Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 190
190 Fall of Khaybar 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 Prophet 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 Prophet. It was by special divine intervention and divine grace that the Prophet 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 Prophet 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 Prophet, 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 Prophet 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 Hudaybiyyah the Prophet waited for five months and then decided to banish them from Khaybar. Khaybar 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 Prophet (sometime in August 628 A. D. ) marched to Khaybar. He had one thousand six hundred men with him. Khaybar, as we have said, was a well-fortified 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 Khaybar 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 Prophet had a revelation that Khaybar would fall at the hands of ‘Ali. The following morning the Prophet 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 Prophet and all the Muslims. God has ordained that our victory at Khaybar should take place at his hands. " The following day he sent for ‘Ali and handed to him the flag. ‘Ali 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, ‘Ali and his division were able to conquer it before dark. A peace was signed. The conditions were that all Jews, their wives and