The Battle of Khaybar (7 AH)

Background: The Jewish Fortress-Towns of Khaybar

Following the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah in 6 AH, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) turned attention to Khaybar — a cluster of fortified settlements approximately 150 kilometers north of Madinah, inhabited primarily by the Banu Nadir Jews who had been expelled from Madinah for breaking their treaty with the Muslim community. From Khaybar, they had continued to incite tribes against the Muslims, played a significant role in financing and organizing the Confederacy that besieged Madinah in the Battle of the Trench, and maintained an aggressive posture toward the fledgling Islamic state.

In Muharram of 7 AH (late 628 CE), the Prophet (PBUH) marched with approximately 1,400–1,600 men toward Khaybar. The expedition began early in the morning, taking the inhabitants by surprise as they were heading to their fields with their tools — a moment that became remembered in Islamic tradition as emblematic of the sudden arrival of divine judgment.

The Fortresses of Khaybar

Khaybar was not a single settlement but a network of strongholds: Na'im, Qamus, Katiba, Shiqq, and Nitat among them. The Muslims besieged them in sequence, with each fortress proving a significant military challenge. The defenders were skilled fighters, well-supplied, and fighting on familiar terrain.

The most formidable fortress was Qamus, in the Katiba district, held by the chieftain Kinanah ibn al-Rabi'. The siege had dragged on when the Prophet (PBUH) declared: "Tomorrow I will give the banner to a man whom Allah and His Messenger love, and through whose hands Allah will grant victory." The companions spent the night wondering who it would be. In the morning, he called for Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA), who was suffering from an eye ailment. The Prophet (PBUH) applied his saliva to Ali's eyes, and the pain immediately left. He gave Ali the banner, and Allah granted the conquest through him.

The Aftermath and Treaty

After the fall of Khaybar's fortresses, the Prophet (PBUH) made a decision that would have lasting significance: rather than expelling the agricultural workers or dividing the lands immediately, he allowed the surviving Jewish inhabitants to remain and tend their date palm orchards — on the condition that they hand over half the harvest each year to the Muslims. This arrangement was to continue as long as the Prophet (PBUH) wished it.

This sharecropping arrangement (muzara'ah) was economically pragmatic — the Muslims lacked the agricultural expertise of the Khaybar farmers — but also reflected a consistent Islamic principle: defeated enemies who lay down arms were not annihilated but incorporated into a framework of regulated coexistence. Umar (RA) eventually expelled the remaining Jewish population from Khaybar years later when evidence emerged of continued violation of agreements.

Safiyyah bint Huyayy

Among the most historically noted events of Khaybar was the Prophet's (PBUH) marriage to Safiyyah bint Huyayy, the daughter of the chief of the Banu Nadir. She was initially taken as a captive, then freed and offered the choice between returning to her people or marrying the Prophet (PBUH). She chose marriage. Islamic scholars note that this marriage, like others the Prophet (PBUH) contracted, had political dimensions — it extended honor and protection to a defeated community — as well as the personal choice of a woman who embraced Islam.

The Poisoned Meal

After the conquest, a Jewish woman named Zaynab bint al-Harith presented the Prophet (PBUH) with a roasted sheep, into which she had mixed poison — particularly concentrated in the shoulder, which she knew was his preferred cut. He took a bite, then immediately sensed something was wrong and did not swallow. One companion, Bishr ibn al-Bara, who ate more of the meat, died from the poison. The woman was brought before the Prophet (PBUH) and confessed. He pardoned her initially but, after Bishr's death, had her executed in retaliation for the murder.

This incident later factored into the Prophet's (PBUH) own death — he reportedly mentioned in his final illness that he still felt the effects of the Khaybar poison. Islamic tradition sees this as one of the proofs of his prophethood: a man who survived assassination attempts through divine protection, yet bore their physical effects as part of the human condition.