Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf

Do you not see how those given a share of the Scripture now believe in idols and evil powers and say of the disbelievers, "They are more rightly guided than the believers"? Chapter four, verse fifty-one.

After the Battle of Uhud, Huyay ibn Akhtab, Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, Ibn Abi al-Huqaiq, and Abu Rafi, the chiefs of the Jews of Medina, took seventy prominent members of their tribes and went to meet the leaders of Quraysh in Mecca.

This high-ranking delegation was on a mission to betray and break the covenant between the Jews of Medina and the Muslims.

Their leader, Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, met with Abu Sufyan and said to him, "We want to make a pact with you against Muhammad." Abu Sufyan said, "You are people of the Book.

You have the Torah, faith in heaven, and a messenger.

We believe in none of this.

Whether these terms referred to actual idols or false gods is not the main point.

The main point is that some Jewish leaders lowered themselves before false objects of worship, even bowing to them, so Quraysh would see that they were united against the messenger of God.