Muhammad and The Jews — Page 37
CHAPTER Tl THE PEOPLE OF THE $AlffFAH. . . the concept of the ummah as a political confederation of tribes and clans, including non-Muslims, Jewish ones, had inevitably to yield to Muhammad's original under- standing of a body whose foundation may be ethnic but whose reason for being is shaped by the divine purpose of salvation. The Jews were such an ummah, and in Medina they were more than just a historical and literary illustration of a theological point; they were a political reality. -F. E. PETERS Yathrib, as we have seen in the previous chapter, presented a picture of political chaos at the time of the Apostle's arrival. Though no formal peace was made after the Battle of Bu"'iith (about 615 A. D. ), the feuding clans and their allies were too exhausted to continue an active struggle. In this uneasy state of political vacuum the Jews enjoyed a position of considerable influence. "'Amr b. al-Nu"'man and al-I:Iu<;layr b. Simiik, who died in the battle ofBueiith, did not have the qualities of leaders who could unite a people in the existing state of affairs in Yathrib, which to ~say the least "was intolerable". 1 But "there were opportunities for a strong man to gain control over a large section of Medina, perhaps, even over the whole". 2 "'Abd Allah b. Ubayy, as we have seen earlier, seemed to be a man of wider vision. If the Apostle had not arrived at Medina, he might have provided that leadership which Medina so badly needed. The situation not only offered a challenge to the Apostle, but also several solutions. He could have worked for a full political integration on the basis of religion, which the ruling Zeitgeist seemed to have demanded. This would have meant the exclusion of the Jews, 1 Watt, Muhammad al Medina, p. 173. 2 Ibid. 37