Muhammad and The Jews — Page 58
and "went to war". 1 They shut themselves up inside their forts. The Apostle went and sat down outside with his men. The combat was as unequal as at Badr, and the outcome was no less surprising. After only a fifteen-day siege the B. Qaynuqa"' surrendered. Margoliouth has made an interesting observation on the fighting qualities of the Jews of Medina: It is rather curious that in the Prophet's biography, the Jews figure as dealers in arms and armour just as they do in the. medieval England of Scott. Apparently they could be trusted not to use them effectively. ~ The claim of being "men of war" and "the bravest of the Jews" has been reported by al-Waqidi and his pupil lbn Sa"'d. lbn Is}. laq's language is more cautious. He does not mention anything about their bravery. The other two most powerful Jewish tribes, the B. al-Na\lir and the B. Quray. μh, did not help. Nor did "'Abd Allah b. Ubayy b. Saliil make a move to provide any support to the besieged Jews. Only after their surrender did "'Abd Allah b. Ubayy espouse their cause. The B. Qaynuqae were his confederates; they had fought by his side before the Hijrah. After their surrender "Abd Allah b. . Ubayy went to the Apostle and asked him to "deal kindly with my clients. . . . " The Apostle replied, "Confound you, let me go". Ibn Ubayy answered, "No, by God, I will · not let you go until you deal kindly with my clients. Four hundred men without mail and three hundred mailed protected me from all mine enemies. Would you cut them down in one morning? By God, I am a man · who fears that circumstances may change". The Apostle said, "You · can have them. "3 Ibn Is}. laq, al-Waqidi and Ibn Sa"'d reported this story. They all leave the im- pression that "'Abd Allah b. Ubayy had some influence on the Apostle. The wording of"'Abd Allah b. Ubayy's plea with the Apostle is by itself of a doubtful nature. Ibn Is}. laq has not reported that the Apostle had at all indicated that he intended to order the execution of the B. Qaynuqa"'. It was al-Waqidi who introduced it, and lbn Sa"'d who copied it from his master. As a political leader it was no. t the Apostle's way of dealing with his adversaries. He did not believe in 1 Jbn Hisham, p. 545. 2 D. S. Margoliouth, The Early Development of Mohammedanism (London, 1926), p. 109. 8 Ibn Hishil. m, p. 546. ' 58