44- FALL OF KHAIBAR
As we have said above, the Jews and other opponents of Islam were now busy inflaming the tribes against the Muslims. They were now convinced that Arabia was unable to withstand the rising influence of Islam and that Arab tribes were unable to attack Medina. The Jews, therefore, began to intrigue with the Christian tribes settled on the southern frontier of the Roman Empire. At the same time, they started writing against the Prophetsa to their co-religionists in Iraq. By malicious propaganda carried on through correspondence they sought to excite the Chosroes of Iran against Islam. As a result of Jewish machinations, the Chosroes turned against Islam, and even sent orders to the Governor of Yemen to arrest the Prophetsa. It was by special divine intervention and divine grace that the Prophetsa remained safe, and the foul plan of the Emperor of Iran was brought to nought. It should be obvious that, but for the divine help which attended the Prophetsa throughout his career, the tender movement of early Islam would have been nipped in the bud under the hostility and opposition of the Emperors of Rome and Iran. When the Chosroes ordered the arrest of the Prophetsa, it so happened that before the orders could be carried out the Emperor was deposed and put to death by his own son and his orders for the arrest of the Prophetsa cancelled by the new ruler.
The officials of Yemen were impressed by this miracle; so, the province of Yemen readily became part of the Muslim Empire. The intrigues which the Jews kept on hatching against Muslims and their town of Medina made it necessary that they should be driven farther away from Medina. If they had been allowed to continue to live nearby their intrigues were almost certain to give rise to more and more bloodshed and violence. On returning from Hudaibiya the Prophetsa waited for five months and then decided to banish them from Khaibar. Khaibar was only a little distance from Medina and from here the Jews found it very easy to carry on their intrigues. With this intent, the Prophetsa (sometime in August 628 A.D.) marched to Khaibar. He had one thousand six hundred men with him. Khaibar, as we have said, was a wellfortified town. It was surrounded on all sides by rocks on which were perched little fortresses. To conquer such a place with so small a force was no easy task. The small posts lying on the outskirts of Khaibar fell after a little fighting. But when the Jews collected themselves into the central fort of the town, all attacks on it and all forms of strategy employed against it seemed to fail. One day the Prophetsa had a revelation that Khaibar would fall at the hands of ‘Alira. The following morning the Prophetsa announced this to his followers and said, “Today, I will hand over the black flag of Islam to him who is dear to God, His Prophetsa and all the Muslims. God has ordained that our victory at Khaibar should take place at his hands.” The following day he sent for ‘Alira and handed to him the flag. ‘Alira did not wait. He took his men and attacked the central fort. In spite of the fact that the Jews had collected in force inside this fort, ‘Alira and his division were able to conquer it before dark. A peace was signed. The conditions were that all Jews, their wives and their children would quit Khaibar and settle in some place far away from Medina. Their property and their belongings would pass into the hands of Muslims. Anyone who tried to conceal any of his property or stores, or made a wrong statement, would not be protected by the peace. He would have to pay the penalty laid down for breach of faith.
Three interesting incidents took place in this siege of Khaibar. One of them constitutes a Sign of God and two afford insight into the high moral character of the Prophetsa.
A widow of Kinana, a chief of Khaibar, was married to the Prophetsa. The Prophetsa saw that her face bore some marks, the impression of a hand. “What is this on your face, Safiyyara?” asked the Prophetsa.
“It was like this,” replied Safiyyara. “I saw the moon fall in my lap in a dream. I related the dream to my husband. No sooner had I related the dream than my husband gave a heavy slap on my face and said, ‘You desire to marry the King of Arabia'” (Hisham). The moon was the national emblem of Arabia. The moon in the lap denoted some intimate connection with the King of Arabia. A split moon or a dropping moon meant dissensions in the Arab State or its destruction.
The dream of Safiyyara is a sign of the truth of the Holy Prophetsa. It is also a sign of the fact that God reveals the future to His servants through dreams. Believers have more of this grace than unbelievers. Safiyyara was a Jewess when she saw this dream. It so happened that her husband was killed in the siege of Khaibar. This siege was a punishment for the Jewish breach of faith. Safiyyara was made a prisoner and, in the distribution of prisoners, was given to a Companion. It was then found that she was the widow of a chief. It was, therefore, felt that it would be more in accord with her rank if she were to live with the Prophetsa. The Prophetsa, however, chose to give her the status of a wife and she agreed. In this way was her dream fulfilled.
There were two other incidents. One relates to a shepherd who looked after the sheep of a Jewish chief. This shepherd became a Muslim. After his conversion he said to the Prophetsa, “I cannot go back to my people now, O Prophet of Godsa. What shall I do with the sheep and goats of my old master?”
“Set the faces of the animals towards Khaibar and give them a push. God will lead them back to their master” said the Prophetsa. The shepherd did as he was told, and the herd reached the Jewish fort. The guards at the fort received them (Hisham, Vol 2, p.191). The incident shows how seriously the Prophetsa regarded the question of individual rights and how important in his view it was for a trustee to discharge his trust. In war the property and belongings of the losers are rightfully appropriated by the victors. Ours is an age of civilization and culture, but can we show anything equal to this? Has it ever happened that a retreating enemy left behind stores which the victors sent back to their owners? In the present case the goats belonged to one of the combatants of the enemy side. The return of the goats meant making over to the enemy food which would last them for several months. With it the enemy could resist the siege for a long time. Yet the Prophetsa had the goats returned, and this in order to impress upon a new convert the importance of discharging a trust.
The third incident relates to a Jewish woman who tried to poison the Prophetsa. She asked the Companions what part of an animal the Prophetsa relished for a dish. She was told that he preferred the shoulder of lamb or goat. The woman slaughtered a goat and made cutlets on hot stones. Then she mixed with them a deadly poison, especially in pieces cut from the shoulder, believing the Prophetsa would prefer them.
The Prophetsa was returning to his tent, having said the evening prayers in congregation. He saw this woman waiting for him near his tent and asked, “Is there anything I can do for you, woman?”
“Yes, Abu’l Qasimsa, you can accept a present from me.” The Prophetsa asked a Companion to take whatever the woman had brought. When the Prophetsa sat down to his meal this present of roasted meat was also laid before him. The Prophetsa took a morsel. A Companion Bishr ibn al-Bara’ ibn al-Ma‘rurra also took a morsel. The other Companions present at the meal stretched their hands to eat the meat. But the Prophetsa stopped them saying, he thought the meat was poisoned. Upon this Bishrra said that he also thought the same. He wanted to throw away the meat but was afraid it might disturb the Prophetsa. “Seeing you take a morsel,” he said, “I also took one, but I soon began to wish you had not taken yours at all.” Soon afterwards Bishrra became ill and, according to some reports, died there and then. According to other reports he died after remaining ill for some time. The Prophetsa then sent for the woman and asked her if she had poisoned the meat. The woman asked the Prophetsa how he ever got to know about it. The Prophetsa was holding a piece in his hand, and said,”My hand told me this,” meaning he was able to judge from its taste. The woman admitted what she had done. “What made you do this? ” asked the Prophetsa.
“My people were at war with you and my relations were killed in this battle, I decided to poison you, believing that if you were an impostor you would die and we should be safe, but if you were a Prophetsa, God would save you.”
Hearing this explanation, the Prophetsa forgave the woman, although she had earned, the penalty of death (Muslim). The Prophetsa was ever ready to forgive, and punished only when punishment was necessary, when it was feared the guilty one would continue to commit mischief.
(Source: LIFE OF MUHAMMAD (pbuh))
BY HADRAT MIRZA BASHIRUDDIN MAHMUD AHMAD
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