Minorities in an Islamic State — Page 54
54 them and live up to their spirit. They back up this objection by referring to the abrogation of treaty rights of the Jews and the Christians of Medina, Khaiber and Najr a n. They were exiled and their security withdrawn. The answer to this objection is that every treaty implies certain duties which either side must carry out. Unless these duties are solemnly honoured the treaty becomes null and void. The real question is which party was guilty of violating the treaty obligations? The Jews of Medina had made this covenant with the Muslim that they would live as loyal and peaceful citizens of Muslim state, will have no truck with its enemies and will not conspire against it. The way the Jews dishonoured the solemn pledge is a matter of history. One of the clauses of the treaty was that in the event of clash with the enemy the Medinite Jews will help the Muslims. But in the Battle of Badr the Jews actively conspired against the Muslims, spied against them and altogether played a role which was against the spirit and letter of the treaty. They even went to the length of conspiring to assassinate the Holy Prophet sa. While the Prophet sa was visiting the Jewish tribe of Ban u Na di r of Medina one of them threw a millstone on the Prophet sa , luckily he escaped injury because of timely warning. In the Battle of Ditch, Ban u Qurai z ah, another Jewish tribe of Medina, tried to stab the Muslims in the back by helping the invading Meccan