Banu Qaynuqa بنو قينقاع | |
---|---|
Arabized Israelites | |
Ethnicity | Jewish, Arabian |
Nisba | al-Qaynuqa'i |
Location | Medina, Saudi Arabia |
Descended from | Kainuka ben Amshel |
Religion | Judaism |
The Banu Qaynuqa (Arabic: بنو قينقاع; also spelled Banu Kainuka, Banu Kaynuka, Banu Qainuqa, Banu Qaynuqa) was one of the three main Jewish tribes that originally lived in Medina (now part of Saudi Arabia) before being expelled by the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. They were merchants and were known to be wealthy. They resided in the south-west part of the city and were previously allied with the Banu Khazraj.[1]
Islamic tradition says that in the year 624, when a Muslim woman came to the shop of a Banu Qaynuqa goldsmith, the goldsmith played a prank on her, pinning her dress so that when she stood up, the lower part of her legs was revealed. She screamed while they laughed, and in the ensuing conflict a Muslim man killed the man who dishonored her. His other Jewish fellows captured the Muslim man and executed him on the spot without a judge. Muhammad regarded this as a casus belli.[2][3] The Muslims accuse the tribe of breaking the Constitution of Medina.[4] Muhammad then besieged the tribe for fourteen or fifteen days, after which they surrendered unconditionally because they run out of supply to continue the siege.[5][6] Following their capitulation, Muhammad had wanted to punish and slaughter the men of Banu Qaynuqa en masse for shielding the men responsible and fighting muslims, but he was forced by Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, the chief of the Khazraj, to change his mind and let them live and expel them instead.[7][8] The Muslims also took the tribe's property as their booty.[9] By some it is suggested that the incident was a way for Muhammad to eliminate the tribe from market competition in the city.[7]
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