them by sin and transgression - and if they come to you as captives ye would ransom
them, whereas their expulsion was itself unlawful for you.[Qur'an 2:84-5]The Jews of Madinah had their dwellings in their own separate localities in different parts
of the city. When Bani an-Nadir and Bani Quraydha forced Bani Qaynuqaa' to relocate their
settlement in the outskirts of the town, they took up their quarters in a section of the city.
Bani an-Nadir had their habitation in the higher parts, some four or five kilometers from the
city towards the valley of Bathan, which houses some of the richest groves and agricultural
lands of Madinah. The third Jewish tribe, Bani Quraydha, occupied vicinity known as Meh-
zor, which is a few kilometers to the south of the city.
The Jews of Madinah lived in compact settlements where they had erected fortifications
and citadels. They were however, not independent but lived as confederate clans of the
stronger Arab tribes which guaranteed them immunity from raids by the nomads. Predatory
incursions by the nomadic tribes being a perpetual menace, the Jewish tribes had to always
seek the protection of one or more chieftains of the powerful Arab tribes.
RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS OF THE JEWS
The Jews considered themselves to be blessed with divine religion and law. They had their
own seminaries, known as Midras which imparted instruction in their religious and secular
life, science, law, history and the Talmudic lore. Similarly, for offering prayers and perform-
ing other religious rites, they had synagogues where they normally put their heads together
to discuss their affairs. They observed the laws brought about by the Pentateuch together
with the many other rigid and uncompromising customary rules imposed by their priests
and rabbis and celebrated Jewish feasts and fasted. As for example, they commemorate, on
the tenth day of the month of Tishri, The Fast of the Atonement. (Banu Israel Fil-Qur’an wal
Sunnah, pp. 80-81)
FINANCES
The financial relationship of the Medinan Jews with the other tribes was mainly limited to
lending money on interest or on security or sequestration of personal property upon pay-
ment failure. In an agricultural region like Madinah, there was ample scope for money-
lending business since the farmers very often needed capital for purposes of cultivation.
(Banu Israel Fil-Qur’an wal Sunnah, pp. 80-81)
The system of lending money was not limited merely to pledging personal property as se-
curity for repayment of the loan, for the lenders very often forced the borrowers to pledge
even their women and children. The following incident bears a testimony to the prevailing
practices: