Mohammed Wars Against the Jews

Mohammed, pretending he had a divine promise of a great booty, returned to Medina and, having concluded a peace for ten years with the Koreishites, was the better enabled to attack the Jews, his irreconcilable enemies.

Continuing Mohammad,
our selection from The History of the Saracens by Simon Ockley published in1718. The selection is presented in 10.5 easy 5 minute installments. For works benefiting from the latest research see the “More information” section at the bottom of these pages.

Previously in Mohammad.

Time: 629
Place: Medina

The Koreishites sent a party of eighty men toward the camp of the Muslims to beat up their quarters. Being discovered, by the sentinels, they were surrounded, taken prisoners and brought before Mohammed; who, thinking it proper at that time to be generous, released them. In return, Sohail son of Amru was sent to him with proposals of peace, which he agreed to accept.

Mohammed, pretending he had a divine promise of a great booty, returned to Medina and, having concluded a peace for ten years with the Koreishites, was the better enabled to attack the Jews, his irreconcilable enemies. Accordingly, he went to Khaibar, a strong town about six days’ journey northeast of Medina and took that and several other strong places, whereto the Jews had retired and carried a vast deal of treasure; this all fell into the hands of the Muslims. Being entertained at Khaibar, a young Jewess, to try, as she afterward said, whether he were a prophet or not, poisoned a shoulder of mutton, a joint Mohammed was particularly fond of. One of those who partook of it at the table, named Basher, died upon the spot; but Mohammed, finding it taste disagreeable, spat it out, saying, “This mutton tells me it is poisoned.” The miracle-mongers improve this story, by making the shoulder of mutton speak to him; but if it did, it spoke too late, for he had already swallowed some of it; and of the effects of that morsel he complained in his last illness, of which he died three years after.

In this year, Jannabi mentions Mohammed’s being bewitched by the Jews. Having made a waxen image of him, they hid it in a well, together with a comb and a tuft of hair tied in eleven knots. The prophet fell into a very wasting condition, till he had a dream that informed him where these implements of witchcraft were and accordingly had them taken away. In order to untie the knots Gabriel read to him the two last chapters of the Koran, consisting of eleven verses; each verse untied a knot and, when all were untied, he recovered.

[“An implicit belief in magic is entertained by almost all Muslims. Babil, or Babel, is regarded by the Muslims as the fountain-head of the science of magic, which was and, as most think, still is, taught there to mankind by two fallen angels, named Haroot and Maroot, who are there suspended by the feet in a great pit closed by a mass of rock.” — Lane’s Arab. Nights, vol. i. pp. 66, 218.]

This year Mohammed had a seal made with this inscription, “Mohammed, the apostle of God.” This was to seal his letters, which he now took upon him to write to divers princes, inviting them to Islamism. His first letter to this effect was sent to Badham, viceroy of Yemen, to be forwarded to Khusrau, king of Persia. Khusrau tore the letter and ordered Badham to restore the prophet to his right mind or send him his head. Khusrau was presently after murdered by his son Siroes; Badham with his people turned Muslims and Mohammed continued him in his government.

He also sent a letter of the same purport to the Roman emperor Heraclius. Heraclius received the letter respectfully and made some valuable presents to the messenger. He sent another to Makawkas, viceroy of Egypt, who returned in answer he would consider of the proposals and sent, among other presents, two young maidens. One of these, named Mary, of fifteen years of age, Mohammed debauched. This greatly offended two of his wives, Hafsa and Ayesha and to pacify them he promised, upon oath, to do so no more. But he was soon taken again by them transgressing in the same way. And now, that he might not stand in awe of his wives any longer, down comes a revelation which is recorded in the sixty-sixth chapter of the Koran, releasing the prophet from his oath and allowing him to have concubines, if he wished. * And the two wives of Mohammed, who, upon the quarrel about Mary, had gone home to their fathers, being threatened in the same chapter with a divorce, were glad to send their fathers to him to make their peace with him and obtain his permission for their return. They were fain to come and submit to live with him upon his own terms.

[* Moore thus alludes to the circumstance in Lalla Rookh: — Mohammed sent letters at the same time to the king of Ethiopia, who had before professed Islamism and now in his answer repeated his profession of it. He wrote to two other Arabian princes, who sent him disagreeable answers, which provoked him to curse them. He sent also to Al Mondar, king of Bahrain, who came into his religion and afterward routed the Persians and made a great slaughter of them. And now all the Arabians of Bahrain had become converts to his religion.]

Among the captives taken at Khaibar was Safia, betrothed to the son of Kenana, the king of the Jews. Mohammed took the former to wife and put Kenana to the torture to make him discover his treasure. In the action at Khaibar, it is said, Ali, having his buckler struck out of his hand, took one of the gates off its hinges and used it for a buckler till the place was taken. The narrator of this story asserts that he and seven men tried to stir the gate and were not able.

Washington Irving begins here. Simon Ockley begins here.

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