Campaign against the Jews of Medina Expulsion of the Banu Qaynuqa' () showing the submission of the Banu Nadir to Muhammad In April 624, after the
Battle of Badr, the Banu Qaynuqa violated the
Constitution of Medina by shaming a Muslim woman by pinning and tearing her clothes. A Muslim man who witnessed this, killed the Jewish man responsible for it in retaliation. The Jews came in group against the Muslim and killed him. After a successive chain of similar revenge killings, enmity grew between Muslims and the Banu Qaynuqa', which led Muhammad to lay siege to their fortress. The Qaynuqa' had a strength of around 700. After being besieged for 14–15 days, the tribe eventually surrendered to Muhammad, who initially wanted to capture the men of Banu Qaynuqa', but ultimately yielded to
Abdullah ibn 'Ubayy and agreed to expel the Qaynuqa'. The tribe eventually went northward toward
Der'aa in modern-day
Syria and assimilated themselves into the local Jewish population.
Expulsion of the Banu Nadir In May 625, Muhammad laid siege to the
Banu Nadir, after he came to know that they were plotting to assassinate him. The siege is said to have lasted anywhere between six and fifteen days. Enjoying their strategic advantage due to the thick foliage of palm trees surrounding their castles, the Banu Nadir pelted the Muslims with stones and showered arrows upon them from their castles. In response, Muhammad is said to have commanded the burning of the palm trees. The tribe eventually surrendered and was expelled, moving northward toward
Khaybar, another Jewish fort city around 150 km (95 mi) north of Medina and was captured again during the
Battle of Khaybar. They were allowed to live around Khaybar until the
Rashidun caliph,
'Umar ibn al-Khattab, expelled them for a second time.
Invasion of the Banu Qurayza During the
Battle of the Trench in December 626 and January 627, the Jewish tribe of
Banu Qurayza, whose forts were located in southern Medina, were caught conspiring to ally themselves with the confederates and were charged with treachery. After the retreat of the coalition, Muslims besieged their forts, and they were the last of the Jewish tribes of Medina. The Banu Qurayza surrendered and all the men and one woman were beheaded, apart from a few who converted to Islam, while all the other women and children were enslaved. In dealing with Muhammad's treatment of the Jews of Medina, aside from political explanations, western historians and biographers have explained it as "the punishment of the Medinan Jews, who were invited to convert and refused, perfectly exemplify the Quran's tales of what happened to those who rejected the prophets of old."
Francis Edward Peters adds that Muhammad was possibly emboldened by his military successes and also wanted to push his advantage. Economical motivations, according to Peters, also existed since the poverty of the Meccan migrants was a source of concern for Muhammad. Peters argues that Muhammad's treatment of the Jews of Medina was "quite extraordinary" and is "quite at odds with Muhammad's treatment of the Jews he encountered outside Medina." According to Welch, Muhammad's treatment of the three major Jewish tribes brought Muhammad closer to his goal of organizing a community strictly on a religious basis.
Siege of Khaybar In March 628, according to Muslims sources, the
Jews of
Khaybar, along with the
Banu Nadir, who were exiled from Medina by Muhammad for violating the
Constitution of Medina, and the
Banu Ghatafan, were planning to attack the Muslims. When Muhammad learned of their alliance, he gathered an army of 1,500 soldiers and besieged the Jewish fortress at
Khaybar.
Scottish historian and
orientalist,
William Montgomery Watt agrees with this view.
Italian orientalist
Laura Veccia Vaglieri claims other motives pushed Muhammad to invade the forts of Khaybar. On the other side, the Banu Ghatafan were afraid that the Muslims would attack them at any time, so they refused to help the Jews at Khaybar. After capturing six of the eight Jewish forts in Medina, the Jews of Khaybar finally surrendered and were allowed to live in the oasis on the condition that they would give one-half of their produce to the Muslims. Two Jewish commanders were killed in the siege. They continued to live in the oasis for several more years until they were expelled by
caliph 'Umar ibn al-Khattab. The imposition of tribute upon the conquered Jews served as a precedent for provisions in the
Islamic law for the
jizya.
Byzantine campaign In the final years of his life, after suppressing the two main factions that were leading in the opposition against him; the Meccans and the Jews, Muhammad led an active campaign against the main force in the north, the
Byzantine Empire, which was involved in several wars against the
Sasanian Empire, known as the
Roman–Persian Wars. Following a defeat in the
Battle of Mu'tah in Muhammad's campaign against the Byzantine began with the final expedition led by Muhammad himself, the
Tabuk expedition, which is also known as the Usra expedition. Muhammad heard of the gathering of a large
Byzantine–
Ghassanid alliance against the Muslims in
Tabuk and led a force of some 30,000 men to look for them. After waiting and scouting for the enemy for twenty days, Muhammad returned to
Medina. ==Statistics==