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Maqna

مقنى

A locality on the Syrian coast inhabited by Jews of Banu Habiba, whose men fished with 'uruk rafts and whose women spun; the Prophet ﷺ made peace with its people during the Tabuk campaign for a quarter of the 'uruk catch, a quarter of the spinning and a quarter of the fruits, writing them a letter of security and dhimma said to be in Ali's hand in 9 AH — though the edition's editors question its attribution since Ali was not with the Prophet on the Tabuk campaign.

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Overview

Maqna is a place on the coast of the Syrian desert, inhabited by the Jewish Banu Habiba. Its people hunt with al-'uruk, and its women spin. The Prophet made peace with its people during the expedition to Tabuk, on a quarter of the catch of al-'uruk, a quarter of the spinning and a quarter of the fruit. 1

A letter of security and protection was written for them, said to be in the hand of Ali in the year 9 AH. The two editors of the edition doubt its attribution, because Ali was not with the Prophet on the expedition of Tabuk. 1

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Site of
The Treaty with the People of Maqna

People and things also explored

Dhimma (the covenant of protection)· The expedition to Tabuk· Muhammad· The Treaty with the People of Maqna

Sources

  1. Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition) , p.80-81
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islam.museum contributors. “Maqna”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/maqna/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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Dhimma (the covenant of protection)

Dhimma in al-Baladhuri is the written covenant of security granted to treaty peoples of the Book: its formula in the Prophet's letter to Najran runs 'they have God's protection and the protection of His messenger over their persons, religion, lands, wealth, absent and present', and its stipulated terms in the Najran peace include that they not be seduced from their religion or its ranks, nor levied nor tithed, and in the letter's text that no bishop be removed from his bishopric, no monk from his monasticism, no right of theirs or their images — crucifixes and icons — be altered, and no army tread their land, while whoever of them took usury the Prophet's protection was quit of him; the letter of the people of Maqna grants 'God's protection and His messenger's' with security and pardon for every blood; and the dhimma was renewed under the caliphs — Abu Bakr wrote to the people of Najran on the model of the Prophet's letter, and Uthman called them 'a people who have a dhimma' when he remitted two hundred of their hullas.