The Prophet’s interactions with the Jews
Question

                How did the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) interact with the Jews?
Praise be to Allah.
    The best of speech is the word of Allah, and the best 
    guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
    him), for he is the most perfect of Allah’s creation and he is the leader of 
    the Messengers. He instructed us to adhere to his guidance, as he said: “You 
    must adhere to my Sunnah.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (4607); classed as saheeh 
    by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood. 

    His teachings and his Sunnah show us the best example and 
    guide us to the best of manners, especially in his interactions (blessings 
    and peace of Allah be upon him) with the followers of other religions. We 
    may sum up his conduct in his interactions with the Jews as follows: 

    1.

    Adopting the correct attitude towards Judaism and all other 
    religions. This attitude includes the belief that Islam and pure monotheism 
    (Tawheed) are superior and all other religions constitute disbelief and are 
    wrong; and the affirmation that on the Day of Resurrection, Allah, may He be 
    exalted, will not accept anything but Islam and affirmation of the Oneness 
    of Allah, as He, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
    “And 
    whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, 
    and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers” 
    [Aal ‘Imraan 3:85]. 

    This affirmation is the foundation on which the call of the 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was based, and his 
    attitude was in accordance with it, because it is one of the fundamentals of 
    the Muslim’s belief that has been subjected to deviation and distortion in 
    recent times by those who promote the concept of “unity of religions”.

    Please see the answer to question no. 
    21534 

    2.

    Therefore the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
    him) was keen to call the Jews to Islam, and he did not miss any opportunity 
    to convey to them the religion of Allah, may He be exalted, to the point 
    that he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not begin any fight 
    with them – the cause of which was their treachery and betrayal – until he 
    first called them and exhorted them, as he said to ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may 
    Allah be pleased with him) on the day of the conquest of Khaybar: “Advance 
    cautiously, until you reach their open space, then invite them to Islam, and 
    tell them of their duties before Allah. By Allah, if Allah were to guide one 
    man through you, that would be better for you than having red camels.”

    Narrated by al-Bukhaari (2942) and Muslim (2406). 

    3.

    Affirmation that the bonds of alliance and friendship should 
    only be among the believers, and that it is obligatory to disavow any 
    obvious disbelief. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) 
    made Islam the basis of brotherhood, so it is not permissible for a Muslim 
    to take as allies and close friends the followers of any religion, in terms 
    of loving and affection. Therefore you find that when the Prophet (blessings 
    and peace of Allah be upon him) first came to Madinah, he hastened to 
    establish the clear distinction between Islam and Judaism, and in the text 
    of the constitution that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
    him) issued instructions to be written in order to govern the relationship 
    between the inhabitants of Madinah, it says: “The believers are one 
    community to the exclusion of all others.” Narrated by al-Qaasim ibn Salaam 
    in al-Amwaal (517) from the mursal reports of az-Zuhri. 

    Dr Akram al-‘Umari said: 

    These bonds are restricted to the Muslims and do not include 
    others, such as the Jews or other allies. Undoubtedly the clear 
    differentiation between religious groups was something deliberate that was 
    aimed at making the group more cohesive and proud of its identity. End 
    quote. 

    See: as-Seerah an-Nabawiyyah as-Saheehah by Dr Akram 
    al-‘Umari (1/272-291) in which he analyses the document in more detail. 

    4.

    But the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) 
    acknowledged the rights of the Jews and Christians. Those who think that 
    disavowal of the distorted religion of the Jews necessitates mistreating 
    them and taking away their rights are mistaken. The Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) accepted the presence of the Jews in Madinah and 
    wrote in the constitution of Madinah: “The Jews of Banu ‘Awf are one 
    community with the believers,” and he guaranteed to them all kinds of 
    rights:

    (a)the right to life: 
    so he did not execute any Jew except one who committed an act of treachery 
    and betrayal.

    (b)the right to 
    choose one’s religion: as he allowed them to carry on following their 
    religion, and he did not force anyone to become Muslim, acting in accordance 
    with the words of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted (interpretation of 
    the meaning): “There 
    is no compulsion in religion” 
    [al-Baqarah 2:256]. He 
    wrote in the constitution of Madinah: “The Jews have their religion and the 
    Muslims have theirs, their freedmen and their persons…”

    (c)The right to own 
    property. He did not confiscate the property of any one of them; rather the 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) approved of the Muslims 
    doing business with them.

    (d)The right to 
    protection and defence. It says in the constitution of Madinah: “The Jews 
    must bear their expenses and the Muslims their expenses. Each must help the 
    other against anyone who attacks the people of this document.”

    (e)The right to fair 
    treatment and standing up against wrongdoing committed against anyone. This 
    is affirmed in the constitution of Madinah in which it says: “To the Jew who 
    follows us belong help and support. He will not be wronged nor shall his 
    enemies be aided.” The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) 
    was fair in passing judgement, even if it was at the expense of the Muslims. 
    When the people of Khaybar killed ‘Abdullah ibn Sahl (may Allah be pleased 
    with him), the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not 
    rule that they had to pay the diyah (blood money), and he did not punish 
    them for their crime, because there was no clear evidence against them. The 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) even paid his blood money 
    from the wealth of the Muslims. The story is in al-Bukhaari (6769) and 
    Muslim (1669). When al-Ash‘ath ibn Qays and a Jewish man referred a dispute 
    to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) concerning some 
    land in Yemen, and ‘Abdullah did not have any proof, the Prophet (blessings 
    and peace of Allah be upon him) ruled that the land belonged to the Jew, on 
    the basis of his oath, as it says in al-Bukhaari (2525) and Muslim (138).
    

    (f)The Prophet 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) even given the Jews the right to 
    refer for judgement concerning matters amongst themselves to their own 
    religious laws, and he did not oblige them to follow Muslim laws so long as 
    both parties in the matter were Jewish, unless they referred the dispute to 
    him (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and asked him to judge 
    between them. In that case he would judge between them according to the laws 
    of Allah and the religion of the Muslims. Allah, may He be glorified and 
    exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “So 
    if they come to you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)), 
    either judge between them, or turn away from them. If you turn away from 
    them, they cannot hurt you in the least. And if you judge, judge with 
    justice between them. Verily, Allah loves those who act justly” 
    [al-Maa’idah 5:42).

    5.

    The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) 
    treated all people well, including the Jews. Allah, may He be glorified, 
    enjoined fairness, kindness, good treatment and rendering back trusts with 
    the Jews and others, as He, may He be glorified, said (interpretation of the 
    meaning):

    “Allah does 
    not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against 
    you on account of religion and did not drive you out of your homes. Verily, 
    Allah loves those who deal with equity”

    [al-Mumtahanah 60:8]. 
     

    Examples of the kindness of the Prophet (blessings and peace 
    of Allah be upon him) in his interactions with the Jews include the 
    following: 

    (a)He used to visit 
    their sick. Al-Bukhaari (1356) narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be 
    pleased with him) that a Jewish boy used to serve the Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) and he fell sick. The Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) came to visit him. He sat by his head and said: 
    “Become Muslim.” The boy looked at his father, who was also by his head, and 
    his father said to him: Obey Abu’l-Qaasim (blessings and peace of Allah be 
    upon him). So he became Muslim, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of 
    Allah be upon him) left, saying, “Praise be to Allah Who have saved him from 
    the Fire.”.

    (b)He (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) used to accept their gifts. Al-Bukhaari (2617) 
    and Muslim (2190) narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with 
    him) that a Jewish woman brought some poisoned mutton to the Messenger of 
    Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and he ate some of it.

    (c)The Prophet 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to forgive their 
    mistreatment, and he told the people not to kill that woman who had put the 
    poison in the mutton. In the rest of the hadith mentioned above it says: She 
    was brought to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
    him) and he asked her about that. She said: I wanted to kill you. He said: 
    “Allah will never give you the power to do that.” Or he said: “to me.” They 
    said: Shall we kill her? He said: “No.” In fact, in the hadith of Abu 
    Hurayrah in Saheeh al-Bukhaari (3169) it says that this was done with 
    the knowledge of the Jews and that they admitted that they had tried to kill 
    him with poison. Yet despite that he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
    him) did not issue orders that revenge be taken on his behalf, but after 
    that he executed her for the death of the Sahaabi who had been with him 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and had eaten some of the 
    poisoned mutton; his name was Bishr ibn al-Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with 
    him).

    Similarly, when the Jew Labeed ibn al-Asamm 
    bewitched him, and Allah healed him from that spell, he did not take revenge 
    on him or issue orders that he be killed. Rather in Sunan al-Nasaa’i 
    (4080), in a report which was classed saheeh by al-Albaani, it is narrated 
    that Zayd ibn Arqam said: He never mentioned  that to that Jew and I never 
    saw that reflected in his expression (if he met him).

    (d)The Prophet 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to enter into dealings with 
    the Jews and would be sincere in his dealings with them. It was narrated 
    that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) gave Khaybar to the Jews on the 
    basis that they would work and cultivate it, and they would have half of 
    whatever it yielded. Narrated by al-Bukhaari (2165) and Muslim (1551).

    It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah 
    be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of 
    Allah be upon him) bought some food on credit from a Jew, and he gave him a 
    shield of his as collateral (rahn). Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1990) and 
    Muslim (1603).

    (e)When the Prophet 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) first came to Madinah, he used to 
    like to go along with some of the deeds and customs of the Jews, so as to 
    soften their hearts towards Islam. But when he saw their stubbornness, 
    denial and arrogance, he issued instructions to be different from them, and 
    he forbade resembling them.

    It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may 
    Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace 
    of Allah be upon him) used to let his hair hang over his forehead and the 
    mushrikeen used to part their hair. The People of the Book used to let their 
    hair hang over their foreheads and the Messenger of Allah (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) liked to do the same as the People of the Book 
    in matters concerning which he had received no command. Then (later on) the 
    Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) parted his 
    hair. Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3728) and Muslim (2336).

    (f)The Prophet 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not refrain from debating 
    with them; rather he was humble with them and he would answer their 
    questions, even if their intention in asking him was to be stubborn and 
    argue on the basis of falsehood.

    It was narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood 
    (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whilst I was walking with the Prophet 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) 
    in a field, and he was leaning on a stick, he passed by a 
    group of Jews. They said to one another: Ask him about the soul. They said: 
    Why do you want to ask him about it? He may give an answer that you dislike. 
    They said: Ask him. So one of them stood up and asked him about the soul. 
    The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) remained silent and 
    did not give any answer, and I knew that Revelation was coming to him. I 
    stayed where I was, and when the Revelation ended he said: “And 
    they ask you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) 
    concerning the Rooh (the spirit). Say: “The Rooh (the spirit) is one of the 
    things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you 
    (mankind) have been given only a little” [al-Isra’ 17:85].. 
    Narrated by al-Bukhaari (444) and Muslim (2794).

    (g)He used to pray 
    for them to be guided and set straight. It was narrated that Abu Moosa (may 
    Allah be pleased with him) said: The Jews used to pretend to sneeze in the 
    presence of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) hoping 
    that he would say to them, May Allah have mercy on you, so he would say: May 
    Allah guide you and set you straight. Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (2739); he 
    said: It is hasan saheeh. It was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in 
    Saheeh at-Tirmidhi.  

     6.

    On the other hand, he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
    him) not did not allow the Jews to transgress the sacred limits of the 
    Muslims or to persist in that. He would punish anyone who transgressed 
    against the Muslims, wronged them or overstepped the mark in doing so. When 
    some of the Jews of Banu Qaynuqaa‘ harassed a Muslim woman in the 
    marketplace and did a trick to expose her ‘awrah, and they challenged the 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to fight, saying: O 
    Muhammad, do not be deceived by the fact that you killed some of Quraysh, 
    for they were unskilled and did not know how to fight; but if you fight us 
    you will find out that we are real men – as was narrated and classed as 
    hasan by Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Baari (7/332) – the Prophet (blessings 
    and peace of Allah be upon him) confronted them and expelled them from 
    Madinah. That happened in Shawwaal of 2 AH. 

    When the trouble caused by the Jew Ka‘b ibn Ashraf to the 
    Muslims became grave and he began to impugn their honour and say things 
    about their women in his poetry, and he travelled to Makkah to incite the 
    leaders of Quraysh against the Muslims, the Prophet (blessings and peace of 
    Allah be upon him) issued orders to kill him. This is mentioned in a lengthy 
    story of events that occurred in Rabee‘ al-Awwal 3 AH, which was narrated by 
    al-Bukhaari (2375) and Muslim (1801). 

    Similarly, after repeated attempts by Banu an-Nadeer to kill 
    the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), as is seen in 
    well-known stories that were narrated by the authors of al-Maghaazi 
    and Seerah, and they sent word to Quraysh to incite them to attack 
    Madinah, and they told them of the Muslims’ weak points, the Prophet 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) issued orders that they be 
    banished from Madinah in 4 AH. See al-Maghaazi by al-Waaqidi 
    (1/363-370) and Seerah Ibn Hishaam (3/682) 

    As for the Jews of Banu Qurayzah, the Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) executed their fighters when they betrayed him 
    on the Day of al-Ahzaab and formed an alliance with Quraysh and the Arabs 
    against the Muslims, and they broke the treaty that they had with the 
    latter. That occurred in 5 AH. 

    See: Seerah Ibn Hishaam (3/706).  

    There are many reports which say that the Prophet (blessings 
    and peace of Allah be upon him) pardoned everyone among the Jews who showed 
    commitment to the treaty and he only punished those who took part in the 
    treacherous acts or approved of them. 

    See: as-Seerah an-Nabawiyyah as-Saheehah by Akram al-‘Umari 
    (1/316). It said in the covenant of Madinah: “The Jews have their religion 
    and the Muslims have theirs, their freedmen and their persons, except those 
    who behave unjustly and sinfully, for they hurt but themselves and their 
    families.” 

    Finally, when the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be 
    upon him) saw the betrayal and treachery of the Jews, Allah revealed to him 
    that the Arabian peninsula should be exclusively for the religion of pure 
    monotheism, and no religion should be left in it except the religion that 
    Allah had chosen. 

    It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with 
    him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) issued 
    instructions during his final illness, saying: “expel the mushrikeen from 
    the Arabian Peninsula.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (2888) and Muslim (1637) 

    And Allah knows best.