Allah said,
[هُوَ الَّذِى
أَخْرَجَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَـبِ]
(He it is Who drove out the disbelievers among the People of the Scripture)
referring to the Jewish tribe of Bani An-Nadir, according to Ibn `Abbas,
Mujahid, Az-Zuhri and several others. When the Messenger of Allah migrated to
Al-Madinah, he made a peace treaty with the Jews stipulating that he would not
fight them and they would not fight him. They soon betrayed the treaty that they
made with Allah's Messenger . Therefore, Allah sent His torment down on them; it
can never be averted, and His appointed destiny touched them; it can never be
resisted. The Prophet forced them to evacuate and abandon their fortified forts
that Muslims did not think they would ever control. The Jews thought that their
fortifications will save them from Allah's torment, but they did not help them
against Allah in the least. Then, that which they did not expect came to them
from Allah, and Allah's Messenger forced them to leave Al-Madinah. Some of them
went to Adhri`at in the area of Ash-Sham, which is the area of the grand
Gathering and Resurrection, while others went to Khaybar. The Prophet allowed
them to evacuate their forts and take whatever their camels could carry. They
destroyed the property that they could not carry. This is why Allah the Exalted
said,
[يُخْرِبُونَ
بُيُوتَهُمْ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَيْدِى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَاعْتَبِرُواْ يأُوْلِى
الاٌّبْصَـرِ]
(they demolished their own dwellings with their own hands and the hands of
the believers Then take admonition, O you with eyes.) meaning, "Contemplate the
end of those who defied Allah's command, contradicted His Messenger and denied
His Book. See how Allah's humiliating torment struck them in this life, as well
as, the painful torment that Allah has reserved for them in the Hereafter.'' Abu
Dawud recorded that `Abdur-Rahman bin Ka`b bin Malik said that one of the
Prophet's Companions said, "The Quraysh idolators wrote to `Abdullah bin Ubayy
and those who were still worshipping idols among the tribes of Al-Aws and
Al-Khazraj. The Messenger of Allah was in Al-Madinah at the time, before the
battle of Badr occurred. They wrote: `You have given refuge to our citizen. We
swear by Allah, you should fight him, or we will expel you or gather all our
forces, until we kill your soldiers and take your women captive.' When the news
of this threat reached `Abdullah bin Ubayy and the idolators of Al-Aws and
Al-Khazraj, they prepared to fight the Prophet . The news of this reached the
Prophet and he went to them saying,
«لَقَدْ بَلَغَ
وَعِيدُ قُرَيْشٍ مِنْكُمُ الْمَبَالِغَ، مَا كَانَتْ تَكِيدُكُمْ بِأَكْثَرَ
مِمَّا تُرِيدُ أَن تَكِيدُوا بِهِ أَنْفُسَكُمْ، تُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تُقَاتِلُوا
أَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَإِخْوَانَكُم»
(The threat of the Quraysh has caused you extreme anxiety! The Quraysh cannot
cause you more harm than what you will cause yourselves by your actions. Do you
want to fight your children and brethren) When they heard these words from the
Prophet , they dis- persed and the news of what happened reached the Quraysh
idolators. After the battle of Badr, the Quraysh idolators wrote to the Jews of
Al-Madinah, `You have armor and forts! You should fight our citizen or we will
do such and such to you, and nothing will prevent us from acquiring your
women.'The news of this letter also reached the Prophet and Bani An-Nadir
intended to betray their treaty. Bani An-Nadir sent a message to the Prophet
asking him to come with thirty of his Companions to meet thirty of their rabbis
half way, from either side. They said that the rabbis would listen to the
Prophet and if they believe in him, the rest of Bani An-Nadir would believe.
They intended to kill the Messenger , and Allah informed His Messenger of this
plot before they could harm him. The next day, the Prophet gathered his forces
and laid siege to their area, saying to them,
«إِنَّكُمْ وَاللهِ
لَا تَأْمَنُونَ عِنْدِي إِلَّا بِعَهْدٍ تُعَاهِدُونَنِي عَلَيْه»
(By Allah ! You will not be safe until and unless you renew your peace treaty
with me.) They refused to do so, and the Prophet fought them the rest of that
day. The next morning, the Prophet laid siege to the tribe of Bani Qurayzah and
left Bani An-Nadir alone that day. The Prophet ordered Bani Qurayzah to sign a
new treaty of peace, and they accepted. The Prophet left Bani Qurayzah and went
back to Bani An-Nadir with his forces and fought them until they agreed to
surrender in return for safe passage out of Al-Madinah. Bani An-Nadir evacuated
Al-Madinah and took with them all whatever their camels could carry from their
furniture, including even the wood and the doors to their houses. The date trees
of Bani An-Nadir were granted to the Messenger by Allah when He said,
[وَمَآ أَفَآءَ
اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مِنْهُمْ فَمَآ أَوْجَفْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ خَيْلٍ وَلاَ
رِكَابٍ]
(And what Allah gave as booty to His Messenger from them -- for this you made
no expedition with either cavalry or camelry) that is, what you earned without a
fight. The Prophet divided most of their trees between the emigrants and gave to
only two men who were poor from Al-Ansar. He did not give the Ansar any of it,
except for these two men. The Prophet kept a part of the war booty for himself
and that part of charity of the Prophet was transferred to the administration of
his daughter's children, i.e., children of Fatimah.'' However, let us summarize
the battle of Bani An-Nadir here. From Allah alone we seek help.