In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
A Concise Summary of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
Authored by Sheikh Musa bin Rashid al-Azimi.
May Allah preserve him.
The Expedition of Banu al-Nadir.
This took place in Rabi' al-Awwal of the fourth year after the Hijrah.
There is a difference of opinion regarding the cause of this expedition, as follows:
The first reason:
Collecting the blood money for the two slain men.
Ibn Ishaq said:
Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, went out to the Banu al-Nadir,
seeking their assistance with the blood money for those two men from Banu 'Amir,
whom 'Amr bin Umayyah al-Damri, may Allah be pleased with him, had killed,
due to the covenant of protection that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had established for them.
As Yazid bin Ruman narrated to me:
There was a treaty and alliance between the Banu al-Nadir and the Banu 'Amir.
So when the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, came to them,
seeking their help with the blood money for those two slain men,
they said, "Yes, O Abu al-Qasim,
we will assist you in what you love, regarding that for which you have sought our help."
Then some of them conferred privately with others and said,
"You will never find the man in a state like this again,"
while the Messenger of Allah was sitting near a wall of one of their houses.
"So who is the man who will climb this house,
and drop a rock upon him, so that we may be rid of him?"
'Amr bin Jahhash bin Ka'b, one of them, volunteered for that,
and said, "I am the one for that."
So he climbed up to drop a rock upon him as he had said,
while the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was with a group of his Companions,
among whom were Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with them all.
Then news came to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, from heaven
regarding what the people intended.
So he stood up and left, returning to Medina.
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, was delayed from his Companions,
they stood up in search of him.
They met a man coming from the direction of Medina,
and asked him about him.
He said, "I saw him entering Medina."
So the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, came forward
until they reached him.
He informed them of the news
regarding the treachery the Jews had intended against him.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, then commanded
that they prepare for war against them and march toward them.
The second reason:
The treachery against the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and the attempt to kill him.
Abu Dawud narrated in his Sunan,
and 'Abd al-Razzaq al-San'ani in his Musannaf, with a sound (sahih) chain of narration,
and the wording is that of 'Abd al-Razzaq,
from a man among the Companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, who said:
"The disbelievers of Quraysh
wrote to 'Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul
and those with him who worshipped idols from the Aws and the Khazraj,
while the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was in Medina at that time, before the Battle of Badr,
saying:
'You have given shelter to our man,
and you are the most numerous people in Medina.
We swear by Allah,
you must either kill him or expel him,
or we will seek the help of the Arabs against you,
and then we will march against you with all our forces,
until we kill your fighting men and take your women as captives.'"
When this reached 'Abdullah bin Ubayy and those with him among the idolaters,
they corresponded and gathered,
and resolved to fight the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his Companions.
When this reached the Prophet, peace be upon him,
he met them in a group
and said:
"The threats of Quraysh against you have reached their limit.
They could not plot against you more than you intend to plot against yourselves.
You are the ones who wish to kill your own sons and brothers."
When they heard that from the Prophet, peace be upon him,
they dispersed.
This reached the disbelievers of Quraysh,
and then the Battle of Badr took place.
After the Battle of Badr, the disbelievers of Quraysh wrote to the Jews:
"You are the people of armor and fortresses,
and you must fight our man,
or we will do such and such,
and nothing will stand between us and the enslavement of your women."
When their letter reached the Jews,
the Banu al-Nadir resolved to commit treachery.
They sent word to the Prophet, peace be upon him:
"Come out to us with thirty men from your Companions,
and we will come out with thirty rabbis,"
meaning scholars from among our scholars,
"so that we may meet at such and such a place,
halfway between us and you,
so they may hear from you.
If they believe you and trust in you,
we will all believe."
So the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, went out
with thirty of his Companions,
and thirty rabbis from the Jews came out to him,
until they stood in an open space of land.
Some of the Jews said to others,
"How can you get to him?
He has thirty men of his Companions with him,
all of whom would love to die defending him."
So they sent word to him:
"How can we understand each other,
when we are sixty men?
Come out with three of your Companions,
and three of our scholars will come out to you,
so they may hear from you.
If they believe you,
we will all believe and trust you."
So the Prophet, peace be upon him, went out
with three of his Companions,
and they had hidden daggers,
intending to assassinate the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
A sincere woman from the Banu al-Nadir sent word
to her brother's sons,
who was a Muslim man from the Ansar,
and informed him of what the Banu al-Nadir intended
regarding the treachery against the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
So her brother came quickly,
until he caught up with the Prophet, peace be upon him,
and whispered the news of them to him before the Prophet, peace be upon him, reached them.
So the Prophet, peace be upon him, returned.
When the next day came,
the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, went out against them with his battalions and besieged them.
Al-Hafiz said in Al-Fath:
"This is stronger than what Ibn Ishaq mentioned,
that the cause of the expedition of Banu al-Nadir
was his request, peace be upon him, for them to assist him with the blood money for the two men."
However, the majority of the scholars of the Maghazi (military expeditions) agreed with Ibn Ishaq.
And Allah knows best.
A Concise Summary of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
If the longing of the worlds for some of them is long,
then the longing for you has no limit.
May Allah send blessings upon you as long as the call to prayer is raised,
and the everlasting righteous deeds are performed.