On Wednesday, 22nd or 23rd of Dhu Al-Qadah, 1 in 5 A.H. 2 the Holy
قد وضعت السلاح؟ واللّٰه ما وضعناه، فاخرج إليهم قال: فإلى أين؟ قال: ها هنا، وأشار إلى بني قريظة، فخرج النبي صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم إليهم. 9
Have you taken off your armor? By Allah, we (the Angels) have not yet taken off (our armor). So, march towards them. (The Holy Prophetasked) where to? Gabriel (Jibrail) said: Towards there, and pointed towards (the settlements of) Banu Qurayza. So, the Holy Prophet
made his way towards them.
Thus, after offering the prayer of Zuhr (afternoon), 10 the Holy Prophet immediately ordered the companions to march towards the district of Banu Qurayza.
Ibn Umar narrates that the Holy Prophet
instructed the companions to pray Asar (evening prayer) in the district of Banu Qurayza. The army left in small groups and marched towards the settlements of Banu Qurayza. One group was unable to reach the instructed area in time, so they offered the Asar prayer on the way. This led to a dispute amongst the groups. Some of the companions, who had prayed, tried to justify their actions, and said that the Holy Prophet’s
had not specified the location of the prayer, but rather he wanted us to reach the settlements of Banu Qurayza as soon as possible. 11 On the other hand, the other group refused to pray Asar on the way as they deemed it fit to act upon the literal meaning of the Holy Prophet’s
orders. 12 The matter was presented in front of the Holy Prophet
afterwards and none of the groups were declared wrong. 13 14
The Holy Prophet gave the Muslim contingent flag to Ali ibn Abi Talib
and ordered him to march ahead. 15 Ali
reached the fortresses of Banu Qurayza before the Holy Prophet
. As Prophet Muhammad
made his way towards Banu Qurayza, he met a few companions along the way and asked them if they had seen someone who had crossed them. The companions responded that Dahya ibn Khalifa Al-Kalbi
passed them while riding on a white mule. The Holy Prophet
told them that the person was not Dahya Al-Kalbi
, rather he was Angel Gabriel (Jibrail)
, who was on his way to Banu Qurayza to fill their hearts with fear and terror. 16
The Holy Prophet reached the area of Banu Qurayza, and an army of 3000 Muslims laid siege to their fortress. 17 The Muslims had surrounded the entire fortress from every corner and a distant battle of arrows began. Both the Muslims and the Jews fought with arrows, javelins and rocks until the Jews reached a state of hopelessness, 18 as the siege went on for 15 days. 19 Huyaiy ibn Akhtab was also in the fortress of the Banu Qurayza, as he had promised the Banu Qurayza tribe that he would stay with them if the Quraysh retreated to Makkah. 20
Numerous scholars and authors have stated that the siege lasted for about 25 days. 21 Ibn Hisham, 22 Ibn Qayyam Al-Jawzi 23 and other scholars also endorsed this view. 24 25 26 However, this view does not seem valid when cross checked with the dates of departure to Banu Qurayza and arrival to Madinah from the siege.
According to the scholars and historians, the Holy Prophet , along with the Muslim army, left Madinah on 22nd or 23rd of Dhu Al-Qadah 5 A.H. 27 28 and returned to Madinah on the 7th of Dhu Al-Hajja, 29 which makes it 14-15 days. Ibn Uqbah narrates that the siege lasted for 13-19 nights. 30 Other narrations 31 including Ibn Saad 32 and Baladhuri further clarified the matter and concluded that the siege lasted for 15 days. 33
When Banu Qurayza realized that the Muslims would not leave until they won or reached a proper conclusion, Banu Qurayza sent Nabbash ibn Qais to negotiate with the Holy Prophet . Nabbash ibn Qais requested Prophet Muhammad
to pass the same judgement on the Banu Qurayza tribe as decreed upon Banu Nadir. He proposed that the Banu Qurayza would leave Madinah and only take with them what would fit on the backs of their camels, and handover their remaining belongings to the Muslims. The Holy Prophet
rejected the proposal. Nabbash proposed a second option that they would leave without taking any of their belongings, Prophet Muhammad
again rejected the proposal and said that the Banu Qurayza needed to adhere to his judgment. 34
Nabbash ibn Qais returned to the fortress and informed Ka’b ibn Asad (leader of Banu Qurayza) about the Holy Prophet’s decision. Ka’b ibn Asad gathered his people and he castigated them severely. He confronted his people, swore upon Allah Almighty and said that the only reason of not believing in the Holy Prophet’s prophethood was their jealousy that Prophet Muhammad
was not born among the Jews. Otherwise, the Jews knew that Prophet Muhammad
was the Messenger of Allah and a true Prophet. Ka’b further said that he never wanted to betray the Holy Prophet
and break their agreement with the Muslims, but Huyaiy ibn Akhtab, the leader of Banu Nadir tribe had forced him to betray the Messenger of Allah
. 35
Ka’b believed in the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad and had reminded his people about Ibn Al-Khirash who had visited the tribe of Banu Qurayza and had prophesied about the arrival of Prophet Muhammad
. He had also advised them to become his companions and never betray him. However, the jealousy and ignorance of the Banu Qurayza tribe had no bounds and they had refused to comply with their leader and believe in the prophethood of the Holy Prophet
. 36
Ka’b understood the severity of the situation and gave his people three options as a last resort. 37 They were as follows:
قال: نتابع هذا الرجل ونصدقه، فواللّٰه لقد تبين لكم أنه لنبي مرسل وأنه للذي تجدونه في كتابكم، فتأمنون به على دمائكم وأموالكم وأبنائكم ونسائكم. قالوا: لا نفارق حكم التوراة أبدا ولا نستبدل به غيره. قال: فإذا أبيتم علي هذه فهلم فلنقتل أبناءنا ونساءنا، ثم نخرج إلى محمد وأصحابه رجالا مصلتين بالسيوف لم نترك وراءنا ثقلا حتى يحكم اللّٰه بيننا وبين محمد، فإن نهلك نهلك ولم نترك وراءنا نسلا نخشى عليه، وإن نظهر فلعمري لنجدن النساء والأبناء. قالوا: أنقتل هؤلاء المساكين؟ فما خير العيش بعدهم؟ ! قال: فإن أبيتم علي هذه، فالليلة ليلة السبت، وإنه عسى أن يكون محمد وأصحابه قد أمنونا فيها، فانزلوا لعلنا نصيب من محمد وأصحابه غرة۔ قالوا: أنفسد سبتنا ونحدث فيه ما لم يحدث فيه من كان قبلنا إلا من قد علمت فأصابه ما لم يخف عنك من المسخ۔ فقال: ما بات رجل منكم منذ ولدته أمه ليلة من الدهر حازما. 38
We should follow this man (Prophet Muhammad) and testify his (Prophethood). By Allah, it is evident to you that he is a Prophet sent (by Allah Almighty) and he is the one who is mentioned in your divine book. So (embrace Islam), and your blood, wealth, children and women will be safe. (The people replied and) said: We will not forsake the Old Testament, nor we shall change it (with the Holy Quran). (K’ab said) If you don’t accept this proposal, then (the second option is) we kill our children and women and fight with Muhammad (
) and his companions without the fear of anyone behind and fight till Allah decides between us. If we die, there will not be anyone left behind us whom we should be concerned about, and if we survive, we can surely find other women and children (to replace them). (Banu Qurayza) responded: how can we kill these unfortunates? And what would be the point of living without them? (K’ab) said: if you do not accept this option as well, then (as our third option), tonight is Saturday night, Prophet Muhammad
and his companions will not be expecting an attack (as we consider this our sacred day), and we shall attack them tonight. Maybe we will catch them by surprise and achieve our goal. (Banu Qurayza responded) How can we ruin our Saturday and do something in it which no one has ever done before us (from the Jews), but (except of) those who you already know (of how they disrespected the sacred day and their faces) that got erased.
So, the Jews were faced with three options:
However, the people of Banu Qurayza rejected these options because none of the options were going in their favor.
When the people of Banu Qurayza rejected all the options given to them by Ka’b ibn Asad, they requested a meeting with Abu Lubaba . Abu Lubaba Al-Ansari
was from the Aus tribe and the Aus tribe had good ties with Banu Qurayza during the age of ignorance. Keeping the past relationship in mind, Banu Qurayza requested the Holy Prophet
to send Abu Lubaba
to the fortress for consultation. When Abu Lubaba
entered the fortress with the permission of the Holy Prophet
, the women and children surrounded him and begged him to help them. They also asked him about the outcome of their treachery if they accepted the judgement of Prophet Muhammad
. 39 40
The sight of women and children in such a state was too much to bear for Abu Lubaba . He pointed his finger towards his neck, signifying that if the Banu Qurayza accepted the Holy Prophet’s judgement, they would face death as a punishment of their treason and betrayal during the battle of Trench. 41 After giving this detail, Abu Lubaba
immediately realized that he had made a grave mistake by revealing this judgement to the people of Banu Qurayza. He felt that he had leaked a secret and had proven himself to be unfaithful to the Holy Prophet
. The guilt was too overwhelming for Abu Lubaba
. He cried until his beard become wet with his tears 42 and his feet trembled with fear and shame. 43 After this incident, Abu Lubaba
did not have the strength to face the Holy Prophet
. Thus, he left the Qurayza district without even meeting the Holy Prophet
and returned to Madinah where he tied himself to a pillar in Masjid Al-Nabawi. 44
When the Holy Prophet found out about Abu Lubaba’s
self-declared punishment, he said that if Abu Lubaba
had come straight to him, he would have asked Allah Almighty to forgive him. However, since Abu Lubaba
had declared his own punishment, Prophet Muhammad
said that he would only release him of his punishment until Allah Almighty forgave him. 45
Abu Lubaba vowed that he would keep himself tied on the post until Allah Almighty forgave him. He endured this punishment for multiple days, without food and water in the scorching desert heat and swore to stay this way until he died or Allah Almighty forgave him. 46 Abu Lubaba’s
wife would come to him and untie him to offer Salah (Obligatory prayers) and tie him back afterwards. This punishment went on for 6 days until Allah Almighty announced his forgiveness and the Holy Prophet
himself untied Abu Lubaba
from the post. 47
Since Abu Lubaba had left, the people of Banu Qurayza realized that the siege would not end until the Muslims had won. Since the situation was getting worse day by day, Banu Qurayza surrendered and agreed to accept the Holy Prophet’s
judgement. They opened their gates and came out of the fortress. Adults were tied and the women and children were gathered, but kept separately and unharmed. 48
After this victory, the Ansar companions of the Aus tribe came to the Holy Prophet and requested to spare the lives of the Banu Qurayza tribe. Upon continuous requests from the companions, the Holy Prophet
asked his companions 49 and said:
ألا ترضون أن يحكم فيهم رجل منكم؟ 50
Will it not please you all, if a man from amongst you passes judgement upon Banu Qurayza?
Everyone agreed on the proposal, upon which the Holy Prophet chose Saad ibn Muaz
, 51 and according to a narration by Ibn Uqba, the Holy Prophet
asked the companions to choose whomever they deemed suitable to pass the judgement. Thus, the Ansar companions of Aus chose Saad ibn Muaz
and the Holy Prophet
was pleased with their decision. 52 Some narrations also indicate that Saad ibn Muaz
was chosen by the tribe of Banu Qurayza. 53
Saad ibn Muaz was in Madinah at that moment as he was too injured to partake in the siege. When he was selected, the Ansar companions of Aus returned to Madinah to bring Saad ibn Muaz
to the Banu Qurayza district. On the way, they tried to convince Saad
to pass a judgement which would be in favor of the Banu Qurayza people. When Saad
reached the district, he asked the Ansar companions of whether they would agree with his judgement or not. The companions unanimously agreed that any decision Saad
made, would be accepted by all without any question. 54
Saad ibn Muaz passed his judgement and said:
فإني أحكم فيهم أن تقتل المقاتلة، وأن تسبى الذرية والنساء، وتقسم أموالهم. 55
My judgement is that the (adult) fighters are to be executed, the women and children will be made slaves and the bounty will be distributed (among the Muslims according to Sharia law)
When Prophet Muhammad heard the decision, he said:
لقد حكمت فيهم بحكم اللّٰه عز وجل. 56
Indeed, you have passed judgement upon them according to the will of Allah Almighty.
After the decision was made, the Muslims returned to Madinah with all the captives. After reaching the city, all the men who were 600 or 700 in number, were executed as punishment of their betrayal. The spoils of war included 1500 swords, 2000 javelins and 300 pieces of body armor 57 which were distributed according to the law of Sharia.
The siege lasted for 15 days 58 59 during which Khallad ibn Suwaid was martyred from the Muslim side by a javelin which was thrown by a woman from the Banu Qurayza tribe. 60 Prophet Muhammad’s
words, which he spoke after the battle of trench 61 were proven to be true, as this time, it was the Muslims who went on the offensive to punish the tribe of Banu Qurayza.