Hi,
Can anbody answer the following questions?
Regarding Aisha
1.) Is is true that Aisha committed adultery? Did she deny any accusation?
No it was a baseless slander refuted by the Qur'an itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisha#The_story_of_the_honey
There are no major errors in the story although it is not confirmed fact. What is confirmed is that the Prophet Muhammad pbuh had forbidden something for himself that was permissable in order to appease his wives and he was rebuked for that and shown how to expiate his oath.
See this thread:
http://www.islamicboard.com/basics-islam/19930-story-behind-surah-tahrim.html
1.) What was Mohammed's real motive for the battle?
After the treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the Prophet pbuh had made peace with the Makkans. The major threat left came for the forts of Khaybar. The Jews of Khaybar had a history of hostilities with the Muslims. It was their leaders who were the masterminds behind the Battle of the Confederates (Al-Ahzaab) where they allied surrounding tribes in a joint assault on the Muslims in Madinah. They were also the ones who incited the Banu Qurayzah to break their treaty with the Muslims. And recently they had formed a pact with the warring tribe of Ghatafan against the Muslims.
Nevertheless, Ibn Hisham records that the Prophet Muhammad pbuh sent a letter to the Jews of Khaybar hoping to reach "a peaceful accord" and "open the way for dialogue". He recieved no response so he began to march to confront the Jews of Khaybar.
2.) Did the Jews really become serfs and were forced to give their produce to Muslims?
To quote Dr. Zakaria Bashier PhD on the surrender of the Jews of Khaybar:
When conditions became untenabe, and the Jews of Khaybar thought it was imminent destruction, they consented to surrender, and asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) to let them leave safely, and he could have their money and property. The Prophet (peace be upon him) agreed, but later he allowed them to stay as tenants on their land, in return for getting half their agricultural produce, especially their dates. That was a good deal for the Jews of Khaybar because they were already paying that to the Bedouins of Banû Ghatafân. Before the surrender there were not many casualties, as no open fighting took place, only isolated duels, arrow and stone throwing which claimed few lives. The few duels that took place were initiated by some Jewish knights who came forward asking for them. (Bashier, War and Peace in the Life of the Prophet Muhammad, p.211)
And from Dr. Adil Salahi:
With all these forts falling to the Muslims, the Jews were forced to retreat to their two final forts, al-Watîh and Sulâlem. These were besieged for over two weeks, before the Jews realized that they had no hope of turning the scales against the Muslims. Hence, they offered to surrender in return for their safety. Their leader, Kinânah ibn al-Rabî' ibn Abî al-Huqayq came down to sign a document of surrender with the Prophet. The surrender agreement stipulated that none of their fighters would be put to death. They would be allowed to leave Khaybar and its vicinity, taking with them their women and children. They would abandon all their claims over their land, money, horses and arms. To these conditions, which were voluntarily offered by the Jews, the Prophet added: "But all guarantees given you would be abrogated if you withold anything from me." Thus all Khaybar fell to the Muslims, who were now in possession of all its wealth and land. (Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, vol. 1, pp. 342-352. Also, Al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi, vol. 1, pp. 633-671. and Ibn Sayyid al-Nâs, Uyun al-Athar, pp. 181-187).
When the peace agreement was made, the people of Khaybar started to have second thoughts about leaving their land. Hence, they came to the Prophet, requesting him to allow them to stay and work in the farms and orchards. They said to them: "We are better at this sort of job than you, and the land would yield much better crops if we work on it." They offered to give the Muslims half the yield of all the land in Khaybar in return. The Prophet accepted these offers and amended the peace agreement accordingly, but added the provisio that the Muslims would evacuate the Jews from Khaybar whenever they chose. (Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, vol. 1, p.352. Also, Ibn Sayyid al-Nâs, Uyun al-Athar, p.187). (Salahi, Muhammad: Man and Prophet, pp. 541-542)
3.) Is it true that Mohammed beheaded the Jews (men and children)?
No the Prophet Muhammad pbuh did not behead the Jews of Khaybar as mentioned above and he certainly did not allow the killing of any children. That is completely prohibited in Islam:
Narrated Anas ibn Malik: The Prophet said: Go in Allah's name, trusting in Allah, and adhering to the religion of Allah's Apostle. Do not kill a decrepit old man, a young infant, or a child, or a woman; do not be dishonest about booty, but collect your spoils, do right and act well, for Allah loves those who do well. (Sunan Abî Dawûd)
4.) Is it true that the Muslims after the war forced the Jewish women to marriage? Did Mohammed force Saffiyya bint Huyyay after torturing and beheading her father?
No that is a complete fabrication. The Prophet Muhammad pbuh gave Safiyyah the choice to return to her family or marry him and she chose the latter (Salahi, p. 548). See the following article for more information:
http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/umm-ul-mukminin-safiyyah-the-jewish-wife-of-muhammad/
Btw, wikipedia is not a reliable source on many issues. There are many people there with a negative outlook on Islam and few who have enough knowledge to clear up the misconceptions.
and confusing for someone like me...