Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf al-Tayy

Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf (Arabic: كعب بن الاشرف‎) (died 624) was a poet from the Tayy tribe who criticized and mocked the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[1] Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf was born to a Jewish-Arab mother from the Nadir tribe, Aqilah bint Abi'l-Huqayq, and an Arab father from the Tayy tribe, and he followed his mother's religion.[2][3] He was a wealthy man known for his handsomeness, and a poet living in luxury in his fort south east of Medina at the rear of Banu Nadir’s habitations.

According to several ahadith in Sahih al-Bukhari, he wrote poems satirizing Muhammad, eulogizing Quraish and enticing them against the Muslims. He then rode to Mecca where he started to trigger the fire of war and kindle rancour against the Muslims in Medina. When Abu Sufyan asked him which religion he was more inclined to, the religion of the Meccans or that of Muhammad and his companions, he replied that the pagans were better guided.[4]

^ a b c Rubin, Uri. The Assassination of Kaʿb b. al-Ashraf. Oriens, Vol. 32. (1990), pp. 65-71. ^ a b c d Montgomery Watt, W.. "Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf". In P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912. ^ a b Stillman, Norman (1979). The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America. p. 13. ISBN 0-8276-0116-6. ^ a b Sahih Bukhari [1] ^ a b Ibn Hisham. Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya (The Life of The Prophet). English translation in Stillman (1979), p. 124 ^ Ibn Hisham. Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya (The Life of The Prophet). English translation in Stillman (1979), p. 127 ^ Stillman (1979), p. 14. ^ Watt (1956), p. 211-2.[clarification needed] ^ The earliest biography of Muhammad, by ibn Ishaq Some sources sources[who?] identify these persons with Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy, who however was a Muslim, of the Banu Qurayza. ^ Vacca, V.. "Nadir, Banu 'l". In P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912. ^ Mahomet by Voltaire Mahomet (play)