Second: An Ultimatum to Banu An-Nadheer to Evacuate and Imposing Siege upon Them
A- An ultimatum to Banu An-Nadheer: Most of the books of the prophetic mission recorded the ultimatum sent by the Prophet to Banu An-Nadheer to evacuate their houses within ten days. The Prophet sent Muhammad bin Maslamah, may Allah be pleased with him, to them saying: “Go to the Jews of Banu An-Nadheer and say to them, ‘Get out of my land. You have breached your covenant with me by the treachery you intended. I give you ten days to leave, and if anyone of you is seen after this period, he will be killed.’”
The Jews found nothing to say to Muhammad bin Maslamah, may Allah be pleased with him, but, “O Muhammad, we never imagined that a man of Al-Aws would come to us with such a message. The hearts have changed.” He replied, “And Islam has wiped out the old covenants.” “We will go,” they assured him, and spent days preparing to depart.
Meanwhile, ‘Abdullaah bin Ubayy bin Salool sent a message to Banu An-Nadheer saying, “Do not leave and we will never let you down. If you are fought, we will fight with you, and if you are expelled, we will leave with you. Do not leave for I have two thousand men from the Arabs and from my own people. Stay, and they will join you in your forts and they are ready to die before letting the Muslims reach you.” The Jews regained some of their confidence, and their leader Huyayyi bin Akhtab dared to send a messenger to the Prophet with the following message, “We will not leave our homes, so do whatever you will.” On receiving this message, the Prophet and the Muslims made Takbeer (saying ‘Allahu Akbar’) and he said: “The Jews have declared war.”
B- Imposing a siege on Banu An-Nadheer and expelling them: The ten days elapsed and Banu An-Nadheer did not leave their houses. Thus, the Muslim army marched towards them imposing a siege upon them for fifteen days. The Prophet ordered their palm trees to be burnt to eliminate the reasons that attached them to their property and crops. Their enthusiasm to fight faded and they panicked, crying out, “O Muhammad, you used to forbid corruption and causing havoc, and criticize whoever committed this. Why did you then order the palm trees to be destroyed?”
Allah The Exalted cast terror in their hearts and they realized that their expulsion was inevitable. Despair found its way to their hearts, especially after Ibn Ubayy failed to fulfill his pledge to support them, and their fellow Jews were unable to help them anyway. Therefore, they sent a message to the Prophet asking him to guarantee their safety until they had left their homes. The Prophet agreed and said: “Leave it and you will be granted your lives and what can be carried on the camels with the exception of weapons.” The Jews accepted these conditions. However, before leaving, they destroyed their houses so that the Muslims would not benefit from them. They carried large quantities of gold and silver with them to the extent that Salaam bin Abi Al-Huqayq alone carried a skin of a bull full of gold and silver with him, saying, “This is what we have prepared for times of affliction. Leaving our palm trees here is insignificant as there are palm trees at Khaybar.” They loaded their luggage on six hundred camels and left, with songstresses playing pipes and tambourines at the rear so as not to give the Muslims a chance to rejoice at their misfortune. Some of them headed towards Khaybar while others went to Athri‘aat in Ash-Shaam.
The Prophet commanded Muhammad bin Maslamah, may Allah be pleased with him, to supervise the process of their expulsion from Madeenah.
Salaam bin Abi Al-Huqayq, Huyayy bin Akhtab, Kinaanah bin Ar-Rabee’ bin Abi Al-Huqayq were among the Jewish leaders who went to Khaybar. On their arrival, the people of Khaybar accepted them as leaders.