View source for Kenana ibn al-Rabi

{{Short description|Brother-in-law of Mohammed's wife Zaynab bint Khuzayma}}
'''Kenana ibn al-Rabi'''' ({{lang-ar|كِنَانَة ٱبْن ٱلرَّبِيع}}) also known as '''Kenana ibn al-Rabi'a''' and '''Kenana ibn al-Rabi ibn Abu al-Huqayq''', was a [[Jewish]] Arab tribal leader of seventh-century [[Arabia]] and an opponent of [[Muhammad]]. He was a son of the poet [[al-Rabi ibn Abu al-Huqayq]]. Ibn al-Rabi' was killed during early Muslim clashes with the [[Banu Nadir]].

==Biography==
He had two brothers — al-Rabi ibn al-Rabi and Sallam. Kenana is said to have urged Muhammad to give up the custom during prayer of turning his face toward [[Mecca]] ("[[Qiblah]]") in favor of [[Jerusalem]], as had been the custom in [[Islam]] at first. After the expulsion of the [[Banu al-Nadir]], of which tribe he was a member, he and his family retired to [[Khaybar]], where they possessed a castle called [[Qamus]].<ref>''s.v.'' «Khaybar», ''[[The Encyclopedia of Islam]]'' (L. Veccia Vaglieri).</ref>

[[Ibn Ishaq]] writes about Kenana ibn al-Rabi:<ref>[[Ibn Hisham]]. ''Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya'' (''The Life of The Prophet''). English translation in Guillame (1955), pp. 145&ndash;146</ref> 
<blockquote>Kenana al-Rabi, who had the custody of the treasure of Banu Nadir, was brought to the apostle who asked him about it. He denied that he knew where it was. A Jew came (Tabari says "was brought"), to the apostle and said that he had seen Kenana going round a certain ruin every morning early. When the apostle said to Kenana, "Do you know that if we find you have it I shall kill you?" He said "Yes". The apostle gave orders that the ruin was to be excavated and some of the treasure was found. When he asked him about the rest he refused to produce it, so the apostle gave orders to al-Zubayr Al-Awwam, "Torture him until you extract what he has." So he kindled a fire with flint and steel on his chest until he was nearly dead. Then the apostle delivered him to Muhammad b. Maslama and he struck off his head, in revenge for his brother Mahmud</blockquote>

In addition to Ibn Ishaq's narration Al-Tabari writes:
<blockquote>The Prophet gave orders concerning Kenana to Zubayr, saying, ‘Torture him until you root out and extract what he has. So Zubayr kindled a fire on Kenana’s chest, twirling it with his firestick until Kenana was near death. Then the Messenger gave him to Maslamah, who beheaded him. -- Al-Tabari, Vol. 8, p. 122</blockquote>

Al-Mubarakpuri maintains that al-Rabi was bound by agreements between Muhammad and Khaybar to not conceal anything from the Muslims. He was executed, al-Mubarakpuri concludes, for breaching the agreement.<ref>Mubarakpuri (1996), pg. 372</ref> Montgomery Watt supports the view that he was executed for concealing the treasure.<ref>Watt (1956), pg. 218</ref> Shibli Nomani, however, argues that Kenana was put to death because he had killed Mahmud, the brother of [[Muhammad bin Maslama]]. Nomani also casts doubt on the accuracy of the story due to its sources (see section below).<ref name="Nomani, vol. II, pg. 173">Nomani, vol. II, pg. 173</ref>

==See also==
*[[Ibn Ishaq]]
*[[Banu Nadir]]
*[[List of expeditions of Muhammad|List of battles of Muhammad]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*[[Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari]]. ''Sahih Bukhari''.
* the story does not appear in this source [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=220&letter=K&search=Kenana Gottheil, Richard ''et al.'' "Kenana".] ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]''. Funk and Wagnalls, 1901-1906.
*Ibn Ishaq. ''The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah.'' A. Guillaume, trans. Oxford Univ. Press, 1955. The story Does not appear in this source.
*[[Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj]] al-Qushayri. ''Sahih Muslim''. Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, ''et al.'', transl's. revised ed. 2000.

{{JewishEncyclopedia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenana Ibn Al-Rabi}}
[[Category:Banu Nadir]]
[[Category:7th-century Arabian Jews]]
[[Category:People executed by decapitation]]
[[Category:Opponents of Muhammad]]