The Case of Banū Naḍīr and Banū Qurayẓah

When people are plotting against you continually, and there is a constant matter of people stirring up and instigating others and conspiring, it causes much disturbance. Allah (swt) therefore says, in verse 41:

Do not let this grieve you. The whole of that passage is to the effect that they lie to you a great deal, and tell many untruths; do not be troubled by it, for Allah (swt) will deal with it; and be wary of what they say.

There were several incidents. As the Muslims grew stronger the Jewish tribes grew weaker, and in time it was understood that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was, as it were, the leader of Madīnah Munawwarah. The Jews would therefore sometimes bring their cases to him. They had, of course, their own right to their own personal law; but sometimes they would bring a case, and there were several instances in which various things occurred.

One incident that took place is worth relating. Of the three tribes, there were disputes between two: Banū Qurayẓah and Banū Naḍīr. Banū Naḍīr was the larger and wealthier tribe, and Banū Qurayẓah the poorer and, as it were, the inferior. What took place was complete injustice. There was an agreement that had to be made between them, and in the end Banū Naḍīr compelled Banū Qurayẓah to accept gravely disadvantageous conditions, which were unjust. For example, if a man of Banū Naḍīr killed a man of the other tribe, the murderer could not be killed in retaliation: a ransom could be charged, but he could not be killed. Whereas if a man of Banū Qurayẓah killed a man of Banū Naḍīr, he was subject to the death penalty and a double ransom. Completely unjust. There was not even an attempt to say: let us make it look just. Likewise, if the murder victim of Banū Naḍīr was a woman — a woman of Banū Naḍīr, the superior tribe as it were — then a man of Qurayẓah had to be killed, not merely a woman; for they reckoned it at half to one. And if the victim was a man of Banū Naḍīr, then two men of Qurayẓah had to be killed.

On one occasion a man of their tribe was killed, and they demanded double the money. Banū Qurayẓah said: we cannot — we shall not give you double the money. They refused to pay; it was unjust, and they refused to pay. They had been forced into the agreement, but now they refused to pay, and they said: let us put the matter before the Prophet (peace be upon him), for they knew that they would receive justice from him. Banū Naḍīr were hesitant; but before refusing outright — for they were in a bind — they sent some of the hypocrites, who were their friends, to find out from the Prophet (peace be upon him) what the ruling would be. There is a long story to that. The point here is that Allah (swt) then says:

Why do they make you the judge? It was later discovered that this very matter was set down in the Torah. They had gone against the Old Testament, the Torah, and made their agreement in opposition to it — when what the Prophet (peace be upon him) was going to rule was the ruling of the Torah; it was the same. All of those rulings are now set out here.