Pakistan's leading Islamist Urdu-language daily Roznama Ummat reports that at least three of the nine swords belonging to Islam's founder Muhammad were seized from the Jewish tribe of Banu Qaynuqa, which lived in Medina in the seventh century.
"The Messenger used the double-edged sword 'Al-Qazeeb' on journeys. No war was fought with it. It reached the prophet as war booty [seized] from the Jewish tribe of Banu Qaynuqa," the report said. The Ottoman rulers decorated the sword, and today it is preserved in the museum portion of the Topkapı Palace Museum in Istanbul.
The Roznama Ummat report added: "The weight of this 100-cm pious sword is 930 grams. Its weight, including the sheath made of colored leather, is 1,684 grams... The sword's blade has the following words written in silver: 'There is no deity but Allah, Muhammad is Allah's messenger, Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Abdul Mutallib.'"
The Urdu daily noted that Muhammad had three or four swords after the Battle of Banu Qaynuqa: Al-Batar, Qala'i, Mataf, and Al-Qazeeb. It is possible that one of the three swords is the same as Al-Qazeeb under a different name.
Azb, one of Muhammad's nine swords, is preserved in the Jama Masjid Al-Hussain Bin Ali in Cairo, Egypt. Commenting on the significance of these swords, the Urdu daily noted: "When the Pakistani armed forces launched an operation [against the Pakistani Taliban] in North Waziristan, this operation was named Zarb-e-Azb [Strike of Azb] – after Prophet Muhammad's sword Azb. Prophet Muhammad's sword Azb had been the reason for the subjugation of the unbelievers at the Battle of Uhud [in March 625 CE]."
At the Battle of Uhud, Muhammad gave Zulfiqar, another sword, to Ali, who would later become the fourth caliph of Islam, according to the Sunni tradition. "He used this to kill many big chieftains of the polytheists of Mecca," the Urdu daily said, adding that Zulfiqar and the remaining swords are preserved in the Topkapı Palace Museum in Istanbul.
Source: Roznama Ummat (Pakistan), May 5, 2021.
