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The Prophet (Peace be upon him), on his part, exercised the highest degree of patience with them
but they went too far in their provocative deeds, especially after Ar-Raji‘ and Ma‘una Well events;
they even made an attempt on his life.
Once the Prophet (Peace be upon him) with some of his Companions set out to see Banu Nadeer
and seek their help in raising the blood-money he had to pay to Bani Kalb for the two men that ‘Amr
bin Omaiyah Ad-Damari had killed by mistake. All of that was in accordance with the clauses of the
treaty that both parties had already signed. On hearing his story they said they would share in
paying the blood-money and asked him and his Companions Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Ali and others to sit
under a wall of their houses and wait. The Jews held a short private meeting and conspired to kill
the Prophet (Peace be upon him). The most wicked among them, ‘Amr bin Jahsh, volunteered to
climb up the wall and drop a large millstone on his head. One of them, Salam bin Mashkam,
cautioned them against perpetrating such a crime, predicting that Allâh would divulge their plot to
him, and added that such an act would constitute a manifest violation of the pact concluded with the
Muslims.
In fact, Gabriel did come down to reveal to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) their wicked criminal
intention, so he, with his Companions, hurried off back to Madinah. On their way, he told his
Companions of the Divine Revelation.
Soon after, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) delegated Muhammad bin Maslamah to communicate
an ultimatum to Bani Nadeer to the effect that they should evacuate Madinah within ten days,
otherwise, their heads would be cut off. The chief of the hypocrites, ‘Abdullah bin Ubai, urged the
Jews not to pay heed to the Prophet ’s words and to stay in their habitations, offering to run to their
support with two thousands of his followers, and assuring them of help to come from Quraizah tribe
and former allies Banu Ghatfan. In this regards, Allâh says:
·
“If you are expelled, we (too) indeed will go out with you, and we shall never obey anyone
against you, and if you are attacked (in fight), we shall indeed help you.” [59:11]
The Jews regained their confidence and were determined to fight. Their chief Huyai bin Akhtab relied
hopefully on what the chief of the hypocrites said. So he sent to the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be
upon him) saying: “We will not leave our houses. Do whatever you like to do.”
Undoubtedly the situation was awkward for the Muslims. Launching a war against their opponents at
this critical stage could entail terrible far reaching ramifications in the light of the unfavourable
conditions they were passing through, besides the hostile environment growing in power and hatred
around them, the harbinger of which assumed the form of killing the Muslim missions, as it has been
already introduced.
The Jews of Bani Nadeer were also a power to count for, and the prospects of inflicting a military
defeat on them was precarious; consequently forcing them into war engagement would be attended
with unpredictable risks. On the other hand, the continual state of repeated assassinations and acts
of treachery carried out against the Muslims individually and collectively brought about unbearable
headache to Muhammad ’s followers. Having judged all the prevalent status quo in this perspective,
and in the light of the disgraceful attempt on thlife of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), the Muslims
made the decisive decisions of taking up arms whatever turn the consequences could assume.
When the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) received the reply of Huyai bin Akhtab he said:
“
Allâhu Akbar, Allâhu Akbar.
” (Allâh is the Greatest of all) and his Companions repeated after him.
Then he set out to fight them after appointing Ibn Umm Maktum to dispose the affairs of Madinah
during his absence. The standard was entrusted to ‘Ali bin Abi Talib. He laid siege to their forts for
six nights — in another version, fifteen.
Banu Nadeer resorted to their castles, mounted them and started shooting arrows and pelting
stones at the Muslims enjoying the strategic advantage that their thick fields of palm trees provided.
The Muslims were therefore ordered to fell and burn those trees. In this respect, Allâh, the All-
Mighty, states in the Qur’ân:
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