Khaybar

A fertile Jewish oasis of date-fields and fortresses roughly 150 km north of Madinah (about a two-hour drive today) — the place of refuge for the exiled Banu Nadir and, from there, a base of hostility against the Muslims.

Geography

A rich agricultural settlement of orchards and date palms defended by fortresses, lying to the north of Madinah on the route toward Syria. Its Jewish inhabitants were wealthy farmers.

Significance in the Seerah

• Refuge of Banu Nadir. When the Banu Nadir were expelled from Madinah in Shawwal 4 AH, the majority of them relocated to Khaybar (see The Expulsion of Banu Nadir).
• Base of the exiled leadership. From Khaybar, the Nadir chief Huyayy ibn Akhtab became the driving force behind the Confederates at the Battle of Khandaq, reportedly offering the Ghatafan half of Khaybar’s annual produce to join the alliance against Madinah.
• The conquest (Muharram 7 AH). Once Hudaybiyyah neutralised the Quraysh, the Prophet ﷺ marched ~1,700 men against Khaybar — a pre-emptive strike on the last hostile power in central Arabia (see The Battle of Khaybar). Its ~8–15 separate fortresses could not unite against an army; it was reduced one at a time.
• The 50% treaty (muzara’ah). After the conquest the Jews stayed on to farm under a 50% sharecropping agreement — labour and cost theirs, cancellable at the Muslims’ will — a share worth a fortune. Nearby Wadi al-Qura and Fadak (a direct gift, used for the Prophet’s ﷺ family) submitted on the same terms. Umar expelled the Jews of Khaybar in 23 AH, ending the Jewish presence in central Arabia.

Key events here

• Resettlement of the exiled Banu Nadir (4 AH).
• The financing and instigation of the Khandaq alliance from Khaybar (5 AH).
• The conquest of Khaybar and its sharecropping treaty (7 AH) — the greatest land conquest of the seerah; the poisoning of the Prophet ﷺ; the marriage to Safiyyah.

Cross-references

The Expulsion of Banu Nadir · Huyayy ibn Akhtab · Madinah (Yathrib) · The Battle of Khandaq (al-Ahzab) · The Battle of Khaybar · The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah · Safiyyah bint Huyayy (rha) · Riba (Usury / Interest) · Muhammad ﷺ · Fay' (Spoils Without Fighting) · Seerah Timeline

Sources

• S008 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 051–060 (EP 053). The relocation of Banu Nadir to Khaybar is in the tafsir of Surah al-Hashr (Q 59).
• S009 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 068 & 070 (the conquest; the muzara’ah treaty; Fadak; Umar’s expulsion in 23 AH). Sahih Bukhari & Muslim, Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa’d.