|
According to traditional Muslim sources,
Huwayyisa was converted to Muhammad's religion
by the religious fervor with which his brother,
Muhayyisa, beheaded a prominent Jew named,
Yahudha. It seems that Huwayyisa was
impressed that Muhayyisa enjoyed beheading
Yahudha who had actually benefited him in times
past. Furthermore, Huwayyisa was struck
with the fact that that Muhayyisa would have
beheaded him, if Muhammad had requested him to
do it. Muhammad pacified the Aus by
letting them behead some of the Jews too. The following is a quotation of
the account as given in "The Life of
Muhammad" by
Ibn Ishaq
on page 752.
Abu 'Ubayda told me on the
authority of Abu 'Amr, the Medinan, when the apostle got
the better of the B. Qurayza he seized about four hundred
men from the Jews who had been allies of Aus against Khazraj,
and ordered that they should be beheaded. Accordingly
Khazraj began to cut off their heads with great
satisfaction. The apostle saw that the faces of Khazraj
showed their pleasure, but there was no such indication on
the part of Aus, and he suspected that that was because of
the alliance that had existed between them and the B.
Qurayza. When there were only twelve of them left he gave
them over to Aus, assigning one Jew to every two of Aus,
saying, 'Let so-and-so strike him and so-and-so finish him
off.' One of those who was so handed over to them was Ka'b
b. Yahudha, who was an important man among them. He gave him
to Muhayyisa and Abu Burda b. Niyar (it was Abu Burda to
whom the apostle had given permission to sacrifice a young
goat on the feast of Adha). He said, 'Let Muhayyisa strike
him and Abu Burda finish him off.' So Muhayyisa fetched
him a blow, which did not cut in properly, and Abu Burda
dispatched him and gave him the finishing stroke. Huwayyisa,
who was still an unbeliever, said to his brother, Muhayyisa, 'Did you kill Ka'b b.
Yahudha?', and when he said he
did, he said, 'By God, much of the flesh on your belly
comes from his wealth; you are a miserable fellow, Muhayyisa.'
He replied, 'If the one who ordered me to kill him had
ordered me to kill you, I would have done so.' He was
amazed at this remark and went away astounded. They say that
he used to wake up in the night astonished at his brother's
words, until in the morning he said, 'By God, this is
indeed a religion.' Then he came to the prophet and
accepted Islam. Muhayyisa then spoke the lines which we have
written above.
The Sunan of Abu Dawud states,
Narrated Muhayyisah: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: If you gain a victory over the men of Jews, kill them. So Muhayyisah jumped over Shubaybah, a man of the Jewish merchants. He had close relations with them. He then killed him. At that time Huwayyisah (brother of Muhayyisah) had not embraced Islam. He was older than Muhayyisah. When he killed him, Huwayyisah beat him and said: O enemy of Allah, I swear by Allah, you have a good deal of fat in your belly from his property.
Book 19, Number 2996
Last edited 02/22/2000
Top of Page.
|
Muhammad