Muhammad And His Personal Enemies

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Looked like he was not happy when some one criticizing him. Killing them was the best way to keep their mouth shut.
 
Here are two examples

"The Case of Ka’b bin al-Ashraf

When Ka’b heard of all the men who had been killed by Muslims at the Battle of Badr, he wept for the departed and composed a poem in memory of their good works. The Muslims responded with poetry of their own. One Muslim woman answered:

Would that those weltering in their blood

Could be seen by those who live between Mecca’s mountains!

They would know for certain and would see

How they were dragged along by hair and beard.[7]

After this, Ka’b wrote poetry against the Muslim women, and Muhammad subsequently called for his assassination:

**The apostle said . . . “Who will rid me of Ibnu’l-Ashraf [Ka’b]?” ** Muhammad bin Maslama . . . said, “I will deal with him for you, O apostle of God, I will kill him.” [Muhammad] said, “Do so if you can.” . . . The apostle said, “All that is incumbent upon you is that you should try.” [The assassin] said, “O apostle of God, we shall have to tell lies.” He answered, “Say what you like, for you are free in this matter.”[8]

Muhammad bin Maslama, having received from Muhammad permission to lie, proceeded with his plan to murder Ka’b. The Muslims sent Silkan, a lover of poetry, to befriend Ka’b. Silkan and Ka’b spent some time reciting verses to one another, until the former asked a favor of his new friend. Silkan said that he and his companions wanted to buy some food from Ka’b and that he would put down a number of weapons as a pledge until payment could be made. He did this so that Ka’b “would not take alarm at the sight of weapons when they brought them.” **The Muslims came later with their weapons and invited Ka’b to join them for a walk, and he gladly joined them.

[A]fter a time Abu Na’ila ran his hand through [Ka’b’s] hair. Then he smelt his hand, and said, “I have never smelt a scent finer than this.” They walked on farther and he did the same so that Ka’b suspected no evil. Then after a space he did it for the third time, and cried, “Smite the enemy of God!” So they smote him, and their swords clashed over him with no effect. Muhammad bin Maslama said, “I remembered my dagger when I saw that our swords were useless, and I seized it. Meanwhile the enemy of God had made such a noise that every fort around us was showing a light. I thrust it into the lower part of his body, then I bore down upon it until I reached his genitals, and the enemy of God fell to the ground.”[9]**

The assassination of Ka’b had the desired effect: “Our attack upon God’s enemy cast terror among the Jews, and there was no Jew in Medina who did not fear for his life.”[10]

…

The Case of Abu-Rafi

"In a chapter titled “Killing a Sleeping Pagan,” Al-Bukhari gives the following report:

Allah’s Apostle (the blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) sent a group of Ansari men to kill Abu-Rafi. One of them set out and entered their (i.e. the enemy’s) fort. That man said: “I hid myself in a stable for their animals. They closed the fort gate. Later they lost a donkey belonging to them, so they went out in its search. I, too, went out along with them, pretending to look for it. They found the donkey and entered their fort. And I, too, entered along with them. They closed the gate of the fort at night, and kept its keys in a small window where I could see them. When those people slept, I took the keys and opened the gate of the fort and came upon Abu Rafi and said: ‘O Abu Rafi.’ When he replied to me, I proceeded towards the voice and hit him. He shouted and I came out to come back, pretending to be a helper. I said: ‘O Abu Rafi,’ changing the tone of my voice. He asked me: ‘What do you want; woe to your mother?’ I asked him: ‘What has happened to you?’ He said: ‘I don’t know who came to me and hit me.’ Then I drove my sword into his belly and pushed it forcibly until it touched the bone.”[23]

…

[5] Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah (The Life of Muhammad), A. Guillaume, tr. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980), p. 164.
[6] Ibid., p. 308.
[7] Ibid., p. 366.
[8] Ibid., p. 367. This account is corroborated in Sahih Al-Bukhari, Dr. Muhammad Matraji, tr. (New Delhi: Islamic Book Service, 2002), Number 3032.
[9] Ibid., p. 368.
[10] Ibid., p. 368.
…
[23] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Dr. Muhammad Matraji, tr. (New Delhi: Islamic Book Service, 2002), Number 3022. This assassination is confirmed in Numbers 3023, 4038, 4039, 4040."
Excerpted from
‘Murdered by Muhammad:
The Brutal Deaths of Islam’s Earliest Enemies’
by David Wood
answeringinfidels.com/content/view/61/42/
(bold and underline emphasis mine)

How cruel! 😦
 
ka’b bin al-ashraf breached a treaty and covenant that he had agreed to, which is one of the reasons his death was ordered. your portrayal of the incident as being one based merely on account of his poetry is an attempt to skew what really occurred. it also downplays the affect poetry had back in those times in arabia, where poetry was a means of destoying people’s reputations, including whole tribes.
 
Never heard poetry could destroy someone’s reputation. That is strange. Show me if he did break the treaty.
 
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r.gonzales:
ka’b bin al-ashraf breached a treaty and covenant that he had agreed to, which is one of the reasons his death was ordered. your portrayal of the incident as being one based merely on account of his poetry is an attempt to skew what really occurred. it also downplays the affect poetry had back in those times in arabia, where poetry was a means of destoying people’s reputations, including whole tribes.
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What treaty did Ka’b break? What did the treaty state? Prove to me that such a treaty existed, and that Ka’b broke it, from the Hadith and/or Sira and/or Tarikh.
 
posted some time ago on this thread:
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r.gonzales:
some background info on the reason for the ordering of ka’b bin al-ashraf’s death… ibn taimiyyah states in as-saarim al-maslool, “ibn abee uwais narrated from ibraaheem bin ja’far bin muhammad bin maslamah from his father from jaabir bin 'abdillah that ka’b bin al-ashraf made a covenant with Allah’s messenger that he would not be out for him (i.e., aim at defaming and cursing him), nor fight against him and that took place in makkah. then he arrived at al-madeenah as an announcer for those hostile to the prophet.” covenants and treaties are sacred in islam and violating them is a real serious offence in islam - regardless of who does it - muslim or non-muslim. for example, there are many authentic hadeeths where prophet muhammad said that the one who kills someone with whom a covenant or treaty has been made will not smell the fragrance of paradise. one such hadeeth has been reported by al-bukhaaree in his saheeh, “whoever killed an allied soul (i.e., someone with whom a covenant or treaty has been made), he will not smell the fragrance of paradise. and indeed, its scent is found from a distance of forty years.” (saheeh al-bukhaaree, #3166) and this is in the case of a muslim.

so ka’b bin al-ashraf was killed for two reasons, and Allah knows best: his violation of the covenant and truce that he made with Allah’s messenger, and his abuse and revilement of Allah and His messenger.

as for the hadeeth itself, then what was quoted is from a longer hadeeth which tells the story of how his killing came to pass. it occurred during the third year after the migration to al-madeenah, after the victory of badr and the battle of banee qainuqaa’. the jews around al-madeenah were extremely antagonistic towards the muslims and and the polytheist makkans were desiring revenge for their loss at the battle of badr. ka’b bin al-ashraf was doing whatever he could to kindle more hatred and hostility from the makkans.

al-bukhaaree reports in hadeeth #4036: Allah’s messenger said, "who is for ka’b bin al-ashraf? for indeed he has harmed Allah and His messenger (via his instigating the makkans to take revenger for their loss at badr and for defaming and reviling the muslims at every chance). so muhammad bin maslamah stood up and said, “o Allah’s messenger, do you want me to kill him?” he said, “yes.” he said, “then allow me to say something.” he said, “say [it].” (until the end of the hadeeth).
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con’t…
 
also taken from the sealed nectar:
Pact with the Jews
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Soon after emigrating to Madinah and making sure that the pillars of the new Islamic community were well established on strong bases of administrative, political and ideological unity, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) commenced to establish regular and clearly-defined relations with non-Muslims. All of these efforts were exerted solely to provide peace, security, and prosperity to all mankind at large, and to bring about a spirit of rapport and harmony within his region, in particular.
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Geographically, the closest people to Madinah were the Jews. Whilst harbouring evil intentions, and nursing bitter grudge, they showed not the least resistance nor the slightest animosity. The Prophet decided to ratify a treaty with them with clauses that provided full freedom in faith and wealth. He had no intention whatsoever of following severe policies involving banishment, seizure of wealth and land or hostility.
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The treaty came within the context of another one of a larger framework relating to inter-Muslim relationships.
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The most important provisions of the treaty are the following:
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  1. The Jews of Bani ‘Awf are one community with the believers. The Jews will profess their religion, and the Muslims theirs.
  2. The Jews shall be responsible for their expenditure, and the Muslims for theirs.
  3. If attacked by a third party, each shall come to the assistance of the other.
  4. Each party shall hold counsel with the other. Mutual relation shall be founded on righteousness; sin is totally excluded.
  5. Neither shall commit sins to the prejudice of the other.
  6. The wronged party shall be aided.
  7. The Jews shall contribute to the cost of war so long as they are fighting alongside the believers.
  8. Madinah shall remain sacred and inviolable for all that join this treaty.
  9. Should any disagreement arise between the signatories to this treaty, then Allâh, the All-High and His Messenger shall settle the dispute.
  10. The signatories to this treaty shall boycott Quraish commercially; they shall also abstain from extending any support to them.
  11. Each shall contribute to defending Madinah, in case of a foreign attack, in its respective area.
  12. This treaty shall not hinder either party from seeking lawful revenge.
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Madinah and its suburbs, after the ratification of this treaty, turned into a coalition state, with Madinah proper as capital and Muhammad (Peace be upon him) as ‘president’; authorities lay mainly in the hand of the Muslims, and consequently it was a real capital of Islam. To expand the zone of peace and security the Prophet (Peace be upon him) started to enter into similar treaties with other tribes living around ‘his state’.
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also taken from the sealed nectar:
Ka‘b bin Al-Ashraf, killed
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Ka‘b bin Al-Ashraf was the most resentful Jew at Islam and the Muslims, the keenest on inflicting harm on the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) and the most zealous advocate of waging war against him. He belonged to Tai’ tribe but his mother to Banu Nadeer. He was a wealthy man known for his handsomeness, and a poet living in luxury in his fort south east of Madinah at the rear of Banu Nadeer’s habitations.
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On hearing the news of Badr, he got terribly exasperated and swore that he would prefer death to life if the news was true. When this was confirmed he wrote poems satirizing Muhammad (Peace be upon him), eulogizing Quraish and enticing them against the Prophet (Peace be upon him). He then rode to Makkah where he started to trigger the fire of war, and kindle rancour against the Muslims in Madinah.
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And he was only writing poems eventually!! For heavens sake! And prophet offered his men to kill him? Sounds like the godfather mafia! 😦
 
Gonzalees…Raul,…you don’t bother to tell us HOW your prophet got the treaty???..hehehe…may be you should mention Sunan Abi Dawood??? So we could see how noble the treaty is…hehehe
 
Gonzales, you have provided no evidence of a treaty between Ka’b and Muhammad (or the Muslims).

Your quote from ‘the sealed nectar’ is not proof. I don’t trust modern biographies of Muhammad, especially the ones written by Muslims. Show me from early reliable sources, such as Hadith (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawood), Sira (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Hisham), Tabri, Waqidi or Ibn Sa’d.

"In Yathrib, Muhammad began to experience opposition by the Jewish tribes living nearby. For the most part, they rejected his message and Islam. The Jews had several treaties with Muhammad, but that did not mean they were on good terms.** One of the Jews, Ka`b bin al-Ashraf, vocally supported the Meccans (Quraysh) against Muhammad. He let it be known that he believed that Muhammad was a phoney, not a prophet at all.**

Note that I provide a lot of detail; I want to quote the references in full, to provide the proper context. I also quote the sources as they are written in English. Some of the words are arcane, but I want to present the words as they have been translated into English.

Kab was a Jew. He hated Muhammad. **Kab never lifted a weapon against Muhammad or any Muslim, he only voiced his opinion against Muhammad, and made up some unsavory poems about Muslim women**. Muhammad saw him as a threat, and therefore had him murdered in the night.

The Jews around Medina were not under Muhammad’s rule; they had only entered into a treaty with the Muslims. Muhammad did not have legal right to murder Ka`b, rather he took it upon himself to rid himself of a man who hated him.

It’s understandable for a Mafia chieftain to commit such crimes, but not understandable for a man who claims to be a prophet of a righteous God, and implies that it is God’s will that the murder be committed. David, the king of Israel also had a man killed - Uriah, but David never said it was the will of God, and when confronted with his sin, David repented. Muhammad never repented for his crimes.

…

Note here that:
Muhammad wanted this man killed because he had “Hurt Allah and His apostle!” Now then, how does a man hurt Allah?
Muhammad got someone else to do his dirty work. Muhammad did not partake in killing the man who was hurting Allah, and himself.
Muhammad allowed Maslama to lie to draw Ka`b out of his home.

…

QUESTIONS
What does this say for society, i.e., that a man can murder one that only vocally opposes him?
Did Muhammad abide by the treaty he signed with the Jews?
What does this say for true law? If Ka`b were a real criminal, couldn’t Muhammad have dealt with him according to the local law or treaty he signed with the Jews?
What are the implications for Islamic society? In effect, can Muslims murder in the night those who oppose them or Islam? At that time, the Islamic state did not rule over all Medina.
What does this say about the real character of Muhammad?
CONCLUSION

**All in all, we see a cold blooded murder take place. Muhammad took things into his own hands, and murdered a man who verbally opposed him. This was a brutal murder. A man was tricked by his friends into coming out to help them. Once out, they murdered him. **

Once again, when Muhammad was confronted with a challenge, he dealt with it in a violent fashion. When he lived in Mecca, prior to his flight to Medina, Muhammad was weak and unable to use force to obtain his wants. But after he gained power, he used it to his own advantage, to accomplish his desires. He had become a law unto himself.

This is not the work or actions of a real prophet."
answering-islam.org/Muhammad/Enemies/kab.html
(bold and underline emphasis mine) [click on link to read full article]
 
Muhhamad should of had a WWJD bracelet, then it would have never had happened. 😃
 
"…Kab b. al-Ashraf had a mixed ancestry. His father came from a nomadic Arab, but his mother was a Jewess from the powerful al-Nadr tribe in Medina. He lived as a member of his mother’s tribe. He heard about the Muslim victory at the battle of Badr, and he was disgusted, for he thought Muhammad the newcomer to Medina was a trouble-maker and divisive. Kab had the gift of poetry, and after the Battle of Badr he traveled down to Mecca, apparently stopping by Badr, since it was near a major trade route to Mecca, witnessing the aftermath. Arriving in Mecca, he wrote a widely circulated poem, a hostile lament, over the dead of Mecca. It is important to include most of the political lament to show whether the poem is a serious offence, meriting assassination, as Muslim apologists (defenders of Islam) argue.

… At events like Badr you should weep and cry.
The best of its people were slain round cisterns,
Don’t think it strange that the princes were left lying.
How many noble handsome men,
The refuge of the homeless were slain.

………………………………………

Some people whose anger pleases me say,
“Kab b. al-Ashraf is utterly dejected.”
They are right. O that the earth when they were killed
Had split asunder and engulfed its people,
That he who spread the report had been thrust through
Or lived cowering blind and deaf.

………………………………………

I was told that al-Harith ibn Hisham [a Meccan]
Is doing well and gathering troops
To visit Yathrib [pre-Islamic name of Medina] with armies,
For only the noble, handsome man protects the loftiest reputation.
(Translated by Guillaume, p. 365)

To us today this poem does not seem excessive, and other Arab poetry was worse, such as the poem celebrating the assassination of Abu Afak, cited above (no. 4). It seems to be a genuine lament that invokes the Arab concept of revenge. Also, the last four lines is not an explicit plea for the Meccans to exact vengeance because that was a foregone conclusion. Arab custom demanded a riposte against the humiliation of defeat. Rather, the lines seem to reflect reality. A Meccan leader is said to be gathering an army; Kab is not ordering him to do so.

Pro-Muslim poets answered Kab’s poem with ones of their own, and that was enough for his hosts in Mecca to turn him out. He returned to Medina, writing some amatory verses about Muslim women, a mistake compounded on a mistake, given the tense climate in Medina and Muhammad’s victory at Badr. For example, right after the battle Muhammad assembled a Jewish tribe, the Qaynuqa, and warned them as follows: “O Jews, beware lest God bring upon you the vengeance that He brought upon Quraysh [large Meccan tribe at Badr], and become Muslims.” … In late spring (April-June) Muhammad then expelled the Jewish tribe.

**Angered by the poems ** and now able to strike back after Badr and the exile, Muhammad had had enough. He asked, “Who would rid me of [Kab]?” Five Muslims volunteered, one of whom was Kab’s foster-brother named Abu Naila. They informed him, “O apostle of God [Muhammad], we shall have to tell lies.” He answered, “Say what you like, for you are free in the matter.” They set upon a clever plan…"
answering-islam.org/Authors/Arlandson/dead_poets.htm
(bold and underline emphasis mine)
 
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discipleofJesus:
Gonzales, you have provided no evidence of a treaty between Ka’b and Muhammad (or the Muslims).
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on the contrary, the treaty mentioned in the first quote from “the sealed nectar” was made with all of the jews living in and around al-madeenah, and ka’b bin al-ashraf was one of those jews (as is confirmed by the article you cut&pasted from). read the quote again, “He was a wealthy man known for his handsomeness, and a poet living in luxury in his fort south east of Madinah at the rear of Banu Nadeer’s habitations.”
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discipleofJesus:
I don’t trust modern biographies of Muhammad, especially the ones written by Muslims. Show me from early reliable sources, such as Hadith (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawood), Sira (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Hisham), Tabri, Waqidi or Ibn Sa’d.
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shows how much you know about islam’s “reliable” sources. while the authenticity of two saheehs of al-bukhaaree and muslim are pretty much guaranteed, the rest of the books you mentioned contain numerous weak narrations - especially the books of seerah you mentioned. ibn ishaaq is mentioned in the books of biographies as being a mudallis (deceiver/cheat). a mudallis is one who would not mention the sources of his reports and is therefore deemed unreliable by the scholars of hadeeth. his seerah (and thus ibn hishaam’s and at-tabaree’s as well, since their seerahs were largely based off of ibn ishaaq’s) is riddled with weak and unverifiable narrations, and the same goes for the seerahs written by ibn sa’d and al-waaqidee. the seerah i’ve given the link to, “the sealed nectar”, although it does contain some errors as well, is a lot more reliable than any of the seerah books you’ve mentioned.
 
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r.gonzales:
shows how much you know about islam’s “reliable” sources. while the authenticity of two saheehs of al-bukhaaree and muslim are pretty much guaranteed, the rest of the books you mentioned contain numerous weak narrations - especially the books of seerah you mentioned. ibn ishaaq is mentioned in the books of biographies as being a mudallis (deceiver/cheat). a mudallis is one who would not mention the sources of his reports and is therefore deemed unreliable by the scholars of hadeeth. his seerah (and thus ibn hishaam’s and at-tabaree’s as well, since their seerahs were largely based off of ibn ishaaq’s) is riddled with weak and unverifiable narrations, and the same goes for the seerahs written by ibn sa’d and al-waaqidee. the seerah i’ve given the link to, “the sealed nectar”, although it does contain some errors as well, is a lot more reliable than any of the seerah books you’ve mentioned.
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answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Life1/chapter1.htm

On Ibn Ishaq
answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Life1/chap1.htm#1dm

On Ibn Hisham
answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Life1/chap1.htm#1dp

On Waqidi
answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Life1/chap1.htm#1dt

On Ibn Sa’d
answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Life1/chap1.htm#1dv

On Tabari
answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Life1/chap1.htm#1ea

The Quest of the Historical Muhammad - Arthur Jeffery
answering-islam.org/Books/Jeffery/historical_mhd.htm
 
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r.gonzales:
on the contrary, the treaty mentioned in the first quote from “the sealed nectar” was made with all of the jews living in and around al-madeenah, and ka’b bin al-ashraf was one of those jews (as is confirmed by the article you cut&pasted from). read the quote again, "He was a wealthy man known for his handsomeness, and a poet living in luxury in his fort south east of Madinah at the rear of Banu Nadeer’s habitations
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I meant Ka’b as an individual not his tribe as a whole. Because aren’t treaties done by the leaders of each tribe involved?
Maybe Ka’b and others didn’t sign this treaty or accept this treaty? Not that it’s of major importance whether he did sign or accept this treaty or not, but just making a point.
 
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discipleofJesus:
Muir…
Arthur Jeffery
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you link to articles by orientalists to disprove what i said about the reliability of certain islamic texts? hah. that’s quite funny especially considering that many of these orientalists understood very little of what they were actually reading in the islamic source books. they would sift through the source books without the ability to discern the authentic from the weak and the valid from the invalid and they would take whatever fancied their desires and suited their preconceived notions and theories. and you expect me to seriously consider what they had to say about the texts and personalities of islam? no thanks.

the book “sirat al-nabi and the orientalists” by muhammad mohar ali nicely points out many of the inconsistencies and unfounded assumptions made by the orientalists with particularly attention to muir, margoliouth and watt. jeffery, bell and a few others also get notable mention throughout the work. it’s seriously a work that those searching for the truth about the seerah of prophet muhammad should consider reading and looking into.
 
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discipleofJesus:
I meant Ka’b as an individual not his tribe as a whole. Because aren’t treaties done by the leaders of each tribe involved?
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here’s a little tidbit about tribal life that you should be aware of…

if the leader of a community or tribe makes a pact or agrees to a covenant or treaty on behalf of that tribe or community, every member of said tribe is bound to that agreement, whether they personally like it or not.

ka’b bin al-ashraf violated that covenant and instigated and fueled the flames increasing the hostility towards the muslims and this was one of the reasons his execution was ordered.
 
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