The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 289
VII - Commencement of War with the Tribes of Najd and the Jews, the Marriage of Ḥaḍrat Fāṭimah and Ḥafṣah, and a Few Miscellaneous Incidents 289 the form of land and orchards - and the Banū Qainuqā‘ had none. 1 The entire tribe was given the opportunity to leave one place and settle somewhere else, with great peace and security. As such, the Banū Qainuqā‘ very peacefully left Madīnah and settled towards Syria. The Holy Prophet sa assigned the task of overseeing the necessary arrangements, etc. associated with their departure to a Companion named ‘Ubadah bin Ṣāmit ra who was from among their confederates. ‘Ubadah bin Ṣāmit ra escorted the Banū Qainuqā‘ for a few Manzils and after safely sending them off, he returned. 2 The spoils which were attained by the Muslims consisted only of weaponry and instruments of their profession, which was that of goldsmith. 3 It has been related in various narrations with respect to the Banū Qainuqā‘ that when they opened the gates of their fortresses and handed themselves to the Holy Prophet sa , due to their treachery, rebellion and mischief, it was the intention of the Holy Prophet sa to execute their combatant men, but on the intercession of ‘Abdullāh bin Ubayy bin Sulūl, chief of the hypocrites, the Holy Prophet sa abandoned this intention. However, research scholars have not accepted these narrations as being authentic. 4 The reason being that when other narrations explicitly mention that the Banū Qainuqā‘ opened their gates on the condition that their lives and the lives of their families would be spared, it is absolutely impossible to accept that after having accepted this condition, the Holy Prophet sa would follow any other course of action. As a matter of fact, even the condition presented by the Banū Qainuqā‘ that their lives would be spared demonstrates the fact that they themselves knew that their rightful punishment was death. However, they appealed to the mercy of the Holy Prophet sa and they were willing to open the gate of their fortress after receiving the assurance that they would not incur the death penalty. However, although the Holy Prophet sa forgave them due to his merciful disposition, it 1 Tārīkhur-Rusuli Wal-Mulūk (Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī), By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Jarīr Aṭ-Ṭabarī, Volume 3, p. 51, Thumma Dakhalatis-Sanatuth-Thāniyatu Minal-Hijrah / Ghazwatu Banī Qainuqā‘, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2002) 2 Tārīkhur-Rusuli Wal-Mulūk (Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī), By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Jarīr Aṭ-Ṭabarī, Volume 3, p. 51, Thumma Dakhalatis-Sanatuth-Thāniyatu Minal-Hijrah / Ghazwatu Banī Qainuqā‘, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2002) 3 Tārīkhur-Rusuli Wal-Mulūk (Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī), By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Jarīr Aṭ-Ṭabarī, Volume 3, p. 51, Thumma Dakhalatis-Sanatuth-Thāniyatu Minal-Hijrah / Ghazwatu Banī Qainuqā‘, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2002) 4 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 2, p. 351, Ghazwatu Banī Qainuqā‘, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)