Khaybar

Part oneThe oasis in the north

About a hundred and fifty kilometres north of Madinah, the land opens into a great oasis of date palms, fields and wells. This was Khaybar. It was home to a large Jewish population and one of the richest farming areas in Arabia, and it was defended by a chain of strong fortresses built from the dark volcanic stone of the region.

The people of Khaybar had a history with the Muslims. Some of the leaders of the Banu Nadir, the tribe that had been sent away from Madinah after Uhud, had settled there. They had helped bring together the confederacy of tribes that besieged Madinah at the Trench, and they were still working to stir up the tribes of the north against the Muslims. With the truce signed at Hudaybiyyah, the Quraysh in the south were no longer a threat to Madinah. Khaybar now stood alone as the main danger on that side.

A few weeks after returning from Hudaybiyyah, the Prophet ﷺ set out. He allowed only those who had been with him at Hudaybiyyah to join him. Around the same time, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and the other Muslims who had spent years in Abyssinia sailed back to Arabia and came to meet the Prophet ﷺ in the north. For them it was the end of a long exile.

On the march, the Companions called out "Allahu akbar" at the top of their voices whenever they climbed a rise or went down into a valley. The Prophet ﷺ told them to go easy on themselves, since they were not calling on someone deaf or far away but on the One who hears and is near. Then he taught one of them words he called a treasure of Paradise: la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah, there is no power and no strength except through Allah.

Part twoThe fortresses fall

The army came up to Khaybar by night and halted outside. In the morning the farmers of the oasis came out with their spades and baskets, saw the army, and ran back crying that Muhammad ﷺ was there with his force. The fortresses lay in separate groups, and the Muslims took them one at a time over a period of some days. The northern forts fell first. The fighting was hard. Mahmud ibn Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him) was killed when a millstone was thrown down on him from the top of a fortress wall. The last and strongest stood on a hill, and the Prophet ﷺ gave the banner to Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) to lead the assault on it. Marhab, the most famous warrior of Khaybar, came out reciting verses about his own courage and challenged the Muslims to single combat. Ali met him and killed him. After more fighting, the defenders asked for terms.

The people of Khaybar were allowed to stay on their land and keep farming it. In return they would give half of the harvest to the Muslims. The oasis of Fadak, a little further on, heard what had happened and agreed to similar terms without a fight. The fighting at Khaybar cost lives on both sides, and several Muslims fell there.

Among those taken in the conflict was Safiyyah bint Huyayy (may Allah be pleased with her), the daughter of a leader of the Banu Nadir. She was offered a choice. She could return to her people, or she could be freed and marry the Prophet ﷺ. She chose to marry him, and she became one of the Mothers of the Believers. Years later, when some of the other wives teased her about her Jewish descent, the Prophet ﷺ told her to answer that her father was Harun, her uncle was Musa, and her husband was Muhammad.

After the fighting was over, a woman of Khaybar prepared a roasted sheep for the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions, having poisoned it. He took the first bite and spat it out, for he sensed that something was wrong. One of his Companions, Bishr ibn al-Bara (may Allah be pleased with him), had already swallowed his share, and he died of it. The woman was brought before the Prophet ﷺ and admitted what she had done. She said she had wanted to see whether he was truly a prophet, for if he was, the poison would not harm him. The accounts differ on what finally happened to her. Some scholars reconcile them by saying the Prophet ﷺ did not punish her for what she had tried against him, but that she was put to death for Bishr after he died of the poison.

From the hadith

Narrated Anas bin Malik:

A Jewess brought a poisoned (cooked) sheep for the Prophet (ﷺ) who ate from it. She was brought to the Prophet and he was asked, "Shall we kill her?" He said, "No." I continued to see the effect of the poison on the palate of the mouth of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) .

Each year the Prophet ﷺ sent Abdullah ibn Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) to estimate the harvest and divide it, and the farmers of Khaybar are reported to have said that he was scrupulously fair to them. On the way back to Madinah, the whole camp slept through the dawn prayer after a night march. The Prophet ﷺ prayed it as soon as they woke, and taught them to do the same whenever they forgot.

The spoils were shared out among those who had joined the march. The half-share of dates and grain that now came to Madinah each year eased the hunger that many of the Muslims, especially the Muhajirun, had known since they arrived.

Khaybar closed a chapter. The Muslims no longer had a threat on their northern border, and the Quraysh in the south were bound by the truce. For the first time since the hijrah, Madinah had peace on every side. The Prophet ﷺ would use that peace for what came next. The following year he led the Muslims to Makkah for the pilgrimage that had been put off at Hudaybiyyah, as the treaty allowed. The Quraysh left the city for the three days and watched from the hills, saying that the fever of Yathrib had worn the Muslims down. So the Prophet ﷺ told his Companions to walk briskly, shoulders squared, for the first rounds of the tawaf, to show their strength. That brisk walk, called ramal, is still part of the first three rounds of the tawaf today.

For the first time since the hijrah, Madinah had peace on every side.

More on How to Muslim

• guide.howtomuslim.orgHow to perform UmrahThe Umrah they made the following year.

WatchThe lecture for this chapter

Lecture Towards EternityO Messenger, Ep. 9: Letters, Hudaybiyyah and Khaybar (opens on YouTube)

The mapWhere it happened

• Madinah
• Khaybar
• Fadak

This map is a simple sketch to help you picture where events took place. Positions, distances and borders are approximate, so please use it for reference only, not as an accurate map.

SourcesSources for this chapter