No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam

(Sean Pound) #1

90 No god but God


Muslims their religion,” it nevertheless fully expected them to provide
aid to “whoever wars against the people of this document.” In short,
the Constitution of Medina provided the means through which
Muhammad could ascertain who was and who was not on his side.
Therefore, when he suspected that the Qaynuqa had betrayed their
oath of mutual protection and shown themselves to be against him, he
was quick to act.
According to Arab tradition, the penalty for treason was clearly
defined: the men were to be killed, the women and children sold into
slavery, and their property dispersed as booty. This is precisely what
everyone in Medina assumed would happen to the Banu Qaynuqa,
including the Qaynuqa themselves. They were shocked, therefore,
when Muhammad rejected traditional law and decided instead to exile
the clan from Medina, even going so far as to allow them to take most
of their property with them. It was a magnanimous decision on
Muhammad’s part, one that was in many ways pressed upon him by
his Medinan allies who did not wish to have the blood of their clients
on their hands. But it was a decision he would be forced to make again
a year later, after the disastrous defeat of his overconfident army at
Uhud.
The Battle of Uhud crushed the morale of the Ummah. More
importantly, it seemed to confirm the expectations of Medina’s Jewish
clans, who reasoned that it would only be a matter of time before the
Quraysh were victorious over Muhammad. The Banu Nadir and the
Banu Qurayza, the two most dominant Jewish clans left in the oasis,
were especially delighted by the outcome of Uhud. In fact, the Banu
Nadir, whose Shaykh had met secretly with Abu Sufyan before the
battle, tried to capitalize on Muhammad’s weakness by assassinating
him. But even before he had recovered from his battle wounds,
Muhammad discovered the plot and, just as he had done with the
Qaynuqa, rushed what was left of his battered army to besiege the
fortress of the Nadir. When the clan appealed to their fellow Jews for
help, the Shaykh of Banu Qurayza, Ka’b ibn Asad, made it clear they
were on their own. With this reply, the Nadir had no choice but to
surrender to Muhammad, but only on the condition that they be
given the same opportunity as the Banu Qaynuqa to lay down their
arms and leave Medina in peace. Again, to the utter disgust of his fol-

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