Muhammad and The Jews — Page 93
THE FAILURE OF THE CONFEDERACY the principle that once a l;akam has given his judgment it will be enforced, it is not possible for any one to disobey it, although before the judgment is pronounced, one can refuse to abide by it. 1 For Abu Yusuf also the importance of the B. Quranah incident lies in ta/:lkim. He gives it under the rules of ta(1kim. 2 The only time ta/:lkfm became a matter of controversy between Muslims was when arbitrators were appointed on behalf of GAli and Mucawiyah at $iffin. While the Khawi'irij protested against tabkim c Ali did not repudiate the convention of $iffin. As it is well-known, Mu"awiyah gained by the result of the arbitration. It is not necessary to repeat the main events here, but it is possible that the lf adith of Sacd's judgment of the B. Quray+ah strengthened the Umayyad's cause. Had this precedent sought to be established by Sa"d's judgment been really authentic, it would certainly have appeared during the controversy between c Ali and the Khawi'irij. Ibn c Abd al-Barr has reported in full the debate which took place between "Abd Allah b. "Abbas and the Khawiirij on the question of ta/:lkfm in Jami" Bayiin al- c Jim wa Faeflihi3, but there is no reference to Sa'"d's appointment as bakam in that debate. The story as reported by Ibn Isl;tiiq and others had not been forged by then. It is reasonable to conclude that a minor and unimportant incident in which probably Sacd b. Mu"iidh was involved in dealing with the B. Quray+ah was blown up out of proportion by pro-Umayyad Tradition collectors. In course of time while the ta/:lkim controversy became irrelevant due to the Abbasid revolution, the reason for investing this minor incident with the force of an important precedent was also forgotten. The incident of the B. Quranah 4 occurred before the armistice ofJ:Iudaybiyah and the peace with Khaybar were achieved. It is impossible that the pagans and the muniifiqlln would have remained muted. When Jal;tsh violated the sacred month and shed blood therein, when the palms of the B. al-Na<;Iir were burnt, when the Apostle married the divorced wife of his adopted son, the people criticised and the Qur. ,iin defended the Apostle. 5 It is improbable that the Apostle's critics would have paid less attention to the lives of the B. Quray+ah 1 Al-Nawawi's commentary on the margin of Sabi/; Muslim, Vol. II, pp. 1112-13. 2 Abii Yusuf, Kittib al-Khartij, pp. 238-40. 3 (Cairo, 1320 A. H. ) pp. 162-63. ~ Ibn Hishiim, pp. 423-27. 5 Ibid. , p. 654. 93