Abu Lubaba ibn Abd al-Mundhir
Encyclopedia
Abu Lubaba ibn Abd al-Mundhir was a leading member of the Banu Aws, an Arabic tribe in Yathrib, today known as Medina
.
At some point after Muhammad
's arrival at Medina
in 622
, Abu Lubaba converted to Islam
.
He appears in 627
during the siege of the Banu Qurayza, a Jewish tribe in conflict with Muhammad. The Qurayza had a long-standing alliance with the Aws and during the siege asked to confer with Abu Lubaba. According to Ibn Ishaq
, Abu Lubaba felt pity for the women and children of the tribe who were crying and when asked whether the Qurayza should surrender to Muhammad, advised them to do so. However he also "made a sign with his hand toward his throat, indicating that [their fate] would be slaughter".
After Abu Lubaba had left, the Banu Qurayza unconditionally surrendered. Their men were subsequently killed, while their women and children were enslaved. Stillman infers from Abu Lubaba's gesture that Muhammad had decided the fate of the Qurayza even before their surrender.
Ibn Ishaq's account, going back to Abu Lubaba's own statements, related that he regreted his actions, stating: "My feet had not moved away from the spot before I knew I had been false to God and His Apostle". He then went to the mosque
, tied himself to a pillar and declared: "I will not leave this place until God forgives me for what I have done". Muhammad declared that God had forgiven him after reportedly receiving a revelation.
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
.
At some point after Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
's arrival at Medina
Hijra (Islam)
The Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word are Hijrah, Hijrat or Hegira, the latter following the spelling rules of Latin.- Hijra of Muhammad :In September 622, warned of a plot to...
in 622
622
Year 622 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 622 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Religion :* July 16 – Year one of the Islamic...
, Abu Lubaba converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.
He appears in 627
627
Year 627 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 627 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* December 12 – Battle of...
during the siege of the Banu Qurayza, a Jewish tribe in conflict with Muhammad. The Qurayza had a long-standing alliance with the Aws and during the siege asked to confer with Abu Lubaba. According to Ibn Ishaq
Ibn Ishaq
Muḥammad ibn Isḥaq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār was an Arab Muslim historian and hagiographer...
, Abu Lubaba felt pity for the women and children of the tribe who were crying and when asked whether the Qurayza should surrender to Muhammad, advised them to do so. However he also "made a sign with his hand toward his throat, indicating that [their fate] would be slaughter".
After Abu Lubaba had left, the Banu Qurayza unconditionally surrendered. Their men were subsequently killed, while their women and children were enslaved. Stillman infers from Abu Lubaba's gesture that Muhammad had decided the fate of the Qurayza even before their surrender.
Ibn Ishaq's account, going back to Abu Lubaba's own statements, related that he regreted his actions, stating: "My feet had not moved away from the spot before I knew I had been false to God and His Apostle". He then went to the mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
, tied himself to a pillar and declared: "I will not leave this place until God forgives me for what I have done". Muhammad declared that God had forgiven him after reportedly receiving a revelation.
Literature
- Stillman, NormanNorman StillmanNorman Arthur Stillman, also Noam , b. 1945, is the Schusterman-Josey Professor and Chair of Judaic History at the University of Oklahoma. He specializes in the intersection of Jewish and Islamic culture and history, and in Oriental and Sephardi Jewry, with special interest in the Jewish...
, The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1979. ISBN 0-8276-0198-0
- Guillaume, Alfred, The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah. Oxford University Press, 1955. ISBN 0-19-636033-1
- Peters, Francis E., Muhammad and the Origins of Islam. State University of New York Press, 1994. ISBN 0-7914-1875-8.