How accurate is the story of the Companion Zayd ibn Sa’nah’s encounter with the Hebrew scholar, and to what extent is the scholar’s statement accurate that the reason for his emigration to Madinah was his awaiting the appearance of a prophet, mentioned in the Torah, who would emigrate there, and not due to persecution by Christians in Syria? And is this the main reason for the Jews’ emigration to Madinah, or was it persecution, or both, or another reason?

Ibn Abd al-Barr says that Zayd ibn Sa'nah was one of the Jewish rabbis; he embraced Islam and witnessed many battles with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and died in the Battle of Tabuk. As for the reason for the Jews' migration to Medina, biographers and historians mention two reasons. One is that their scholars found the description of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, in the Torah, and that he would migrate to a land with palm trees between two harrahs (lava fields). So they came from Syria seeking this description, until some of them settled in Yathrib after they found the mentioned characteristics there. The other reason is the persecution they faced when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed their lands in Syria and ruined Jerusalem, so some of them sought refuge in the Hijaz, such as Qurayzah and al-Nadir, and settled in Khaybar and Yathrib.