Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

October 27, 2026

Mohammad’s Wife and the Forgotten History of Arabian Jewry

What we know of the Jews of pre-Islamic Arabia.

The Jews of the Arabian Peninsula play a significant role in the Quran’s story of Mohammad; wealthy and powerful Jewish tribes are part of the political backdrop of his rise. Eventually, the prophet marries the daughter of a Jewish chieftain. As Maia Zelkha writes, though her story and the story of her fellow Arabian Jews are far more familiar to Muslims than to Jews, it is one the latter should be aware of:

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