The Madinan Period, Part 8: The Jewish Tribes of Madīnah
Section 6 of 13 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Madinan Period
Curses Wrapped in Greetings
The Jews were disrespectful of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). They came to him once saying, "as-sāmu ʿalaykum, Rasūl Allāh" — which sounds very close to "as-salāmu ʿalaykum" — taking out the lām, so that instead of "salām" they would say "sām": as-sāmu ʿalaykum, meaning may death befall you, may death befall you. ʿĀʾishah was very upset, and she said, "as-sāmu ʿalaykum, you sons of monkeys and pigs," cursing them. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Do not say that, ʿĀʾishah, for Allah (swt) does not love ill speech" (Muslim 2165). Allah (swt) says of them:
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ نُهُوا۟ عَنِ ٱلنَّجْوَىٰ ثُمَّ يَعُودُونَ لِمَا نُهُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَيَتَنَـٰجَوْنَ بِٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْعُدْوَٰنِ وَمَعْصِيَتِ ٱلرَّسُولِ وَإِذَا جَآءُوكَ حَيَّوْكَ بِمَا لَمْ يُحَيِّكَ بِهِ ٱللَّهُ وَيَقُولُونَ فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَوْلَا يُعَذِّبُنَا ٱللَّهُ بِمَا نَقُولُ ۚ حَسْبُهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ يَصْلَوْنَهَا ۖ فَبِئْسَ ٱلْمَصِيرُ
“Did you not see those who were forbidden from holding secret talks; then they do again what they were forbidden to do? They whisper for sinful act and wrongdoing and disobedience of the prophet, and when they come to you, they greet you the way Allah does not greet you, and say to themselves, “Why does Allah not punish us for what we say?” Enough for them is Jahannam (Hell); they will enter it, and it is an evil end.” (58:8)
Have you not considered those who were forbidden from private conversation — ridicule and conspiracy — then they return to that which they were forbidden, and converse among themselves about sin and aggression and disobedience to the Messenger? And when they come to you, they greet you with that by which Allah does not greet you, and say among themselves, "Why does Allah not punish us for what we say?" So they would say: we are speaking these ill words about the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and nothing is happening to us; so this is evidence that he is not really the Messenger of Allah. Allah (swt) said: "Sufficient for them is Hell, which they will enter to burn; and wretched is the destination."
The Yahūd also supported the hypocrites and were the spiritual advisors to the hypocrites. Allah (swt) says:
وَإِذَا لَقُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ قَالُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ شَيَـٰطِينِهِمْ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا مَعَكُمْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُسْتَهْزِءُونَ
“When they meet those who believe, they say, “We have entered Faith;” but when they are alone with their satans, they say, “Indeed, we are with you; we were only mocking.”” (2:14)
And when they meet those who believe, they say, "We believe"; but when they are alone with their evil ones — and the evil ones here refers to the Yahūd — they say, "Indeed, we are with you; we were only mockers." And of those who reverted to disbelief after guidance had become clear to them, Allah (swt) says Satan enticed them and prolonged hope for them, because they said to those who disliked what Allah had sent down:
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱرْتَدُّوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَدْبَـٰرِهِم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمُ ٱلْهُدَى ۙ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ سَوَّلَ لَهُمْ وَأَمْلَىٰ لَهُمْ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ كَرِهُوا۟ مَا نَزَّلَ ٱللَّهُ سَنُطِيعُكُمْ فِى بَعْضِ ٱلْأَمْرِ ۖ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ إِسْرَارَهُمْ
“Surely those who turn back after the guidance has appeared to them clearly, it is Satan who has tempted them and involved them in far-fetched fancies. That is because they say to those who hate that which Allah has revealed, “We will obey you in some respects.” And Allah knows their secret talk.” (47:25–26)
Obeying such people even in part of the matter — not all of it, even a small thing — is sufficient to classify a person as somebody who has left the fold of Islam, somebody who is a munāfiq. So the believers need to be very careful about this issue, and not fall prey to being seduced by the Yahūd and the Naṣārā. Allah (swt) says:
۞ أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ تَوَلَّوْا۟ قَوْمًا غَضِبَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مَّا هُم مِّنكُمْ وَلَا مِنْهُمْ وَيَحْلِفُونَ عَلَى ٱلْكَذِبِ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ أَعَدَّ ٱللَّهُ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا ۖ إِنَّهُمْ سَآءَ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱتَّخَذُوٓا۟ أَيْمَـٰنَهُمْ جُنَّةً فَصَدُّوا۟ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ فَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ
“Have you not seen those who have friendship with a people with whom Allah is angry. They are neither of you nor of them. They swear false oaths while they know. Allah has prepared a severe punishment for them. Indeed, evil is what they have been doing. They have taken their oaths as a shield, and then have prevented (people) from the way of Allah. Therefore, for them there is a humiliating punishment.” (58:14–16)
Those with whom Allah has become angry, as it is in Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, are the Yahūd. They are neither of the believers nor of the disbelievers outright, and they swear to untruth while they know they are lying, taking their false oaths as a cover with which they turn people from the way of Allah.
Another thing the Jews were doing in Madīnah was trying to block the path of people becoming Muslim. With ʿAbdullāh ibn Salām, for example — his story already given in an earlier chapter — immediately as soon as he became Muslim, they started accusing him of being a liar and of being unfaithful to his people and to his religion. They would do the same even with the Arabs who became Muslim, telling them that their old religion was better than Islam, when it might have been expected that the Yahūd would consider the Muslims closer to them than the idol-worshippers — but that was not the case. All of this would lead the Muslims and the Jews to confrontation: they were on a collision course.