Kinana ibn al-Rabi

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Kinana ibn al-Rabi' (Arabic: كنانة ابن الربيع‎ ​, also Kinana bin al-Rabi, Kinana ibn al-Rabi'a, Kinana ibn al-Rabi ibn Abu al-Huqayq) was a Jewish leader of seventh-century Arabia and an opponent of Muhammad; son of the poet al-Rabi ibn Abu al-Huqayq, who flourished at Medina in the seventh century, prior to the appearance of Muhammad at that town.

Contents 1 Biographhy 2 Legacy 2.1 Muslim view 3 See also 4 Notes 5 Sources

[edit] Biographhy

He had two brothers — al-Rabi and Sallam; all three were declared enemies of Muhammad. Kinana is said to have urged Muhammad to give up the custom during prayer of turning his face toward Mecca ("Qiblah") in favor of Jerusalem, as had been the custom in Islam at first. After the expulsion of the Banu al-Nadir, of which tribe he was a member, he and his family retired to Khaibar, where they possessed a castle called Qamus. The Jewish strongholds at Khaibar were soon after conquered by Muhammad, and Kinana was made a prisoner of war. Kinana was suspected of having hidden the treasure of the Banu al-Nadir. According to ibn Ishaq, Muhammad ordered that Kinana be tortured to reveal the whereabouts of the treasure.^[1] Kinana did not do so, and died under torture.^[2] After Kinana's death, Muhammad married his wife Safiyyah bint Huyayy, the daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab, a chief of the Banu al-Nadir who had been executed on a previous occasion.^[3]

[edit] Legacy

[edit] Muslim view

The torture of Kinana ibn al-Rabi is reported through only one source, and that is Ibn Ishaq. Ibn Ishaq provided no sources for this story, and hence, it has been rejected by Muslim scholars.^{[citation needed]} Ibn Ishaq was also known for taking his stories from Jews, most of whom had ancestors that fought the Prophet, and hence, his entire collection is alleged to be biased.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

• Non-Muslim interactants with Muslims during Muhammad's era

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Ibn Ishaq 511
2. ^ ibid.
3. ^ Bukhari, Vol. 1, book 8, no. 371; Muslim, book 8, no. 3329.

[edit] Sources

• Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari. Sahih Bukhari.
• Gottheil, Richard et al. "Kinanah". Jewish Encyclopedia. Funk and Wagnalls, 1901-1906.
• Ibn Ishaq. The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah. A. Guillaume, trans. Oxford Univ. Press, 1955.
• Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri. Sahih Muslim. Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, et al., transl's. revised ed. 2000.

This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.