Muhammad and The Jews — Page 121
THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE CONFLICT tion of the kingdom of }:Iimyar and the decline in the position which followed it. The various references by lbn Isl;taq to the Jewish prophecies regarding the advent of a "prophet" seemed to be the result of a variant reading. lbn lsl;taq and Muslim scholars following him thought that the Jews whose rabbis had predicted the advent of a prophet were really waiting for Muhammad and when he claimed the prophethood, the Jews deliberately denied him. It seems the Jews of the I;Iijaz saw no signs, and did not witness any prophecies being fulfilled. Salam b. Mishkam of the B. al-Na<;lir told Muc. adh b. Jabal "He (the Apostle) has not brought us anything we recognize and he is not the one we spoke of to you". 1 The language and the idiom of the argument between the Apostle and the Jews was unmistakably religious. But "ideological differences, no matter, how mutually antagonistic they become, alone are not enough to sustain negative patterns of conduct. However when some breakdown, crisis, or structural stress, e. g. , economic, social, or political disintegration occurs, such differences become vital". 2 Religious conflict becomes lethal only when social, political and economic conflicts are conjoined with it. The Aws and the Khazraj, who were trying to take over the control of the oases from the Jews, did not seem to have any experience in trade and commerce. By inviting Muhammad and some seventy of his Quraysh companions the An,~iir gave refuge to the Apostle of God, and got, among many things, a leader with commercial expertise in the bargain. The Apostle, earlier in his career, had established a reputation for managing the commercial interests of the richer Quraysh merchants. The maghiizi writers do not tell us how the Muhajirun made a living in Medina during the early period of their sojourn. There is no evidence to show that they changed their vocation and took up agriculture, but there are occasional notices of their commercial transactions. As Abu Hurayrah, reported, the Muhiijirun spent their time in tlle markets. 3 c. umar did not hear the message conveyed by the Apostle as he was engaged in the market. 4 When "-Abd al-Rahman b. c. Awf was offered half of his wealth by his Medinan 'brother' Sa"-d b. al-Rabi"', 1 Ibn Hisham, p. 379. 2 Ellis Rivkin, The Shaping of Jewish History: A Radical Interpretation (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971), p. 24. 3 Supra, p. 105. 4 Al-Bukhari, $abib, Kitiib al-Buyuc. , Vol. III, p. 72. 121