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==Qur'anic Account==
==Qur'anic Account==


The [[Qur'an]] refers to this incident in [[Surah]] 33:
According to the traditional narrative the [[Qur'an]] refers to this incident in [[Surah]] 33:


{{Quote|{{Quran-range|33|26|27}}| And He brought those of the People of the Scripture who supported them down from their strongholds, and cast panic into their hearts. Some ye slew and ye made captive some.  
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|33|26|27}}| And He brought those of the People of the Scripture who supported them down from their strongholds, and cast panic into their hearts. Some ye slew and ye made captive some.  
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===Analysis of Qur'anic Account===
===Analysis of Qur'anic Account===


The people of the scripture being referred to in the above verse, are the Jews of the Banu Qurayza tribe. The reason given for slaying them is their alleged support of the Meccans who came to fight the Muslims of Medina. A close look at the Qur'anic verses above confirms the Qur'an is mentioning this incident after its occurrence. And it is [[Allah]] accusing people of the scripture of supporting Meccans. Muslims usually justify the Banu Qurayza massacre based on these verses as they imply the tribe broke their treaty and joined the Meccans against Muslims. They argue that since breaking a treaty and fighting along with the Meccans was a treacherous act, the Jews of Banu Qurayza deserved total annihilation.
According to the traditional exegetes the people being referred to in the above verse are the Jews of the Banu Qurayza tribe. The reason given for slaying them is their alleged support of the Meccans "ahzaab" or confederates/parties (tribes) who came to fight the Muslims of Medina. Reading the verse in this light, it is [[Allah]] accusing people of the scripture of supporting Meccans. According to the [[sira]] and the [[hadith]], the Banu Qurayza, upon seeing the size of the enemy army confronting the Muslims, waivered in their allegiance to Muhammad and went over to the enemy, creating a huge strategic problem for Muhammad as the Banu Qurayzah were situated behind his lines and he had made no preparations to go to war with them.  
 
This allegation is totally baseless, and there were no treacherous acts on Banu Qurayza's part that could possibly justify the total annihilation of their tribe. They were being victimized for the incentives of Muhammad. This much will be made clear as we move along with the holy texts of Islam. And for this purpose it is necessary to start from where the Qur'an first mentions the battle of Khandaq (trench). The genocide in question occurred after this battle.
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|33|9}}| "O ye who believe Remember Allah's favor unto you when there came against you hosts, and we sent against them a great wind and hosts ye could not see. And Allah is ever Seer of what ye do" }}
 
Allah is reminding the believers of the favors he bestowed upon them. "When there came a lot to attack them, he sent a wind to turn the foes away, thus saving the believers from destruction". The above verse implies that the enemies of Muhammad are being turned away by Allah. Doubt still remains whether the enemies were turned away before or after fighting a war. If we move with the Qur'an:
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|33|10}}| "When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when eyes grew wild and hearts reached to the throats, and ye were imagining vain thoughts concerning Allah”}}
 
Here, Allah reveals the state of Muslims, when they had to face a huge Meccan army. They (Muslims) started to have doubts, believing a clash with such a vast army would certainly be devastating to them. Ibn Kathir clarifies in his Tafsir:


{{Quote|1=[http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=33&tid=41359 Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Quran 33:10) - The Campaign of the Confederates (Al-Ahzab)]|2=Ibn Jarir said: "Some of those who were with the Messenger of Allah , had doubts and thought that the outcome would be against the believers, and that Allah would allow that to happen."}}
{{Quote|1=[http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=33&tid=41359 Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Quran 33:10) - The Campaign of the Confederates (Al-Ahzab)]|2=Ibn Jarir said: "Some of those who were with the Messenger of Allah , had doubts and thought that the outcome would be against the believers, and that Allah would allow that to happen."}}
The Qur'anic verses in conjunction with the above interpretation reveal the fact that Muhammad and his army were not at all in any position to fight a war at Khandaq (Trench). Muhammad had heard of the strength of the Meccan army much earlier, so acting upon the advice of one of his companions, Salman the Persian, there were trenches dug all around them to prevent hostile Meccans from entering Muslim territory. The battle gained the name "the war of trench" due to this tactic employed by Muhammad. The Meccans were a huge army consisting of two tribes, namely the  Quraish and Ghatafans. The very fact that Muhammad adopted such an extremely defensive stance in this fight proves the weakness of the Muslim army at the time, and the strength of their foes.
It is clear, the "war of Khandaq" was in fact a war that was never fought. Though they were huge in numbers and could have annihilated the entire population of Muslims at that time, the Meccan army had to halt at the trenches, being unable to find an entry route to the Muslim territory. Their only chance of reaching the Muslims was through the route of Banu Qurayza where Muhammad did not dig trenches, but ultimately, those who came to fight and win a war had to regress and return without success. Allah testifies in the Qur'an, he inflicted terror on the opposition by sending winds and shaking their settlements, so that they had to withdraw. Thus the Qur'an confirms the battle did not occur at all.


==Analysis of the Accounts in Hadiths==
==Analysis of the Accounts in Hadiths==
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