Kenana ibn al-Rabi

Brother-in-law of Mohammed's wife Zaynab bint Khuzayma

Kenana ibn al-Rabi' (Arabic: كِنَانَة ٱبْن ٱلرَّبِيع) also known as Kenana ibn al-Rabi'a and Kenana ibn al-Rabi ibn Abu al-Huqayq, was a Jewish Arab tribal leader of seventh-century Arabia and an opponent of Muhammad. He was a son of the poet al-Rabi ibn Abu al-Huqayq. Ibn al-Rabi' was killed during early Muslim clashes with the Banu Nadir.

Biography

He had two brothers — al-Rabi ibn al-Rabi and Sallam. Kenana is said to have urged Muhammad to give up the custom during prayer of turning his face toward Mecca ("Qiblah") in favor of Jerusalem, as had been the custom in Islam at first. After the expulsion of the Banu al-Nadir, of which tribe he was a member, he and his family retired to Khaybar, where they possessed a castle called Qamus.[1]

Al-Mubarakpuri maintains that al-Rabi was bound by agreements between Muhammad and Khaybar to not conceal anything from the Muslims. He was executed, al-Mubarakpuri concludes, for breaching the agreement.[2] Montgomery Watt supports the view that he was executed for concealing the treasure.[3] Shibli Nomani, however, argues that Kenana was put to death because he had killed Mahmud, the brother of Muhammad bin Maslama. Nomani also casts doubt on the accuracy of the story due to its sources (see section below).[4]

Death

According to one account, after the last fort of the Jewish settlement called Khaybar was taken by Muhammad and his men, the chief of the Jews, called Kinana ibn al-Rabi, was asked by Muhammad to reveal the location of some hidden treasure. When he refused, Muhammad ordered a man to torture Kinana, and the man "kindled a fire with flint and steel on his chest until he was nearly dead." Kinana was then beheaded, and Muhammad took his young wife Safiyya as a concubine.[5]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ s.v. «Khaybar», The Encyclopedia of Islam (L. Veccia Vaglieri).
  2. ^ Mubarakpuri (1996), pg. 372
  3. ^ Watt (1956), pg. 218
  4. ^ Nomani, vol. II, pg. 173
  5. ^ Ibn Ishaq, A. Guillaume (translator), The Life of Muhammad, pp. 510–17, 2002, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0196360331

Sources

  • Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari. Sahih Bukhari.
  • the story does not appear in this source Gottheil, Richard et al. "Kenana". Jewish Encyclopedia. Funk and Wagnalls, 1901-1906.
  • Ibn Ishaq. The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah. A. Guillaume, trans. Oxford Univ. Press, 1955. The story Does not appear in this source.
  • Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri. Sahih Muslim. Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, et al., transl's. revised ed. 2000.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)