View source for Banu Khazraj

{{Short description|Tribe in Medina, Hejaz}}
{{Infobox tribe
| name = Banu Khazraj<br />{{nobold|بنو خزرج}}
| type = Kahlanite Arab tribe
| image = 
| image_size = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| parent_tribe = [[Azd]]
| branches = 
| religion = [[Sunni Islam]], [[Shia Islam]]
| ethnicity = [[Arabs|Arab]]
| nisba = al-Khazraji
| descended = Al-Khazraj bin Haritha bin Tha'labah bin Amr bin 'Amir bin Haritha bin Tha'labah bin Mazen bin al-Azd
| language = [[Arabic]]
}}
[[File:Pre_Islamic_Arabian_Tribes_(Harold_Dixon).svg|thumb|306x306px|Map of the [[Arabian Peninsula]] in 600 AD, showing the various Arab tribes and their areas of settlement. The [[Lakhmid kingdom|Lakhmids]] (yellow) formed an Arab monarchy as clients of the [[Sasanian Empire]], while the [[Ghassanids]] (red) formed an Arab monarchy as clients of the [[Roman Empire]] A map published by the British academic Harold Dixon during [[World War I]], showing the presence of the Arab tribes in [[West Asia]], 1914]]
The '''Banu Khazraj''' ({{langx|ar|بنو خزرج}}) is a large [[Arab]] tribe based in [[Medina]]. They were also in Medina during [[Muhammad]]'s era.
 
The Banu Khazraj are a South Arabian Qahtanite tribe that were pressured out of South Arabia as a result of the destruction of the Marib Dam. Along with their cousin tribe, the Aws, they migrated to Yathrib, later known as Medina.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0OrCo4VyvGkC&pg=PA193|title=Muhammad and the Origins of Islam|last=Peters|first=Francis E.|date=1994|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=9780791418758|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Watt1986p771">{{Harvnb|Watt|1986|p=771}}</ref>

==Early history==
Abu Muhammad Al-Hasan Ibn Ahmad Al-Hamdani mentioned that the Banu Khazraj and the Banu Aws settled the area of [[Yathrib]] around the 2nd century AD as part of the Pre-Islamic Exodus of [[Yemen]] because of the Great Marib Dam damage.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

However, all sources agree that the Banu Khazraj and [[Banu Aws]] became hostile to each other.

Jewish chronicles state that they went to war against each other in the [[Yawm al-Buath|Yawm al-Bu'ath]] a few years before the [[Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]] [[Hegira|migrated to Medina]].<ref name="jewishencyclopedia 1">[[jewishencyclopedia.com]] [http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=326&letter=M]</ref>

There were three Jewish tribes present in Medina: [[Banu Qaynuqa]], [[Banu Nadir]] and [[Banu Qurayza]].

During the battle, the Banu Nadir and the Banu Qurayza fought on the side of the [[Banu Aws]], and the Banu Qaynuqa were allied with the Banu Khazraj. The latter were defeated after a long and desperate battle.<ref name="jewishencyclopedia 1" />

The [[Nusaybah family]] of Jerusalem, Custodians of the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]], are descendants of Banu Khazraj. They arrived in Jerusalem with the 7th-century Islamic conquest.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

==Hijrah==
{{Further|Hijra (Islam)}}
The Banu Aws were included in point 30-31 of the [[Constitution of Medina]] as allies to the Muslims, being as "one nation/community with the Believers".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Medina |title=Medina Charter - Wikisource |website=en.wikisource.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060627022522/http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Medina |archive-date=2006-06-27}}</ref><ref name="balagh.net">{{Cite web|url=http://www.balagh.net/english/ahl_bayt/the_message/27.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524053521/http://www.balagh.net/english/ahl_bayt/the_message/27.htm|url-status=dead|title=The Message<!-- Bot generated title -->|archivedate=May 24, 2012}}</ref>

[[Abd-Allah ibn Ubaiy]], one of their chiefs,<ref name="IBN UBAIY">[[jewishencyclopedia.com]] [http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=192&letter=A&search=Banu%20Khazraja]</ref> is said to have plotted against Muhammad.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.islamic-council.org/lib/men/ABD-ALLAH-IBN-RAWAAHAH.html |title='ABD ALLAH IBN RAWAAHAH |access-date=2006-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630073952/http://www.islamic-council.org/lib/men/ABD-ALLAH-IBN-RAWAAHAH.html |archive-date=2006-06-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, other Khazraj chiefs such as Saad ibn Ubadah, together with most of the clan, welcomed the prophet and, together with the Aws, they became known as the [[Ansar (Islam)|Ansar]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}}

==Military campaigns==
{{Campaignbox Campaigns of Muhammad}}
{{Main|List of expeditions of Muhammad}}
On 624 Muhammad ordered the [[Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf|assassination of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf]]. According to [[Ibn Ishaq]], Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf was a Jewish poet, who created verses about Muhammad after the Muslim victory in Badr. Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf was angered by this victory and went to Makkah to incite war and hatred towards the Muslims.

Shortly afterward he returned to Medina and composed amatory verses of an insulting nature about the Muslim women". Thus after his return to Medina, the order to kill him was sent by Muhammad. The Banu Aws carried out this killing.<ref>Uri Rubin, The Assassination of Kaʿb b. al-Ashraf, Oriens, Vol. 32. (1990), pp. 65–71.</ref><ref name="Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar pp. 151–153">Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar, pp. 151–153. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110826203308/http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/ch4s6.html online])</ref>

When men of the [[Banu Aus|Banu Aws]] tribe murdered [[Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf]], some [[Khazraj]] tribesman including [[Abdallah ibn Unais]] went to Muhammad and received permission to put to death the person responsible for the killing of Sallam ibn Abu al-Huqayq, who was killed during the [[Expedition of 'Abdullah ibn 'Atik]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://military.hawarey.org/military_english.htm |title=List of Battles of Muhammad |access-date=2011-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726142128/http://military.hawarey.org/military_english.htm |archive-date=2011-07-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="The Sealed Nectar Free version">Mubarakpuri, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-ppPqzawIrIC&pg=PA204 The Sealed Nectar (Free version)], p. 204.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ctvk-fdtklYC&pg=PA100|title=The History of al-Tabari Vol. 7: The Foundation of the Community: Muhammad At Al-Madina A.D. 622-626/Hijrah-4 A.H.|date=January 1, 1987|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=9780887063442 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

[[Sallam ibn Abu al-Huqayq]] (Abu Rafi) was a Jew, who helped the troops of the Confederates and provided them with a lot of wealth and supplies, on the one hand <ref>Ibn Hajr Asqalani , Fath Al-Bari, p. 7/343.</ref> and used to mock Muhammad with his poetry, on the other. When the Muslims had settled their affair with Banu Quraiza; Al-Khazraj tribe, a rival of Al-Aws, asked for Muhammad's permission to kill him (which Muhammad accepted) in order to merit a virtue equal to that of Al-Aws who had killed [[Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf]].<ref name="The Sealed Nectar Free version"/>

==The Nasrids in Granada ==
{{Main|Nasrid dynasty}}
[[File:Spain Andalusia Granada BW 2015-10-25 17-28-47.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Alhambra]], [[Court of the Lions]] built by the Nasrid sultans]]

In 1228, Ibn al-Ahmar gathered the remains of the Muslim population cornered in Granada and established al-Mamlika al-Nasria derived from the Ansar of Medina whom the Nasrids trace their lineage to.<ref>{{Cite book|title=History of The Arabs|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780333631423|url-access=registration|last=Hitti|first=Philip K.|date=2002|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9781137039828|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780333631423/page/549 549]|language=en}}</ref> With the [[Reconquista]] in full swing after the conquest of Cordoba in 1236, the Nasrids aligned themselves with [[Ferdinand III of Castile]], officially becoming a tributary state in 1238. The state officially becoming the Kingdom of Granada in 1238. The Nasrids had to turn their backs against the Muslims of Cordoba and Seville in order to survive the reconquest.

Initially the kingdom of Granada linked the commercial routes from Europe with those of the [[Maghreb]]. The territory constantly shrank, however, and by 1492, Granada controlled only a small territory on the Mediterranean coast. [[Arabic language|Arabic]] was the official language, and was the mother tongue of the majority of the population.

Granada was held as a vassal to Castile for many decades, and provided trade links with the Muslim world, particularly the gold trade with the sub-saharan areas south of [[Africa]]. The Nasrids also provided troops for Castile while the kingdom was also a source of mercenary fighters from North African [[Zenata]] tribes. However, [[Portugal]] discovered direct the African trade routes by sailing around the coast of West Africa. Thus Granada became less and less important for Castile and with the unification of Castile and Aragon in 1479, those kingdoms set their sights on conquering Granada and Navarre.

On January 2, 1492, the last Muslim leader, Muhammad XII, known as [[Boabdil of Granada|Boabdil]] to the Spanish, surrendered complete control of Granada, to [[Ferdinand V of Spain|Ferdinand]] and [[Isabella I of Spain|Isabella]], ''[[Los Reyes Católicos]]'' ("The Catholic Monarchs"), after the city was besieged.

See [[Nasrid dynasty]] for a full list of the Nasrid rulers of Granada. The most prominent members of the dynasty were:
*[[Mohammed ibn Alhamar]] (died 1273), the founder of the dynasty
*[[Yusuf I]] (1334–1354)
*[[Muhammed V]] (1354–1391), builder of the royal palace within the Alhambra
*[[Boabdil of Granada]], the last of the line, who surrendered in 1492 to [[Ferdinand V of Spain|Ferdinand]] and [[Isabella I of Castile|Isabel]] and was given the [[Alpujarras]] mountains to rule to the East of Granada, although he left for [[Fes]] in Morocco.

==People==
*[[Abd-Allah ibn Ubaiy]] &mdash; chief<ref name="IBN UBAIY" />
*[[Sa'd ibn Ubadah]],<ref name=sunnipath2>[[The Sealed Nectar]] [http://www.sunnipath.com/Resources/PrintMedia/Books/B0033P0017.aspx The Second ‘Aqabah Pledge] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061128120537/http://www.sunnipath.com/Resources/PrintMedia/Books/B0033P0017.aspx |date=2006-11-28 }} on sunnipath.com</ref> the chief of the [[Khazraj]]<ref name="Vicegerency">Imamate: The Vicegerency of the Prophet 
[http://www.al-islam.org/ Al-islam.org] [http://www.al-islam.org/imamate/3.htm]</ref>
*[[Abu Ayyub al-Ansari]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.islamicfinder.org/knowledge/biography/story-of-abu-ayyub-alansari/ | title=Story of Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari (R.A.) }}</ref>
*[[Jabir ibn Abd Allah]]
*[[Hassan ibn Thabit]] &mdash;  
*[[Ubayy ibn Kab]] &mdash;
*[['Abd Allah ibn Rawahah]]<ref name=sunnipath2/>
*[[As‘ad bin Zurarah bin ‘Ads]]<ref name=sunnipath2/>
*[[Habab ibn Mundhir]]<ref name=Vicegerency/>
*[[Anas ibn Malik]]<ref name=islamonline>[[islamonline.net]] {{cite web|url=http://www.islamonline.net/English/In_Depth/hijry/1425/article/08.shtml |title=Al-Bara' ibn Malik Al-Ansari: Allah & Paradise |access-date=2006-12-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616072454/http://www.islamonline.net/English/In_Depth/hijry/1425/article/08.shtml |archive-date=2010-06-16 }}</ref>
*[[Muadh ibn Jabal]]
* [[Al-Bara ibn Malik]]<ref name=islamonline/>
*Sa'd bin Ar-Rabi bin ‘Amr <ref name=sunnipath2/>
*Rafi' bin Malik bin Al-‘Ajlan <ref name=sunnipath2/>
* Al-Bara’ bin Ma‘rur bin Sakhr<ref name=sunnipath2/>
*'Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Haram<ref name=sunnipath2/>
*'Ubadah bin As-Samit bin Qais <ref name=sunnipath2/>
* Al-Mundhir bin ‘Amr bin Khunai <ref name=sunnipath2/>

==See also==
*[[Islam]]
*[[List of expeditions of Muhammad]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite encyclopedia |last= Watt |first= William Montgomery |author-link= William Montgomery Watt |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |title= AL-AWS |edition= 2nd |year= 1986 |location= Leiden |publisher= [[E. J. Brill]] |volume= I |isbn= 90-04-08114-3 |pages= 771–72 }}

{{Characters and names in the Quran}}
{{Historical Arab tribes}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Banu Khazraj| ]]
[[Category:Arab ethnic groups]]
[[Category:Tribes of Arabia|Khazraj]]