Assassination and Prophet Muhammad? (p)

The unsavoury mix of bigoted Christian fundamentalists/missionaries and other internet critics of Islam make much out of the episode concerning Ka’b Ibn Al Ashraf’s (alternatively spelled as Kab/Kaab Bin Al-Ashraf) assassination by the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (p), this post offers the ENTIRE story rather than the hybrid of half-baked ‘information’ and nutty Islamophobic propaganda put forward by Christians and other critics of Islam.

If you are one of these folks who gains his/her information concerning Islam from unqualified Christian fundamentalists and/or other critics this may be a little too informative for your liking. However, if you are somebody who genuinely wants to gain a sincere understanding on the assassination of Ka’b Ibn Al Ashraf then this post is geared towards your needs.

The post comprises of excerpts from the world renowned Sheikh Al Mubarakpuri, the American scholar Sheikh Mustafa Zayed’s comments on the subject and a detailed audio lecture by Dr Bashar Shala as well as additional comments in the way of summary and perspective.

Who was Ka’b Ibn Ashraf?

Ka’ bin Ashraf was the most resentful person among the Jews with Islam and the Muslims, he was the most intent on inflicting harm on Allah’s Messenger (p), and the most zealous advocate of waging war against him. He belonged to the Tai’ but his mother was from Banu Nadeer. He was a wealthy man known for his handsomeness, and a poet living in luxury in his fort south east of Madinah at the rear of Banu Nadeer’s habitations. [1]

Dr Bashar Shala on the Killing of Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf



What did Ka’b ibn al Ashraf do to deserve being killing?

Dr Shala teaches us of the open hatred and animosity Ka’b bin al Ashraf had against Muslims despite having signed a non-aggression treaty with the Muslims. Poets, back then in Arabia, were propaganda tools. After the Muslim victory at the battle of Badr, Ka’b ibn al Ashraf began to insult Prophet Muhammad and Islam as well as inciting violence against Muslims in order to instigate a war with the intent to wipe out the nascent Muslim community. The last stage of Ka’b’s propaganda campaign was to insult the honor of Muslim women.

Sheikh Al Mubarpakpuri writes on Ka’b Al Ashraf’s incitement to war and his general propaganda campaign:

On hearing the news of Badr, he [Ka’b] got terribly frustrated and swore that he would prefer death to life if the news was true. When this was confirmed he wrote poems satirizing Muhammad (p), praising the Quraish and enticing them against the Prophet (p). He then rode to Makkah where he started to activate the fire of war, and kindle the resentment against the Muslims in Madinah…[2]

…He then returned to Madinah to start a fresh campaign of slanderous propaganda that took the form of obscene songs and amorous poems with a view to defaming the Muslim women. At this stage, the situation became unbearable and could no longer be put up with. [3]
Ka’b bin al Ashraf broke the treaty

Dr Bashar Shala mentions the treaty which Ka’b broke included stipulations such as:

1. Jews should be one nation with Muslims

2. Muslims and Jews should advise and protect each other

3. They should have goodness in their treatment of each other.

4. If Muslims are being fought by an enemy then the Jews should side with the Muslims

Yet Ka’b Ibn Al Ashraf BROKE the treaty to such an extent that he sided with the enemies of the Muslims and proceeded to incite a war against the Muslims in order to completely annihilate Muslims!

Dr Shala asks, did Kaab ibn al Ashraf deserve to be killed? The answer he gives is yes. Simply based on the treaty and the fact that Ka’b was inciting war against the Muslims as well as insulting the honor of their women folk.

War and Deceit? Tricking Ka’b and Christian bigots

Dr Bashar Shala does explain the reason behind the necessity to trick Kab ~ 10-11 min stretch.

Some American Christian bigots on the internet make a melodramatic play on the account that the Muslims tricked Ka’b in order to gain the opportunity to kill him. These bigots typically miss that this was within the theatre of war and Ka’b lived in a fort which was heavily defended by guards/servants, hence the tactic of tricking Ka’b into a false sense of security to get him out in the open. During times of declared war, misleading the enemy is accepted by ALL nations including Christian America. The critics’ inconsistency is outlined by Moustafa Zayed:

All martial arts and war tactics are about deceptive techniques to maximize chances for massive blows to the enemy and achieving victory. But when it comes to Muslims it’s crying about moral absolutes vs. expediency. [4]

Why not fight Ka’b rather than assassinate him?

Why not then fight Ibn Al Ashraf in a battle man to man and face to face like the Muslims and the Quraysh did? The reason is that a leader of the hypocrites like Ibn Al Ashraf never attended the battles, yet he publicly plotted and pushed for conspiracies to annihilate the Muslims, only from the safety behind closed doors. [5]

Islamophobic Propaganda: Killed a POET in a curb against freedom of speech!!!

From the information within Dr Bashar Shala’s lecture we learn the manner in which critics portray the incident is misleading to say the least. Robert Spencer is scolded by Sheikh Mustafa Zayed for such misreporting:

Another piece of misinformation is that [Ka’b] Ibn Al Ashraf was only just a poet! Is the author [Robert Spencer] saying that to make it a freedom-of-speech crime? Maybe he is! [6]

…What the author didn’t tell you about our peaceful, just voicing-his-opinion poet, is that he was one of the provokers of the infidels in Mecca that directed the torture, the starvation and the killing of early Muslims, and specifically was one of the leading instigators to push Quraysh and its leaders to go and destroy the Muslims in the battle of Uhud. [7]

…Our lovely poet was one of the conspirators. In Islamic law and any fair law for that matter, if someone gave himself the right to take your life, then he had given you the right to take his same instant in self-defense…not to mention that Ibn Al Ashraf had committed suicide by putting a “wanted” sign over his head when he violated the honorable reputation of the Muslim wives. [8]

A bonus: miracle of healing

Typically the critics miss the healing miracle of the Muslim who was wounded during the assassination of Ka’b bin Al Ashraf:

The group of men came back after fulfilling their mission. One of them Al-Harith bin Aws was wounded by mistake with the swords of his men, and was bleeding badly. When they reached Baqi’ Al-Gharqad, they shouted “Allah is Most Great”. The Prophet (p) heard them and realized that they had killed the enemy of Allah. As they saw him, he said: “Cheerful faces are yours.” In reply, they said: “And yours, O Messenger of Allah.” They handed the head of the tyrant over to him. He entertained Allah’s praise for their success. He then applied his saliva to Al-Harith’s wound and it healed on the spot. [9]

The Bible and Christian Hypocrisy

Many of these critics are Christian missionaries and/or Christian bigots who feign offense at such an incident. Sadder still, these Christians do this despite knowing of the violent teachings within the Old Testament which would propel these Christians into the realms of inconsistency (hypocrisy). I’m sure Christians and Muslims can think of their own Bible verse (s) (involving killing) which would illustrate the point of inconsistency, here is one which does it quite adequately despite not even involving death:

If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity. [Deuteronomy 25:11-12 NIV]

If our Christian friends can accept the amputating of a woman who helps her husband in a fight with another man by attacking her husband’s assailant via a ‘low blow’ then they can certainly accept the killing of a poet who broke a peace treaty whilst attempting to incite the enemy to destroy Muslims!

Conclusion

The killing of Kab bin al Ashraf was not simply the killing of a “poet”. Sadly, we are being misinformed by Christian “experts” with dubious agendas of conversion and propaganda.

[1] Arraheequl Makhtoum, Safiurrahman Al Mubarakpuri, Darusslam, 2002, p 287

[2] Arraheequl Makhtoum, Safiurrahman Al Mubarakpuri, Darusslam, 2002, p 287

[3] Arraheequl Makhtoum, Safiurrahman Al Mubarakpuri, Darusslam, 2002, p 287

[4] The lies about Muhammad - Moustafa Zayed, p 193

[5] The lies about Muhammad - Moustafa Zayed, p 193

[6] The lies about Muhammad - Moustafa Zayed, p 192

[7] The lies about Muhammad - Moustafa Zayed, p 192

[8] The lies about Muhammad - Moustafa Zayed, p 193

[9] Arraheequl Makhtoum, Safiurrahman Al Mubarakpuri, Darusslam, 2002, p 289


Related:

A Christian called Silas being badly scolded by Sami Zaatari on this issue
http://www.answering-christianity.com/sami_zaatri/rebuttal_to_silas_2.htm

New Testament studies for Christians
http://thefactsaboutislam.blogspot.com/search/label/New%20Testament

A Jewish Tribe executed by Muslims?
http://thefactsaboutislam.blogspot.com/2011/07/truth-about-banu-qurayza-jews-killed-by.html

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