Huyayy ibn Akhtab (Arabic: حيي بن أخطب; Hebrew: חי בן אחיטוב) was a chief of the Banu Nadir, a Jewish tribe of Medina in pre-Islamic Arabia.
[2] When a prominent rabbi, Abdullah ibn Salam, became a Muslim, Huyayy was one of those who said to him: "There are no prophets among the Arabs, but your master is an ordinary human king.
"[3] When Abu Sufyan, the Quraysh leader and an enemy of Muhammad, presented himself before Huyayy's house, he, fearing to compromise himself, refused to admit him.
[2] In summer 625, Muhammad went to the Nadir quarter to ask them to contribute towards the army, secondary to Umayya's killing of two men from Banu Kilab.
Huyayy agreed to give it to him, but as Muhammad was waiting by the wall of one of their houses their plan to assassinate him became apparent, he hurried away along with his companions and returned to Medina.
Huyayy incited the Khaibarites, with the Arab tribes of Quraish and Ghatafan, into active revolt against Muhammad,[2] resulting in the Battle of the Trench in 627.