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Banu Nadir at Medina, Saudi Arabia

Medina, Saudi Arabia

One of the three major tribes of Medina (Yathrib) before the arrival of Muhammad, the Banu Nadir were expelled from Medina by Muhammad's followers in 624. Although they had signed a treaty with Muhammad, the assassination of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, the tribe's leader, led to an escalation of hostilities that resulted in the Banu Nadir being besieged for two weeks. After they surrendered, they were forced to leave Medina, and many travelled to Khaybar or Syria.1 

Description

Medina's Jewish community Conflicting dates exist for the beginning of Medina’s Jewish community: some sources date the community from Moses’s war with the Amalekites, others from the Babylonian Exile (c. 586 BCE) or the defeat by Rome (c. 70 BCE).2 Shortly before Muhammad’s arrival in Medina, the city’s Jewish population was between 8,000 and 10,000—a majority of the city’s inhabitants.3 The Banu Nadir were one of Medina’s three major Jewish tribes: they were successful date-farmers and traders in wine, textiles, arms, and agricultural products. Until the middle of the sixth century, they collected tribute from the area’s smaller tribes on behalf of the Sasanian rulers.4 

After Muhammad's arrival When Muhammad arrived in Medina in 622, the Banu Nadir signed a non-belligerency treaty with him.5 Three years later, the treaty was in shreds: after the assassination of the tribe’s leader, Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf, some of the Banu Nadir attempted to kill Muhammad in retaliation. The Banu Nadir were besieged in their quarter of Medina by Muhammad’s followers for two weeks; after the destruction of their palm groves, they capitulated.6 They were allowed to leave the city, but could only take what they could carry on their camels. Some of the Banu Nadir went to Khaybar, others to Syria. The Qaynuqua tribe had been expelled from Medina two years earlier, but the Qurayza tribe, the last of Medina’s three major tribes, remained until 627, when the men were wiped out and the women and children sold into slavery.7 The small remaining Jewish population dwindled and eventually died out. 

Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf Little is known about Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf, the leader of the Banu Nadir, besides the assassination that led to the tribe’s defeat and expulsion from Medina. Born to a Jewish mother and an Arab father, he became a poet and a wealthy member of the Banu Nadir.8 There are many versions of why he was assassinated. Some suggest that it was a result of his poetic satires against Muhammad, while others claim that he opposed Muhammad’s establishment of a market that would have competed with a nearby Jewish marketplace, and still others suggest that he plotted to stir up the Quraysh tribe against Muhammad or even kill him.9 The exact date of his assassination is unknown, but it probably took place in August 624.10

Medina, Saudi Arabia

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Sources

[1] Lowin, Shari. "Banu 'I-Nadir." Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Brill Online, 2014. Accessed August 5, 2014. http://0-referenceworks.brillonline.com.luna.wellesley.edu/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/banu-l-nadir-SIM_0003110


[2] Maghen, Ze'ev A. "Medina." Encyclopaedia Judaica. Detroit: Macmillan Reference, 2007. Accessed August 5, 2014. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX2587513495&v=2.1&u=mlin_m_wellcol&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=6c7918f3e162b613a4b970104c281bd7


[3] Ibid. 


[4] Lecker, Michael. "Banir, Nadu I-." Encyclopaedia Judaica. Detroit: Macmillan Reference, 2007. Accessed August 5, 2014. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX2587514451&v=2.1&u=mlin_m_wellcol&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=481a245c4d5eb379fe9b1ad149dfd391


[5] Lowin. "Banu 'I-Nadir." 


[6] Ibid. 


[7] Maghen. "Medina."


[8] Lowin, Shari. "Ka'b al-Ashraf." Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Brill Online, 2014. Accessed August 5, 2014. http://0-referenceworks.brillonline.com.luna.wellesley.edu/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/kab-al-ashraf-SIM_0012460


[9] Ibid.


[10] Ibid.