Expulsion of Banu Nadir

Banu al-Nadir, the second of Medina's three major Jewish tribes, were expelled in Rabi' al-Awwal 4 AH after a plot against the Prophet's ﷺ life. He had visited their agricultural settlements to request assistance with blood money — a legitimate request under the Constitution of Medina they had signed — when Jibril warned him mid-visit that a man had climbed to the roof above him with a stone to kill him. The Prophet ﷺ departed without revealing what he had learned and sent a message giving the tribe ten days to leave Medina or face military action. Initially Banu al-Nadir began preparing to depart. Then Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul — the Medinan hypocrite leader — sent word promising two thousand fighters in their defense if they stayed. The promise was false. Banu al-Nadir fortified their compounds and refused to leave. The Prophet ﷺ besieged them for approximately fifteen days. No support arrived. Banu Qurayza, honoring their own covenant obligations, did not join the revolt. With no relief coming, Banu al-Nadir surrendered on terms: they could leave with one camel load each — any possession they could carry — but had to surrender all weapons and armor. They went primarily to Khaybar, where they would continue their opposition until the Battle of Khaybar in 7 AH. Their property — orchards, houses, stored grain, weapons — passed to the Muslim community. Surah al-Hashr (59) is the Quran's direct commentary on the expulsion: it addresses the false alliance of the hypocrites, describes the fear Allah placed in the hearts of Banu al-Nadir before any military force was deployed, and establishes the principle that property acquired without open warfare belongs to the community for general welfare rather than to individual fighters. The surah closes with some of the most exalted divine attributes in the Quran (59:22-24) — a reminder that the specific historical event of a tribe's expulsion is governed by the same sovereignty, holiness, and omniscience that govern all of creation. The expulsion of Banu al-Nadir was the second of three major covenant breakdowns with Medina's Jewish tribes — following Banu Qaynuqa's expulsion in 2 AH and preceding the far more severe confrontation with Banu Qurayza in 5 AH after the Battle of the Trench. Each episode escalated in severity: market humiliation, then assassination plot, then active military support for a besieging enemy. The Prophet's ﷺ responses escalated proportionately — exile, exile with less property, and finally the judgment of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh.