Khaybar (
Arabic,خيبر) is the name of an
oasis some 95 miles to the north of
Medina (ancient
Yathrib),
Saudi Arabia. It was inhabited by
Jews before the rise of
Islam, and was conquered by
Muhammad in 629 AD. The door of Khaybar was impossible to open, only one man was able to open it, Imam Ali.
History
Pre-Islamic Khaybar
In
567, Khaybar was invaded and vacated of its
Jewish inhabitants by the
Ghassanid Arab Christian king
Al-Harith ibn Jabalah. He later freed to the captives upon his return to the
Levant. A brief account of the campaign is given by
Ibn Qutaybah , and confirmed by the
Harran Inscription. See Irfan Shahid's Byzantium and the Arab in the six century for full details.
Khaybar in the 7th century
In the 7th century, Khaybar was inhabited by Jews, who pioneered the cultivation of the oasis and made their living growing date palm trees, as well as through commerce and craftsmanship, accumulating considerable wealth. Some objects found by the Muslims when they entered Khaybar — a siege-engine, 20 bales of Yemenite cloth, and 500 cloaks — point out to an intense trade carried out by the Jews. In the past some scholars attempted to explain the siege-engine by suggesting that it was used for settling quarrels among the families of the community. Today most academics believe it was stored in a depôt for future sale, in the same way that swords, lances, shields, and other weaponry had been sold by the Jews to Arabs. Equally, the cloth and the cloaks may have been intended for sale, as it was unlikely that such a quantity of luxury goods were kept for the exclusive use of the Jews.
The oasis was divided into three regions: al-Natat, al-Shikk, and al-Katiba, probably separated by natural divisions, such as the desert, lava drifts, and swamps. Each of these regions contained several fortresses or redoubts containing homes, storehouses and stables. Each fortress was occupied by a separate family and surrounded by cultivated fields and palm-groves. In order to improve their defensive capabilities, the settlers raised the fortresses up on hills or basalt rocks.
Aftermath
Jews continued to live in the oasis for several more years afterwards until they were finally expelled by caliph
Umar. The imposition of tribute upon the conquered Jews of the Khaybar Fortress served as a precedent. Islamic law came to require exaction of tribute known as
jizya from
dhimmis, i.e. non-Muslims under
Muslim rule.
For many centuries, the oasis at Khaybar was an important caravan stopping place. The center developed around a series of ancient dams built to hold run-off water from the rain. Around the water catchments, date palms grew. Khaybar became an important date-producing center.
Battle of Khaybar
Expulsion of the Jews from Khaybar
During the reign of Caliph
Umar (634-644), the
Jewish community of Khaybar were transported alongside the
Christian community of
Najran to the newly conquered regions of
Syria and
Iraq. As a settlement, Umar issued orders that these Christians and Jews should be treated well and allotted them land in their new settlements equivalent to they land they initially owned. However, Umar also forbade
non-Muslims to reside in the
Hejaz for longer than three days. Since then, the Jews of Khaybar traveled around many areas throughout the
Islamic Empire as artisans and merchants and maintained a distinctive identity until the 12th century.
The Journey of Benjamin of Tudela
Benjamin was a Jew from
Tudela in Spain. He travelled to Persia and Arabia in the 12th century. He visited and described Khaybar and neighboring
Tayma some time around 1170.
Present use
Due to dissatisfaction and anger towards the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Battle of Khaybar was used in protests in several Muslim countries as a reference to
Israel. One chant states,
Khaybar Khaybar ya Yahūd, jaysh Muḥammad saya‘ūd (خيبر خيبر يايهود جيش محمد سيعود) which translates to "Khaybar, Khaybar o Jews, the army of Muhammad will return". Such references were especially useful as propaganda tools for Islamic extremist groups to attract dissatisfied Muslim youth to their ranks, such as
Hizbullah and
Al-Qaeda. In addition, the Lebanese Shia militia
Hizbullah dubbed missiles it fired on Israeli cities after Khaybar during the
Lebanon War of 2006.
See also
Fadak
Battle of Khaybar
Safiyya bint Huyayy
References
External links
Joseph Braslavi (Braslavski) and Leah Bornstein-Makovetsky (1972, 2006), Khaybar, in Encyclopedia Judaica, via Jewish Virtual Library
Category:Jewish Saudi Arabian history
Category:Oases of Saudi Arabia
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