Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
12. Emigration—From Makkah to Madinah
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At the time of the truce two main enemies
confronted the Muslims—the Jews of Khaybar and
the Quraysh of Makkah. The Muslims were not yet
strong enough to confront both simultaneously. To
attack one would have been to provide the other
with a golden opportunity to attack Madinah from
the rear, thus demolishing the Muslims’ stronghold.
Now the Prophet, by accepting all the Quraysh’s
demands, had consolidated a ten-year truce with
one of the two. No longer could they conduct forays
against the Muslims. With the Quraysh out of his
way, the Prophet was now able to turn his attention
to the Jews of Khaybar. The attack on Khaybar
(Muharram A.H. 7) followed in quick succession
after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (Dhu’l Qa’dah,
A.H. 6), which finally solved the Jewish problem.
Twenty thousand armed men were holding out in
the eight mighty fortresses of Khaybar. The
fortresses were also equipped with highly
sophisticated defences. The story of the sacking of
this fortified city is a long one, in which methods of
extraordinary military ingenuity were used. The
gate of the city was broken with a massive tree
trunk, wielded by about fifty men. A few strong
