Banu Qaynuqa

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The Banu Qaynuqa (also spelled Banu Kainuka, Banu Kaynuka, Banu Qainuqa Arabic: ‎) were one of the three main Jewish tribes living in Medina, now in Saudi Arabia, in the 7th century. In 624, they were expelled from Medina by Muhammad, who divided the property of the Banu Qaynuqa among his followers, taking a fifth of the spoild for himself.

Contents

1 Background
2 Arrival of Muhammad
3 Expulsion of the Banu Qaynuqa
4 Aftermath
5 See also
6 References

Background

In the 7th century, the Banu Qaynuqa were living in two fortresses in the south-western part of the city of Yathrib, now Medina, having settled there at an unknown date. Although the Banu Qaynuqa bore mostly Arabic names, they were both ethnically and religiously Jewish. They owned no land, earned their living through commerce and craftsmanship, including goldsmithery. The Banu Qaynuqa were allied with the local Arab tribe of Khazraj and supported them in their conflicts with the rival Arab tribe of Aws.

Arrival of Muhammad

In September 622, Muhammad arrived at Medina with a group of his followers. Among his first actions was the promulgation of a document known as the Constitution of Medina, which was supposed to regulate the matters of governance of the city, including relations between the various groups living in it. This constitution confirmed Jews as members of the city community with certain rights and responsibilities, but their status was conditional upon their not "acting wrongfully", a qualification which provided Muhammad with a convenient pretext for nullifying his obligations toward Jews at a later time.

Expulsion of the Banu Qaynuqa

In March 624, Muslims defeated the Meccans of the Quraysh tribe in the Battle of Badr, and Muhammad felt himself strong enough to finally move against the Jews of Medina whom he perceived as a threat to him, both politically and religiously. As his first target, Muhammad chose the Banu Qaynuqa because they were the weakest of the Jewish tribes, as well as because they were the only one of the three major Jewish tribes to live within the city limits. Stillman (1979), p. 13 Muslim sources traditionally give other reasons for Muhammad’s attack on the Banu Qaynuqa; for example, they cite the arrogance of the Banu Qaynuqa or relay a practical joke of Jewish goldsmith who had a Muslim woman stripped bare for which he was killed by a Muslim man, who in turn was killed by the Jews.See English translation in Stillman (1979), pp. 122–123 Academic scholars, however, find the reasons given by Muslim historians to be backdated attempts to justify the attack on the Jewish tribe and the incidents, like the one of the Jewish goldsmith, to have no more than anecdotal value.

Muhammad and his followers attacked the Banu Qaynuqa and forced them to surrender unconditionally after a bloodless siege that lasted 14 days. The men of the Banu Qaynuqa were put in chains and feared execution. At this moment, Abdullah ibn Ubayy, the chief of the Khazraj, pleaded before Muhammad to spare the lives of the Banu Qaynuqa. The Muslim leader did not feel himself powerful enough to dismiss the opinions of his allies, and he consented to the Banu Qaynuqa being expelled. For that intervention, the Muslim tradition awarded ibn Ubayy with the title of an arch-hypocrite. Other Jewish tribes of medina remained passive during the whole Banu Qaynuqa episode, apparently because they failed to grasp Muhammad's intentions at that time and viewed the conflict as a usual tribal struggle.

Aftermath

Muhammad divided the property of the Banu Qaynuqa, including their arms and tools, among his followers, taking for himself a fifth share of the spoils for the first time. Some members of the tribe chose to stay in Medina and embraced Islam, more in order to retain their belongings than out of conviction. The only Banu Qaynuqa man who became a devout Muslim was Abdullah ibn Salam. Although some Muslim sources claim that he converted immediately after Muhammad’s arrival to Medina, academic scholars give more credence to the other Muslim sources, which give 630 as the year of ibn Salam’s conversion.

References