We have already noted that when the Confederates came and camped outside
Al-Madinah, Banu Qurayzah broke the covenant that existed between them and the
Messenger of Allah . This happened by the agency of Huyay bin Akhtab An-Nadari,
may Allah curse him, who entered their stronghold and would not leave their
leader, Ka`b bin Asad, alone until he agreed to break the covenant. Among the
things that he said to him was, "Woe to you! This is the opportunity for glory.
The Quraysh and their company of men from various tribes, and the Ghatafan and
their followers, have come to you, and they will stay here until they eliminate
Muhammad and his companions.'' Ka`b said to him, "No, by Allah, this is the
opportunity for humiliation. Woe to you, O Huyay, you are a bad omen. Leave us
alone.'' But Huyay kept trying to persuade him until he agreed to his request.
He laid down the condition that if the Confederates went away without doing
anything, he [Huyay] would join them in their stronghold and would share their
fate. When Banu Qurayzah broke their covenant and news of this reached the
Messenger of Allah , he and the Muslims were very distressed by that. When Allah
helped him by suppressing his enemy and driving them back disappointed and lost,
having gained nothing, the Messenger of Allah returned to Al-Madinah in triumph
and the people put down their weapons. While the Messenger of Allah was washing
off the dust of battle in the house of Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with
her, Jibril, upon him be peace, came to him wearing a turban of brocade, riding
on a mule on which was a cloth of silk brocade. He said, "Have you put down your
weapons, O Messenger of Allah'' He said, "Yes.'' He said, "But the angels have
not put down their weapons. I have just now come back from pursuing the
people.'' Then he said: "Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, commands you to
get up and go to Banu Qurayzah.'' According to another report, "What a fighter
you are! Have you put down your weapons'' He said, "Yes.'' He said, "But we have
not put down our weapons yet, get up and go to these people.'' He said: "Where''
He said, "Banu Qurayzah, for Allah has commanded me to shake them.'' So the
Messenger of Allah got up immediately, and commanded the people to march towards
Banu Qurayzah, who were a few miles from Al-Madinah. This was after Salat
Az-Zuhr. He said,
«لَا يُصَلِّيَنَّ
أَحَدٌ مِنْكُمُ الْعَصْرَ إِلَّااِفي بَنِي قُرَيْظَة»
(No one among you should pray `Asr except at Banu Qurayzah.) So, the people
set out, and the time for the prayer came while they were still on the road.
Some of them prayed on the road, saying, "The Messenger of Allah only wanted to
make us march quickly.'' Others said, "We will not pray it until we reach Banu
Qurayzah.'' Neither of the two groups were rebuked for what they did. The
Messenger of Allah followed them. He left Ibn Umm Maktum, may Allah be pleased
with him, in charge of Al-Madinah, and he had given the flag to `Ali bin Abi
Talib, may Allah be pleased with him. Then the Messenger of Allah went to them
(Banu Qurayzah) laying seige to them for twenty-five days. When this had gone on
for too long, they agreed to accept the judgement of Sa`d bin Mu`adh, the leader
of `Aws because they had been their allies during the Jahiliyyah, so they
thought that he would treat them kindly as `Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul had
done for his allies of Banu Qaynuqa` when he had asked the Messenger of Allah to
set them free. So, these people thought that Sa`d would do the same for them as
Ibn Ubayy had done for those people. They did not know that Sa`d had been struck
by an arrow in his medial arm vein during the campaign of Al-Khandaq. The
Messenger of Allah had had his vein cauterized and had brought him to stay in a
tent in the Masjid so that he could keep a close eye on him. One of the things
that Sa`d, may Allah be pleased with him, said in his supplication was, "O
Allah, if there is still anything that has to do with the war against Quraysh,
then keep me alive for it, and if You decree that the war between us and them is
over, then let the bleeding be renewed, but do not let me die until I get my
satisfaction with regard to Banu Qurayzah.'' Allah answered his prayer and
decreed that they would agree to be referred to him for judgement, and this was
their own free choice. When this happened, the Messenger of Allah called him to
come from Al-Madinah to pass judgement on them. When he arrived, riding on a
donkey that had been specially equipped for him to ride, some of the `Aws began
to urge him not to be too harsh, saying, "O Sa`d, they are your clients so be
kind to them, trying to soften his heart.'' But he kept quiet and did not answer
them. When they persisted in their request, he said, "Now it is time for Sa`d to
make sure that no rebuke or censure will divert him from the path of Allah.''
Then they knew that he would not let them live. kWhen he reached the tent where
the Messenger of Allah was, the Messenger of Allah said:
«قُومُوا إِلَى
سَيِّدِكُم»
(Stand up for your leader.) So the Muslims stood up for him, and welcomed him
with honor and respect as befitted his status and so that his judgement would
have more impact. When he sat down, the Messenger of Allah said:
«إِنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ
وَأَشَارَ إِلَيْهِمْ قَدْ نَزَلُوا عَلَى حُكْمِكَ، فَاحْكُمْ فِيهِمْ بِمَا
شِئْت»
(These people) -- and he pointed to them -- (have agreed to accept your
judgement, so pass judgement on them as you wish.) Sa`d, may Allah be pleased
with him, said: "My judgement will be carried out'' The Messenger of Allah said:
"Yes.'' He said, "And it will be carried out on those who are in this tent'' He
said, "Yes.'' He said, "And on those who are on this side'' -- and he pointed
towards the side where the Messenger of Allah was, but he did not look directly
at the Messenger of Allah out of respect for him. The Messenger of Allah said to
him: "Yes.'' So Sa`d, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "My judgement is that
their fighters should be killed and their children and wealth should be
seized.'' The Messenger of Allah said:
«لَقَدْ حَكَمْتَ
بِحُكْمِ اللهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ فَوْقِ سَبْعِ أَرْقَعَة»
(You have judged according to the ruling of Allah from above the seven
heavens.) According to another report:
«لَقَدْ حَكَمْتَ
بِحُكْمِ الْمَلِك»
(You have judged according to the ruling of the Sovereign.) Then the
Messenger of Allah commanded that ditches should be dug, so they were dug in the
earth, and they were brought tied by their shoulders, and were beheaded. There
were between seven hundred and eight hundred of them. The children who had not
yet reached adolescence and the women were taken prisoner, and their wealth was
seized. All of this is stated both briefly and in detail, with evidence and
Hadiths, in the book of Sirah which we have written, praise and blessings be to
Allah. Allah said:
[وَأَنزَلَ الَّذِينَ
ظَـهَرُوهُم]
(And those who backed them, Allah brought them down) means, those who helped
and supported them in their war against the Messenger of Allah .
[مِّنْ أَهْلِ
الْكِتَـبِ]
(of the People of the Scripture) means, Banu Qurayzah, who were Jews from one
of the tribes of Israel. Their forefathers had settled in the Hijaz long ago,
seeking to follow the Unlettered Prophet of whom they read in the Tawrah and
Injil.
[فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُم
مَّا عَرَفُواْ كَفَرُواْ بِهِ]
(then when there came to them that which they had recognized, they
disbelieved in it) (2:89). May the curse of Allah be upon them.
[مِن
صَيَاصِيهِمْ]
(from their forts) means, from their strongholds. This was the view of
Mujahid, `Ikrimah, `Ata', Qatadah, As-Suddi and others of the Salaf.
[وَقَذَفَ فِى
قُلُوبِهِمُ الرُّعْبَ]
(and cast terror into their hearts;) means fear, because they had supported
the idolators in their war against the Messenger of Allah and the one who knows
is not like the one who does not know. They had terrified the Muslims and
intended to kill them so as to gain earthly power, but their plans backfired;
the idolators ran away and the believers were victorious while the disbelievers
were losers; where they had aimed for glory, they were humiliated. They wanted
to eradicate the Muslims but they were themselves eradicated. In addition to all
this, they are doomed in the Hereafter, so by all acounts they are counted as
losers. Allah says:
[فَرِيقاً
تَقْتُلُونَ وَتَأْسِرُونَ فَرِيقاً]
(a group you killed, and a group you made captives.) Those who were killed
were their warriors, and the prisoners were their children and women. Imam Ahmad
recorded that `Atiyah Al-Qurazi said, "I was shown to the Prophet on the day of
Qurayzah, because they were not sure about me. The Prophet told them to look at
me to see whether I had grown any body hair yet. They looked and saw that I had
not grown any body hair, so they let me go and I was put with the other
prisoners.'' This was also recorded by the Sunan compilers, and At-Tirmidhi said
it is Hasan Sahih.'' An-Nasa'i also recorded something similar from `Atiyah.
[وَأَوْرَثَكُمْ
أَرْضَهُمْ وَدِيَـرَهُمْ وَأَمْوَلَهُمْ]
(And He caused you to inherit their lands, and their houses, and their
riches,) means, `He gave these things to you after you killed them.'
[وَأَرْضاً لَّمْ
تَطَئُوهَا]
(and a land which you had not trodden.) It was said that this was Khaybar, or
that it was the lands of the Persians and Romans. Ibn Jarir said, "It could be
that all of these are referred to
[وَكَانَ اللَّهُ
عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيراً]
(And Allah is able to do all things.)''
[يأَيُّهَا
النَّبِىُّ قُل لاٌّزْوَجِكَ إِن كُنتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ الْحَيَوةَ الدُّنْيَا
وَزِينَتَهَا فَتَعَالَيْنَ أُمَتِّعْكُنَّ وَأُسَرِّحْكُنَّ سَرَاحاً جَمِيلاً -
وَإِن كُنتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَالدَّارَ الاٌّخِرَةَ فَإِنَّ
اللَّهَ أَعَدَّ لِلْمُحْسِنَـتِ مِنكُنَّ أَجْراً عَظِيماً ]
(28. O Prophet! Say to your wives: "If you desire the life of this world, and
its glitter, then come! I will make a provision for you and set you free in a
handsome manner.'') (29. "But if you desire Allah and His Messenger, and the
Home of the Hereafter, then verily, Allah has prepared for the doers of good
among you an enormous reward.'')
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