered and could not do anything, so they negotiated a surrender.
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Was Khaybar a Conquest or a Surrender?
Here is where a lot of scholars differed in the past: Was [the Battle of] Khaybar a conquest or a surrender? Why does it matter? Because firstly, there are fiqh differences, and secondly it's a matter of honor for the Muslims and humiliation for the group conquered. If they surrendered, then they gain some honor since they willingly gave up — but if they were forced militarily, this is humiliation. So it's a matter of history and a little bit of fiqh.
Why did the scholars differ? Because the Muslims fought so many battles and conquered one fortress after the other, but right at the end, the people of Khaybar surrendered. So scholars have differed. Nonetheless, the majority position, held by Ibn al-Qayyim and others, is that they were conquered. The evidence for this is that, if they wanted to surrender, they would have done so from the start — the Muslims conquered one fortress after the other — and the only reason the last one surrendered was that they knew they were going to be conquered as well.
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Treaty With the People of Khaybar
After the 'surrender,' the people of Khaybar worked out a treaty with the Prophet PBUH. Initially, the Prophet PBUH wanted to expel them, but they argued and said, "Ya Aba al-Qasim, your people do not know how to operate or mend these lands. We are people who know Khaybar inside out. So why don't we agree to a percentage?"
And so back and forth they went until finally, the conditions were decided:
1. The people of Khaybar would give 50% of their produce to the Muslims. (The people of Khaybar had hundreds of acres of land, so 50% is literally a fortune — it's equal to tens of millions of dollars.)
2. The maintenance, the cost, and the labor will be 100% on the Jews.
3. This treaty is in effect for as long as the Muslims decide. The Muslims can cancel whenever they want to.
So the people of Khaybar decided to remain with these conditions. And this shows us the foresight of the Prophet PBUH to allow them to remain. Because the fact is the Muslims neither had the experience nor manpower to manage Khaybar. It would need around 1,000 people to take care of it, and the Muslims did not have 1,000 men to spare. Further, the people of Khaybar knew Khaybar inside out. So the Prophet PBUH let them take care of it. So this is what happened all the way until towards the end of the khilafa of Umar RA [23 AH] — and at that time, there were so many Muslims, so in accordance with clause #3, the Muslims decided to end the treaty, and Umar RA sent the Jews to other lands. And that was the end of the Yahudi presence in central Arabia.
1. The people of Khaybar would give 50% of their produce to the Muslims. (The people of Khaybar had hundreds of acres of land, so 50% is literally a fortune — it's equal to tens of millions of dollars.)
2. The maintenance, the cost, and the labor will be 100% on the Jews.
3. This treaty is in effect for as long as the Muslims decide. The Muslims can cancel whenever they want to.
So the people of Khaybar decided to remain with these conditions. And this shows us the foresight of the Prophet PBUH to allow them to remain. Because the fact is the Muslims neither had the experience nor manpower to manage Khaybar. It would need around 1,000 people to take care of it, and the Muslims did not have 1,000 men to spare. Further, the people of Khaybar knew Khaybar inside out. So the Prophet PBUH let them take care of it. So this is what happened all the way until towards the end of the khilafa of Umar RA [23 AH] — and at that time, there were so many Muslims, so in accordance with clause #3, the Muslims decided to end the treaty, and Umar RA sent the Jews to other lands. And that was the end of the Yahudi presence in central Arabia.
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Attempt to Poison the Prophet PBUH
After these negotiations took place, at one point in time, the attempted poisoning of the Prophet PBUH happened. Some food was gifted to the Prophet PBUH (and later on we learn it was cooked by the wife of one of the leaders of Khaybar who had been killed, which, when the food was gifted, the Muslims did not know). The Prophet PBUH was given high-level exotic food, and it is understood that when a person has conquered the land and he is the new leader, it was natural for the people to appease the new leader with gifts and food. So the Prophet PBUH was sent a lavish, massive tray full of food.
And we also learn later on that the woman who cooked it asked around, "What meat does Muhammad like the most?" and she was told, "The shoulder blade of a lamb," and so she put poison in —the whole lamb, but— especially the shoulder blade. And it was a very potent and powerful poison. When the Prophet PBUH and the sahaba sat down to eat, he PBUH put a bite in his mouth, and as soon as he did, he said, "Everyone, stop eating. The shoulder of the lamb has told me it has been poisoned," i.e., the lamb spoke to the Prophet PBUH (and obviously, this was a miracle from Allah). He told the sahaba to stop, but unfortunately, one sahabi by the name of Bishr ibn al-Bara (بشر بن البراء) had already eaten, and it was too late for him. It appears he swallowed a little bit, and as a result, he died a few days later. A number of other sahaba spat out the meat before they swallowed, and they had to be treated. As for the Prophet PBUH, he put it in his mouth and did not swallow it, yet still, as a result, he felt the pain from the poison for the rest of his life (4 years), so much so that on his deathbed when he had a week left, he said to Aisha RA, "I still feel the effects of the poison from the woman of Khaybar."
The Prophet PBUH then called the tribe who gifted him this meat, and said, "If I ask you anything, will you tell the truth?" They said, "Yes, we will tell the truth." He PBUH said, "Who is your ancestor?" They said so-and-so. The Prophet PBUH said, "You are lying. Your ancestor is so-and-so," meaning he PBUH is proving to them he knows if they lie. (And perhaps the reason they lied about their ancestor was that there was some point of embarrassment about the man.) The Jews said, "You have spoken the truth, you have been honest with us." So the Prophet PBUH asked again, "If I ask you a question, will you be honest with me?" They said, "Ya Aba al-Qasim, we have already seen now that if we lie, you can tell, so we will be honest." So he asked, "Who is going to the Fire of Hell?" They said, "We will go for a short period, but then Allah will save us. And you and your people will remain forever" (and this was their belief as Allah mentions in Surah al-Baqarah [2:80]). So they are basically saying they know they are sinful so they will be punished for a while, but then eventually be taken out. The Prophet PBUH said, "Remain humiliated and remain in the Fire of Hell. By Allah, we will not remain after you."
The Prophet PBUH then called the tribe who gifted him this meat, and said, "If I ask you anything, will you tell the truth?" They said, "Yes, we will tell the truth." He PBUH said, "Who is your ancestor?" They said so-and-so. The Prophet PBUH said, "You are lying. Your ancestor is so-and-so," meaning he PBUH is proving to them he knows if they lie. (And perhaps the reason they lied about their ancestor was that there was some point of embarrassment about the man.) The Jews said, "You have spoken the truth, you have been honest with us." So the Prophet PBUH asked again, "If I ask you a question, will you be honest with me?" They said, "Ya Aba al-Qasim, we have already seen now that if we lie, you can tell, so we will be honest." So he asked, "Who is going to the Fire of Hell?" They said, "We will go for a short period, but then Allah will save us. And you and your people will remain forever" (and this was their belief as Allah mentions in Surah al-Baqarah [2:80]). So they are basically saying they know they are sinful so they will be punished for a while, but then eventually be taken out. The Prophet PBUH said, "Remain humiliated and remain in the Fire of Hell. By Allah, we will not remain after you."
Then he PBUH said for a third time, "Will you tell the truth?" They said, "Yes." So the Prophet PBUH asked, "Did you poison the goat?" They said, "Yes, we did." (And perhaps it was their honesty that saved them from all being killed.) He PBUH asked, "Why?" They said, "If you were a liar [in your claim to be a prophet], we would be free of you and your conquering; and if you are a prophet, our mischievousness would not have harmed you anyway." So they admitted they did the poison, and then they told who the cook was, "It was so-and-so."
The Prophet PBUH then called the cook and asked, "Why did you do this?" Some books of seerah mention she was honest and said, "You killed my husband, you killed my uncle, and so-and-so, they all died in the battle, so I wanted to kill you as a result." Some of the sahaba said to execute her — and here is where the narratives differ: Some say the Prophet PBUH did forgive her, but others say she was killed. Scholars try to reconcile, and Ibn al-Qayyim the master of seerah says, "The Prophet PBUH forgave her for what she had done to him, but after a few days, when Bishr died, she had to be killed for qisas." So as for the haq of the Prophet PBUH, he forgave her and did not retaliate for himself. But when Bishr died, it was not fair for him that his death went unavenged, so she was executed for qisas.
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The Ghanima
All of the fortresses were conquered, and all of the Muslims who participated in Hudaybiyyah were given extra shares, because this is exactly what Allah promised in the Quran in Surah al-Fath, "Allah has promised you will gain A LOT of ghanima" [see Quran, 48:20].
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Ja'far ibn Abi Talib RA and Other Sahaba's Return From Abyssinia
Another incident that happened was while the Muslims were at Khaybar —and the Prophet PBUH had finished the negotiations and just conquered all of Khaybar, on the same day— Ja'far ibn Abi Talib made his way to Khaybar. He has returned from Abyssinia with 50 or so Muslim men and women who have been gone for over a decade. It's now the 7th year of the Hijrah and they went to Abyssinia in the 6th year of the dawah (maximum 7th), so for over a decade the Prophet PBUH has not seen one of his most beloved cousins and best friends, Ja'far. Remember Ali RA was a child compared to Ja'far RA — the Prophet PBUH raised Ali RA in his household. Ja'far was much older and he had a different relationship with the Prophet PBUH. And Ja'far was very beloved to the Prophet PBUH.
When the Prophet PBUH saw Ja'far, he stood up to greet him, kissed him on the forehead, and said, "I don't know which of the two things is making me happier today: the conquest of Khaybar or the return of Ja'far." Imagine, the biggest conquest (in terms of monetary) since the beginning of Islam has just taken place, yet the Prophet's PBUH joy is equal or even greater for seeing Ja'far.
And subhan'Allah, even though the Muslims from Abyssinia did not participate in Khaybar, they all got a share in Khaybar. It's an amazing blessing for them which shows Allah never ignores the sacrifice of those who have sacrificed for His sake. Because their hardships were hardships that no Muslims ever had to endure at that time: Emigrating to a foreign place, leaving everything behind, learning a new language, culture, and civilization. And more than a decade of harsh living amidst a civil war: Najashi's nephew was waging war against Najashi and the Muslims were on the verge of being expelled. And Najashi, in fear, said to the Muslims, "If my nephew kills me, go to such-and-such a place and there is a ship waiting just for you." Subhan'Allah. And when Allah saved Najashi, the Muslims were so happy. So here is a group of Muslims that did not participate in Khaybar, yet because of their sacrifices, they still got a massive amount of reward.
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The People of Two Hijrahs
There is a beautiful hadith, that when the Muslims returned from Khaybar to Madinah —and Asma bint Umays was among those who migrated to Abyssinia from Makkah— after a day or two, Asma bint Umays visited her friend Hafsa the wife of the Prophet PBUH, whom she had not seen for 10-15 years. And when she visited her, Umar RA was there and he asked his daughter Hafsa, "Who is this lady with you?" Asma said, "This is Asma bint Umays." So Umar RA said, "Bint Umays? You are the Habashiyyah (i.e., one of those who migrated to Abyssinia)? We have more right to the Prophet PBUH than you, because we Emigrated to Madinah with him," i.e., he is semi-teasing her. But Asma RA snapped. All of her frustrations and anger snapped at Umar RA and she said, "No, wallahi! You have no more right to the Prophet PBUH. You were at least with him for these 10 years. He would console you at times of grief, feed you when you were hungry, guide you when you were mistaken. But we suffered and toiled and were in a strange land with nobody. Wallahi, I won't eat and drink until I go to the Prophet PBUH and tell him what you said, and you can see for yourself who is right or wrong."
So then and there she went to the Masjid of the Prophet PBUH, and in front of all the sahaba, she started ranting about Umar RA, that, "Ya Rasulullah, Umar said this and that, and I said I won't eat and drink until I come straight to you and say exactly what he said." So the Prophet PBUH said, "He (Umar) does not have any more right over us than you; go back and tell him, he made one Hijrah, [but] you people made two Hijrahs." Subhan'Allah. And she went back flaunting this hadith. Then the news spread like wildfire among all of the Muslims who had emigrated from Abyssinia, and the whole day the Muslims of Abyssinia went to Asma wanting to hear the exact details directly from her. And the narration says they were never happier than they were on that day when the Prophet PBUH said they have more rights than Umar RA because they did two Hijrahs and Umar did one Hijrah.
Of course, all this happiness will be tampered shortly by the death of Ja'far very soon [8 AH — see episode 73]. And the death of Ja'far was very tragic for the Prophet PBUH.
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Massive Fortune
The conquest of Khaybar was indeed a huge demoralizing factor for the people of Quraysh, because it was known to be the most fertile, well-off, and protected area in the whole of the Arabian Peninsula, and now it's in the hands of the Prophet PBUH.
And of course, when the Muslims conquered Khaybar, they conquered some smaller cities and tribes that were around Khaybar as well. There are places called Wadi al-Qura (وادي القرى) and others, and they all agree to the same conditions (50% of produce goes to the Muslims). The people of Fadak (فدك), a tribe close to Khaybar, became scared, so without any threat or army marching, they sent a letter to the Prophet PBUH, that, "We also agree to the exact same conditions." The Prophet PBUH didn't even step foot in Fadak nor did he intend to go there, yet they still agreed to the conditions. The Prophet PBUH accepted this — the lands of Fadak were a special gift from Allah directly. And the Prophet PBUH would use the proceeds of Fadak to take care of his family.
Khaybar generated the most wealth the Muslims had ever seen, and in terms of sheer land, Khaybar was the greatest conquest in the history of the seerah of the Prophet PBUH. In terms of money, maybe the Battle of Hunayn [8 AH] was bigger. But in terms of land, there is no competition. It was the largest conquest in the history of the seerah. And it was the priciest lands: All the lands/fortresses had food, armor, weapons, sheep, goats, slaves, etc. And it was at this point the Muhajirun returned the land that the Ansar had given them at the beginning of the Hijrah. Indeed, when the Muhajirun first came to Madinah, it was the Ansar who provided everything, and the Muhajirun always felt, "This is not ours." And Ibn Umar said, "We never ate to our fill until after Khaybar." Subhan'Allah. And of course, Allah always gives rewards to those who are patient. For over 15 years the sahaba have struggled, and now every one of the Muhajirun gets a lifelong fortune — every year, the produce will come without lifting a finger. And this is what we expect for anybody who sacrifices for the Way of Allah SWT; He will give him in this dunya before the Next.
Khaybar generated the most wealth the Muslims had ever seen, and in terms of sheer land, Khaybar was the greatest conquest in the history of the seerah of the Prophet PBUH. In terms of money, maybe the Battle of Hunayn [8 AH] was bigger. But in terms of land, there is no competition. It was the largest conquest in the history of the seerah. And it was the priciest lands: All the lands/fortresses had food, armor, weapons, sheep, goats, slaves, etc. And it was at this point the Muhajirun returned the land that the Ansar had given them at the beginning of the Hijrah. Indeed, when the Muhajirun first came to Madinah, it was the Ansar who provided everything, and the Muhajirun always felt, "This is not ours." And Ibn Umar said, "We never ate to our fill until after Khaybar." Subhan'Allah. And of course, Allah always gives rewards to those who are patient. For over 15 years the sahaba have struggled, and now every one of the Muhajirun gets a lifelong fortune — every year, the produce will come without lifting a finger. And this is what we expect for anybody who sacrifices for the Way of Allah SWT; He will give him in this dunya before the Next.
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Updates on the Prophet's PBUH Marriages
Up to this point, we have skipped some details, and that is the Prophet's PBUH marriages to other wives:
1. Marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh [will be discussed next episode].
2. Marriage to Ummi Habiba Ramla bint Abi Sufyan which took place a month before Khaybar. She and her husband were in Abyssinia with Ja'far and others, but she had become a widow, so the Prophet PBUH sent her a marriage proposal from Madinah while she was in Abyssinia. (She is the daughter of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, the chieftain of Banu Abd Shams, the most powerful person in Makkah at the time.) When she got the proposal, out of sheer happiness, Najashi himself gifted her the mahr on behalf of the Prophet PBUH, and he acted as the wali, and he conducted the wedding ceremony. So Ramla had the grandest wedding ceremony out of all the wives of the Prophet PBUH.
3. Marriage to Safiyyah bint Huyayy in the Battle of Khaybar [see episode 70]. She is the daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab the chieftain of the Banu Nadir.
[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, October 2021]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, October 2021]
