Sirah
The Date-Gardens Left Behind
The expulsion of Banu Nadir and the revelation of Surat al-Hashr, 4 AH
4 AH / 625 CE
Educational historical reconstructionWhere
The date-garden estates and strongholds of Banu Nadir, south-east of Madinah
24.4520, 39.6350 · View on OpenStreetMap
Background
The Banu Nadir were the second of the three principal Jewish tribes of Madinah, holding the rich date-garden estates and fortified farmsteads on the south-eastern edge of the oasis. In the fourth year after the Hijrah, 625 CE, the sources place it in Rabi' al-Awwal, some months after the reverse at Uhud, relations broke down over what the Sira of Ibn Ishaq and the Maghazi of al-Waqidi record as a plot against the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) during a visit to the tribe over a blood-money matter. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called on the Banu Nadir to leave; encouraged by the leader of the Madinan 'hypocrites' (munafiqun), 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, who promised support that never came, they withstood a siege of some days before accepting terms. Under the terms they departed with their movable property, famously taking even the timbers and fittings of their own houses, dismantling their dwellings as they left, while their land and weapons remained behind. Most went to the Jewish settlement at Khaybar to the north, others onward toward Syria. The whole episode is the occasion of revelation of the fifty-ninth surah of the Qur'an, Surat al-Hashr ('the Gathering'), which opens: 'It is He who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering… they destroyed their houses by their own hands and the hands of the believers' (Q 59:2). Because the estates were taken without a military engagement of the general body of fighters, their disposition is treated in the surah under the category of fay' (Q 59:6-7). This scene depicts the departure: the famous date-gardens, the vacated fortified farmsteads, and the laden caravan leaving with what could be carried. It shows no violence and is framed soberly. In keeping with the strictest visual ethics, no figure is identifiable and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is not depicted.
What you see
Extensive, famous date-palm gardens spread across well-watered ground on the edge of the oasis, the rich plantations for which the Banu Nadir estates south-east of Madinah were known, the most prized agricultural land of the settlement.
Among the gardens stand fortified mud-brick estate-houses and small tower-strongholds (utum), the defensible farmstead-forts of the Madinan tribes, now standing open and being vacated.
A long caravan of laden camels files away from the estates, carrying household goods and even doors and fittings; some of the dwellings are being pulled down by their own departing owners as they go, the image the Qur'an records of houses ruined 'by their own hands and the hands of the believers' (Q 59:2).
Loaded camels carry off movable wealth, furnishings, stores, stripped timber and fittings, while the land, the wells, and the standing palms are left behind. What is portable goes; what is fixed remains.
The scene is the aftermath of a siege ended by terms, not by battle: an orderly, sober departure of a whole community from the gardens it had held, framed without violence.
The episode is the occasion of an entire surah, al-Hashr ('the Gathering', Q 59), which opens with the going-out of 'those who disbelieved among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering'.
The dating is the fourth year after the Hijrah, 625 CE, the sources place the siege and expulsion in Rabi' al-Awwal of that year, some months after the reverse at Uhud.
Primary sources
The Qur'an, Surat al-Hashr (Q 59): The surah revealed about the expulsion of Banu Nadir; Q 59:2 records the dismantling of their houses, Q 59:6-7 the fay' ruling. The foundational text; cited inline.
Ibn Ishaq / Ibn Hisham, Sirat Rasul Allah (compiled 8th-9th c.): The narrative of the alleged plot, the siege, the role of 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, the terms, and the departure to Khaybar and Syria. The principal source.
Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi (early 9th c.): Detailed account of the siege and the terms; dating to Rabi' al-Awwal 4 AH. Used with the usual caution on al-Waqidi.
al-Tabari, Jami' al-Bayan (tafsir) and Tarikh (10th c.): Standard Sunni exposition of Surat al-Hashr as the occasion of revelation, and placement of the episode after Uhud.
Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-Kubra (9th c.): Tribal and topographical detail on the Banu Nadir estates and the destinations of the expelled tribe.
Further reading & cross-references
al-Samhudi, Wafa' al-Wafa (15th c.): Madinan topography; the location of the Banu Nadir lands and their date-gardens south-east of the city.
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