The Bani Qainuqa

The Jews in Madina

When the Holy Prophet and the Muslims migrated to Yathrib there was a considerable number of Jews in the city. Some time in the first century of the Christian era, the Romans expelled the Jews from Palestine, and some of the tribes of the Jews found refuge in Yathrib. The Jews were moneylenders. They lent money to the people of Yathrib at exorbitant rates of interest. Because of their wealth the Jews dominated the economic scene in Yathrib. The indigenous people of Yathrib belonged to two main tribes, the Aus and the Khazraj. The two tribes fought among themselves, and they had also to contend against the growing influence of the Jews. It was with a view to counter balancing the influence of the Jews that the people of Yathrib invited the Holy Prophet and the Muslims to come and live in their midst.

When the Holy Prophet proclaimed his prophethood in Makkah, and the news traveled to Yathrib, Jews confirmed that according to their sacred books that was the time for the advent of a prophet. When the Holy Prophet came to Yathrib, the Jews found in him all the signs of prophethood that had been foretold in their books. The Jews regarded themselves as the chosen people of God, and that made them think that all Prophets must necessarily belong to their race. When Jesus Christ who was not a Jew proclaimed his prophethood, the Jews denied his prophethood and had him executed. The Jews of Yathrib had thought that the Prophet of Arabia would be subservient to them. When the Holy Prophet adopted an independent policy, and declared that Islam was an improvement on the Jewish faith, the Jews developed an attitude of an animosity to Islam.

Animosity of the Jews

The Holy Prophet followed with regard to the Jews the policy of 'live and let live'. He promulgated a charter of rights whereunder the Jews were guaranteed freedom to worship without any interference. It was undertaken that the two communities would live on terms of mutual friendship, in any attack on the Muslims, the Jews were to help the Muslims. When the Holy Prophet established a polity and the Muslims acquired strength, the Jews came to regard the growing strength of the Muslims as a menace to their influence. They accordingly launched a campaign of vilification against Islam. A Jewish lady Asma wrote pungent verses ridiculing and vilifying Islam and the Holy Prophet. She was warned by the Muslims to refrain from her nefarious activity, but when she persisted, a Muslim stabbed her to death. Abu Afaq another Jewish poet wrote venomous satires and lampoons ridiculing Islam. He met the same fate as Asma and was assassinated by a Muslim young man. The Jews perverted the verses of the Holy Quran and gave them ominous meanings. The Prophet enjoined the Muslims to spend in the way of Allah. The amounts thus were to be a loan against Allah who would repay it many times the original amount. Islam forbade the charging of interest. That adversely affected the interests of the Jews. Most of the Quraish emigrants who were traders in Makkah undertook trading activities in Madina as well. That broke the monopoly of the Jews in trade. Finhas a Jewish rabbi held out that the God of the Muslims was poor who asked of loan from the people, but the God of the Jews was rich Who needed no loan and who had made the Jews rich. He maintained that they did not need God, but God needed them. He observed that the dependence of God on the Jews was manifest from the fact that He had given interest to the Jews, but had denied it to the Muslims. The rabbi came across Abu Bakr who took him to task for his sacrilege. Abu Bakr slapped the rabbi on the face and said that were it not for the treaty between the Muslims and the Jews, he would have cut off the head of Finhas, the enemy of Allah. During this period many verses of the Holy Quran were revealed exposing the perfidy of the Jews. It was pointed out that the Jews had gone on rejecting the signs of God, and slaying His messengers, and they were transgressors.

Ali and the Jews

In the original accounts that have come down to us there is no mention of the activities of Ali with reference to the Jews. The silence of the authorities in this respect does not mean that Ali was inactive, and he took no part in the cold war that prevailed between the Muslims and the Jews. The Jews boasted of their superior knowledge and argued that as Muhammad (peace be upon him) was illiterate he could not be a prophet of God. Ali was the most learned scholar among the Muslims, and it appears very probable that Ali met the arguments of the Jews at intellectual level, and exposed their perfidies and transgressions during the course of history. Ali was a prominent poet as well, and we will not be far from the truth when we say that Ali composed verses vindicating Islam. Islam is a missionary religion, and when the Muslims had established a polity at Madina, they took steps to convert the unbelievers and the people of the Book to Islam. As Ali was the most eloquent person among the Muslims, excepting the Holy Prophet, it appears that Ali played a prominent role in propagating the message of Islam. In spite of the general hostility of the Jews to the Muslims, Ali succeeded in converting some of the Jews to Islam. The Holy Prophet as the Head of the State, had to adjudicate on disputes among the people, including the Jews. Because of his great learning and vast legal knowledge, Ali assisted the Holy Prophet in settling the disputes. Certain persons in Madina had accepted Islam for considerations of self-interest and expediency. Such persons led by Abdullah b Ubayy owed nominal allegiance to Islam. These hypocrites and dissemblers aimed at the subversion of Islam from within. The Holy Prophet made Ali responsible for keeping a watch on the activities of the hypocrites. The Jews aided and patronized the hypocrites in violation of the terms of the agreement between the Muslims and the Jews.

Bani Qainuqa

The Jews of the Bani Qainuqa tribe were the first to violate the terms of their agreement with the Muslims. These Jews had a walled stronghold outside Madina. When the Holy Prophet called upon these Jews to respect their agreement with the Muslims, their leader adopted a defiant attitude and said: "O Muhammad! Do you take us to be akin to the Quraish whom you can defeat. We are a different and a tougher people. If you cross arms with us you will know for yourself what we are." In spite of the offense given by the Qainuqa Jews, the Holy Prophet kept quiet and decided to bide his time for an actual confrontation. A crisis developed soon after the Battle of Badr. A Muslim lady visited a goldsmith's shop in the Banu Qainuqa quarters. A Jew rogue crept up behind her, and pinned her skirt to her bodice. When the lady after the disposal of her business in the shop walked unwittingly into the street, her skirt fell exposing her nakedness. Some Jews collected and began to jeer at the Muslim lady. A Muslim came that way and he fell upon the Jews with his sword. He killed the rogue who had done the mischief. He was on the point of killing another Jew when he himself was killed.

When the Holy Prophet came to know of the happening, he asked the Bani Qainuqa to pay compensation for the wrong done by them, and give adequate assurance of good conduct in the future. Banu Qainuqa defied the warning, and prepared for war. This exhausted the patience of the Holy Prophet, and he ordered punitive action against Banu Qainuqa. The Holy Prophet gave the flag to Ali, and a Muslim force led by Ali marched to the quarters of Bani Qainuqa, the Jews shut themselves in their stronghold, and the Muslims besieged the stronghold. Ali blocked all routes from where any help could come to Bani Qainuqa from outside. Thereafter the Muslims tightened the siege. Despairing of any help from without the Bani Qainuqa surrendered after a fortnight. Under the Jewish law all males among the Bani Qainuqa could be beheaded, and their females and children could be sold as slaves. The Holy Prophet took a lenient view, and merely ordered their expulsion from Madina. The property of Banu Qainuqa was confiscated. As a gesture of good will to the "Muhajireen", the Ansars decided to forego their share. The confiscated properties were distributed among the "Muhajireen" including Ali. Even if it is held that the financial position of Ali was weak in any way, his financial position definitely improved after the operations against Bani Qainuqa, for as a result of this battle he came to own a good deal of property. It was the first battle to be fought under the independent command of Ali. In this battle, Ali gave a good account of his generalship.