Muhammad and The Jews — Page 55
THE JEWISH SUPPORT TO MEDINAN OPPOSITION who holds fast to Allah is indeed guided to the right path. 0 ye who believe, be mindful of your duty to Allah in all respects, every moment of your lives, so that death, whenever it overtakes you, should find you in a state of complete submission to Him. Take fast hold, all together, of the rope of Allah, and be not divided. Call to mind the favour of Allah which He bestowed upon you when you were at enmity with each other and He united your hearts in love so that by His grace you became as brethren. 1 This was the atmosphere of unrest in Medina in which the Battle of Badr took place. Within less than two years of the Hijrah (Ramac;lan 2 A. H. /March 624) three hundred and fourteen Muslims led by the Apostle defeated a Meccan army of a thousand Qurayshites at Badr. The dead Meccans numbered between fifty and seventy, including the leading Quraysh opponent of the Apostle, Abii al-ljakam "'Amr b. Hishiim (Abii Jahl) and several other leaders. Another seventy or so were taken prisoners. On the other side only fourteen Muslims were killed. There were no Muslim prisoners. This was the first major encounter with the Meccans after the Apostle's migration from Mecca. 2 This notable victory considerably strengthened the Muslim position in Medina, "which had perhaps been deteriorating during the previous few months when it looked as if he (the Apostle) was unlikely to achieve anything". a The incipient opposition in Medina, which had earlier taken the Apostle and his followers rather lightly, seems to have become restive. The Jews and their allies, who had joined the Muslim ranks, but were sitting on the fence, waiting for the opportunity to expel the Muslims from Medina 4 , were naturally disturbed. It seems they were spoiling for a confrontation in Medina, which the Apostle intended to avoid at any cost. During this period probably some incident took place in Medina creating friction between the Muslims and the B. Qaynuqa"'. Ibn Isl:taq did not report it, but his editor, Ibn Hisham added it to his narrative. An An$iiri woman, according to him, was immodestly exposed by a Jewish gold- smith in the market place of the B. Qaynuqa"'. She uttered a loud cry 1 The Qur~an, Al"'Imri'm, 100-104. 2 Ibn Hisham, pp. 427-539; al-Waqidi, Vol. I, pp. 19-171 ;Ibn Saed,Vol. 11,pp. 11-27. Out of the seven expeditions which took place before Badr there was either no contact or no fighting in six; only in the Nakhlah expedition led bye Abd Allah b. Jab. sh involving seven to twelve people was there fighting and one man was killed. 3 Watt, Muhammad at Medina, p. 15. 4 The Qur~an Al-Muniifiqun, 8; Ibn Hisham, p. 559.