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“What you (O Muslims) cut down of the palm-trees (of the enemy), or you left them
standing on their stems, it was by leave of Allâh.” [59:5]
Quraizah tribe remained neutral, and the hypocrite ‘Abdullah bin Ubai as well as Ghatfan failed to
keep their promises of support. In this regard Allâh says:
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“(Their allies deceived them) like Satan, when he says to man: ‘Disbelieve in Allâh.’ But
when (man) disbelieves in Allâh, Satan says: ‘I am free of you.’” [59:16]
The siege did not last long for Allâh, the All-Mighty, cast horror into the hearts of the Jews, and they
willingly offered to comply with the Prophet ’s order and leave Madinah. The Prophet (Peace be upon
him) accepted their request and allowed them to carry as much luggage as their camels could lift,
arms were excepted. Of course, they had no choice but to carry out the orders, so they took with
them everything they could carry even the pegs and beams of ceilings. Their caravan counted 600
loaded camels including their chiefs, Huyai bin Akhtab and Salam bin Abi Al-Huqaiq, who left for
Khaibar whereas another party shifted to Syria. Two of them embraced Islam, Yameen bin ‘Amr and
Abu Sa‘d bin Wahab, and so they retained their personal wealth.
The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) seized their weapons, land, houses, and wealth.
Amongst the other booty he managed to capture, there were 50 armours, 50 helmets, and 340
swords.
This booty was exclusively the Prophet ’s because no fighting was involved in capturing it. He
divided the booty at his own discretion among the early Emigrants and two poor Helpers, Abu
Dujana and Suhail bin Haneef. Anyway the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) spent a portion
of this wealth on his family to sustain their living the year around. The rest was expended to provide
the Muslim army with equipment for further wars in the way of Allâh.
The invasion of Bani An-Nadeer took place in Rabi‘ Al-Awwal, 4 A.H. i.e. in August 625 A.D. Almost
all the verses of
Sûrah Al-Hashr
(Chapter 59 - The Gathering) describe the banishment of the Jews
and reveal the disgraceful manners of the hypocrites. The verses manifest the rules relevant to the
booty. In this Chapter, Allâh, the All-Mighty, praises the Emigrants and Helpers. This Chapter also
shows the legitimacy of cutting down and burning the enemy’s land and trees for military purposes.
Such acts cannot be regarded as phenomena of corruption so long that they are in the way of Allâh.
In this very Chapter, Allâh recommends the believers to be pious and prepare themselves for the
world to come and He ends it with a compliment upon Himself and a manifestation of His Holy
Names and Attributes.
As this Chapter concentrates on Bani An-Nadeer and their banishment, Ibn ‘Abbas used to describe
it as ‘An-Nadeer Chapter’.
THE INVASION OF NAJD:
With the peaceful victory that the Muslims achieved at Bani An-Nadeer invasion, their control over
Madinah was undisputedly established, and the hypocrites receded to a state of silence and stopped
their artful machinations publicly. Consequently the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had ample time to
direct all his energies and human resources towards suppressing the desert bedouins and curbing
their harmful provocations and wicked malicious practices of killing his missionaries and even
contemplating an invasion of Madinah itself. Meanwhile, the Muslim scouting groups reported
building up of bedouin troops of Bani Muharib and Tha‘labah of Ghatfan around Madinah. The
Prophet (Peace be upon him), with the Muslims, hurriedly set out to discipline those new outlaws,
cast fear into their hearts and deter them from perpetrating further wicked practices. These
deterring operations were carried out repeatedly and did produce effective results. The rebellious
hard-hearted desert bedouins w ere terrorized into the mountains, and Madinah remained completely
immune against their raids.
In the context of these invasions, it is interesting to draw some prominence to a significant one ¾
Dhat Ar-Riqa‘
(rags) campaign ¾ which some scholars claim, took place in Najd ( a large area of
tableland in the Arabian Peninsula) in Rabi‘ Ath-Thani or Jumada Al-Ula, 4 A.H. They substantiate
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