The Madinan Period, Part 8: The Jewish Tribes of Madīnah
Section 9 of 13 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Madinan Period
Two Allies, Two Answers
ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy, who had been their ally in the Jāhiliyyah, went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and tried to appeal for his allies. ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit, who was also their ally, went to him as well.* Both ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy and ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit were equally allies of the Banū Qaynuqāʿ, but look at the difference in the position of these two men.
ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit was now a good Muslim, so he goes to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and says: "Messenger of Allah, my only loyalty is to Allah, to Him, His Messenger, and the believers. I renounce the alliance with those unbelievers, and I will give them no support whatsoever." He does this at his own initiative — it is not the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) who invited him. He goes to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and makes it known that, yes, he was their ally in the time of the Jāhiliyyah, and this alliance is old, and they had fought together on many occasions — but right now he is announcing that his loyalty goes to Allah, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and the believers, and he renounces his ties with the people of the Banū Qaynuqāʿ.
ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy, meanwhile, goes to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and says, "Be good to my allies." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) does not answer back. So then ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy sees the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) another time and says, "Be good to my allies." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) does not respond back. So ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy puts his hand in the collar of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and pulls him, and refuses to let him go, and says again, "Be good to my allies." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told him, "Let me go" — and the narrator of this hadith said the face of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) became angry; one could see anger on his face as he told ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy, "Woe to you, let me go." And ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy said: "They are seven hundred fighters who protected me against all my enemies, and now you want to mow them down in one morning? I am a man who fears the turns of fortune. I am not going to let you go until you let them free — they have helped me on numerous occasions, and now you just want to execute all of these men in one day." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told him, "They are yours, they are yours" — let them free.
So the people of the Banū Qaynuqāʿ were set free; they were allowed to leave, and the one who administered their travelling was ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit, and they travelled to Syria. Their money was taken as spoils of war, and was distributed among the Muslims. Some ayahs were revealed regarding ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy and ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit, because this showed the position of both men regarding their loyalty and their alliance to the Yahūd. Allah (swt) says:
۞ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَتَّخِذُوا۟ ٱلْيَهُودَ وَٱلنَّصَـٰرَىٰٓ أَوْلِيَآءَ ۘ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُۥ مِنْهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ فَتَرَى ٱلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ يُسَـٰرِعُونَ فِيهِمْ يَقُولُونَ نَخْشَىٰٓ أَن تُصِيبَنَا دَآئِرَةٌ ۚ فَعَسَى ٱللَّهُ أَن يَأْتِىَ بِٱلْفَتْحِ أَوْ أَمْرٍ مِّنْ عِندِهِۦ فَيُصْبِحُوا۟ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَسَرُّوا۟ فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ نَـٰدِمِينَ وَيَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَهَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ ٱلَّذِينَ أَقْسَمُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَـٰنِهِمْ ۙ إِنَّهُمْ لَمَعَكُمْ ۚ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَـٰلُهُمْ فَأَصْبَحُوا۟ خَـٰسِرِينَ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَن يَرْتَدَّ مِنكُمْ عَن دِينِهِۦ فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِى ٱللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُۥٓ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ يُجَـٰهِدُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَآئِمٍ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ فَضْلُ ٱللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ وَٰسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَهُمْ رَٰكِعُونَ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ فَإِنَّ حِزْبَ ٱللَّهِ هُمُ ٱلْغَـٰلِبُونَ
“O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Christians for intimate friends. They are friends to each other. Whoever takes them as intimate friends is one of them. Surely, Allah does not take the unjust people to the right path. Now, you see those who have disease in their hearts race towards them saying, “We apprehend that some misfortune may overtake us.”So, it is likely that Allah may bring victory or something else from His own side, whereupon they will become regretful over what they concealed in their hearts. Those who believe will say, “Are these the ones who swore their solemn oaths by Allah that they were with you?” Their deeds have gone to waste, and they became losers. O you who believe, if anyone from you turns back from his Faith, then Allah will bring a people whom He loves and who love Him, humble toward the believers, hard on the disbelievers, who fight in the way of Allah and are not afraid of the reproach of any critic. That is a grace of Allah. He confers it on whom He wills. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing Your only friend is Allah, then His Messenger and those who believe, who establish Salāh and pay Zakāh and bow before Allah. Whoever maintains friendship with Allah and His Messenger and those who believe (must know that) it is the (members of the) Party of Allah that are the triumphant.” (5:51–56)
So those in whose hearts is disease — meaning hypocrisy — are seen hastening into associating with the Yahūd, saying, "We are afraid a misfortune may strike us." This is talking about ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy: he is worried that a disaster might befall him if his alliance with the Yahūd is revoked. Somehow he thinks that his protection lies with them; if he does not keep this alliance, he fears evil will befall him, without tawakkul on Allah (swt). Allah (swt) promises that He will bring conquest or a decision from Him, so that the believers will win against these people whom the hypocrites consider allies and think will protect them, and the hypocrites will become regretful over what they have been concealing within themselves. And those who believe will say: "Are these the ones who swore by Allah their strongest oaths that indeed they would be with you? Their deeds have become worthless, and they have become losers."
Allah (swt) promises that whoever among the believers should turn back from his faith, He will bring forth in their place a people He loves and who love Him — this ayah carries the attributes of the victorious party, al-ṭāʾifah al-manṣūrah. Number one, Allah loves them; number two, they love Allah; number three, they are humble towards the believers; number four, powerful against the disbelievers; number five, they strive in jihād in the cause of Allah; and number six, they do not fear the blame of a critic — they do not care what people will say about them, or what the disbelievers say about them, so long as it pleases Allah (swt), and that is enough. That is the favour of Allah, which He gives to whom He wills, and Allah is all-encompassing and knowing.
ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy was approached again, and told him, "How are you going to revoke your alliance with these people who have helped you on such and such day," and went on in that vein. ʿUbādah said to him: "Now hearts are different. Islam has erased all of the former alliances, and you are holding on to something you will see is wrong tomorrow" — you will realise that it is wrong tomorrow, so give up these thoughts, because he will realise that he has taken the wrong course of action. So Allah (swt) here is confirming what ʿUbādah said: that if loyalty goes to Allah, His Messenger, and the believers, they are the ones who will be victorious in the end. In other words, ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy was betting on the losing horse.