Surah Al-Fath (48) — Ayah 16

16. Say to the desert Arabs who stayed behind: "You will soon be called to fight against a people of great might; you will have to fight them [21] unless they submit. If you obey, Allah will grant you a good reward, but if you turn away as you turned away before, He will punish you with a painful punishment."

[21]
Which Were the Warring Tribes? Thaqif, Hawazin, and Banu Hanifa:

﴿يُسْلِمُوْنَ﴾ has two meanings: one is what is clear from the translation, that they will accept your authority without fighting and will pay jizyah, and will also cease to resist the path of Islam; the second meaning is that they will become Muslims. In other words, the hypocrites who taunted with jealousy are being made to understand that unless you prove your sincerity to Islam and the Muslims by sacrificing your wealth and your lives, how can you be entitled to a share in the spoils of war? Now, it is possible that in the future, there will be several occasions when you will have to face warring tribes. At that time, you will be invited to participate in jihad in an organized manner, and your faith will be tested. It is another matter whether you have to fight them or they become obedient without fighting. In any case, your departure itself will be your test. Then, if you are true in your claim and sincere in your faith, you will be ready to fight such a warring tribe and risk your life, and you will receive a share of the spoils of war and a great reward from Allah. But if you do what you did at the time of the Battle of Hudaybiyyah and start making excuses, then your humiliation and disgrace will be even greater, and in the Hereafter, you will receive a painful punishment. It should be noted that in this verse, the warring tribe may refer to the tribes of Thaqif and Hawazin who participated in the Battle of Hunayn, or to Banu Hanifa who participated in the Battle of Yamama against Musaylimah the Liar. In addition, during the caliphates of Abu Bakr Siddiqؓ and Umarؓ, there were also several battles. At the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, although it was against the wishes of the Muslims, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ insisted on peace on apparently humiliating terms. One reason for this was that since your arrival in Madinah, not a single day had passed without the threat of war looming overhead, and whenever the opportunity for war arose, the Quraysh, the Jews, the hypocrites, and the polytheist tribes would all unite against the Muslims. You wanted, at the very least, to make peace with the Quraysh of Makkah so that the other enemies could be subdued. In the Battle of Ahzab, the chief of Banu Nadir, Huyayy ibn Akhtab, who was also the chief of the Jews of Khaybar, was killed, which further enraged the Jews, and they began preparing for a strong attack on Madinah to annihilate the Muslims. News of this kept reaching Madinah continuously. After the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, you ﷺ yourself decided to march against them. Most of the army for this expedition consisted of those Muslims who had participated in the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah or the Pledge of Ridwan.

The Beginning of the Attack on Khaybar:

There were nine famous forts of the Jews in Khaybar, in which twenty thousand experienced soldiers were present. The Islamic army reached the first fort, Na'im, at night. At that time, the people of the fort were completely unaware of the Muslim army's attack and were fast asleep. This was the best opportunity to launch a night raid and capture the fort. But you ﷺ were against night raids and forbade the Muslims from doing so. Therefore, you ordered the army to wait until morning. Accordingly, Sayyiduna Anasؓ says that whenever you waged jihad against a people, you would not attack them until morning; if you heard the sound of the adhan among them in the morning, you would not attack, but if you did not hear the adhan, then you would attack. When morning came, the Jews came out with spades and baskets, as they were farmers. When they saw you, they cried out and said: By Allah! This is Muhammad ﷺ who has arrived with his army. Upon seeing them, you ﷺ shouted: Allahu Akbar! Khaybar is ruined (Allahu Akbar! Khaybar's doom has come). Then you said: Whenever we descend into the courtyard of a people, the morning of those who were warned is indeed a wretched one. [بخاری۔ کتاب الجہاد۔ باب دعاء النبی الی الاسلام والنبوۃ]

Thus, the Jews, terrified, fled towards the city and took refuge in the fort of Na'im. In Na'im, the Jews only had supplies and provisions, not a significant military force. Therefore, the Muslims captured it easily. After that, the other smaller forts were also conquered with ease. But the strongest and most important was the fort of Qamus, belonging to Salam ibn Abi al-Huqayq, in which the Jewish chief and famous brave warrior Marhab was also present. Attacks were made on Qamus every day, but it would not fall. In this way, twenty days passed, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Tomorrow I will give the banner to a man by whose hand Allah will grant victory over Khaybar. Allah and His Messenger ﷺ love him, and he loves Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.

Your Granting of the Banner to Sayyiduna Ali:

People spent the whole night wondering who would receive the banner the next day. In the morning, everyone presented themselves before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. You asked: Where is Ali ibn Abi Talib? People replied: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, his eyes are sore. You said: Send someone to call him. When Sayyiduna Aliؓ came, you ﷺ put your saliva on his eyes and prayed. He became as well as if he had never had any pain. You ﷺ handed the banner to him. He asked: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, should I fight them until they become like us (Muslims)? You ﷺ said: Go calmly; when you reach their place, invite them to Islam and inform them of what Allah has made obligatory upon them. By Allah, if Allah guides even one person through you, it is better for you than red camels. [بخاری۔ کتاب المناقب۔ باب مناقب علی ابن ابی طالب]

And in another narration, Sayyiduna Umarؓ used to say that he never desired any position or office, but that night, even he wished that his name would be called in the morning. [مسلم۔ كتاب الفضائل۔ باب فضائل على ابن ابي طالب]

The Duel Between Sayyiduna Ali and Marhab:

So Sayyiduna Aliؓ led the army and attacked the fort. The Jewish commander Marhab came out to face him and recited a three-line poem in the field:
﴿قد علمتْ خيبر اني مرحَب﴾
﴿شَاك السَّلاحِ بَطَلٌ مجرَّبٌ﴾
﴿اِذَا الحُروبُ اَقْبَلَتْ تَلَهَّبُ﴾
"All of Khaybar knows that I am Marhab, armed and proven to be an experienced warrior when battles blaze with flames." In response, Sayyiduna Aliؓ also recited a three-line poem:
﴿انا الذى سمَّتُنِي اُمّي حيدرَه﴾
﴿كَلَيْثِ غاباتٍ كريه المَنْظَرَه﴾
﴿اُو فيهِم بالصَّاع كيل السُّنْدَرَه﴾
"I am the one whom my mother named Lion. Like a lion of the jungle, whoever sees me is terrified. And I always respond to a brick with a stone." Then Sayyiduna Ali struck such a deadly blow on Marhab's head that he was finished, and Allah granted victory at the hands of Sayyiduna Aliؓ. [مسلم۔ کتاب الجہاد والسیر۔ باب غزوۃ ذی قرد وخیبر]

After Marhab, his brother Yasir entered the field, and Sayyiduna Zubair killed him. At this, the courage of the Jews broke, and the fort was conquered. In this battle of Khaybar, ninety-three Jews were killed, and twenty mujahideen were martyred.

The Conditions for Sparing the Lives of the Jews:

After this crushing defeat, the Jews requested you to spare their lives, which you accepted on the condition that the Jews would hand over all their movable and immovable property, i.e., weapons, cash, livestock, as well as land and gardens, everything to the Muslims. If they hesitated in disclosing the whereabouts of their property, the agreement would be void, and the Muslims would have the right to kill or exile them. According to this agreement, you ﷺ inquired from the Jews of Banu Nadir about their wealth and property, which they had taken with them from Madinah. Huyayy ibn Akhtab's son-in-law, Kinana ibn Rabi', hesitated to disclose it. But on the indication of another Jew, the required wealth was found buried in the wilderness. Due to this breach of covenant, Kinana ibn Rabi' was executed, and the women and children of his family were taken as slaves. Huyayy ibn Akhtab's daughter, Safiyyah, was brought before you ﷺ as a captive. You ﷺ, considering her honor and to influence the enemies with your noble character, set her free and, as another act of kindness, took her into your marriage. This had a very positive effect on the Jews.

Reconciliation with the Jews on the Condition of Half the Produce:

Now the Jews made another request: that their lands and gardens be left in their possession on the condition that they would give half of all the produce to the Muslims. You, in your great kindness, accepted this request as well, and also stated that if they broke their promise to the Muslims or committed any other mischief, the agreement would be terminated. Thus, when the crops were ready, you would send Abdullah ibn Rawahah, who would divide the produce into two parts and then give the Jews the choice to take whichever part they wished. This generous justice had such an effect on the Jews that they used to say that the heavens and the earth are established on such justice.

The Plot to Kill You with Poisoned Meat:

Despite your ﷺ generous treatment, the malice of the Jews did not end. During your stay in Khaybar, Zaynab bint al-Harith, the wife of the Jew Salam ibn Mishkam, invited you ﷺ to a meal, which you accepted. In fact, this was a conspiracy hatched by all the Jews to kill you by poisoning your food. Zaynab asked you which part of the meat you preferred. You ﷺ replied: the foreleg. You ﷺ came to the meal with a few companions. But as soon as the first morsel reached your throat, you realized that it had been poisoned. You stopped eating, but one companion, Bishr ibn al-Bara', had already eaten a few morsels and could not survive. On such an occasion, if it had been any other conqueror, he would have had all the Jews executed. You ﷺ asked Zaynab, and she confessed her crime and said that all the Jews were involved in this plot. You summoned the Jews and questioned them, and they also confessed. You asked them why they did this, and they replied that if you were a true prophet, the poison would not affect you, and if you were false, we would be rid of you. You were the embodiment of mercy, so you forgave them all for this crime as well. Only in retaliation for Bishr ibn al-Bara', you ordered Zaynab bint al-Harith to be executed. [بخاری۔ کتاب الجہاد۔ باب اذا غدر المشرکون بالمسلمین]

The Effects of the Conquest of Khaybar:

After settling the affairs of Khaybar, in Safar 7 AH, you turned your attention to Fadak, as these people were also bent on war. There was only one day of fighting here; the next morning, the mujahideen of Islam conquered them and made peace with them on the same terms as the people of Khaybar. When the Jews of Tayma learned of these victories, they themselves made peace on the condition of paying jizyah. With the conquest of Khaybar and other places, the strength of the Jews was completely broken. When the Quraysh of Makkah heard this news, they were greatly distressed, for a strong ally had been cut off, and now they were left alone against the Muslims.

The Spoils of Khaybar and the Wealth of Fay':

In the Battle of Khaybar, some spoils of war were obtained through fighting, and some were acquired without fighting. A great deal of wealth and gardens came into the hands of the Muslims, so much so that the economic condition of the Muslims improved greatly, and the Muhajirun returned to the Ansar the gardens, etc., which they had taken as partners as a result of the bond of brotherhood. In this Battle of Khaybar, only those mujahideen were included who had accompanied you at Hudaybiyyah and had pledged allegiance on blood. The spoils of war were distributed among them.

The Share of the Emigrants from Abyssinia in These Spoils:

However, among these spoils, the emigrants who had migrated from Abyssinia to Madinah and arrived at the time of the distribution of the spoils were also included. Some scholars have clarified that the wealth you ﷺ gave to the emigrants from Abyssinia was not from the share of the mujahideen, but from your own share of the khums, the distribution of which was entirely at your discretion. As is clear from the following hadith: Sayyiduna Abu Musaؓ says that we heard in Yemen that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had migrated from Makkah, so I and my two younger brothers, Abu Burdah and Abu Rahm, also set out for Madinah with the intention of migration. Our group from my people consisted of fifty-two or fifty-three people who boarded a ship. The ship went towards Abyssinia, where the king was Najashi. There we met Ja'far ibn Abi Talib and his companions. Ja'far said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had sent us here and told us to stay here, so you should stay with us. We stayed there for some time, then all the people came together to Madinah. At that time, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had conquered Khaybar. You ﷺ allotted us a share in the spoils of war or said that we were given from it. But apart from us, you gave only to those who were present at the conquest of Khaybar; no absentee was given anything. So, for us, the people of the ship who were with Ja'far and his companions, you allotted a share. Some people said that we had migrated before you. In this regard, there was also an argument between Sayyiduna Umarؓ and Sayyidah Asma' bint Umays. Sayyiduna Umarؓ said that we had migrated to Madinah before you, so we have more right to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Asma' bint Umays became angry at this and said: You were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he took care of you in every way, while we were in a foreign land and migrated twice. She said: I will definitely ask the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about this. So Asma' asked you ﷺ, and you ﷺ said: They do not have more right than you, for they have migrated once, and you have migrated twice. Asma' says that the people of the ship were extremely happy at this statement of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and they would repeatedly ask me to narrate this hadith. [مسلم۔ کتاب الفضائل۔ باب فضائل جعفر و اسماء بنت عمیس و اھل سفینتھم۔۔ ملخصاً]

From this hadith, it is clear that the emigrants coming from Abyssinia were given this share because of their two migrations.