Episode 67: The Aftermath of Khaybar
Return of the Muslims from Abyssinia:
During the distribution of the spoils of the war, a group of Muslims arrived in Khaybar and they were the believers who made Hijrah to Abyssinia many years before.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ sent Amr bin Umayyah al-Damri to Abyssinia to call the Muslims back to Madinah.
The Najashi (ruler of Abyssinia) accepted this request and prepared ships and provided the Muslims with the supplies that they needed for their travels.
When these Muslims returned to Madinah, they had realised that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was not there as he was still at Khaybar.
Some of these Muslims decided to stay in Madinah but others decided to go to Khaybar to meet the Prophet and were willing to participate in the battle.
Jafar ibn Abi Talib, the brother of Ali, was among the Muslims who went to Khaybar but by the time they arrived, the battle was already over and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was distributing the spoils of war.
When the Prophet saw Jafar, he said: Wallahi, I do not know what makes me more happy, the fact that we have conquered Khaybar, or that Jafar has come back.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ included them in the distribution of the spoils of war, even though they did not participate in the battle.
Expansion Beyond Khaybar:
After the events at Khaybar, some of the Jews fled to Fadak and tried to fortify themselves in the fortresses of the city but they were conquered by the Muslims.
The Jews here agreed to the same deal as those at Khaybar made with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
They were allowed to stay on the land and work, but the Muslims would own the land and the Jews would still be entitled to 50% of the yield.
Some of the Jews went to Wadi al-Qura, so the Prophet went there and the Muslims conquered the Jews in that area to.
The Jews of Wadi al-Qura also agreed to the same deal that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ proposed.
Then, the Prophet ﷺ went towards Tayma and the Jews based here were smart as they didn’t put up any resistance and surrendered straight away.
They told the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that they would pay the Jizyah (Islamic tax that non-Muslims had to pay).
The Muslims collected the Jizyah and the Jews were allowed to live peacefully under Muslim rule and did not have to work like the Jews in the other cities.
They stayed under that agreement with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ for a number of years.
Expulsion of Jews in the Caliph of Umar ibn al-Khattab:
However, during the caliph of Umar ibn al-Khattab, a murder occurred in Khaybar.
When Umar wanted the perpetrator of the crime to be brought to justice, the Jews would not say who he was and protected him.
Because of this, Umar cancelled the agreement that the Jews had with the Muslims and he expelled them from Khaybar.
The Threat of the Ghatafan:
Uyaynah ibn Hisn, the leader of the tribe of Ghatafan, was upset with what had happened at the Battle of Khaybar so he threatened to follow the Muslims with his soldiers.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ ordered his companions to turn around and be ready to fight the Ghatafan.
When Uyaynah saw that the Muslims were ready to fight, he got scared because he knew that this group of Muslims had just defeated ten thousand Jews at Khaybar.
Uyaynah ibn Hisn then turned back and led the tribe of Ghatafan away.
Reaction of the Quraysh and Al-Hajjaj’s Strategy in Makkah:
The Quraysh were hoping that the Jews would be victorious in defeating the Muslims.
A man from Makkah named Al-Hajjaj ibn al-Lat saw the Muslims victorious over the Jews and he witnessed how prominent Islam had become.
Al-Hajjaj then went to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and accepted Islam. After becoming a Muslim, he told the Prophet: I have a lot of wealth in Makkah, but it is in the hands of other people right now. I would like your permission to go back to Makkah and get my money.
The Prophet accepted his request, but Al-Hajjaj told him that if the Quraysh knew that he had become a Muslim, they would not return his wealth.
Al-Hajjaj informed the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that he would have to lie to the Quraysh in order to get his money back and the Prophet gave him permission to do this.
Al-Hajjaj ibn al-Lat went back to Makkah before the Quraysh knew about the outcome of the Muslims fighting at Khaybar.
The Quraysh asked him: what is the news? Al-Hajjaj replied: ya Quraysh, Muhammad has been defeated by the Jews, most of his companions have been killed, some of them have been taken as captives and Muhammad himself, has been taken as a captive.
Al-Hajjaj told the Quraysh that the Jews wanted to give them the opportunity to kill the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib’s Reaction:
When the Prophet’s uncle Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib, who was not a Muslim at that time, found out about this news, he fell down.
This hurt him and he became very sick to the extent that he had to be carried to his home. This shows how much love he had for his nephew.
The rest of the Quraysh were happy with this news and Al-Hajjaj said to them: All of the money that I have with you, I need it back so I can go to Khaybar and buy the slaves of the Jews (companions of the Prophet).
The Quraysh agreed to this and gathered all of his money within three days.
Secret Meeting with Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib:
During these three days, Al-Hajajj ibn al-Lat went to visit the Prophet’s uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib, and he told Abbas: get everyone in your house out of here, I need to speak to you privately.
Al-Hajajj said: Wallahi, Muhammad is okay and defeated the Jews with a decisive victory. He conquered the fortresses and he married the daughter of the king (Saffiyah, daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab).
Abbas was shocked to hear this and Al-Hajjaj explained that he had to tell this story to the Quraysh so he could get his money back.
Suddenly, Abbas’ sickness was gone and his health improved.
Al-Hajjaj told Abbas: please stay in your home and let them (the Quraysh) think you are sick for three days. When I get my money and leave, you can come out and tell them whatever you want to.
Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib agreed to do this and after three days, Al-Hajajj left Makkah with his money.
Revelation of The Truth:
After the three days were over, Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib got up, put on his finest clothes and went to the Kabah and performed tawaf.
The Quraysh saw him and were shocked and impressed at how strong Abbas was, considering what they thought had happened to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Abbas then said: Rather, Al-Hajajj lied to all of you and laughed in your faces, my nephew defeated the Jews and they were humiliated.
The Quraysh were shocked by this and Abbas continued: Yes, this is what happened, Al-Hajajj just wanted to get his money back from you.
The Quraysh did not know who to believe but a few days later, the real news came from Khaybar and they realised that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was victorious.
They could not believe that the Muslims were able to be victorious at a heavily fortified and secure city like Khaybar.
The Quraysh were now very scared as they knew it would be much easier for the Muslims to take control of Makkah.