Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (سيرة 2/74)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Section on Ṣafiyyah:

Al-Bakkāʾī related, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ drew near to the estates, taking them parcel by parcel and conquering the strongholds one after another. The first of their fortresses he opened was the fortress of Nāʿim, during whose assault Maḥmūd ibn Maslama al-Anṣārī—the brother of Muḥammad—was killed when a millstone was hurled down upon him. Next he captured al-Qamūṣ, the fortress of Ibn Abī al-Ḥuqayq. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ took captives from among them, including Ṣafiyyah bint Ḥuyayy ibn Akhtab and two of her female cousins, and he assigned them to Dihyah al-Kalbī.

Yūnus likewise reported from Ibn Isḥāq: A son of Muḥammad ibn Maslama al-Anṣārī told me—drawing on what he had heard from members of his household—and Maknif also narrated to me: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ besieged the people of Khaybar in their two fortresses, al-Waṭīḥ and al-Salālim. When they were certain that destruction awaited them, they asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to let them depart and to spare their lives, and he agreed. By that time the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had already taken possession of all the estates—al-Shaqq, al-Naṭāṭ, al-Katība—and every one of their fortresses except what remained in those two citadels. When the people of Fadak heard what had happened, they sent to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ requesting that he allow them to leave, spare their blood, and leave the property to him, and he acceded. One of those who went back and forth between the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and them on this matter was Muḥayṣa ibn Masʿūd.

Once they had accepted those terms, they asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to let them cultivate the lands for half of the yield, whereupon he said, “We are better acquainted with them than you and can maintain them longer.” He therefore concluded a settlement with them for half the produce, stipulating: “If at any time we choose to expel you, we will expel you.” The people of Fadak made peace with him on the same terms. Thus the estates of Khaybar became fayʾ (public booty) shared among the Muslims, whereas Fadak was reserved exclusively for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, because

ذكر صفية: وقال البكائي، عن ابن إسحاق، قال: وتدنى رسول الله ﷺ الأموال، يأخذها مالا مالا، ويفتحها حصنا حصنا. فكان أول حصونهم افتتح حصن ناعم، وعنده قتل محمود بن مسلمة الأنصاري أخو محمد، ألقيت عليه رحى فقتلته. ثم القموص؛ حصن ابن أبي الحقيق. وأصاب رسول الله ﷺ منهم سبايا، منهن صفية بنت حيي بن أخطب، وبنتا عم لها، فأعطاهما دحية الكلبي. وقال يونس، عن ابن إسحاق، حدثني ابن لمحمد بن مسلمة الأنصاري عمن أدرك من أهله، وحدثنيه مكنف، قالا: حاصر رسول الله ﷺ أهل خيبر في حصنيهم الوطيح والسلالم، حتى إذا أيقنوا بالهلكة، سألوا رسول الله ﷺ أن يسيرهم ويحقن دماءهم، ففعل. وكان رسول الله ﷺ قد حاز الأموال كلها: الشق والنطاة والكتيبة وجميع حصونهم، إلا ما كان في ذينك الحصنين. فلما سمع بهم أهل فدك قد صنعوا ما صنعوا، بعثوا إلى رسول الله ﷺ يسألونه أن يسيرهم ويحقن دماءهم، ويخلون بينه وبين الأموال، ففعل. فكان ممن مشى بين يدي رسول الله ﷺ وبينهم، في ذلك، محيصة بن مسعود. فلما نزلوا على ذلك سألوا رسول الله ﷺ أن يعاملهم على الأموال على النصف، وقال: "نحن أعلم بها منكم وأعمر لها". فصالحهم على النصف على أنا شئنا أن نخرجكم أخرجناكم. وصالحه أهل فدك على مثل ذلك. فكانت أموال خيبر فيئا بين المسلمين، وكانت فدك خالصة لرسول الله ﷺ؛ لأن