~625 CE · 4 AHDate debatedEarly authorities (Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri) dated this incident to shortly after Badr; later seerah scholars (Ibn Ishaq, al-Waqidi, Ibn Sa'd) corrected this, placing it in Shawwal 4 AH after Bir Ma'una: the date used here.
Dating debated
Early authorities (Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri) dated this incident to shortly after Badr; later seerah scholars (Ibn Ishaq, al-Waqidi, Ibn Sa'd) corrected this, placing it in Shawwal 4 AH after Bir Ma'una: the date used here.
After the incidents of al-Raji and Bir Ma'una (Safar, 4 AH), the Prophet ﷺ, Abu Bakr RA, and Umar RA went to the Banu Nadir south of Madinah to ask for help paying the blood money owed for two men Amr ibn Umayyah RA had mistakenly killed, as the Constitution of Madinah obliged the wealthy tribes of the city to share such a burden. The Banu Nadir leaders welcomed them and had the Prophet ﷺ and the sahaba wait outside their fortress while they withdrew to confer. Inside, one leader proposed dropping a rock from the fortress wall onto the Prophet ﷺ to kill him; another objected that it would cause serious backlash, but the plan was approved. Before it could be carried out, the Prophet ﷺ suddenly stood and walked back to Madinah without a word, having been told by Jibril AS to leave at once. The sahaba, not understanding why, waited for him to return until they eventually went back to Madinah themselves, where the Prophet ﷺ explained what had happened. Tension already existed between the two sides before this: the Musannaf of Abd al-Razzaq reports that some of the Banu Nadir had earlier conspired to murder the People of the Suffa, a plot exposed before it could be carried out; Musa ibn Uqba records that the Banu Nadir gave the Quraysh logistical help and knowledge of the terrain at the Battle of Uhud; and one of their own chieftains, Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, had already been assassinated for his open hostility to the Muslims.
Ibn Abbas identified Qur'an 5:11 as a reference to this plot. It directly precipitated the Prophet ﷺ's ultimatum to the Banu Nadir and their subsequent siege and expulsion from Madinah.
The Year of the Trench·Chapter 1 of 9Prelude
See the whole storyThe Year of Uhud·Chapter 12 of 13A millstone on the wall
See the whole storyOther events recorded in 4 AH. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
It is about time you came to us for our help.
Said as the Banu Nadir's leaders welcomed the Prophet ﷺ and his companions, who had come to ask for their share of the blood money owed for the two men killed by Amr ibn Umayyah after Bir Ma'una.
Stand up right now, and leave.
Jibril came to warn the Prophet ﷺ as the Banu Nadir's leaders, meeting inside their fortress, resolved to drop a rock on him from above while he waited outside.
This is the best opportunity: he is sitting right outside our fortress. We can throw a rock on him, and that's it: our problems are eliminated.
Said among the Banu Nadir's leaders as they met inside their fortress while the Prophet ﷺ and his companions waited outside.
No, this is going to cause a lot of backlash.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ هَمَّ قَوْمٌ أَن يَبْسُطُوٓا۟ إِلَيْكُمْ أَيْدِيَهُمْ فَكَفَّ أَيْدِيَهُمْ عَنكُمْ
“Remember the blessings of Allah on you — when a group among you desired to reach you to kill you. Allah stopped their hands from reaching you.”
Ibn Abbas identified this verse as referring to the Banu Nadir's plot to kill the Prophet ﷺ.