The Life of Muhammad by Ibn Ishaq

Chapter 7. The Killing of Sallam and the Assault on Khaybar

Muhammad authorises the killing of Sallam

After the Battle of the Trench and the slaughter of the Jewish Beni Qurayza, Sallam b. Abul-Huqayq [Abu Rafi], chief of the Beni Al-Nadir, was named as one of those who had brought the allied tribes together to fight the apostle. The Aus had pleased the apostle by assassinating his enemy Ka’b b. al-Ashraf before the Battle of Uhud. So now the Khazraj, competing for the apostle’s favour, gained his consent to kill Sallam who had settled in Khaybar.

Five Muslims, led by Abdullah b. Atik entered the fortress of Khaybar by stealth during the day [and with the help of Abdullah’s Jewish foster-mother hid until nightfall] and then went to Sallam’s house and climbed the ladder to the first floor.

On reaching the door, they asked for admittance, and when Sallam’s wife came out and enquired who they were, they said they were Arabs in need of supplies, so she told them that Sallam was at home and bade them enter.

Then the Muslims rushed at Sallam with their swords and killed him as he lay in bed. When they returned to Muhammad in Medina, they argued in front of him as to who had struck the fatal blow, until Muhammad demanded to see their swords and declared, ‘It was Abdullah b. Unaya’s sword that killed him; I can see traces of food on it, where it entered Sallam’s belly!’

Muhammad’s attack on the Beni al-Mustaliq

When Muhammad heard that the Beni al-Mustaliq were gathering against him under their leader al-Harith b. Abu Dirar, he went out and attacked them at a well of theirs called al-Muraysi. Allah put the tribe to flight, killing some of them and giving Muhammad their wives, children and property as booty, which he distributed amongst his men. Among the prisoners was the beautiful daughter of al-Harith, Juwayriya, who captivated every man who saw her. She came to Muhammad, saying, ‘Please understand that I have been allotted to Thabit and he has set a high ransom [of nine ounces of gold] and I have come to ask for your help.’

Muhammad said, ‘Would you prefer it if I paid the ransom and married you myself?’ and she accepted him. On hearing the news that the apostle had married Juwayriya, and that the Beni Mustaliq had become relatives of the apostle by marriage, the Muslims were obliged to release their prisoners, and over a hundred families were freed. Aisha used to say, ‘I do not know a woman who was a greater blessing to her people than Juwayriya.’

How Muhammad dealt with Abdullah b. Ubayy

Muhammad marched his men all that day and all that night and during the following day until they were overcome by the heat of the sun. When he finally brought them to a halt, they fell into an exhausted asleep as soon as their heads touched the ground. He did this to distract them from what Abdullah b. Ubayy had said the day before.

On their return to Medina, the Sura of the Hypocrites came down: ‘The hypocrites use their faith as a disguise, and bar others from the path of Allah. Evil is what they do. They believed and then renounced the faith. Their hearts are sealed. They are devoid of understanding. They are the true enemy. Guard yourself against them. Allah smite them in their perversity!’ (Sura 63. 2-4)

Then Abdullah’s son came to Muhammad, saying, ‘I have heard that you want to kill my father for what he said. If you must kill him, then order me to do it and I will bring you his head. If you ordered someone else to kill my father, as a dutiful son, I would be obliged to kill them, and I do not want to commit the sin of killing another believer for the sake of an unbeliever and so be sent to Hell.’

‘No,’ Muhammad replied, ‘Let us treat your father gently and remain on friendly terms with him as long as he remains with us.’

From then on, when anything went wrong, it was Abdullah’s own men who blamed him and reviled him, until the apostle said to Omar, ‘What is your opinion now, Omar? If I had had him killed the day you suggested, their leaders would have been furious. But if I commanded them to kill him today, they would surely do so.’

‘I know now that your commands are more blessed in authority than mine,’ answered Omar.

Dispute between the Ansar and the emigrants

Whilst the apostle was by the water at al-Muraysi, a group of Muslims were leading their animals down to drink when one of the emigrants and one of the Khazraj pushed each other away from the water and began to fight, with one yelling, ‘Help me, fellow Ansar!’ and the other calling for help from his [Muslim] fellow emigrants.

Abdullah b. Ubayy, who was with a group of his own people, was enraged, saying ‘Can you believe what these vagabonds of emigrants have done to us? They treat us as inferiors and outnumber us in our own land! It reminds me of the old saying: ‘Feed a dog and it will feed on you.’ By God, when we get back to Medina, the stronger will soon drive out the weaker!’

Then to his companions, he said, ‘See what you have brought upon yourselves! You let these emigrants settle here and shared your wealth with them. If you had kept your possessions to yourselves, they would have gone somewhere else!’

A young Ansari boy went and repeated Abdullah’s words to Muhammad, and Omar, who was standing at Muhammad’s side, said, ‘O apostle of God, order the death of Abdullah b. Ubayy!’

‘But what if people should say that Muhammad kills his own companions?’ replied the apostle. ‘No, instead, give immediate orders for departure!’

The scandal surrounding Aisha

Now whenever Muhammad went on a journey, they used to draw lots between his wives as to which one should go with him, and on this expedition he had taken Aisha with him. On the return from al-Muraysi, he halted the army near Medina and spent part of the night there before giving orders to depart. Aisha went out to relieve herself, and then realised that her onyx necklace was missing. She went to retrieve it, but while she was gone, the men saddled her camel, and hoisted her howdah on to it, believing that she was still inside it, and set off, leading the camel away.

Aisha came back and found the place deserted. So she covered herself with her jilbab [compulsory robe] and lay down on the spot, knowing that when they missed her, they would return in search of her. She had no sooner lain down than Safwan b. al-Muattal arrived and recognising Aisha as the apostle’s wife, set her on his camel and walked in front going as quickly as possible in order to catch up with the army.

However, no one missed Aisha until the morning, and then she appeared on the camel with a man leading her. Rumours were immediately spread about Aisha, but she was unaware of them because she fell ill on arrival at Medina. The rumours reached Muhammad and her parents, but they said nothing to Aisha and when Muhammad began acting coldly towards her, she asked to be nursed at her mother’s house. When she was finally told what people were saying about her, she was overcome with grief.

Muhammad asks for the opinion of Ali and Osama

The apostle called for Ali b. Abu Talib and Osama b. Zayd and asked for their advice. Osama spoke highly of the apostle’s wives, saying that they were the apostle’s family, and that he knew only good of them. However, Ali said, ‘Women are plentiful, and you can easily exchange one for another. Ask the slave girl. She will tell you the truth.’

So the apostle called Burayra to question her, and Ali rose and gave her a violent beating, shouting, ‘Tell the apostle the truth!’

The girl answered, ‘I know only good of Aisha. Her only fault that I know of is that she sometimes falls asleep when she should be watching the dough, and her pet sheep comes in and eats it!’

Aisha denies the accusations

Then Muhammad came to visit Aisha and her parents, and said, ‘Aisha, you are aware of the rumours. Fear Allah, and if you have acted wrongly, as people are saying, then ask the Lord’s forgiveness, for he accepts repentance from His servants.’

Aisha waited for her parents to reply, but they kept silent, not knowing what to say, so Aisha, weeping, said, ‘I will never ask Allah’s forgiveness for something I did not do. My duty is to ‘show sweet patience and ask for the help of Allah.’ (Sura 12.18)

Muhammad’s revelation concerning slanderers

Then Muhammad was overcome with a revelation from Allah, so they covered him with his mantle and put a leather cushion under his head. Aisha said afterwards, ‘As for me, when I witnessed this, I was not afraid or alarmed because I knew that I was innocent and that Allah would not treat me unfairly. As for my parents, they seemed to be about to die of terror that Allah would confirm what people were saying.’

Then Muhammad came to and sat up and wiped the sweat from his brow, saying, ‘Rejoice, Aisha, Allah has revealed your innocence!’

‘Allah be praised!’ cried Aisha, and Muhammad went out to the people and preached to them and recited this new revelation from Allah, the Sura of Light: ‘Those who defame honourable women and cannot produce four witnesses shall be given eighty lashes. Do not accept their testimony ever after, for it is they who are the evil-doers.’ (Sura 24.4-5)

The Beni al-Mustaliq convert to Islam

After the Beni al-Mustaliq converted to Islam, Muhammad sent al-Walid b. Uqba to them. When the tribe rode out to welcome him, he took fright and rode back to Muhammad claiming that the men had decided to kill him and withhold the zakat [poor tax]. The Muslims had long discussions about attacking the Beni al-Mustaliq until even the apostle himself considered doing so, until a deputation of tribesmen came to Muhammad, saying, ‘We heard that you had sent us a messenger, and so we rode out to welcome him, and pay the zakat that was due, but he took fright and rode off with all speed. Now we learn that he is claiming that we intended to kill him. We swear by Allah that we had no such intention!’

After this, Allah sent down the Sura of the Chambers to the apostle: ‘Believers, if a wicked man brings you a piece of news, verify it first, lest you should smite people in ignorance and afterwards repent of what you have done. Recognise that the Apostle of God is amongst you. If he were to follow your advice, you would be in real trouble!’ (Sura 49.6-7)

Muhammad orders the three slanderers to be lashed

Muhammad then commanded that the three who had been the most outspoken in their slanders, Mistah b. Uthatha, Hassan b. Thabit and Hamna d. Jahsh, should be lashed accordingly, saying: ‘But for Allah’s grace and mercy towards you in this life and in the life to come, you would have been grievously punished for your scandal-mongering. You carried upon your tongues and uttered with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge. You may have thought it a trifle but in the eyes of Allah it was a grave offence.’ (Sura 24.14-15)

Zayd’s raid on the Beni Fazara and the cruel death of Umm Qirfa

Zayd b. Haritha, Muhammad’s adopted son, then raided Wadi al-Qura, where he was attacked by the Beni Fazara, and some of his companions were killed, including his closest friend, Ward b. Amr. Zayd himself was carried wounded from the field of battle, and swore to take revenge.

So as soon as Zayd had recovered from his wounds, Muhammad sent him back with an army of Muslims. Mas’ada b. Hakamah was slain in revenge for Ward, and Malik’s elderly wife, Umm Qirfa, was cruelly killed, [her body torn apart by having her legs roped to two camels.]

Her beautiful daughter was taken captive and brought before Muhammad who gave her as booty to Salama b. Amr b. al-Akwa, the Muslim who had captured her, and he passed her on to his uncle Hazn b. Abu Wahb.

Muhammad orders the death of Yusayr b. Rizam

Muhammad learned that Yusayr b. Rizam, leader of the Jews at Khaybar, was gathering together with the tribes of the Ghatafan to launch an attack on him.

So he sent a party of thirty Muslims, including Abdullah b. Unays, to Khaybar to flatter Yusayr and promise him that if he went back to Medina with them, he would be given an audience with the apostle and would be treated with great honour [and appointed Lord of Khaybar. When his fellow Jews warned him against going, and that Muhammad would never appoint a Jew, Yusayr reportedly said, ‘Yes, but we are tired of war.’]

At last Yusayr agreed to go to Medina and set out accompanied by thirty of his Jewish followers [each one having a Muslim companion.]

However on the journey, at al-Qarqara, Yusayr appeared to change his mind about going to the apostle. Abdullah b. Unays rushed at him and hacked Yusayr’s leg off with his sword, and as Yusayr fell off the camel, he hit Abdullah over the head with a wooden staff. Then the Muslims attacked and killed all the Jews, except for one man who escaped on foot. [Muhammad had said to Abdullah beforehand, ‘I do not want to see Yusayr b. Rizam’, meaning, ‘Kill him!’]

When Abdullah returned to Medina, the apostle spat upon his head wound [with his magical healing spittle] and from then on, it stopped bleeding and he felt no more pain.

Muhammad sends Kurz b. Jabir to punish the Bajilis

In the raid of Muharib against the Beni Thalaba, the apostle had captured a slave called Yasar, whom he put in charge of herding his milch-camels near al-Jamma. A group of eight men of Qays of Kubba of Bajila came to the apostle and converted. They were suffering from a disease and had enlarged spleens. The apostle told them that they would be cured if they went and drank the milk and urine of his milch-camels, so off they went.

However, when they were cured, they made off with the camels, and when the apostle’s herdsman, Yasar, tried to stop them, they killed him and stuck thorns in his eyes. The apostle sent Kurz b. Jabir with twenty horsemen in pursuit, and he overtook them and brought them as prisoners to the apostle as he was returning from the raid of Dhu Qarad. The apostle commanded the Bajilis to be crucified, their hands and feet to be cut off and their eyes gouged out.

The Quran came down about this: ‘The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His apostle and strive for corruption in the land, is execution or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land.’ (Sura 5.33)

Muhammad sets out on pilgrimage to Mecca

In February 628CE, Muhammad, [who had had a vision of entering the Kabah with his head shaven], set out with seven hundred or fourteen hundred men on the Lesser Pilgrimage to Mecca. He took seventy sacrificial camels with him and dressed in pilgrim garb to show that he had no plans to wage war and that his sole purpose was to visit and honour the Kabah. As they reached al-Hudaybiya near Mecca, he halted, saying, ‘Today, I shall agree to whatever the Quraysh ask, so as to show goodwill to my kin.’

The Quraysh send envoys to Muhammad

The Quraysh then sent several envoys to Muhammad. Each time he told them that he did not desire war, but simply to go on pilgrimage and honour the holy Kabah. But each time the Quraysh responded by saying, ‘Muhammad claims not to want war, but by God, we shall never permit him to enter Mecca against our will, nor shall the Bedouin ever be able to say that we permitted it.’

Then the Quraysh sent Urwa b. Masud to the apostle, and Urwa noticed how Muhammad was treated by his followers: how, whenever he performed his ablutions they would rush to collect the water he had used; how whenever he spat, they would rush to collect his spittle, and how they would rush to pick up every hair of his head that fell [in order to make magical healing potions].

So on his return to the Quraysh, Urwa said, ‘I have been to the court of Khusrow in Persia, to the court of Caesar in Byzantium, and to the court of the Negus in Abyssinia, but never have I seen a sovereign so idolised by his subjects as Muhammad is by his followers! These people will never betray him for any reason, so bear that in mind when making any decision.’

The pledge of al-Ridwan or ‘The Willing Homage’

Finally, the apostle summoned Uthman and sent him to Abu Sufyan and the leaders of the Quraysh to reassure them that he had come not for war, but solely to visit and honour the Kabah. On hearing this, the Quraysh said to Uthman, ‘If you personally wish to circuit the Kabah, you may.’

When Uthman replied that he would not do so until after the apostle had done so, the Quraysh kept him as a captive and a report reached the apostle and the Muslims that Uthman had been slain.

When the apostle was informed that Uthman had been killed, he told his followers that he would not depart without fighting it out with the enemy, and he called on them to give him their pledge of support. This oath, which took place under a samurah [acacia] tree, became known as the Pledge of al-Ridwan or the Pledge of the Tree. [Acacia trees were sacred to Al-Uzza, the goddess of power, strength and victory in war.]

Only one of the Muslims present, al-Jadd b. Qays, avoided taking the pledge by trying to hide behind his camel. After this, the apostle heard that the report of Uthman’s death was untrue.

Muhammad agrees the treaty of al-Hudaybiya

But the Quraysh still refused Muhammad entry to Mecca. Only after lengthy negotiations did they agree to make peace with him, saying, ‘Withdraw from us this year, do not enter Mecca by force, and next year we will withdraw and allow you and your men to enter and stay here for three nights.’

Muhammad agreed, and much to the despair of his companions who had expected sure victory over Mecca, [and great booty], he ordered Ali to draw up a peace treaty with the Quraysh to refrain from war for ten years.

When Muhammad had finalised the document, he called for representatives from the Muslims and the polytheists to witness the peace treaty, and when the peace was concluded, he killed his sacrificial animals, and then sat down and had his head shaved, even though they were in profane country and outside the sacred area where he would normally pray. And when the Muslims saw what the apostle was doing, they rose and did likewise.

[It is said that when the disillusioned and angry Muslims refused to obey his thrice-repeated order to ‘arise, sacrifice and shave’, he went into his tent and his wife Umm Salamah advised him to go back out, and without a word, to slaughter his sacrificial camel and have himself shaved. This advice was successful and the men then copied his actions.]

Allah sends down the Sura of Victory to Muhammad

Muhammad then set out on the journey back to Medina, and when he reached half-way, the Sura of Victory was revealed to him: ‘Allah has given you a manifest victory. Lo! Those who swear fealty to you surely swear fealty to Allah Himself and He has promised you abundant spoils to take in the future!’ (Sura 48.1,48.10)

And regarding the Bedouin who had refused to go with him to Mecca: ‘Those who stayed behind will say when you set forth to take some spoils, ‘Let us come with you.’ Say: ‘Allah has already proclaimed that you shall not come with us!’ (Sura 48.15)

In truth, no previous victory in Islam was more important than this. Before, there had been nothing but violence, but after the Treaty was signed, and fighting was forbidden, men were able to meet and talk in peace, and all those of understanding who learned about Islam became Muslims. In just two years, the number of Muslims more than doubled.

After this, Khalid b. al-Walid went to Medina to accept Islam, as did several other leaders of the Quraysh including Amr b. al-As and Uthman b.Talha. [According to Amr, Khalid said, ‘All the ambitious men have now converted to Islam, and if we do not, Muhammad will take our necks like hyenas in a cave.’]

Muhammad attacks Khaybar at dawn

Then in June, in order to compensate his followers for loss of booty at Mecca, Muhammad took the same men who had gone with him to Hudaybiyah to make a surprise attack on the wealthy Jewish oasis of Khaybar, arriving by night. [This was one of Muhammad’s preferred military tactics – to bring his army secretly into position under cover of night and make a surprise attack at dawn.]

When the workers of Khaybar came out in the morning with their spades and baskets, they fled, crying, ‘Muhammad with his army!’

The apostle shouted, ‘Allahu akbar! Khaybar is ours for the taking!’

The Muslim army conquered the villages and forts one by one as they came to them. The first to fall was the fort of Naim, where Mahmud b. Maslama was killed by a millstone thrown down by the defendants, and then al-Qamus, the great fortress of the Beni Abul-Huqayq fell to the Muslims.

Muhammad orders the torture and killing of Kinana

Then Kinana, nephew of Sallam, and now chief of the Khaybar Jews, was brought before Muhammad and questioned about the treasure of the Beni al-Nadir. Kinana denied knowing its whereabouts, so Muhammad said, ‘Tell us where it is, or I shall kill you!’

Some treasure was discovered, but Kinana refused to produce the rest, so Muhammad said, ‘Torture him until he gives up what he has.’

Al-Zubayr lit a fire with flint and steel on Kinana’s chest, and when he was nearly burnt to death, the apostle handed him over to Muhammad b. Maslama who struck off his head, in revenge for his brother Mahmud who had been killed in the battle. Altogether the Jews lost 93 men, whilst only 19 Muslims were killed throughout the whole campaign.

Muhammad’s takes Kinana’s widow Safiya for himself

After the fall of the citadel of al-Qamus, the women of Khaybar were distributed as booty among the Muslims. Among the captives was the beautiful Safiya, the wife of Kinana, and two cousins of hers. Muhammad took Safiya for himself by throwing his cloak over her to indicate that he had chosen her as his own personal booty. Dihya, who had asked for Safiya, was given the two cousins instead.

Now Safiya, when she was Kinana’s wife, had dreamt that the moon would fall into her lap, and when she had told her husband, he had said, ‘This means that you covet the king of the Hijaz, Muhammad,’ and had struck her so hard in the face that he had given her a black eye. When she was brought to Muhammad, the bruise was still there, and when he asked the cause of it, this is the story she told him.

He thereupon married her [instead of taking her as a concubine] and spent the night with her in one of the tents. Abu Ayyub, armed with his sword, spent the entire night standing guard and walking round the tent until morning, when the apostle saw him there and asked him what he meant by his action.

‘I was afraid for your safety with this woman,’ Abu Ayyub replied, ‘because you had killed her father, her husband and her people, and she had only just recently converted to Islam, so I feared that she might do you harm.’

The apostle is said to have exclaimed, ‘Allah preserve Abu Ayyub the way that he spent that night preserving me!’

Muhammad then besieged the last two forts of al-Watih and al-Sulalim until the Jews surrendered, asking him to spare their lives, and he did so.

When the men of Fadak heard this, Allah struck terror in their hearts, and they also gave in on condition of keeping half their produce. Fadak became Muhammad’s private property, whilst the spoils of Khaybar were divided among the Muslims.

Muhammad poisoned by a woman of Khaybar

After Muhammad had rested, a woman of Khaybar, Zaynab d. al-Harith, whose father, uncle and husband had been slain in the battle, prepared a roast lamb for him, asking which portion he preferred. Told that it was the shoulder, she steeped it in poison [cyanide, made from bitter almonds] whilst poisoning the whole lamb, which she placed before the apostle and his companions. Muhammad took one bite of the shoulder but did not swallow it.

Bishr also took a bite of meat, but he swallowed his, while Muhammad spat his out, saying, ‘This bone tells me it has been poisoned!’

Then he summoned the woman and she confessed, saying, ‘You know what you have done to my people, the Beni al-Nadir. I said to myself, ‘If he is indeed a prophet, he will know what I have done, and if he is not, we shall be rid of him.’ So the apostle released her. Bishr died immediately as a result of what he had eaten. [Other sources say that Zaynab d. al-Harith was executed later in revenge for Bishr’s death.]

It was later recounted that the poison was so strong that when the apostle was suffering his last illness three years later, he ascribed the deadly pain, ‘as if his aorta was being severed’ to the food he had eaten at Khaybar. Thus Muslims believe that as well as being honoured by Allah with the gift of prophethood, the apostle also died a martyr.