Kinanah

Opponent of Mohammed; son of the poet Al-Rabi' ibn Abu al-Ḥuḳaiḳ, who flourished at Medina in the seventh century, prior to the appearance of Mohammed at that town. He had two brothers—Al-Rabi' and Sallam; all three were declared enemies of the Prophet. Kinanah is said to have urged Mohammed to give up the custom during prayer of turning his face toward Mecca ("ḳiblah") in favor of Jerusalem, as had been the custom in Islam at first. After the expulsion of the Banu al-Naḍir, of which tribe he was a member, he and his family retired to Khaibar, where they possessed a castle called Ḳamus. The Jewish strongholds at Khaibar were soon after conquered by Mohammed, and Kinanah was made a prisoner of war. There were two reasons why Mohammed desired Kinanah's death: Kinanah was accused of having hidden the treasure of the Banu al-Naḍir, and Mohammed coveted his wife Ṣafiyyah, the daughter of Ḥuyayy, a rabbi who had been murdered on a previous occasion. Kinanah died under torture. He is erroneously confounded by Ṭabari with Kinanah ibn Rabi', the brother-in-law of Mohammed's wife Zainab.

Bibliography:

  * Hirschfeld, in R. E. J. x. 29.



G. H. Hir.