The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 104
Seal of the Prophets - Volume III 104 desperately craved position or perhaps had ulterior motives, was pleased with this proposal or so he expressed. However, at the same time he gathered the Jewish ministers and sought their counsel in this matter; expressing that the following proposal has been presented by the Muslims and asking what should be done? The Jews who were blind in their ignorant animosity, generally objected to this proposal. Furthermore, in order to hold Usair back from this course they said, “We do not believe that Muḥammad sa will accept you as the leader of Khaibar. ” Usair, who was more informed of the state of affairs, remained firm on his intention and said, “You have no idea. Muḥammad sa is fed up by this war, and in his heart he desires to bring this course of conflict to an end at any expense. 1 Therefore, Usair bin Rizām prepared to journey to Madīnah with the party of ‘Abdullāh bin Rawāḥah ra , and just like ‘Abdullāh bin Rawāḥah ra , he too brought thirty Jews to accompany him. 2 When these two parties left Khaibar and reached a place called Qarqarah, which was at a distance of 6 miles from Khaibar 3 , the intention of Usair changed. Or possibly, if he had harboured evil intentions, the time for their expression had now come. So, during conversation, he very cleverly reached for the sword of a very honourable individual of the Muslim party named ‘Abdullāh bin Anīs Anṣārī ra. ‘Abdullāh immediately understood that the intentions of this wretched man were different. 4 Therefore, he immediately urged his camel on by the heel and brought it ahead and then turned around to Usair and said, “O enemy of God! Do you wish to betray us?” ‘Abdullāh bin Anīs ra repeated these words twice but Usair did not respond, 5 nor did he exonerate himself. Instead, he prepared for war. This was perhaps a pre-determined indication among the Jews that 1 As-Sīratul-Ḥalabiyyah, By Abul-Faraj Nūruddīn ‘Alī bin Ibrāhīm, Volume 3, pp. 257-258, Bābu Sarāyāhu sa Wa Bu‘ūthihī/Sariyyatu ‘Abdillāh-ibni Rawāḥata ra Ilā Usair, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon (2002) 2 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 295, Sariyyatu ‘Abdillāh-ibni Rawāḥata Ilā Usair-ibni Zārim, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 3 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 876, Ghazwatu ‘Abdillāh- ibni Rawāḥata Li-Qatlil-Yusair-ibni Rizām, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 4 * Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 295, Sariyyatu ‘Abdillāh-ibni Rawāḥata Ilā Usair-ibni Zārim, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) * As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 876, Ghazwatu ‘Abdillāh-ibni Rawāḥata Li-Qatlil-Yusair-ibni Rizām, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 5 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 295, Sariyyatu ‘Abdillāh-ibni Rawāḥata Ilā Usair-ibni Zārim, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)