Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
10. The Prophet in Makkah
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which would grant him asylum. Yet despite his
untiring efforts, not a single tribe was ready to take
him in. Some of the people he approached used to
taunt him, saying, “Isn’t it high time that you
despaired of us?” Eventually God gave the tribes of
Aws and Khazraj, which hailed from Madinah, the
courage to extend the Prophet their support. There
was one special, psychological reason for their
decision. In their vicinity dwelt Jewish tribes,
notably the Jews of Khaybar, who had possession of
the most fertile lands in the area as well as control
of the region’s commerce. Many of the Aws and
Khazraj were given employment by them, but the
work was so hard and the recompense so
inadequate that it was more like slavery for them.
(Mention is made of this by the Prophet when, after
the emigration to Madinah, he had his companions
build the Prophet’s mosque with their own hands.
According to Ibn Kathir, the Prophet commented
that “this is not the labour of Khaybar; this is much
more worthwhile and honest work.”) In a situation
of economic domination by the Jews and their
exploitation of the Madinan tribes, fighting often
broke out between the Jews on the one side, and the
Aws and Khazraj on the other. The Jews used to
