– The Muslims marched towards the invaders with an army of 1000 men.
– Munafiqs revealed: Abdullah ibn Ubayy deserted the army and left with 300 of the men, the munafiqs.
– Battle tactics used by Prophet Muhammad
– Fortications abandoned: The prophet gave the archerers unambiguous instructions to maintain a defensive position, yet they were ignored to try and obtain some spoils of war, giving the enemy a critical advantage
In many ways, this event was a precursor to Imam Ali’s succession being ignored years down the road:
– If 300 men were blatantly hypocritical when the population was just 2000, then how many must have been munafiqs when there were 100,000 Muslims when the Prophet Muhammad passed away?
– The prophet gave clear, unambiguous instructions to the archers, yet they were ignored for some spoils of war. What instructions might such people ignore to gain the caliphate?
While most Muslima and Jewish tribes in Medina were agriculture based, the Jewish tribe of Banu Qaynuqa consisted mainly of craftsmen and blacksmiths, making them highly militarized. The tax-free marketplace, along with the Muslim’s conflict with the Meccans (one of Banu Qaynuqa’s main customer base) threatened Banu Qaynuqa’s financial interests.
This led to Banu Qaynuqa violating the peace treaty they had agreed to in the Medinan Charter and secretly start colluding with the Meccans to incite hostilities against the Muslims.
Once Banu Qaynuqa began openly violating the peace treaty and began abetting the Muslim’s enemies, there was a stand off between them and the Muslims, which led to Banu Qaynuqa’s defeat and banishment.
– Prophet Muhammad tried to avoid hostilities, and some of the Quraysh wanted to avoid fighting as well. But Abu Jahl instigated the conflict forwards.
– Fighting began with three one on one skirmishes
– The miracle of the prophet throwing pebbles towards the Quraysh and blinding them