The Jews of Medina rejected the prophecy of Muhammad.

Jews in Ancient Arabia

Jews had lived in Arabia since very ancient times.
In the fifth century, they were concentrated mostly in two regions: Himyar in the south and Hijaz in the north. Several sedentary tribes professing Judaism engaged in farming and crafts. They lived peacefully alongside tribes who had become the predominant population in the peninsula shortly before the birth of Muhammad. Judaism, combined with Christianity of the oriental sects, must have had a certain influence on the Arab elites.

In the following century, this influence was clearly evident in the self‑perception of the Himyarite aristocracy. During the reign of Yusuf As'ar Yath'ar--known by his epithet Dhu Nuwas--the Himyarites conducted an independent foreign policy in relation to the Byzantine Persian Empires, and fought against the Christians of Najran in the name of a single god, referred to as "The Merciful One." Inscriptions on rocks in Arabia have preserved traces of this triple phenomenon: religious separatism, embryonic monotheism, and war against the Christians. Some Christians regarded this as part of a Jewish attempt to dominate the world. Yet the kingdom was not Jewish, and its monotheism was but an expression of Himyarite independence.

Abandoned by his supporters, Dhu Nuwas was killed in battle against a Christian Ethiopian army in 525, Himyar then came under Ethiopian rule, which lasted until the Persian conquest of southern Arabia in 575. Nevertheless, long after Dhu Nuwas' death, the inscriptions continue to mention the single "merciful" god of the Himyarites.

Muhammad's Monotheistic Revelations

From about 610 Muhammad ibn Abdallah began proclaiming his monotheistic revelations. Analysis of their content clearly exposes ties between the new faith and the old traditions of local Jews and Christians. To the people of Mecca, Muhammad spoke of his revelation concerning the last day of judgment, of the necessity for man to be humble and grateful to the Merciful One and to worship Him alone, and of the obligation of generosity to the poor and the defenseless. The children of Israel, he insisted, could testify to the authenticity of his message. All these were elements directly influenced by the traditions and customs of the Jewish tribes of Medina. Like Jesus before him, Muhammad also claimed that he did not wish to abolish the tradition of Israel, but to update and adjust it in compliance with the new divine commandments.

In the formative stage of the new religion, the influence of Judaism was apparent not only in Islamic doctrines but also in its actual strategy of expansion. When the people of Mecca rejected Muhammad, he left town and migrated to Medina where he thought he would find a more recep­tive attitude to his gospel. He was particularly confident that the three Jewish tribes of the region--the Banu‑Qaynuqa who were goldsmiths, and the Banu-Nadir and Banu‑Qurayza who were date‑farmers--would be the first to support him.