In our last lesson, we discussed the conclusion of the Battle of Khandaq and the way that Allah SWT used a number of factors to make sure the ahzab departed without even a battle taking place: We talked about Nuaym ibn Mas'ud, the army that Allah sent, and the mistrust that the three tribes had for each other. And Allah SWT says in the Quran, "And Allah spared the believers from fighting. For Allah is All-Powerful, Almighty" [Quran, 33:25].
When the Muslims woke up the next morning after that terrible sandstorm, they saw the entire land deserted, nobody had remained and all the tents had been overturned. So it was clear that the Quraysh and the ahzab had left.
This incident (above) leads to one of the most interesting fiqh episodes in the life of the Prophet PBUH.
3. Those who are more literal should not be so critical of those who are a little bit rational, and vice versa. The big caveat, however, is the fatwas must be given by people who are *qualified*. How literal should we be to the text of the Quran and Sunnah? Can we use a little bit of rationality or not? This is an issue of ikhtilaf. (Side note: It is an ikhtilaf only with regard to matters of fiqh. As for aqidah, we accept it as it is — we don't use rationality to reinterpret the unseen. For example, if Allah describes the angels, or the Prophet PBUH describes the punishment of the grave, we simply believe. We-hear-and-we-obey. We are always literal when it comes to aqidah.) When it comes to fiqh and laws of Islam, there have been trends of ikhtilaf from the time of the sahaba, and it continues up until our times amongst the madhahib and modern mujtahids. If a hadith says X, but we kind of sort of understand the reason why X was said and that reason doesn't seem to apply in our times, can we kind of sort of relax X? For example, the classical issue of women traveling without a mahram. The hadith is very explicit: "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not allow a woman to travel for three days without a mahram (or in another narration, one day)." But can we say, "Look, that was a time and a place where there was so much harm and danger Allah knows what's gonna happen to a woman traveling alone. But these days if you put your wife or your sister on the plane and you drop her off at the airport, somebody's gonna pick her up at the next airport, and that's as safe as it can be. It's not the same as walking in the desert. So can we kinda sorta use a little bit of rationality and not be so literalist in this regard?"? Some scholars say yes, some say no. In any case, we learn from this incident of the Banu Qurayza that we have had this trend of rationality vs. literalism since the time of the sahaba, and insha'Allah, both fatwas are acceptable as long as they are given by scholars who are classically trained and qualified. So we should not be so critical of either camp, even though only one of them is correct in the Eyes of Allah.
Now let's get back to the seerah. Like all of the other tribes of the Jews, the Banu Qurayza had a massive protected fortress. The Muslims didn't have the technology to break it, so they had to simply lay siege to it. The sahaba eventually got to the fortress, and of the first to get there was Ali ibn Abi Talib — the Prophet PBUH sent him by his direct command and told him to "stick your flag outside." So Ali RA arrived with his contingent and he put the flag. Ibn Ishaq says when the Banu Qurayza saw him and the flag, they began saying the most vulgar things about the Prophet PBUH.
1) We accept this man's religion, for wallahi, we all know that he is the prophet that has been prophesied in our books. If we do so, our lives and property will be safe." But his people said, "Wallahi, we will never leave our religion."
It was a far-shot chance, but it was not impossible — they were outnumbered by only 1:2 or max 1:3, so it's not as if the odds were completely impossible. But of course, there was no way this was going to happen; the people said, "We are not going to kill our own family!"
Then Shas (or another messenger) comes [back] and says, "Send for Abu Lubaba. We want him to come into our fortress." The Prophet PBUH said, "Go, Abu Lubaba," so Abu Lubaba went in. Who is Abu Lubaba? He is one of the Aws. And as we have said, the Aws had an alliance with the Banu Qurayza in the days of Jahiliyyah; and Abu Lubaba especially was a close confidant and friend to them. So now they want to persuade him to make shafa'a for them. (Abu Lubaba of course is a great sahabi —he witnessed Badr [he didn't actually fight since the Prophet PBUH sent him for an errand, but because he had wanted to participate, he got a share of Badr and is written amongst the Badriyun], and he witnessed Uhud and other battles, so he has a good record— and what's about to happen now is a human slip.) So he entered their fortress — and Ibn Ishaq says everyone was so happy to see him: the women and children began crying and begging for mercy from him. Then Ibn Ishaq says Abu Lubaba's heart became soft for them. They asked him, "What do you think? Should we surrender or not?" He said, "Yes, you should, but.." and then he made a motion of "you all will die" [see video at 34:50].
24 days have gone by, the next day is the 25th. There was no escape, their supplies were diminishing, so on the 25th day, the Banu Qurayza decided to surrender.
The next morning, the message comes that the Banu Qurayza are willing to surrender.
So a group of the Banu Salama became very happy, and they rushed back to Madinah to Sa'd ibn Muadh's tent. (Side note: Sa'd up until this point is still in the 'hospital tent.' There was the equivalent of a nurse amongst the sahaba, her name was Rufayda al-Aslamiyyah [رفيدة الأسلمية] —she volunteered to always take care of the wounded and deal with the sick— and she had a tent that was a mini-hospital. So Sa'd was still in that tent bleeding for 25 days; and he was going to die soon). The Banu Salama told Sa'd what had happened, they put him on a mule and slowly took him to the Banu Qurayza. On the way there, the Aws surrounded him and continued to tell him, "You have to be merciful," and they reminded him of the friendships with the Banu Qurayza in the days of Jahiliyyah. One of them said, "You have only been chosen by the Prophet PBUH because you are going to be merciful." When this was said to him, he said, "Now is the time for Sa'd to not care about the criticism of any critic when it comes to Allah and His Messenger," meaning, "I am about to die. If I am not going to be faithful now, when is there going to be a faithful time?" Subhan'Allah. Compare this with even Abu Talib or anybody else on their deathbed. At the end of their lives, people want to go out with a bang for their people — they want to leave a legacy that people will speak positively about when they leave; but what is Sa'd saying? "Now is the time to be sincere to Allah." When he said this, the Aws understood what his judgment would be. When he came to the Banu Qurayza, the Prophet PBUH said to the Ansar, "Stand up to greet your leader." And there is not a single person in the entire seerah that the Prophet PBUH ordered others to stand up to greet except for Sa'd ibn Mu'adh RA.
The Prophet PBUH then said to Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, "Your people (Aws) have accepted you as a judge for these (the Banu Qurayza)." (Side note: All of this is taking place outside the fortress, and the Banu Qurayza are still inside — they are away from the scene. The Muhajirun and the Khazraj are not as involved either — the Khazraj had animosity with the Banu Qurayza from the days of Jahiliyyah anyway, so they didn't care what was going to happen to them. So this 'difference of opinion' was taking place only between the Aws and the Prophet PBUH.) Sa'd said to his people, "I call you to Allah (I tell you to make a promise to Allah), will you listen-and-obey me with whatever verdict I give?" They said, "Yes." And then he turned to the Prophet PBUH —and out of respect, he lowered his face in front of him— and said, "And you as well, ya Rasulullah? (Will you be happy with my verdict?)" The Prophet PBUH said, "Yes." (Wallahi, it's mind-boggling to imagine that Rasulullah is willing to go down to the ruling of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh just because of the Aws's sensibilities.) So Sa'd without a second's hesitation said, "My judgment in them is that their men should be executed, their property distributed, and their women and children taken as captives." As soon as he said this, the Prophet PBUH said, "Wallahi, O Sa'd, you have decreed upon them the judgment of Allah from above the seven heavens."
When the verdict was given, the commandment was given to execute the men. Trenches were dug (at a vast area owned by one of the ladies of the Banu Najjar), the male adults were tied up, and they were taken in batches and executed. This is the hukm (حكم - judgment) of Allah SWT upon them. One of the young men who survived and later converted to Islam, Atiyyah al-Qurazi (عطية القرظي), narrates: "I was a boy that was spared that day because I didn't have hair"—which means the adults were the ones that were executed.
There were no children executed.
How many people were killed? The books of seerah and hadith mention broad varying numbers. Ibn Ishaq is the most authoritative and he says between 600-700. Then he says, "Some have exaggerated and said 800-900." One of the hadiths in Musnad Imam Ahmad mentions around 400. Allah knows best, but whatever it is, it's not a small number.
Amongst those whom the Prophet PBUH received in this battle was Rayhana bint Zayd (ريحانة بنت زيد). He invited her to Islam, but she refused, so eventually, he decided to transfer ownership away, so he let her for a long time to decide her fate. When she realized the Prophet PBUH was going to leave her, she converted to Islam — she wanted to be with the Prophet PBUH rather than with someone else because of the care and gentleness he showed. After she converted, the Prophet PBUH said, "I will free you and marry you. And your freedom will be the mahr."
The incident of the execution of the Banu Qurayza is being used by some people in our time to charge Islam and the Prophet PBUH as being antisemitic.
"10. When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace.
The Angels Have Not Yet Put Down Their Weapons
So the Prophet PBUH then departed back home — and some say he went to the house of his wife Ummi Salama. He had hardly come home and put down his sword when Jibril AS came to him. At this time, it was around Zuhr, so it was the time for qaylulah as per the custom, but Jibril AS came —and Ibn Ishaq mentions he was wearing a turban made of soft brocade and riding a mule with a saddle of silk— and he said to the Prophet PBUH, "Have you put down your weapon?" He PBUH said, "Yes"—and he was about to take his armor off. Jibril AS: "As for the angels, they have not put it down yet — and I have just arrived with a new contingent. Ya Muhammad, Allah is commanding you to go to the Banu Qurayza, and I am heading there right now, and I am going to shake the earth for them."
So the Prophet PBUH knew that the war was not yet over. So he PBUH sent a crier throughout the entire city that, "Whoever hears must obey! And nobody is allowed to pray Asr except at Banu Qurayza!"—and that's two hours away, so there was no time to even relax. This was a severe direct command and order. This hadith is recorded in Bukhari and Muslim (muttafaq alayh/متفق عليه).
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Interesting Fiqh Tangent From the Incident: How Literal Should We Be?
This incident (above) leads to one of the most interesting fiqh episodes in the life of the Prophet PBUH.
So the commandment went out. And obviously, not everyone is going to be able to respond immediately —maybe a few of them have already fallen asleep, a few got the message late— whatever the point might be, some of them are going to be delayed. So the sahaba were arriving at Banu Qurayza in batches. Some of them got there before Maghrib time (so they prayed Asr at its proper time), but some were on their way and the sun was about to set —and if it sets, Asr is over— so they began to have a bit of a back-and-forth: "Should we pray Asr now so we don't miss it, or should we follow what the Prophet PBUH said and not pray Asr until we get to Banu Qurayza even if we miss it?"
They differed back and forth and couldn't reach a consensus, so what happened? Some of them decided to pray right then and there before the sun set, and others decided not to pray until they reached Banu Qurayza even though they missed the proper time for Asr (and basically prayed qada later). When the Prophet PBUH got to Banu Qurayza, they informed him PBUH of what had happened. And what did he PBUH say? He did not criticize either party and he let it be. Some weak reports say the Prophet PBUH said, "Both of you have done correct"—but this is not authentic. The correct version is he didn't criticize either.
This incident shows us many things:
1. When equally qualified mujtahids make an ijtihad (and you have to be qualified), neither party is obligated to follow the other ijtihad. Indeed, the sahaba differed amongst each other, and in the end, they followed their own ijtihad and didn't criticize each other.
2. The ultimate truth, even in matters of fiqh, is one. How do we know this? (i) The scholars say when the Prophet PBUH gave this commandment ("Do not pray Asr until you reach the Banu Qurayza"), there is no doubt he intended one of the two meanings. He could not have meant both. (ii) The sahaba differed in two camps, and there was no third camp who thought, "Oh, he PBUH must have intended both."—it's illogical and against language or common sense to say this.
(Side note: This same hadith has been used by some scholars to prove that there are multiple truths — but we disagree with this. The predominant position —in particular of the Hanabilah of the Usul al-Fiqh [and also in theological issues]— is that there is only one truth — but a person who mistakenly misses the truth will not be sinful; rather, he will be rewarded. So we differentiate between "truth" and "reward." And this is proven explicitly in the hadith of Bukhari where the Prophet PBUH said, "If a [qualified] ruler/judge judges and he is correct, he will get two rewards; and if he is incorrect, he will get one reward." Notice he PBUH didn't say they are both correct. You can't be both correct. You can have two scholars give two different fatwas, but in the Eyes of the All-Knower, only one of them has to be correct. In any case, the Prophet PBUH did not criticize either of the two camps because it's a done deal — the incident of the Banu Qurayza is a nonrecurring one-off incident, and that's why he PBUH didn't have to clarify what he intended. Had this been a recurring thing, then of course he must have clarified.)
3. Those who are more literal should not be so critical of those who are a little bit rational, and vice versa. The big caveat, however, is the fatwas must be given by people who are *qualified*. How literal should we be to the text of the Quran and Sunnah? Can we use a little bit of rationality or not? This is an issue of ikhtilaf. (Side note: It is an ikhtilaf only with regard to matters of fiqh. As for aqidah, we accept it as it is — we don't use rationality to reinterpret the unseen. For example, if Allah describes the angels, or the Prophet PBUH describes the punishment of the grave, we simply believe. We-hear-and-we-obey. We are always literal when it comes to aqidah.) When it comes to fiqh and laws of Islam, there have been trends of ikhtilaf from the time of the sahaba, and it continues up until our times amongst the madhahib and modern mujtahids. If a hadith says X, but we kind of sort of understand the reason why X was said and that reason doesn't seem to apply in our times, can we kind of sort of relax X? For example, the classical issue of women traveling without a mahram. The hadith is very explicit: "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not allow a woman to travel for three days without a mahram (or in another narration, one day)." But can we say, "Look, that was a time and a place where there was so much harm and danger Allah knows what's gonna happen to a woman traveling alone. But these days if you put your wife or your sister on the plane and you drop her off at the airport, somebody's gonna pick her up at the next airport, and that's as safe as it can be. It's not the same as walking in the desert. So can we kinda sorta use a little bit of rationality and not be so literalist in this regard?"? Some scholars say yes, some say no. In any case, we learn from this incident of the Banu Qurayza that we have had this trend of rationality vs. literalism since the time of the sahaba, and insha'Allah, both fatwas are acceptable as long as they are given by scholars who are classically trained and qualified. So we should not be so critical of either camp, even though only one of them is correct in the Eyes of Allah.
(Footnote: Our position with regards to the commandment of the Prophet PBUH when he said, "Don't pray Asr until you get to Banu Qurayza," is that this was but an expression — i.e., he PBUH was saying "Hurry up and get there"; and it didn't need to be held at literal face value.)
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Laying Siege to the Banu Qurayza
Now let's get back to the seerah. Like all of the other tribes of the Jews, the Banu Qurayza had a massive protected fortress. The Muslims didn't have the technology to break it, so they had to simply lay siege to it. The sahaba eventually got to the fortress, and of the first to get there was Ali ibn Abi Talib — the Prophet PBUH sent him by his direct command and told him to "stick your flag outside." So Ali RA arrived with his contingent and he put the flag. Ibn Ishaq says when the Banu Qurayza saw him and the flag, they began saying the most vulgar things about the Prophet PBUH.
The Prophet PBUH also was making his way to the fortress. When he passed by a group of sahaba, he asked them, "Has anybody preceded us (who else has arrived before me)?" They said, "We haven't seen anybody except Dihyah al-Kalbi riding on a white mule." (Note: The sahaba didn't know that 'Dihyah' that they saw was in fact none other than Jibril AS. Whenever Jibril would want to be seen in Madinah, he would simply take on the form of the most handsome man of Madinah, which is Dihyah al-Kalbi RA.) The Prophet PBUH said, "That was Jibril. Allah sent him to shake the ground from under their feet."
When the Prophet PBUH arrived at the fortress of Banu Qurayza, Ali RA immediately rushed out to stop him, "Ya Rasulullah, why don't you camp over here?"—he didn't want the Prophet PBUH to hear what the Banu Qurayza were saying. The Prophet PBUH asked, "Perhaps they are saying things about me?" Ali: "Yes, they are." The Prophet PBUH: "Once they see me, they will not be able to say those things." So he set his camp up right in front of the fortress and said to the Jews, "O group of the Jews! Didn't Allah humiliate you? Hasn't Allah's anger come upon you?" They said, "O Abu al-Qasim (Prophet PBUH), you were never one who acted foolishly," meaning, "Please spare us."
When the Prophet PBUH arrived at the fortress of Banu Qurayza, Ali RA immediately rushed out to stop him, "Ya Rasulullah, why don't you camp over here?"—he didn't want the Prophet PBUH to hear what the Banu Qurayza were saying. The Prophet PBUH asked, "Perhaps they are saying things about me?" Ali: "Yes, they are." The Prophet PBUH: "Once they see me, they will not be able to say those things." So he set his camp up right in front of the fortress and said to the Jews, "O group of the Jews! Didn't Allah humiliate you? Hasn't Allah's anger come upon you?" They said, "O Abu al-Qasim (Prophet PBUH), you were never one who acted foolishly," meaning, "Please spare us."
The Prophet PBUH surrounded them and told them to surrender, but they refused.
So the siege was set up. The Prophet PBUH and the sahaba all camped around the entire fortress. Days turned into weeks, and weeks into almost a month. All the books of seerah agree that this siege lasted for 25 days. (Khandaq lasted for 20-30 days, so the entire ordeal almost two whole months.) And of course, inside the fortress was Huyayy ibn Akhtab the leader of the Banu Nadir (recall he was so scared of the consequences of Abu Sufyan he decided to remain in the fortress), and Ka'b ibn Asad the leader of the Banu Qurayza. As the days turned into weeks —probably sometime towards the end of the siege when the situation was getting tense— Ka'b said to his people, "O my people, I suggest one of three choices:
So the siege was set up. The Prophet PBUH and the sahaba all camped around the entire fortress. Days turned into weeks, and weeks into almost a month. All the books of seerah agree that this siege lasted for 25 days. (Khandaq lasted for 20-30 days, so the entire ordeal almost two whole months.) And of course, inside the fortress was Huyayy ibn Akhtab the leader of the Banu Nadir (recall he was so scared of the consequences of Abu Sufyan he decided to remain in the fortress), and Ka'b ibn Asad the leader of the Banu Qurayza. As the days turned into weeks —probably sometime towards the end of the siege when the situation was getting tense— Ka'b said to his people, "O my people, I suggest one of three choices:
1) We accept this man's religion, for wallahi, we all know that he is the prophet that has been prophesied in our books. If we do so, our lives and property will be safe." But his people said, "Wallahi, we will never leave our religion."
It's interesting that when they were basically about to die, Ka'b said the secret that they all knew but were too embarrassed to admit. They all knew that the Prophet PBUH was the Messenger prophesied in their scripture. None of them denied this. But still, they refused to accept Islam.
Then Ka'b gave the next option,
2) "Let us kill our own families (so we don't have to worry about what's going to happen to them), and then charge outside with our swords drawn until one of us (we or the Muslims) too is eliminated. If we die, we have left nothing to worry about, and if we win, there are plenty of women that we can marry afterward."
2) "Let us kill our own families (so we don't have to worry about what's going to happen to them), and then charge outside with our swords drawn until one of us (we or the Muslims) too is eliminated. If we die, we have left nothing to worry about, and if we win, there are plenty of women that we can marry afterward."
It was a far-shot chance, but it was not impossible — they were outnumbered by only 1:2 or max 1:3, so it's not as if the odds were completely impossible. But of course, there was no way this was going to happen; the people said, "We are not going to kill our own family!"
So then Ka'b said:
3) "Okay, if you refuse the first two, the only option we have is we surprise attack the Muslims. And the only day that will be a surprise is the day of Sabbath (Saturday) — they wouldn't be expecting us to break our own Sabbath!"
Subhan'Allah, look at how low he was willing to go. But his people said, "We will never break the Sabbath! Don't you know if we do that Allah will send a punishment?!"
3) "Okay, if you refuse the first two, the only option we have is we surprise attack the Muslims. And the only day that will be a surprise is the day of Sabbath (Saturday) — they wouldn't be expecting us to break our own Sabbath!"
Subhan'Allah, look at how low he was willing to go. But his people said, "We will never break the Sabbath! Don't you know if we do that Allah will send a punishment?!"
Ibn Ishaq says Ka'b got so frustrated he said, "Wallahi, since the day your mothers have given birth to you, none of you have ever made one decision in your lives."
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Banu Qurayza's Pleads
Then the Banu Qurayza sent Shas ibn Qays (شاس بن قيس) as a messenger to the Prophet PBUH and he begged and pleaded, "O Muhammad, give to us what you gave to the Banu Nadir," i.e., "Take our lands but we will take our money, camels, and family, and we will go." But the Prophet PBUH said, "No." Then the messenger comes back with a second offer, "Keep the camels and property, but just save us." But the Prophet PBUH said, "No. Only an unconditional surrender. [I will not accept anything less than an unconditional surrender.]"
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The Repentance of Abu Lubaba RA
Abu Lubaba later narrated in the first person: "As soon as I said this, wallahi, my feet had not moved from my place except that I realized I had been disloyal and treacherous to Allah and His Messenger."
Why was this a khiyana to Allah? Firstly, because he spoke without certain knowledge — he wasn't sure about their fate, the Prophet PBUH did not tell him. Secondly, whose side is he on? To show sympathy in such a tense situation with the enemy after all that they have done, this is what the khiyana really was.
And he said he left the fortress, bypassed the army and the Prophet PBUH, went immediately to the Masjid of the Prophet PBUH, and tied himself to a pillar of the masjid. (Side note: This pillar is now called the Pillar of Abu Lubaba or the Pillar of Tawba [توبة - Repentance], and it is still present in Masjid al-Nabawi.) He tied himself to the pillar and said, "Wallahi, I shall remain tied to this pillar until Allah accepts my repentance! And I shall never venture to the Banu Qurayza again, for I will never be in an area where I disobeyed Allah and His Messenger!"
Eventually, the news spreads about what has happened. The Prophet PBUH said, "If he had come to me, I would have asked Allah to forgive him. But now that he has done this to himself, I can't do anything." Why? Because it's a nadhar (نذر - vow) he made to Allah that he will *not* move from the pillar until Allah forgives him. So he remained tied for Allah knows how long (probably more than a week).
One day, at Fajr, the Prophet PBUH woke up to go pray in the masjid and he was laughing. Ummi Salama asked, "What has caused you to laugh, O Messenger of Allah? Ad'hakaLlahu sinnak (أضحك الله سنك - May Allah keep you laughing as long as you live, i.e., may you always be happy)." The Prophet PBUH said, "Allah has accepted the tawba of Abu Lubaba!" Ummi Salama: "Should I not go out and tell him?" The Prophet PBUH: "Yes, if you want." At this stage, her house had a door with direct access to the masjid, and the verses of hijab had not yet been revealed, so she came rushing out and said, "O Abu Lubaba, be happy! Allah has accepted your repentance!" All of the sahaba who were waiting for Fajr, they came and wanted to release Abu Lubaba, but he said, "No. Until the Prophet PBUH comes and he unties me himself"—he wanted to be sure that Allah had accepted his tawba. So the Prophet PBUH came and untied him with his own hands.
This is the famous story of Abu Lubaba. And it is said two verses were revealed because of him. The first is verse 27 of Surah al-Anfal, and the second is his repentance in Surah al-Tawba verse 102:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَخُونُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلرَّسُولَ وَتَخُونُوٓا۟ أَمَـٰنَـٰتِكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
"O believers! Do not betray Allah and the Messenger, nor betray your trusts knowingly" [Quran, 8:27].
وَآخَرُونَ اعْتَرَفُوا بِذُنُوبِهِمْ خَلَطُوا عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَآخَرَ سَيِّئًا عَسَى اللَّهُ أَن يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
"And [there are] others who have acknowledged their sins. They had mixed a righteous deed with another that was bad. Perhaps Allah will turn to them in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful" [Quran, 9:102].Ibn Abbas says every time Allah says "asa (عسى - might/perhaps)" it means He will do it — so He will forgive. (So if we acknowledge we are sinful and ask for repentance, insha'Allah, Allah will forgive us.) Hasan al-Basri used to say, "This verse is the most optimistic verse in the whole Quran for me."
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Banu Qurayza Surrenders & the Mini-Story of Amr ibn Sa'da
24 days have gone by, the next day is the 25th. There was no escape, their supplies were diminishing, so on the 25th day, the Banu Qurayza decided to surrender.
Mini-story: On the night of the 24th, a minor incident happened: The Muslim army was around the fortress and they heard someone come outside. One of the Muslims said, "Who is it?" The man said, "Amr ibn Sa'da (عمرو بن سعدى)"—he was one of perhaps two, or the only one out of the Banu Qurayza, who had vocally refused to follow what Ka'b ibn Asad had done; he said, "I will never betray the promise of Muhammad." He wasn't happy with what they had done — but of course, he's in the fortress because that's where he lives — and we assume now that he hears his people are going to surrender the next day, he wants to just try his luck to get out. Muhammad ibn Maslamah was the guard in charge and he knew that Amr ibn Sa'da wasn't with the Banu Qurayza, he vocally opposed them, so he said, "O Allah, overlook my overlooking of him," and he simply let him go. It is said Amr ibn Sa'da made his way to Madinah and spent the night there, and the next morning, he just disappeared, so only Allah knows what his end was. When the Prophet PBUH found out about what happened, he said, "That was a man whom Allah saved because of his honesty," and he didn't get angry at Muhammad ibn Maslamah. The key point here is that the Madinan Jews were punished for what they did, and *not* for who they were. This incident is one of the many indications. Amr ibn Sa'da remained upon his religion, but he was truthful to his covenant, so Allah saved him.
The next morning, the message comes that the Banu Qurayza are willing to surrender.
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The Judgment of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh RA
Immediately, the Aws surrounded the Prophet PBUH and began pleading (because as of yet, the Prophet PBUH has not said what he wants to do). One of them said, "Ya Rasulullah, you spared the Khazraj's ally (the Banu Qaynuqa) (i.e., you spared the Banu Qaynuqa for Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, a munafiq), so spare our ally as well!" But subhan'Allah, there is a world of difference between what the Banu Qaynuqa did and what the Banu Qurayza did. Still, at the end of the day, the Aws were humans — they wanted mercy for their own friends — so they kept begging and pleading. At this, the Prophet PBUH said, "Will you be happy if one of your own decides their fate?" They said, "Of course!" So he PBUH said, "I have chosen for you Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, your own leader." Wallahi, this is amazing. The Messenger of Allah is stepping down from his prerogative to give the ruling and is basically saying, "You guys decide," even though he knows they will obey whatever he says. Like any true leader, he knows that imposing your decision on your followers isn't the wisest thing to do.
So a group of the Banu Salama became very happy, and they rushed back to Madinah to Sa'd ibn Muadh's tent. (Side note: Sa'd up until this point is still in the 'hospital tent.' There was the equivalent of a nurse amongst the sahaba, her name was Rufayda al-Aslamiyyah [رفيدة الأسلمية] —she volunteered to always take care of the wounded and deal with the sick— and she had a tent that was a mini-hospital. So Sa'd was still in that tent bleeding for 25 days; and he was going to die soon). The Banu Salama told Sa'd what had happened, they put him on a mule and slowly took him to the Banu Qurayza. On the way there, the Aws surrounded him and continued to tell him, "You have to be merciful," and they reminded him of the friendships with the Banu Qurayza in the days of Jahiliyyah. One of them said, "You have only been chosen by the Prophet PBUH because you are going to be merciful." When this was said to him, he said, "Now is the time for Sa'd to not care about the criticism of any critic when it comes to Allah and His Messenger," meaning, "I am about to die. If I am not going to be faithful now, when is there going to be a faithful time?" Subhan'Allah. Compare this with even Abu Talib or anybody else on their deathbed. At the end of their lives, people want to go out with a bang for their people — they want to leave a legacy that people will speak positively about when they leave; but what is Sa'd saying? "Now is the time to be sincere to Allah." When he said this, the Aws understood what his judgment would be. When he came to the Banu Qurayza, the Prophet PBUH said to the Ansar, "Stand up to greet your leader." And there is not a single person in the entire seerah that the Prophet PBUH ordered others to stand up to greet except for Sa'd ibn Mu'adh RA.
(Fiqh tangent: There is a huge controversy: In another hadith [in Bukhari & Muslim], the Prophet PBUH said, "Whoever loves it that people stand up for him, let him be prepared for his seat in Jahannam," yet here we find him telling the Ansar to stand up for Sa'd ibn Mu'adh. How do we reconcile? Imam al-Nawawi says whoever has taken this as a habit for himself and loves that people stand up for him, this is the person who will be in Jahannam. Nobody should expect others to stand up for him when he enters the room. This is not the way of Islam. But once in a while, as a one-off, not as a regular habit, this is something that is allowed. When Fatima RA came to see the Prophet PBUH after a while, he himself stood up to greet her. So you can do it once in a while. But not every time. If a grandfather or guest comes, as a one-off, you can do it. It is ja'iz [جائز - permissible] and mustahabb.)
The Prophet PBUH then said to Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, "Your people (Aws) have accepted you as a judge for these (the Banu Qurayza)." (Side note: All of this is taking place outside the fortress, and the Banu Qurayza are still inside — they are away from the scene. The Muhajirun and the Khazraj are not as involved either — the Khazraj had animosity with the Banu Qurayza from the days of Jahiliyyah anyway, so they didn't care what was going to happen to them. So this 'difference of opinion' was taking place only between the Aws and the Prophet PBUH.) Sa'd said to his people, "I call you to Allah (I tell you to make a promise to Allah), will you listen-and-obey me with whatever verdict I give?" They said, "Yes." And then he turned to the Prophet PBUH —and out of respect, he lowered his face in front of him— and said, "And you as well, ya Rasulullah? (Will you be happy with my verdict?)" The Prophet PBUH said, "Yes." (Wallahi, it's mind-boggling to imagine that Rasulullah is willing to go down to the ruling of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh just because of the Aws's sensibilities.) So Sa'd without a second's hesitation said, "My judgment in them is that their men should be executed, their property distributed, and their women and children taken as captives." As soon as he said this, the Prophet PBUH said, "Wallahi, O Sa'd, you have decreed upon them the judgment of Allah from above the seven heavens."
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Execution of the Banu Qurayza
When the verdict was given, the commandment was given to execute the men. Trenches were dug (at a vast area owned by one of the ladies of the Banu Najjar), the male adults were tied up, and they were taken in batches and executed. This is the hukm (حكم - judgment) of Allah SWT upon them. One of the young men who survived and later converted to Islam, Atiyyah al-Qurazi (عطية القرظي), narrates: "I was a boy that was spared that day because I didn't have hair"—which means the adults were the ones that were executed.
A number of stories are mentioned regarding Huyayy ibn Akhtab: As he was led out of the fortress, he wore his finest garment, a red silk embroidery, securing it tightly with strings around his body to prevent it from being taken after his death. When he passed by the Prophet PBUH, he looked at him and said, "Wallahi, I have never regretted my animosity towards you. But whoever Allah humiliates, that is the real one who is humiliated"—so he knew deep down inside whose side Allah is on. Then he turned to his people and said, "O my people, don't be sad. This is the decree of Allah upon the Bani Israel" (as mentioned in the Quran, [7:167]). Then he lowered his neck and was executed.
When Ka'b ibn Asad was led out, the Prophet PBUH said, "O Ka'b, why didn't you benefit from the advice of Ibn Kharrash (ابن خراش), for he believed in me, and he commanded you to follow me, and he gave his salam to me through you if you saw me." (Side note: It appears from the context that Ibn Kharrash was their rabbi who had died before the coming of the Prophet PBUH, and he had predicted the coming of the Prophet PBUH.) Ka'b said, "I swear by the Torah, O Abu al-Qasim, this is true. And were it not for the fact that the Jews would criticize me and say that I converted because I was scared of death, I would have followed you even now. But I die upon the faith of the Jews."
There were no children executed.
As for the women, there was only one who was executed. Aisha RA narrates that she (meaning Aisha RA) was sitting with the prisoners, and one of the ladies was laughing and joking with her with all types of jokes even as her own people were being executed. Then someone called her name (and we don't know her name), so she stood up. Aisha RA asked her, "Why are you standing?" She said, "To be killed." Aisha RA: "Why?" The woman: "Because of something I did." Later on, we find out that she had killed one of the sahaba during the siege by throwing a grinding stone from up above, and because she killed him in this manner, she was the only woman executed. Aisha RA later remarked, "I never ceased to be amazed at her laughing while she knew she was going to be executed."
Another interesting story is that of an Ansari, Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas (ثابت بن قيس بن شماس) RA. In the Wars of Bu'ath (the wars between the people of Yathrib before the Hijrah of the Prophet PBUH), Thabit was saved by one of the Banu Qurayza by the name of al-Zubayr ibn Batta (and it is said he was extremely old by this time). So Thabit went to the prisoners, found Zubayr, and said to him, "Do you remember me?" Zubayr: "Of course, you are that person I saved." Thabit: "It's time for me to repay that favor. Do you wish me to repay that favor?" Zubayr: "Of course. A generosity from a generous person will always be appreciated." So Thabit went to the Prophet PBUH and said, "Ya Rasulullah, please give me al-Zubayr (allow al-Zubayr to be spared)." The Prophet PBUH said, "He is for you," so Thabit went back to Zubayr, but Zubayr said, "Of what use is life without family?" So Thabit goes back to the Prophet PBUH and begs for Zubayr's family and children, and the Prophet PBUH says, "They are for you." But Zubayr then said, "Of what use is life without money?" So back to the Prophet PBUH and again the Prophet PBUH said, "For you as well." Then Zubayr says, "Where is so-and-so? Where is so-and-so?"—and he starts listing all his friends, but they all have been killed or are about to be killed, so he says, "What is the purpose of life without friends and tribe? So [I would rather] you send me to my death." So he was killed. One or two (or max 5) people similar to this case were spared. This shows that any Muslim who had special favor with someone, the Prophet PBUH gave that.
Another interesting story is that of an Ansari, Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas (ثابت بن قيس بن شماس) RA. In the Wars of Bu'ath (the wars between the people of Yathrib before the Hijrah of the Prophet PBUH), Thabit was saved by one of the Banu Qurayza by the name of al-Zubayr ibn Batta (and it is said he was extremely old by this time). So Thabit went to the prisoners, found Zubayr, and said to him, "Do you remember me?" Zubayr: "Of course, you are that person I saved." Thabit: "It's time for me to repay that favor. Do you wish me to repay that favor?" Zubayr: "Of course. A generosity from a generous person will always be appreciated." So Thabit went to the Prophet PBUH and said, "Ya Rasulullah, please give me al-Zubayr (allow al-Zubayr to be spared)." The Prophet PBUH said, "He is for you," so Thabit went back to Zubayr, but Zubayr said, "Of what use is life without family?" So Thabit goes back to the Prophet PBUH and begs for Zubayr's family and children, and the Prophet PBUH says, "They are for you." But Zubayr then said, "Of what use is life without money?" So back to the Prophet PBUH and again the Prophet PBUH said, "For you as well." Then Zubayr says, "Where is so-and-so? Where is so-and-so?"—and he starts listing all his friends, but they all have been killed or are about to be killed, so he says, "What is the purpose of life without friends and tribe? So [I would rather] you send me to my death." So he was killed. One or two (or max 5) people similar to this case were spared. This shows that any Muslim who had special favor with someone, the Prophet PBUH gave that.
And it's said some of the Banu Qurayza had converted to Islam, so they were spared as well.
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How Many People Were Killed?
How many people were killed? The books of seerah and hadith mention broad varying numbers. Ibn Ishaq is the most authoritative and he says between 600-700. Then he says, "Some have exaggerated and said 800-900." One of the hadiths in Musnad Imam Ahmad mentions around 400. Allah knows best, but whatever it is, it's not a small number.
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The Booty
Much booty was received: According to one source, 1,500 swords and 1,500 shields were received — and these were invaluable to the Muslim ummah at the time — the entire people of Madinah can have swords and shields now. In addition to this, the Muslims got 2,000 spears, 300 body armor suits, thousands of goats and camels and sheep, and they also found a large quantity of alcohol (which they then of course destroyed). And it was at this point in time —according to one version— that the rules of ghanima were solidified. And the one who had a horse was given three shares compared to the one who was walking. (Side note: In those days, the Muslim army was not composed of paid people; and being a cavalry soldier meant they had more responsibility and burden [to take care of the animal], thus they got three shares: One for the animal and two for the person.)
⅕ of the entire booty was given to the Islamic state and the Prophet PBUH as per the rules of Surah al-Anfal [8:41].
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Rayhana bint Zayd
Amongst those whom the Prophet PBUH received in this battle was Rayhana bint Zayd (ريحانة بنت زيد). He invited her to Islam, but she refused, so eventually, he decided to transfer ownership away, so he let her for a long time to decide her fate. When she realized the Prophet PBUH was going to leave her, she converted to Islam — she wanted to be with the Prophet PBUH rather than with someone else because of the care and gentleness he showed. After she converted, the Prophet PBUH said, "I will free you and marry you. And your freedom will be the mahr."
Now the books of seerah differ — quite a lot of books say she willingly wanted to remain a milk al-yamin (ملك اليمين) and didn't want to be his wife, and she said, "This is better for me and you" — but one small minority group says, no, she accepted the offer and became his wife. In any case, we will talk about the wives of the Prophet PBUH in an entire episode way towards the end of the series, and we will realize that contrary to the popular perception, in fact, we have a lot of difference of opinion as to how many wives the Prophet PBUH actually had. The common figure that everybody knows is but one opinion.
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Is Islam Antisemitic?
The incident of the execution of the Banu Qurayza is being used by some people in our time to charge Islam and the Prophet PBUH as being antisemitic.
No doubt, the punishment was harsh (and even the Prophet PBUH was willing to compromise if Sa'd ibn Mu'adh said so — there was a spectrum of opinion), but even the most spiteful critic should not and cannot academically say that the Banu Qurayza were killed because of who they were. One can understand if you say it was a harsh punishment, but if you claim the Prophet PBUH killed them for who they were, this is just a flagrant lie. And none of the early scholars of Islam ever entertained this possibility because it is so simple: they were killed because of what they did.
And by the way, there is no problem with saying that the punishment was harsh. Being harsh is not wrong all the time. Sometimes it's good to be merciful and sometimes it's good to be harsh. We said this many times: The religion of Islam is the perfect religion because it's the most practical — yes, gentleness is the rule, but once in a while, you really have to show some severity and harshness. You have to. Otherwise, people will walk over you. You can't always forgive. You need to show there is a line you simply cannot cross.
And by the way, there is no problem with saying that the punishment was harsh. Being harsh is not wrong all the time. Sometimes it's good to be merciful and sometimes it's good to be harsh. We said this many times: The religion of Islam is the perfect religion because it's the most practical — yes, gentleness is the rule, but once in a while, you really have to show some severity and harshness. You have to. Otherwise, people will walk over you. You can't always forgive. You need to show there is a line you simply cannot cross.
Many Muslim scholars point out the following verses in the Old Testament to show that what came upon them was their own hukm against themselves — literally word for word, letter for letter:
Deuteronomy 20:10-14:
"10. When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace.
11. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you.
12. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city.
13. When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it.
14. As for the women, the children, the livestock, and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies."
The whole beauty of the story is that, yes, the Prophet PBUH did say, "This is the hukm of Allah upon them," but he was not the one who meted out the punishment; it was the leader of their own ally, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh RA.
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The Blessings of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh RA
The blessings of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh RA that we forgot to mention in episode 59:
1. Sa'd ibn Mu'adh is the only person in the entire seerah for whom the Prophet PBUH commanded others to stand up to greet.
2. He was that person who made the du'a to Allah that, "O Allah, if You will allow the Quraysh to come back and fight, then allow me to live and fight them, because there is no nation more despised to me than them for what they have done to Your Rasul. But if this will be the last time, then accept me as a shaheed. But allow my eyes to be sweetened and comforted by seeing what happens to the Banu Qurayza"—and his du'a was accepted.
3. It's mentioned that when the sahaba carried his body for the janazah, they said, "We have never carried anyone lighter than him." The Prophet PBUH said, "Why should it not be light? For verily, 70,000 angels have come down —they have never come down to this earth except for now— and they are carrying his body with you."
4. When he was about to be buried, the Prophet PBUH said to him, "Jazak'Allahu khayran from the leader of the people. You have fulfilled your promise to Allah, and Allah will fulfill His promise to you."
5. When he was placed in the grave, the Prophet's PBUH face color changed out of sadness, and he started saying, "Subhan'Allah, subhan'Allah, subhan'Allah..." so the whole Baqi' also started saying it with him — but after a while, he said, "Allahu'akbar," so the sahaba asked, "Why the change?" And it was at this point in time the Prophet PBUH said the beautiful hadith, "This righteous servant —for whom the Throne of Allah shook, and the gates of heaven were opened, and was witnessed by 70,000 angels who have never come down before— he has now been squeezed in the grave and then set free. And if anyone were to have been freed from the squeezing of the grave, it would have been Sa'd ibn Mu'adh." (Side note: This shows us every one of us will face the squeezing of the grave. But for the believers, it's just a squeeze and then let go.)
Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, and others report that Sa'd ibn Mu'adh was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a full beard, fair-skinned and handsome — and he died a young tragic death at the age of 37.
May Allah SWT make us of those who follow the footsteps of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh and be resurrected with the prophets and the people of Truth and the martyrs and the righteous. ("What honorable company!" [Quran, 4:69].)
[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, June 2021]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, June 2021]
