Muhammad and The Jews — Page 76
before us of whom you well know did and were turned into apes. " 1 This answer betrays the superficiality which Muslim scholarship normally shows when dealing with Judaism. No wonder Margoliouth complains that "the most woeful ignorance is displayed by the com- pilers and interpreters of the Qur"'iin about the part played by the Jews". 2 Since the Maccabean revolt (175-135 B. C. ) a rule had been promulgated that the preservation of life overrides the observance of the Sabbath. 3 All laws of the Sabbath or even the Day of Atone- ment can be overridden in the face of the sacred duty of preserving life. 4 The reference to turning into apes is obviously an anachronism influenced by the later commentators on the Qur"'iin. This is a reference to the Qur"'iin where the word 'apes' has been figuratively used meaning that they became abject and humiliated men. 5 There is no reference in Jewish literature to the conversion of Jews into apes because they profaned the Sabbath. Mujiihid b. Jabr (d. 102/720), who is considered to be one of the great commentators on the Qur"iin and was a tiibiei does not believe in the physical transfor- mation of the Jews into apes. 6 It would be reasonable to consider KaGb's speech to the B. Quray?ah on the eve of their surrender as mainly imaginary or distor- ted by later tradition. Al-Wiiqidi has provided an extended version with embellishments. 7 It seems Ibn SaGd realized the impossibility of such an address and dropped the whole incident altogether from his account. (v) After this imaginary exchange between Kaeb b. Asad and the B. Quranah, the Apostle was requested to send Abii Lubiibah b. G Abd al-Mundhir for consultations. Abii Lubiibah, when he arrived, was asked whether he thought the Jews should submit to the Apostle's judgment. "He said, 'Yes', and pointed with his hand to his throat, signifying slaughter. Abii Lubiibah said, 'My feet had not moved from the spot before I knew that I had been false to God and 1 lbn Hisham, p. 686. 2 Margoliouth, The Relations between Arab and Israelites. . . , p. 71. 3 "Sabbath", The Encyclopedia of the Jewish Religion, p. 336. 4 Berakhof 61 b, Mishnah Yo ma 8 :7. 5 "And surely, you have known the end of those amongst you, who transgressed in the matter of Sabbath. So we said to them "Be ye apes, despised", The Qur•an, Al-Baqarah, 65. 6 Ibn Kathir, Vol. I, p. 104. 7 Al-Waqidi, Vol. II, pp. 501-3. 76'