Date: 20 Mar 2010
40 Understanding Muhammad Assassination Today the world is shocked to learn that some Muslims feel that the only way to deal with the critics of Islam is to assassinate them. In 1989, Khomeini issued a fatwa (religious decree) to assassinate Salman Rushdie, because Rushdie had written a book, The Satanic Verses, that some believed insulted Islam. Some condemned Khomeini and accused him of being an extremist. Amazingly, many blamed Rushdie instead, for being “insensitive” to Muslims’ sensitivity. On February 14, 2006, the Iranian state news agency reported that the fatwa will remain in place permanently. Since its inception, the Islamic regime of Iran has systematically eliminated its opponents by assassinating them, whether those opponents live in Iran or in exile in other countries. Hundreds of dissidents have been killed in this way, including Dr. Shapoor Bakhtiar, a true democrat and the last Prime Minister appointed by the Shah. What most people don’t know is that assassination was Muhammad’s way of dealing with his opponents. Today’s Muslim assassins are merely following their prophet’s example. Ka’b bin Ashraf was one of Muhammad’s victims. As Muslim historians have reported, he was young and handsome, a talented poet and a chief of the Banu Nadir, one of the Jewish tribes of Medina. After Muhammad banished the Banu Qainuqa’, another Jewish tribe of Medina, Ka’b became concerned about his own people’s security vis-à-vis the Muslims, so he visited Mecca to seek protection. He composed poems and praised the Meccans for their bravery and honor. When Muhammad heard about this, he went to the mosque, and after the prayer, said: “Who is willing to kill Ka'b bin Al-Ashraf who has hurt Allâh and His Apostle?" Thereupon Muhammad bin Maslama got up saying, "O Allâh's Apostle! Would you like that I kill him?" The Prophet said, "Yes." Muhammad bin Maslama said, "Then allow me to say a (false) thing (i.e. to deceive Ka’b).” The Prophet said, "You may say it." Then Muhammad bin the seventeen year old Safiya was very beautiful. So Muhammad offered Dihya two girls, the cousins of Safiya, in exchange and got Safiya for himself. Who Was Muhammad? 41 Maslama went to Ka’b and said, "That man (i.e. Muhammad) demands Sadaqa (i.e. Zakat [alms]) from us, and he has troubled us, and I have come to borrow something from you." On that, Kab said, "By Allâh, you will get tired of him!" Muhammad bin Maslama said, "Now as we have followed him, we do not want to leave him unless and until we see how his end is going to be. Now we want you to lend us a camel load or two of food." …Muhammad bin Maslama and his companion promised Kab that Muhammad [bin Maslama] would return to him. He came to Kab at night along with Kab's foster brother, Abu Na'ila. Kab invited them to come into his fort, and then he went down to them. His wife asked him, "Where are you going at this time?" Kab replied, "None but Muhammad bin Maslama and my (foster) brother Abu Na'ila have come." His wife said, "I hear a voice as if dropping blood is from him.” Ka'b said, "They are none but my brother Muhammad bin Maslama and my foster brother Abu Naila. A generous man should respond to a call at night even if invited to be killed." …So Muhammad bin Maslama went in together with two men, and said to them, "When Ka'b comes, I will touch his hair and smell it, and when you see that I have got hold of his head, strip him. I will let you smell his head." Kab bin Al-Ashraf came down to them wrapped in his clothes, and diffusing perfume. Muhammad bin Maslama said, "I have never smelt a better scent than this.” Ka'b replied, "I have got the best Arab women who know how to use the high class of perfume." Muhammad bin Maslama requested of Ka’b, "Will you allow me to smell your head?" Ka'b said, "Yes." Muhammad smelt it and made his companions smell it as well. Then he requested of Ka'b again, "Will you let me (smell your head)?" Ka'b said, "Yes." When Muhammad got a strong hold of him, he said (to his companions), "Get at him!" So they killed him and went to the Prophet and informed him. (Abu Rafi) was killed after Ka'b bin Al-Ashraf. 55 The Prophet of Allâh not only encouraged assassination, he advocated deception and treachery, as well. Another victim of Muhammad’s assassination operations was an old man called Abu Afak, who was said to be 120 years old. He composed poetry, some of which lamented that people had become followers of Muhammad. He wrote that Muhammad was a crazed man who arbitrarily told people what was prohibited and what was allowed, and who had caused them to surrender 55 Bukhari, 5.59.369 42 Understanding Muhammad their intelligence and become hostile to one another. Ibn Sa’d reports this story as follows: Then occurred the "sariyyah" [raid] of Salim Ibn Umayr al-Amri against Abu Afak, the Jew, in [the month of] Shawwal in the beginning of the twentieth month from the hijrah [immigration from Mecca to Medina in AD 622], of the Apostle of Allâh. Abu Afak, was from Banu Amr Ibn Awf, and was an old man who had attained the age of one hundred and twenty years. He was a Jew, and used to instigate the people against the Apostle of Allâh, and composed (satirical) verses [about Muhammad]. Salim Ibn Umayr who was one of the great weepers and who had participated in Badr, said, "I take a vow that I shall either kill Abu Afak or die before him. He waited for an opportunity until a hot night came, and Abu Afak slept in an open place. Salim Ibn Umayr knew it, so he placed the sword on his liver and pressed it till it reached his bed. The enemy of Allâh screamed and the people who were his followers, rushed to him, took him to his house and interred him. 56 The only “crime” this aged man had committed was in composing satirical verses critical of Muhammad. When Asma bint Marwan, a Jewish mother of five small children heard about this, she was so outraged that she composed a poem cursing the men of Medina for letting a stranger divide them and for allowing him to assassinate a venerable old man. Again Muhammad went to the pulpit and cried out: “Who will rid me of Marwan's daughter?” `Umayr bin. `Adiy al-Khatmi who was with him heard him, and that very night he went to her house and killed her. In the morning he came to the apostle and told him what he had done and he [Muhammad] said, "You have helped Allâh and His apostle, O `Umayr!" When he asked if he would have to bear any evil consequences, the apostle said, “Two goats won't butt their heads about her.” 57 After receiving praise from Muhammad for the assassination of Asma, the killer went to her children and bragged about committing the murder, and dared those little kids and the clan of the victim. 56 The Kitab al Tabaqat al kabir, Vol. 2, p 31 57 From pp. 675-676 of The Life of Muhammad , which is A. Guilaume’s translation of Sirat Rasul Allâh. Who Was Muhammad? 43 Now there was a great commotion among B. Khatma that day about the affair of bint [daughter of] Marwan. She had five sons, and when `Umayr went to them from the apostle he said, "I have killed bint Marwan, O sons of Khatma. Withstand me if you can; don't keep me waiting." That was the first day Islam became powerful among B. Khatma; before that those who were Muslims concealed the fact. The first of them to accept Islam was `Umayr b. `Adiy who was called the "Reader", and `Abdullah b. Aus and Khuzayma b. Thabit. The day after Bint Marwan was killed the men of B. Khatma became Muslims because they saw the power of Islam. 58 After these assassinations, Muslims in Medina became more boastful, arrogant and imperious, as they had cast terror in the hearts of their opponents. He wanted to send the message that any opposition or criticism of him could mean death.59 That is exactly the same modus operandi Muslims employ today, where the threat often only need be implied. They follow the model and example set by their prophet, who they regard as their greatest strategist. They want to create a boundary of fear so they may establish their supremacy through terror. There is no doubt in the mind of the Muslim terrorists that this strategy works. To them, the Qur’anic injunction of “casting terror in the heart of the unbelievers”60 seems a sure way to victory. It worked for Muhammad. He bragged, “I have been made victorious with terror.”61 It worked in Spain when the terrorists killed two hundred people by blowing up commuter trains on March 11, 2004, and in response, the Spaniards 58 Ibid. 59 Ibn Sa’d narrates another version of this story: “Bint Marwan, of Banu Umayyah ibn Zayd, when five nights had remained from the month of Ramadan, in the beginning of the nineteenth month from the hijrah of the apostle of Allâh. `Asma' was the wife of Yazid ibn Zayd ibn Hisn al-Khatmi. She used to revile Islam, offend the prophet and instigate the (people) against him. She composed verses. Umayr Ibn Adi came to her in the night and entered her house. Her children were sleeping around her. There was one whom she was suckling. He searched her with his hand because he was blind, and separated the child from her. He thrust his sword in her chest till it pierced up to her back. Then he offered the morning prayers with the prophet at al-Medina. The apostle of Allâh said to him: ‘Have you slain the daughter of Marwan?’ He said: ‘Yes. Is there something more for me to do?’ He [Muhammad] said: ‘No. Two goats will not butt together about her.’ This was the word that was first heard from the apostle of Allâh. The apostle of Allâh called him `Umayr, ‘basir’ (the seeing).” -- Ibn Sa`d's in Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, translated by S. Moinul Haq, Vol. 2, p. 24. 60 Qur’an 3:151 “Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with Allâh, for which He had sent no authority: their abode will be the Fire: And evil is the home of the wrong-doers! 61 Bukhari, 4.52.220. 44 Understanding Muhammad voted a socialist for government who immediately adopted a policy of appeasement vis-à-vis the Muslims. Because of the successful precedents set by Muhammad and his ideological heirs, terrorists conclude a terror strategy will work everywhere and every time. They will not stop unless the world falls or they are proven wrong by facing a much greater force. The Islamic world is sick, and it would be shortsighted to deny that the cause of this sickness is Islam. Almost every crime, every act of inhumanity perpetrated by Muslims is inspired and justified through the words and the deeds of Muhammad. This is the painful truth that sadly, so many would rather not see. There is also a hadith narrated by Anas, a companion of Muhammad, who recalled that a group of eight men from an Arab tribe came to Muhammad but they found the climate of Medina unsuitable. Muhammad prescribed camel urine as medicine and sent them to meet his camel attendant outside of the town. The men killed the camel attendant and drove away the camels. When Muhammad was informed, he sent some men to pursue them. Then he had their hands and feet cut off, ordered nails which were heated and passed over their eyes, and they were left in a rocky land to die slowly. Anas said that they asked for water, and nobody provided them with water till they died.62 The Arabs committed murder and theft and had to be punished, but why this much torture? Wasn’t Muhammad doing exactly the same things? Where did Muhammad get his camels? Weren’t they stolen? Didn’t he raid and kill people to loot them? This double standard is what has characterized the Muslim world since its inception. The concept of the Golden Rule and fairness is absent in the psyche of the Muslims. They demand all privileges in non-Muslim countries, while they deny the basic human rights to non-Muslims in countries where they are the majority. They sincerely believe this is how things should be. 62 Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 261: Who Was Muhammad? 45 Genocide There were three Jewish tribes living in and around Yathrib, the Banu Qainuqa’, the Bani Nadir and the Banu Quraiza. As stated above, they were the original inhabitants of this town. At first Muhammad thought that because he had denounced polytheism and had embraced the Biblical prophets, the Jews would eagerly flock to become his followers. The earlier chapters of the Qur’an are full of stories about Moses and Biblical tales. Originally Muhammad had adopted Jerusalem as the qibla for his prayers, humbugging the Jews for their allegiance. Muslim scholar W. N. Arafat writes, “It is also generally accepted that at first the Prophet Muhammad hoped that the Jews of Yathrib, as followers of a divine religion, would show understanding of the new monotheistic religion, Islam.”63 However, to his dismay, the Jews, just like the Quraish, paid little heed to his calling. After his hopes were dashed and his patience vexed, he grew hostile towards them. Jews were in no hurry to abandon their ancestral faith in order to embrace Muhammad’s new religion. Their rejection enraged him and he sought revenge. The assassination of Abu Afak and Asma only marked the beginning of his animosity towards the Jews. Already emboldened by his plundering of the passing caravans, Muhammad had his eyes on the wealth of the Jews in Yathirb and was looking for an excuse to make his move, to get rid of them and to lay his hands on their wealth. His anger against the Jews started showing in the Qur’anic verses that he composed, where he accused them of being ungrateful to Allâh, of killing their prophets and breaking their own laws. He even went as far as to say that because the Jews had broken the law of Sabbath, God transformed them into apes and swine.64 To this day many Muslims are convinced that monkeys and pigs are descendants of the Jews. Invasion of Banu Qainuqa’ The first group of the Jews to fall under the wrath of Muhammad was the Banu Qainuqa.’ They lived in quarters within Yathrib named after them. They made their living as artisans, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, making 63 From Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, (1976), pp. 100-107 By W. N. Arafat 64 Quran, 2:65, 5:60, 7:166 46 Understanding Muhammad household instruments and weaponry. They were not, however, skilled in the arts of soldiering and left that aspect to the Arabs, a mistake which eventually proved fatal to their existence. The Banu Qainuqa’ was allied with the Arab tribe of Khazraj and supported them in their conflicts with their rival Arab tribe, the Aws. The opportunity to invade these Jews arrived when a skirmish broke out between a handful of Jews and Muslims. A member of Banu Qayniqa’ played a prank and pinned the skirt of a Muslim woman squatting in a Jeweler’s shop in the B. Qainuqa’ marketplace to the ground. Upon standing, her cloth tore and she was stripped naked. A Muslim man passing by, already filled with the hatred of the Jews by his prophet, jumped on the Jew and killed him. The relatives of the victim then killed the Muslim in retaliation. This was the opportunity Muhammad was looking for. Instead of trying to calm the situation, he unjustly blamed the Jews, all of them, and told them to submit to his religion or face war. The Jews answered his threats with defiance and shut themselves up in their quarters. He laid siege on them, shut off their water supply, and promised to kill them all. In the Qur’an, verse 3:12, Muhammad reiterated his threat: “You will be defeated and gathered together to hell and worst indeed is that place to rest,” while bragging how he defeated the Quraish, earlier at Badr. After a fortnight, the tribe tried to negotiate their surrender, but Muhammad would not budge. He wanted to slay them all. Abdullah ibn Ubayy, the revered patriarch of the Khazraj, took hold of Muhammad’s collar and told him that he would not allow his allies and friends to be slain with no cause. Muhammad was aware of the respect that the Khazraj had for their chief. He knew that they could rally around him and this would mean his own defeat. He pushed away ibn Ubayy while his face was blackened with rage and agreed not to massacre the Jews provided they leave the city. This story is reported by Ibn Ishaq. Babu Qainuqa’ were the first of the Jews to break their agreement with the apostle and to go to war, between Badr and Uhud, and the apostle besieged them until they surrendered unconditionally. `Abdullah b. Ubayy b. Salul went to him when God had put them in his power and said, 'O Muhammad, deal kindly with my clients' (now they were allies of Khazraj), but the apostle put him off. He repeated the words, and the apostle turned away from him, whereupon he thrust his hand into Who Was Muhammad? 47 the collar of the apostle's robe; the apostle was so angry that his face became almost black. He said, 'Confound you, let me go.' He answered, 'No, by God, I will not let you go until you deal kindly with my clients. Four hundred men without mail and three hundred mailed protected me from all mine enemies; would you cut them down in one morning? By God, I am a man who fears that circumstances may change.' The apostle said, 'You can have them.' 65 The biographers also add that Muhammad had sullenly said “Let them go. God curse them, and God curse him also! So Mohammad pardoned their lives provided they were sent into exile.”66 He demanded that the Banu Qainuqa’ hand over all their materials, wealth and war equipage, from which he set aside one fifth for himself and distributed the rest among his men. The tribe was then banished. The Muslim historians gloat saying that these refugees entered Azru‘a in Syria where they stayed for a while and soon perished.67 Invasion of Banu Nadir Next it was the turn of the Banu Nadir. This was another Jewish tribe of Yathrib. After seeing what Muhammad did to the Banu Qainuqa’, Ka'b Ibn Ashraf, the chief of the Banu Nadir sought the protection of the Quraish and as explained above, he was assassinated. There was a retaliatory war (Uhud) between the Meccans and Muslims in which the latter had lost. Muhammad needed to compensate that loss and restore the faith of his followers that Allâh has not forsaken them with more victories. Banu Nadir was an easy target. The Pakistani Muslim historian and commentator of the Qur’an, and ideologue of today’s Islamic revivalism, Maududi, narrates the story as follows: “For some time after these punitive measures [the banishment of the Qainuqa’ and serial assassinations of Jewish poets] the Jews remained so terror stricken that they did not dare commit any further mischief. But later when in Shawwal, A. H. 3, the Quraish in order to avenge themselves 65 Ibn Ishaq Sirat, p. 363 66 Ibid. 67 AR-Raheeq Al-Makhtum by Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri http://islamweb.islam.gov.qa/english/sira/raheek/PAGE-26.HTM 48 Understanding Muhammad for the defeat at Badr, marched against Medina with great preparations, and the Jews saw that only a thousand men had marched out with the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allâh's peace) as against three thousand men of the Quraish, and even they were deserted by 300 hypocrites who returned to Madina, [The followers of Abdullah ibn Ubayy, Chief of the Khazraj] they committed the first and open breach of the treaty by refusing to join the Holy Prophet in the defence of the city although they were bound to it.” It is amazing that Muslims think that Jews were bound to help Muhammad wage a religious war against the Meccans, despite the fact that he had banished one of their tribes and had assassinated their chief, and two poets. The war between Muhammad and the Quraish had nothing to do with the Jews, and by assassinating their people and banishing the Banu Qainuqa’, Muhammad had already broken any agreement he may have had with them. And yet, to justify his treacherous acts, Muslim apologists blame the Jews for being at fault with their agreement. Muhammad was now looking for an excuse to get rid of the Banu Nadir. They owned the best cultivated lands of Yathrib and gardens with date trees, and employed many Arabs. Accordingly a few Muslims, who, thanks to Muhammad, had become full-fledged bandits, killed two men from Banu Kalb. As it happened, this tribe had signed a treaty with Muhammad that his men would not rob or kill their people in exchange for their support. The killers had mistaken the victims for members of another tribe. Now, as tradition dictated, Muhammad was obliged to pay blood money for this bloodshed. Despite all the wealth grabbed from the Banu Qainuqa’, the Prophet went to the Banu Nadir and asked them that as part of their original covenant, they must also help pay this blood money. This was an outrageous demand and Muhammad hoped that the Banu Nadir would balk and this would give him an excuse to do with them as he did with the Banu Qainuqa’. The Banu Nadir, however, were too terrified to deny this unjust demand. They agreed to pitch in and withdrew to collect the money. Muhammad and his companions sat beneath a wall, waiting. This was not what Muhammad had in mind. He had come making the most unfair demand hoping to get a negative reaction and act upon his devious design. Now, he needed to plot a new strategy. Suddenly he had a new “inspiration.” He stood up and without saying anything to his companions left the place and went home. Later, when his companions joined him and enquired about it, he told them the Who Was Muhammad? 49 Angel Gabriel had informed him the Jews were plotting to drop a rock on his head from atop the wall beneath which they were sitting. With this excuse he started to prepare his attack on the Banu Nadir. None of Muhammad’s companions saw anyone climbing the wall or had any intimation about a plot against their lives. However, these men, having benefited financially from following him, believing everything he told them, had no reason or inclination to doubt what he was telling them then. Any rational person can see the absurdity of Muhammad’s story. If the Banu Nadir really wanted and dared to kill him, they did not need to climb on a wall to throw a stone. Muhammad was accompanied by only a handful of his followers, Abu Bakr, Omar, Ali and perhaps one or two more. It was easy to kill them all, if that was what they had in mind. This accusation was clearly false. The Prophet who believed that God is khairul maakereen, (the best of the deceivers), (Q.3:54) was himself a cunning man. The story of Gabriel informing him of the Jews’ plot against his life is as credible as the story of his visits to hell and heaven. Nonetheless his easy-to-fleece followers believed him and were so enraged by this fabrication, they rallied around him to shed the blood of the innocent people. Maududi finishes this narrative by saying: “Now there was no question of showing them any further concession. The Holy Prophet at once sent to them the ultimatum that the treachery they had meditated against him had come to his knowledge; therefore, they were to leave Medina within ten days; if anyone of them was found staying behind in their quarters, he would be put to the sword.” Maududi demonstrates a perfect example of Muslim 'logic' when he simply tells the story of Muhammad's treachery as if it were the natural and normal way to behave. Abdullah bin Ubayy did his best to help the Banu Nadir, but by then his influence was too weak and Muhammad’s men had become too blinded by their zealotry. They did not allow bin Ubayy to enter Muhammad’s tent as they struck him and cut his face open. After a few days the Banu Nadir negotiated to leave behind all their belongings for Muhammad and left town. Some of them went to Syria and some went to Khaibar to be slain only a few years later when Muhammad set his eyes on that prosperous and green Jewish fortress. Even though Muhammad let these people go, his first thoughts were to massacre them. The following extract from Sira makes this clear. 50 Understanding Muhammad Concerning B. al-Nadir the Sura of Exile came down in which it is recorded how God wreaked His vengeance on them and gave His apostle power over them and how He dealt with them. God said: “He it is who turned out those who disbelieved of the scripture people from their homes to the first exile.... 'So consider this, you who have understanding. Had not God prescribed deportation against them,' which was vengeance from God, 'He would have punished them in this world,' (Q. 59: 3) i.e. with the sword, 'and in the next world there would be the punishment of hell’ as well."68 In this siege, Muhammad ordered the cutting and burning of the trees belonging to the Banu Nadir. This kind of savagery was unprecedented even amongst the primitive Arabs. All he had to do to justify this crime was to make his imaginary friend approve of what he had done. That is easy when you have the God in your sleeve. What you (O Muslims) cut down of the palm-trees (of the enemy), or you left them standing on their stems, it was by leave of Allâh.” (Q. 59: 5) It is easy to fathom why in the scorching desert environment, desert dwellers considered cutting trees and poisoning wells to be a capital crimes against humanity as it went against all treaties and local customs. A Muslim scholar, Al-Mubarkpouri, says: “The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) seized their weapons, land, houses, and wealth. Amongst the other booty he managed to capture, there were 50 armours, 50 helmets, and 340 swords. This booty was exclusively the Prophet’s because no fighting was involved in capturing it. He divided the booty at his own discretion among the early Emigrants and two poor Helpers, Abu Dujana and Suhail bin Haneef. Anyway the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) spent a portion of this wealth on his family to sustain their living the year around. The rest was expended to provide the Muslim army with equipment for further wars in the way of Allâh. Almost all the verses of Sûra Al-Hashr (Chapter 59 - The Gathering) describe the banishment of the Jews and reveal the disgraceful manners of the hypocrites. The verses manifest the rules relevant to the booty. In this Chapter, Allâh, the All- Mighty, praises the Emigrants and Helpers. This Chapter also shows the legitimacy of cutting down and burning the enemy’s land and trees for 68 Ibn Ishaq irat, p. 438 Who Was Muhammad? 51 military purposes. Such acts cannot be regarded as phenomena of corruption so long that they are in the way of Allâh.” Like Maududi, Mubarakpouri also reveals the disturbing lack of conscience and situational ethics that characterizes the ummah. Muslims do what their prophet did. They consider burning and looting the properties of non-Muslims legitimate acts of war, as they were both practiced and sanctioned by him. Based on the actions of Muhammad, it is fair to conclude that Islamic violence is unfortunately not a deviation from true Islam. Murdering, plundering, raping and assassinating are Islamic practices. Nothing is off limits when it comes to promoting the religion of Allâh. Ironically, the Sura Al-Hashr ends by exhorting the believers to be “pious,” which makes it clear that piety for Muslims has an entirely different meaning. Muslim apologists say that the morality of today should not be applied to Muhammad who lived 1400 years ago. The irony is that they uphold that morality as standard and try to impose it on all mankind and for all times. One Muslim wrote to me, “This whole narrative has been problematic for many people because of their notions of what is morally correct and what it morally wrong. The origin of this sickness [sic] rests squarely on the Christian mentality of 'turn the other cheek,' and the 'redemptive suffering of Christ,' both of which have been sicknesses in the minds of Europe for centuries on end.” I don’t believe that morality and ethics are sicknesses. They stem from human consciousness and their compass is the Golden Rule. We know the difference between right and wrong when we consider the way we would like to be treated. Invasion of Banu Quraiza: The last Jewish tribe of Yathrib to fall victim to Muhammad’s vindictiveness was the Banu Quraiza. Soon after the Battle of the Trench (Khandaq) was over, the Meccans, fed up with Muhammad’s constant raids on their caravans, came to the gates of Medina to punish him. Advised by a Persian believer, they dug trenches around the city making it difficult for Muhammad’s enemies (The Confederates) to enter, causing their retreat. Muhammad set his eyes on the Banu Quraiza. He claimed that the Archangel Gabriel had visited him “asking that he should unsheathe his 52 Understanding Muhammad sword and head for the habitation of the seditious Banu Quraiza and fight them. Gabriel noted that he with a procession of angels would go ahead to shake their forts and cast fear in their hearts,"69 writes Al-Mubarakpouri. Al-Mubarakpouri continues: “the Messenger of Allâh immediately summoned the prayer caller and ordered him to announce fresh hostilities against Banu Quraiza,”70 It is important, in studying Islam, to note that the call to prayer was also the call to war. Muslim’s riots and hooliganism always initiates from the Mosques after they offer their prayers. They are most vicious during the holy month of Ramadan and on Fridays. In a sermon commemorating the Birthday of Muhammad, in 1981, the Ayatollah Khomeini said: Mehrab (Mosque) means the place of war, the place of fighting. Out of the mehrabs, wars should proceed. Just as all the wars of Islam proceeded out of the mehrabs. The prophet had sword to kill people. Our Holy Imams were quite militants. All of them were warriors. They used to wield swords. They used to kill people. We need a Caliph who would chop hands, cut throats, stone people. In the same way that the messenger of Allâh used to chop hands, cut throats, and stone people.71 Muhammad headed an army of three thousand infantry men and thirty horsemen of Ansar (Helpers) and Muhajireen (Emigrants). The Banu Quraiza was accused of conspiring against the Muslims with the Quraish. In reality, these Muslim historians deny this charge and say the Meccans withdrew, without fight because they did not receive support from the Banu Quraiza. When Muhammad made his intentions known, Ali, his cousin and staunch supporter, swore he would not stop until he either stormed their garrisons or was killed. This siege lasted 25 days. Finally the Banu Quraiza surrendered unconditionally. Muhammad ordered the men to be handcuffed, while the women and children were confined in isolation. Thereupon the Aws tribe, who were allies of the Banu Quraiza, interceded, begging Muhammad to be lenient towards them. Muhammad suggested 69 AR-Raheeq Al-Makhtum by Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri http://islamweb.islam.gov.qa/english/sira/raheek/PAGE-26.HTM 70 Ibid. 71 Ayatollah Khomeini: A speech delivered on the commemoration of the Birth of Muhammad, in 1981. Who Was Muhammad? 53 that Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh, a ruffian among them who had been fatally wounded by an arrow, give a verdict on the Jews. Sa’d was a former ally of the Banu Quraiza. but since his conversion to Islam he had a change of heart against them. He also blamed them for the fatal wound he received when a Meccan threw an arrow during the Battle of Trench. Muhammad knew how Sa’d felt about the Banu Quraiza. He was, after all, his bodyguard and slept in the mosque. Sa'd's verdict was “that all the able-bodied male persons belonging to the tribe should be killed, women and children taken prisoners and their wealth divided among the Muslim fighters.” Muhammad became pleased with this cruel verdict and said “Sa‘d had adjudged by the Command of Allâh."72 He often credited Allâh for his own decisions. This time he chose Sa’d to verbalize his whims. Al-Mubarakpouri adds that “In fact, the Jews deserved that severe punitive action for the ugly treachery they had harbored against Islam, and the large arsenal they had amassed, which consisted of one thousand and five hundred swords, two thousand spears, three hundred armors and five hundred shields, all of which went into the hands of the Muslims.” What Al-Mubarakpouri forgets to mention is that the Banu-Quraiza had loaned their weapons as well as their shovels and picks to Muslims so they could dig the trench and defend themselves. Muslims will never be grateful to those who help them. They will take your help and will stab you in the back the moment they no longer need you. We shall see in the next chapter the psychology of this pathology. Muslim historians have been quick to accuse the Banu Quraiza of the usual baseless charges to justify their massacre. They accused them of being mischievous, causing sedition, being treacherous and plotting against Islam. However no specifics exist as to the nature of those sins to warrant such a severe punishment and their total genocide. Trenches were dug in the bazaar of Medina and between 600 to 900 men were beheaded and their bodies dumped in them. Huyai Ibn Akhtab, the chief of the Banu Nadir whose married daughter, Safiya, Muhammad took as his share of the booty when he invaded Khaibar, was among the captives. He was brought to the victor with his hands tied from behind. In an audacious defiance he rejected 72 Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 280: 54 Understanding Muhammad Muhammad and preferred death to submission to this brute man. He was ordered to kneel and was beheaded on the spot. To determine who should be killed, the youngsters were examined. Those who had grown pubic hair were bundled with the men and beheaded. Atiyyah al-Quriaz, a Jew who had survived this massacre later recounted: “I was among the captives of Banu Quraiza. They (the Muslims) examined us, and those who had begun to grow hair (pubes) were killed, and those who had not were not killed. I was among those who had not grown hair.”73 Muhammad killed and banished several Jewish tribes, among them are B. Qainuqa’, B. Nadir, B. Quraiza. B. Mustaliq. B. Jaun and the Jews of Khaibar. On his deathbed, he instructed his followers to cleanse the Arabian Peninsula of all non-believers,74 an order that Omar the second Caliph carried out later. He exterminated the Jews, the Christians and the pagans, forcing them to convert, leave or put them to death. Now, enriched with the loot, Muhammad could be even generous to those who believed in him. Anas narrated: “People used to give some of their date palms to the Prophet (as a gift), till he conquered Banu Quraiza and Banu An-Nadir, whereupon he started returning their favors.”75 There is a verse in the Qur’an that speaks about the massacre of the Banu Quraiza approving Muhammad’s butcheries of their men and taking women and children as prisoners. He caused those of the People of the Book who helped them (i.e. the Quraish) to come out of their forts. Some you killed, some you took prisoner. (Q. 33: 26) we saw how Muhammad authorized his followers to lie, even to badmouth him, to win the trust of their victims in order to assassinate them. There are many other stories about Muslims feigning friendship with the non-believers only to kill them, once they are trusted. 73 Sunan 000000000