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 Biography 2 Legacy 2.1 Muslim view 3 See also 4 Notes 5 Sources

[edit] Biography

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.^{[citation needed]}

Ibn Hisham writes about Kinana ibn al-Rabi,^[1]

Kinana al-Rabi, who had the custody of the treasure of Banu Nadir, was brought to the apostle who asked him about it. He denied that he knew where it was. A Jew came (Tabari says "was brought"), to the apostle and said that he had seen Kinana going round a certain ruin every morning early. When the apostle said to Kinana, "Do you know that if we find you have it I shall kill you?" He said "Yes". The apostle gave orders that the ruin was to be excavated and some of the treasure was found. When he asked him about the rest he refused to produce it, so the apostle gave orders to al-Zubayr Al-Awwam, "Torture him until you extract what he has." So he kindled a fire with flint and steel on his chest until he was nearly dead. Then the apostle delivered him to Muhammad b. Maslama and he struck off his head, in revenge for his brother Mahmud

Al-Mubarakpuri maintians that al-Rabi was bound by agreements between Muhammad and Khaybar to not conceal anything from the Muslims.^[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 death of Kinana ibn al-Rabi is reported through only one source, and that is Ibn Hisham.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

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

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Ibn Hisham. Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya (The Life of The Prophet). English translation in Guillame (1955), pp. 145–146
2. ^ Mubarakpuri (1996), pg. 372
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.