The constitution agreed when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) arrived in Madinah bound every community in the city to shared defence and mutual non aggression. The battle of Bani Qaynuqa was the first occasion on which that agreement was tested and found broken. It began with an incident in a marketplace, escalated into an open challenge after Badr, and ended with a siege and an expulsion rather than bloodshed. The episode set the precedent for how violations of a covenant were handled in Madinah, and it remains a standard case study in the law of treaties within Islamic history.
Who Were Bani Qaynuqa?
Understanding the tribe’s position in the city explains both their confidence and the seriousness of what followed. The key facts about them are these.
- One of three major Jewish tribes resident in Madinah alongside Banu Nadir and Banu Qurayzah.
- Settled within the city itself rather than on the outlying farmland held by the other two.
- Engaged primarily in goldsmithing, metalwork, and trade rather than agriculture.
- Operated a well known market that served the wider population of Madinah.
- Able to field around seven hundred fighting men, the most militarily capable of the three tribes.
- Signatories to the Madinah constitution, which obliged them to joint defence and barred alliance with external enemies.
قال الله تعالى:﴿لَّا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ﴾(سورة الممتحنة 60:8)
Allah says:“Allah does not forbid you from showing kindness and acting justly toward those who have not fought you because of religion or driven you from your homes. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.”(Surah Al-Mumtahanah 60:8)
Date of the Bani Qaynuqa Expedition
The timing places the episode immediately after the victory at Badr, which is central to how events unfolded. The table below gives the coordinates of the campaign.
| Detail | Description |
| Date | Shawwal, 2 AH, corresponding to April 624 CE |
| Gap after Badr | Roughly one month |
| Location | The quarter and fortresses of the tribe inside Madinah |
| Nature of the action | A siege rather than an open battle |
| Duration of the siege | Fifteen nights |
| Casualties | None recorded on either side |
| Outcome | Surrender followed by expulsion from the city |
Why Were Bani Qaynuqa Expelled From Madinah?
The expulsion followed a sequence of events rather than a single act, and each stage moved the matter further beyond repair. The progression ran as follows.
- After the Muslim victory at Badr, the Prophet gathered the tribe in their market and invited them to reconsider their position.
- They responded with open dismissal, stating that Quraysh were not real fighters and that an encounter with them would show a different result.
- This reply amounted to a public declaration of hostility from a party bound by a treaty of mutual support.
- The incident in their market followed, injuring one Muslim woman and leaving one man dead.
- The tribe refused to surrender those responsible or to offer compensation.
- They withdrew into their fortresses, which under the conventions of the time signalled a formal break.
The Incident in the Market of Bani Qaynuqa
The episode that triggered the confrontation is recorded in the standard biographical collections. A Muslim woman from the Ansar came to the market of the tribe to sell goods and was seated near a goldsmith’s stall. Several men pressed her to uncover her face, and when she refused, one of them pinned the edge of her garment so that she was exposed when she stood. A Muslim man who witnessed this killed the goldsmith responsible, and the men of the market then killed him in turn. The woman’s call for help and the two deaths brought the matter immediately before the Prophet.
قال الله تعالى:﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَن تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَ﴾
(سورة الحجرات 49:6)
Allah says:“O you who have believed, if a disobedient person brings you information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and afterward regret what you have done.”
(Surah Al-Hujurat 49:6)
The Violation of the Madinah Treaty
The constitution of Madinah was not an informal understanding but a written document setting out obligations for every group in the city. Its terms required all signatories to defend Madinah against external attack, to refrain from aiding its enemies, and to refer disputes to the Prophet for arbitration rather than settling them by force. The conduct of the tribe breached each of these points in turn: they declared hostility openly, they refused arbitration over the market killings, and they took up arms within the city. The response was therefore treated as the enforcement of an agreed document rather than as an act of aggression against a neighbour.
The Siege and Its Outcome
The action that followed was deliberately contained, and the result was settled without an assault. Events proceeded in this order.
- The Prophet led the Muslim force to the tribe’s quarter and placed it under siege.
- The banner was carried by Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib, and Abu Lubabah was appointed over Madinah.
- The siege held for fifteen nights without any attempt to storm the fortifications.
- No external ally came to the tribe’s support, including the other two Jewish tribes of the city.
- The tribe surrendered unconditionally and accepted the Prophet’s judgement.
- Abdullah ibn Ubayy, who held a prior alliance with them, intervened and appealed for leniency.
- The judgement was set as expulsion from Madinah rather than execution.
The Terms of the Exile
The conditions imposed on the departing tribe were specific, and they shaped how later violations were handled. The terms were as follows.
- The tribe left Madinah with their women, children, and movable possessions.
- Weapons and the tools of their metalworking trade remained behind as the property of the state.
- Three days were given to prepare for departure.
- No executions were carried out and no captives were taken.
- The tribe travelled north and settled in the region of Adhri’at in Syria.
قال الله تعالى:﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَن تُؤَدُّوا الْأَمَانَاتِ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهَا وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُم بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَن تَحْكُمُوا بِالْعَدْلِ﴾
(سورة النساء 4:58)
Allah says:“Indeed, Allah commands you to return trusts to those entitled to them and, when you judge between people, to judge with justice.”
(Surah An-Nisa 4:58)
Lessons on Treaties and Covenants in Islam
The episode is cited consistently in discussions of agreements and their enforcement, and the principles drawn from it are these.
- A covenant binds the stronger party as firmly as the weaker one, and is not set aside by a change in the balance of power.
- A breach must be established by conduct rather than assumed from suspicion or from difference of belief.
- Notice precedes action, which is why the public address in the market came before any movement against the tribe.
- The response is proportionate to the violation, and expulsion was judged sufficient where life had been taken on both sides.
- Intercession is heard even from an opponent, as the appeal of Abdullah ibn Ubayy altered the outcome.
- Enforcement within a city follows due process, since the siege replaced an immediate assault.
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Guidance from the Quran and Hadith
قال الله تعالى:
﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ﴾
(سورة النحل 16:90)
English translation:
Allah says:
“Indeed, Allah commands justice, excellence, and generosity toward relatives.”
(Surah An-Nahl 16:90)
قال النبي ﷺ: «مَنْ كَانَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ قَوْمٍ عَهْدٌ، فَلَا يَحُلَّنَّ عُقْدَةً وَلَا يَشُدَّنَّهَا حَتَّى يَنْقَضِيَ أَمَدُهَا، أَوْ يَنْبِذَ إِلَيْهِمْ عَلَىٰ سَوَاءٍ»
(سنن أبي داود، وجامع الترمذي؛ قال الترمذي: حديث حسن صحيح)
The Prophet ﷺ said:“Whoever has a treaty with a people must not dissolve it or alter its terms until its period ends, unless he openly declares its termination to them on equal terms.”
(Sunan Abi Dawud and Jami’ at-Tirmidhi; graded Hasan Sahih by Al-Tirmidhi)
قال الله تعالى:﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالْأَقْرَبِينَ﴾
(سورة النساء 4:135)
Allah says:“O you who have believed, stand firmly for justice as witnesses for Allah, even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or your relatives.”
(Surah An-Nisa 4:135)
FAQs
Where did the tribe settle after leaving Madinah?
Most of them travelled north and settled at Adhri'at in the region of Greater Syria, near the modern border area of southern Syria and Jordan. Some accounts mention smaller groups moving towards Wadi Al-Qura instead.
Who was Abdullah ibn Ubayy and why did he intervene?
He was a chief of the Khazraj who held a long standing alliance with the tribe from before the migration. His persistent appeal on their behalf is recorded as the reason the sentence was reduced from execution to exile.
Did the other Jewish tribes support them during the siege?
Neither Banu Nadir nor Banu Qurayzah came to their aid, and both remained within their own agreements at that stage. Their separate confrontations with Madinah came in the fourth and fifth years respectively.
What happened to the property left behind?
The weapons and goldsmithing equipment were taken as state property and distributed according to the rules established for such holdings. The tribe retained their personal belongings and movable goods.
Was any Quranic verse connected to these events?
Commentators link verses in Surah Al-Anfal concerning the handling of a group that is feared to have broken a treaty, which instruct that the agreement be returned to them openly. Some also connect passages of Surah Al-Hashr to the wider question of the city's tribes.