We have just taken note of the deep effect that the Battle of Badr had upon Makkah. Above all, this effect included the will of the Quraysh to seek revenge against Muhammad and the Muslims at the first opportunity. The effect of this battle in Madinah was, however, much more obvious and more closely connected with the survival of Muhammad and his fellows. The Jews, associationists, and hypocrites felt Muslim power increase after Badr. They realized that this alien who came to them less than two years ago as an escaping emigrant from Makkah had increased his power and influence almost to the point of dominating not only the Muslims but their city as a whole. As we have had occasion to see, the Jews had begun to complain even before Badr that they had had many skirmishes with the Muslims and that were it not for the Covenant of Madinah, the explosion would have come sooner. Consequently, soon after the Muslims' victorious return, the non-Muslims of Madinah began to meet clandestinely and to encourage the composition and recitation of divisive poetry. It was as if the battlefield had moved from Makkah to Madinah and the dispute from religion to politics. It was not Muhammad's call to God that was being fought; rather, it was his political power, his worldly influence, and his success which incited these parties not only to plot against him but even to think of assassinating him. None of this, of course, was beyond Muhammad?s ken. All the happenings within his city, including the rumors, reached him in constant flow. Simmering in hatred and anger against each other, Muslims and Jews lay in wait for one another.
For fifteen consecutive days, the Muslims blockaded Banu Qaynuqa` within their quarters, preventing any exit or entry. The Jews had no alternative but to surrender and yield themselves to Muhammad's judgment. After consulting the Muslim leaders, Muhammad decided to kill his captives. `Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, allied to both Jews and Muslims, asked Muhammad to be merciful toward his allies. When the Prophet declined, `Abdullah repeated his request, and the Prophet declined again. `Abdullah then seized the Prophet by his shield and would not let him go. At this, the Prophet seemed rather angry and said with a loud voice, "Leave me; hands off !" Ibn Ubayy replied, "No, by God, I shall not let you go until you give mercy to my proteges. Three hundred armed and four hundred unarmed men have so far protected me against every sort of people. Would you kill them all at once? By God, I will never agree to such a judgment, for I fear the turns of fortune." `Abdulla was still a man of great power, having command of the associationists of the Aws and Khazraj tribes, although this power had largely waned with the growth of Muslim power. His insistence caused the Prophet to regain his good temper and patience, especially since `Ubadah~ ibn al Samit had joined ibn Ubayy in making the same plea. He therefore decided to stretch his hand to `Abdullah, to all his proteges, whether associationists or Jews, and to grant them all his mercy and benevolence. He decreed only that the Banu Qaynuqa' should evacuate Madinah in punishment for their misdeeds. Once more, ibn Ubayy tried to plead with Muhammad on behalf of his proteges that they be allowed to remain in Madinah. One of the Muslims, however, prevented ibn Ubayy from reaching the Prophet and forced him to remove himself. The tribesmen of Banu Qaynuqa' then announced that "By God, we shall not remain in a city where ibn Ubayy is pushed by force and we are unable to protect him." 'Ubadah subsequently led them in the surrender of their arms and jewel-making machinery and in the exodus from Madinah. They went to Wad! al Qura where they tarried a while and then proceeded northward until they reached Adhri'at near the frontier of al Sham, where they settled. Perhaps they went there because they wanted to be nearer the Land of Promise that attracted the Jews then as it still does today.
Jewish power in Madinah was considerably reduced after the expulsion of Banu Qaynuqa', for most of the Jews who called themselves Madinese lived far from Madinah, in Khaybar and Umm al Qura. It was this political objective at which Muhammad had aimed, and it reveals most clearly his political wisdom and foresight. It was the first of a number of political consequences of Muhammad's strategy. Nothing could be more harmful to the unity of a state than internal division. And if internal strife is inevitable, it is equally inevitable that one faction will finally establish its authority and dominion over all the others. Some historians have criticized the conduct of the Muslims toward the Jews. They claim that the incident of the Muslim woman at the jeweler's shop was relatively easy to settle as long as each party had already paid with the loss of one of its members. In answer to this claim, we may say that the victimization of the Jew and the Muslim did not efface the insult which the Muslims suffered at the hands of the Jews in the person of that woman. We may also argue that among the Arabs, more than among any other people, such an insult produces far greater commotion and, according to custom, would have easily caused continual war between two tribes for many long years. Examples of such incidents and the wars which followed them are legion in Arab history. Besides this consideration, however, there is yet a stronger one. The incident at the jeweler's shop was to the blockade of Banu Qaynuqa` and their expulsion from Madinah as the murder of the Austrian heir-apparent in Serajevo in 1914 was to World War I, which enveloped the whole of Europe. The incident was only the spark which inflamed Muslims and Jews and caused them to explode. The fact was that the presence of Muslims, Jews, associationists and munafiqun in one city with all their disparate ideals and customs made that city a political volcano replete with explosive power. The blockade of Banu Qaynuqa` and their expulsion were a prologue to the coming explosion.
The Battle of Badr struck fear into the hearts of tribes. Their leaders considered whether or not to strike against Madinah now, before the situation got utterly out of hand. Soon enough, it came to the ear of Muhammad that an army of Ghatafan and Sulaym tribesmen were marching in the direction of Madinah; in turn, he led an expedition of Muslim fighters to Qarqarat al Kudr to meet them. When the Muslim force arrived, they found camel traces but no men. Muhammad sent a number of his companions to reconnoiter the upper levels of the valley. While waiting for them to return, he met a young boy by the name of Yasar and asked him about the whereabouts of the enemy. The boy answered that they had gone to the spring at the higher extremity of the valley. The Muslims seized the camels they found in the area without battle and divided the booty as the Qur'an demanded, one-fifth going to Muhammad. It was reported that their booty amounted to five hundred camels of which the Prophet took one-fifth and distributed the rest equally among his companions, each one getting two camels. Later on, it reached the ear of Muhammad that Tha'labah and Muharib tribesmen had gathered at Dhu Amarr with aggressive designs. The Prophet immediately led an expedition of four hundred and fifty fighters to search out the enemy in their own grounds but without meeting them. He did, however, come across a man from Tha'labah whom he questioned regarding the whereabouts of the enemy. This man warned the Prophet that, should they hear of his advance, they would run away to the mountain heights; and he offered his services as a guide. The enemy soon heard of Muhammad's approach and retreated to the mountains. Later learning that a great force of Banu Sulaym tribesmen from Bahran were advancing on Madinah, the Prophet went out in haste with a Muslim force of three hundred to meet them. A day's distance from Bahran, the Muslims came across a man from Banu Sulaym who reported, upon questioning by the Prophet, that the tribesmen had dispersed and returned home. All these tribesmen were stricken with panic and fear for their future. They plotted against the Muslims and often went out in force to fight them. But no sooner did they hear of Muhammad's sortie with his companions to meet them, than they would lose heart and run away.