The history of the Jews in Khaybar flourished in
Khaybar
KhaybarOther standardized Arabic transliterations: / . Anglicized pronunciation: , . ( ar, خَيْبَر, ) is an oasis situated some north of the city of Medina in the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia. Prior to the rise of Islam in the 7t ...
during the 7th century, which is now located some 95 miles to the north of
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
(ancient Yathrib)
Migration to Khaybar
The first migration of Jews to Khaybar dates back, by some accounts, to the time of king David, others date it back to the time of Babylonian exile
The Jewish settlers of Khaybar were the descendants of Shephatiah the son of Mahalalel from the tribe of Judah and some settlers were descendants of the Cohanim
Economic activity
The Jews of
Khaybar
KhaybarOther standardized Arabic transliterations: / . Anglicized pronunciation: , . ( ar, خَيْبَر, ) is an oasis situated some north of the city of Medina in the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia. Prior to the rise of Islam in the 7t ...
pioneered the cultivation of the oasis and made their living growing date palm trees, as well as through commerce and craftsmanship, accumulating considerable wealth. Some objects found by the Muslims when they entered Khaybar—a siege-engine, 20 bales of Yemenite cloth, and 500 cloaks—point out to an intense trade carried out by the Jews. In the past some scholars attempted to explain the siege-engine by suggesting that it was used for settling quarrels among the families of the community. Today most academics believe it was stored in a depôt for future sale, in the same way that swords, lances, shields, and other weaponry had been sold by the Jews to Arabs. Equally, the cloth and the cloaks may have been intended for sale, as it was unlikely that such a quantity of luxury goods were kept for the exclusive use of the Jews. However, these commercial activities led to some resentment that is similar to the economic causes that were behind persecutions in many other countries throughout history.
[Veccia Vaglieri, L. "Khaybar", Encyclopaedia of Islam]
Expulsion of the Jews from Khaybar
During the reign of Caliph
Umar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
(634–644), the
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
community of Khaybar were transported alongside the
Christian community of
Najran
Najran ( ar, نجران '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. It is the capital of Najran Province. Designated as a new town, Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom; its population has risen fr ...
to the newly conquered regions of
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. As a settlement, Umar issued orders that these Christians and Jews should be treated well and allotted them land in their new settlements equivalent to the land they initially owned. However, Umar also forbade
Non-Muslims to reside in the
Hejaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
for longer than three days.
Giorgio Levi Della Vida
Giorgio Levi Della Vida (22 August 1886 in Venice – 25 November 1967 in Rome) was an Italian Jewish linguist whose expertise lay in Hebrew, Arabic, and other Semitic languages, as well as on the history and culture of the Near East.
Biography
Bo ...
and Michael Bonner Michael Bonner was a Jewish scholar of Islamic studies. Born in 1952, he died in May 2019. He received his PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton in 1987. He was a professor of Medieval Islamic History at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
...
, ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', and Madelung, ''The Succession to Prophet Muhammad'', p. 74 Since then, the Jews of Khaybar traveled around many areas throughout the
Caliphate
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
as artisans and merchants and maintained a distinctive identity until the 12th century.
See also
*
Khaybar
KhaybarOther standardized Arabic transliterations: / . Anglicized pronunciation: , . ( ar, خَيْبَر, ) is an oasis situated some north of the city of Medina in the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia. Prior to the rise of Islam in the 7t ...
*
Battle of Khaybar
The Battle of Khaybar ( ar, غَزْوَة خَيْبَر, label=Classical Arabic, Arabic) was fought in 628 Common Era, CE between the early Muslims led by Muhammad and Jews living in Khaybar, an oasis located 150 km from Medina in the n ...
*
Safiyya bint Huyayy
Ṣafīyyah bint Ḥuyayy ( ar, صفية بنت حيي) was one of the wives of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. She was, along with all other wives of Muhammad, titled Umm-ul-Mu'mineen or the "Mother of Believers".Stowasser, Barbara. ''The Mother ...
*
Makhamra family
The Makhamra family ( ar, المخامرة), also Muhamra or Mahmara, is an extended family from the Palestinian city of Yatta, in the Hebron Governorate, West Bank. It is one of the largest clans in the southern Hebron Hills. In Palestinian Ar ...
*
Antisemitism in the Arab world
Antisemitism (prejudice against and hatred of Jews) has increased greatly in the Arab world since the beginning of the 20th century, for several reasons: the dissolution and breakdown of the Ottoman Empire and traditional Islamic society; Eu ...
*
Islam and antisemitism
Antisemitism in Islam refers to scriptural and theological teachings in Islam against Jews and Judaism, and the treatment and persecution of Jews in the Muslim world.
With the rise of Islam in Arabia in the 7th century CE and its subseque ...
References
{{Arabian Peninsula Jewish tribes
Khaybar
KhaybarOther standardized Arabic transliterations: / . Anglicized pronunciation: , . ( ar, خَيْبَر, ) is an oasis situated some north of the city of Medina in the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia. Prior to the rise of Islam in the 7t ...
Khaybar
KhaybarOther standardized Arabic transliterations: / . Anglicized pronunciation: , . ( ar, خَيْبَر, ) is an oasis situated some north of the city of Medina in the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia. Prior to the rise of Islam in the 7t ...
Khaybar
KhaybarOther standardized Arabic transliterations: / . Anglicized pronunciation: , . ( ar, خَيْبَر, ) is an oasis situated some north of the city of Medina in the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia. Prior to the rise of Islam in the 7t ...
Khaybar
KhaybarOther standardized Arabic transliterations: / . Anglicized pronunciation: , . ( ar, خَيْبَر, ) is an oasis situated some north of the city of Medina in the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia. Prior to the rise of Islam in the 7t ...
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...