The Evacuation

Ibn Isḥāq relates that they loaded their belongings onto their camels to the extent the camels could bear; some of their men tore down their own houses and removed the door lintels, which they mounted on the backs of their camels and carried away. Some of them had a great deal of money, and had been hoarding treasure. Sallām ibn Abī al-Ḥuqayq, for example, filled the skin of a bull with gold and silver, and said — hādhā mā aʿdadnāhu li-rafʿi al-arḍi wa khafḍihā, wa in kunnā taraknā nakhlan fa-fī Khaybara al-nakhl — "this is what we have prepared for the ups and downs of this world, and if we have left our palm groves behind, we shall find palm groves at Khaybar; no matter." If they were to leave their farms behind, that was fine — he was ready to leave; he had collected this money over the years for misfortunes such as this one. So he carried away this great load of gold and silver with him. Some of them went to Khaybar, and some of them went to al-Shām. Banū al-Naḍīr had a great deal of pride, and were highly respected among the Jewish tribes of the region, considered to be the learned ones, the scholars, among them. They did not want the Muslims to laugh at their misfortune; they wanted to show that what had happened was something they were not upset by, that they had lost nothing, and they tried to keep up that appearance. So when they arrived at Khaybar, ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Bakr relates: "They were received by women and young men, with gifts, with tambourines and flutes, and with girls walking behind them singing boldly and with pride. Nothing similar is related of any tribe of people in their era." So even though these were people defeated and driven from their land, they were welcomed at Khaybar as heroes — because they did not want the Muslims to feel sorry for them or laugh at their misfortune, when in truth it was a great setback for them, giving up their houses and their lands.