Abdullah Ibn Salam Was Not the Only Jewish Supporter of Prophet Muhammad

Abdullah Ibn Salam was a Jewish supporter of Prophet Muhammad, and might even be mentioned in the Qur’an. “Say, “Have you considered: If the Qur’an was from Allah, and you (idol lovers) disbelieved in it, while a witness from the Children of Israel (Abdullah Ibn Salam) has testified to something similar and believed, while you were arrogant… ?” Indeed, Allah does not guide wrongdoing people. (Qur’an 46:10)

Abdullah Ibn Salam was born in Madinah (then called Yathrib) in a Jewish family. He was a good scholar of the Torah. People considered him to be like a rabbi. His Hebrew name was Al-Hosayn ibn Salam. He was a member of one of the Jewish tribes known as Banu Qaynuqa, and became a companion of Prophet Muhammad from among the Ansars of Madinah.

Al-Hosayn ibn Salam, was a widely respected scholar of Torah. He read in several places in the many books of the Hebrew Scriptures that a Prophet will come soon who will complete the Divine Message of Prophet Moses. He noted the signs of the coming Prophet and was eager to know more about him.

Al-Hosayn ibn Salam began to learn about his genealogy (he was a distant descendant of Prophets Abraham and Ishmael but not of King David), and his honesty and characteristics, compared this information with what was contained in the Torah. Muhammad was very close to Prophet Isaiah famous Messianic description of (Isaiah 11:2-7 New International Version).

11:2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord: 3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. 6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
 and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

Abdullah Ibn Salam became convinced about the authenticity of Muhammad’s prophethood and was eager to meet him. When Prophet Muhammad reached Madinah and the news spread across the town. Abdullah Ibn Salam was on a palm tree in his orchard. His aunt named, Khalidah bint Al-Harith, was sitting under the tree. On hearing the news, Al-Hosayn ibn Salam exclaimed loudly: “Allahu Akbar!” (God is Great). His aunt was surprised and said, “By God, if you had heard that Prophet Moses was coming, you could not have been so excited.” He replied, “By God he is really the ‘brother’ of Moses and follows his religion (Judaism). He was sent with the same mission as Prophet Moses.”

Al-Hosayn ibn Salam looked at the Prophet closely and was convinced with his prophethood. The Prophet turned to him and asked: “What is your name?” He replied, “Al-Hosayn ibn Salam.” The Prophet said, “From now on, you are Abdullah ibn Salam.” Abdullah returned home and introduced Islam to his family, including his aunt, Khalidah, who was an old lady.

Al-Hosayn ibn Salam was a very intelligent person who knew the nature of his community. He devised a plan to declare his new faith. He went to Prophet Muhammad and told him about it. The Prophet agreed and invited prominent Jews to visit him. He kept Abdullah hidden in one of his rooms. Then the Prophet introduced Islam to them and asked them to accept it but they did not respond positively.

Then he asked them, “What is the status of Al-Hosayn ibn Salam among you?” They replied, “He is our leader and our rabbi.” At this point, Abdullah ibn Salam came out from the room and announced: “O, The assembly of Jews! Be conscious of God and accept what Prophet Muhammad has brought. By God, you certainly know that he (Muhammad) is the Messenger of God and you can find prophecies about him and his characteristics in your Torah. I for my part declare that he is a true Messenger of God…”

Although Muslim sources generally state that he converted immediately after Muhammad’s arrival to Medina, many non-Muslim scholars give more credence to other Muslim sources that indicate 630 C.E. as the year of Ibn Salam’s conversion. Abdullah ibn Salam had a very high position among the Muslims.

It is reported in a Hadith, that one day while Prophet Muhammad was sitting with his companions he said, “Do you want to see a man walking on Earth (Judaism) and in Paradise (Islam) ?” Each one of the companions looked in silence toward the Prophet. But the Prophet pointed toward Abdullah ibn Salam.

Say, “Have you considered: If the Qur’an was from Allah, and you disbelieved in it while a witness from the Children of Israel has testified to something similar and believed while you were arrogant… ?” Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people. (Qur’an 46:10)

Tafsir Al-Jalalayn mentions that the “witness” the verse refers to is Al-Hosayn ibn Salam. Abdullah ibn Salam participated in the conquest of Syria and Palestine and visited Jabia with Caliph Omar. He died in 43 AH in Madinah his home town.

Another Jewish supporter of Prophet Muhammad died on March 19, 625 C.E. Rabbi Mukhayriq (Arabic: مخيريق) lived in Medina and fought alongside Prophet Muhammad in the Battle of Uhud; and was killed.

In 622 C.E., not long after Prophet Muhammad had come to Medina, he made a treaty for the different tribes that lived in Medina, including the Jews of Tha’labah, who signed the Constitution of Medina. In accordance with this constitution, all the tribes living in Medina entered into a federation and were obligated to help each other to fight against their enemies, with each bearing their own expenses.

Rabbi Mukhayriq was a learned and respected rabbi, and a leader of the Jewish Arab tribe of Tha’labah, who were a notable tribe of Jews who had lived in Medina for centuries. According to Norman A. Stillman, Ibn Ishaq, who wrote the first biography of Prophet Muhammad, says about Rabbi Mukhayriq: “He recognized the Apostle of Allah by his description and by what he found in his scholarship. He was accustomed (loyal) to his own religion until his death on March 19, 625 C.E.

The Constitution, Charter or Covenant of Medina pre-dated the English Magna Carta by almost six centuries. Prophet Muhammad’s Charter/Covenant of Medina was designed to govern a multi-religious pluralistic society in a manner allowing religious freedom for all. As the Qur’an states: (49: 13) “O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know (respect) each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)”.

The Charter’s 47 clauses protect human rights for all citizens, including equality, cooperation, freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. Clause 25 specifically states that Jews and pagan Arabs are entitled to practice their own faith without any restrictions: “The Jews of the Banu ‘Auf are one community with the Muslim believers, their freedmen and their persons, except those who behave unjustly and sinfully for they hurt but themselves, and their families.

(26-35) The same applies to the Jews of the Banu al-Najjar, Banu al-Harith, Banu Sai’ida, Banu Jusham, Banu al-Aus, Banu Tha’laba, and the Jafna, a clan of the Tha‘laba and the Banu al-Shutayba. Loyalty is a protection against treachery. The freedmen of Tha‘laba are as themselves. The close friends of the Jews are as themselves. So the Covenant of Medina was the first political document in history to establish religious freedom as a fundamental constitutional right.

The “Charter of Medina” created a new multi-tribal ummah/community soon after the Prophet’s arrival at Medina (Yathrib) in 622 CE. The term “constitution” is a misnomer. The treaty was more like the American Articles of Confederation that proceeded the US Constitution because it mainly dealt with tribal matters such as the organization and leadership of the participating tribal groups, warfare, the ransoming of captives, and war expenditure.

Two recensions of the document (henceforth, “the treaty”) are found in Ibn Ishaq’s Biography of Muḥammad (sira) and Abu ʿUbayd’s Book of State Finance (Kitāb al-amwāl). Some argue the final document actually comprises several treaties concluded at different times.

According to Arjomand, the treaty is a “proto-Islamic public law.” Some clauses in the second part of the treaty, or the treaty of the Jews section (namely clauses 53–64), form a pact with the Jewish Qurayza tribe that was incorporated in this treaty at a later stage. However, clause 44 (“Incumbent upon the Jews is their expenditure and upon the muslimun theirs”) and, clause 45 (“They will aid each other against whosoever is at war with the people of this treaty”) clearly were part of the original pact.

According to Denny, the ummah of the Constitution is made up of Muslims and Jews; although the Jews also constitute a separate ummah “alongside” the Muslims. The treaty was a political-military document of agreement designed to make Yathrib and its people more secure. The Jewish tribes were a party to it as a special group, a “sub-ummah” with its own din (religion and law). Yathrib was to be “sacred for the people of this document,” which adds a factor of locality and religion. Kinship was not to be the main binding tie of the new ummah; for monotheistic religion was of much greater importance. The ummah is the tribe, a supertribe, with God and Muhammad as arbiters and authorities.

According to Goto, the three main Jewish tribes—Nadir, Qurayza, and Qaynuqaʿ had agreements with Muhammad that were separate. Muhammad himself made a document or documents for the three major Jewish tribes. The six Jewish groups called “yahud bani so-and-so” mentioned in the treaty were not the three large Jewish tribes, but refer to significant groups of Jewish converts to Judaism within the pagan Arab tribes of Medina (since most Jews married other Jews these groups grew into large clans within the larger pagan Arab tribe of which they were a part).

Muhammad Hamidullah divides the document into two parts: (1) The rules affecting the Muhajirun and the Anṣar that go back to the beginning of the first year after the Hijrah, and (2) the code for the Jews concluded after the Battle of Badr. In his view it was a constitution promulgated for the city-state of Medina. It included the prerogatives and obligations of the ruler and the ruled, as well as other immediate requirements (including social insurance for the needy).

According to Rubin, the Jewish participants were not the three main Jewish tribes, but Jewish groups that unlike the three main tribes, had neither a territory of their own nor a separate Jewish tribal affinity, because they were families and clans of converts to Judaism within the various pagan Arab tribes. Muhammad’s ummah was a unity sharing the same religious orientation (monotheism) and included the Jews as “an umma of believers.” They were entitled to complete protection for themselves that also included their din (religion and law).

The Qur’an strongly supports religious pluralism and wasatia, a religious term in Islam for the middle path of temperance and reconciliation. Extremists who deny the value of wasatia should read Prophet Muhammad’s original Covenant of Medina.