Yahūd

The term Yahūd is the Qurʾānic and Arabic designation for the Jews, who are followers of Judaism, one of the world’s earliest monotheistic religions founded upon belief in one God and adherence to the teachings revealed to Prophet Moses (Mūsā AS). In the Qurʾān, the Yahūd are frequently associated with Banū Isrāʾīl (the Children of Israel) and are recognized among the Ahl al-Kitāb (“People of the Book”) (Qurʾān 2:40; 5:44). The Qurʾān affirms that the Torah was revealed as divine guidance and light: “Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light” (Qurʾān 5:44), and it honors numerous Israelite prophets including Mūsā, Hārūn, Dāwūd, Sulaymān, Zakariyyā, and Yaḥyā (AS). The Jewish tribes of Arabia also occupied an important place in the religious and social environment encountered by the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ during the rise of Islam. While the Qurʾān acknowledges the Yahūd as recipients of earlier divine revelation, it also critically addresses certain theological and historical attitudes attributed to some Jewish communities, particularly concerning disputes over revelation and the rejection of later prophets.

In the context of the sīrah, the relationship between the Prophet ﷺ and the Jewish tribes of Madīnah formed a significant aspect of the early Islamic community’s political and religious development. Major Jewish tribes in and around Madīnah included Banū Qaynuqāʿ, Banū al-Naḍīr, and Banū Qurayẓah. Following the Hijrah, the Prophet ﷺ established the Ṣaḥīfat al-Madīnah (Constitution of Madīnah), which recognized Muslims and Jews as members of a broader political community while guaranteeing mutual defence and religious freedom. Early interactions were characterized by coexistence, dialogue, and shared civic obligations, although tensions later emerged due to political alliances, treaty violations, and conflicts during periods of military confrontation between the Muslims and Quraysh.

The Qurʾān records numerous theological discussions between the Prophet ﷺ and Jewish groups concerning prophethood, scripture, law, and covenant. Some Jewish scholars are portrayed positively for recognizing truth and righteousness: “Among the People of the Book is a community standing [in obedience], reciting the verses of Allah during periods of the night and prostrating” (Qurʾān 3:113). Other passages criticize groups who opposed the Prophet ﷺ despite recognizing aspects of his message. Classical Muslim exegetes understood these verses as directed toward specific historical communities and circumstances rather than blanket condemnations of all Jews. Consequently, Islamic scholarship historically distinguished between theological disagreement and broader principles of justice and coexistence.

The subject of the Yahūd in Islamic thought has remained significant in Qurʾānic exegesis, interfaith relations, and historical studies of the Prophet’s ﷺ life. Medieval Muslim historians and modern scholars alike have examined Muslim-Jewish relations in Madīnah as a formative element in the development of the early Islamic state. Contemporary scholarship increasingly studies these interactions within the wider context of Late Antiquity, emphasizing the complex religious, political, and social environment of western Arabia. Through the Qurʾān and sīrah traditions, the Yahūd occupy an important place in the narrative of prophetic history, revelation, and the emergence of the Muslim community.

## References

1 Qurʾān 3:113; 5: 44. 2 Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī, trans. Syed Muḥammad Ibrāhīm and Ḥabīb al-Raḥmān Ṣiddīqī (Karachi: Nafīs Academy, 1990), 2:161-64. 3 Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Yasār and Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Hishām, Sīrat Ibn Hishām, Urdu trans. Syed Yāsīn ʿAlī Ḥusnī Niẓāmī (Lahore: Idārah Islāmiyāt, 1994), 1:344-45. 4 Abū ʿUbayd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Saʿd al-Baṣrī, Ṭabaqāt Ibn Saʿd, trans. ʿAbdullāh al-ʿAmadī (Karachi: Dār al-Ishāʿat, 2003), 1:115. 5 Gordon D. Newby, A History of the Jews of Arabia: From Ancient Times to Their Eclipse under Islam (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1988). 6 Norman A. Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1979). 7 W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Medina (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1956). 8 Barakat Aḥmad, Muḥammad and the Jews: A Re-Examination (New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1979). 9 Muḥammad Ḥamīdullāh, Majmūʿat al-Wathāʾiq al-Siyāsiyyah li al-ʿAhd al-Nabawī wa al-Khilāfah al-Rāshidah (Beirut: Dār al-Nafāʾis, 1985). 10 S. D. Goitein, Jews and Arabs: Their Contacts through the Ages (New York: Schocken Books, 1974).