The Massacre of the Banu Qurayzah: Difference between revisions

{{Quote| {{Bukhari|4|52|68}}| Narrated 'Aisha: When Allah's Apostle returned on the day (of the battle) of Al-Khandaq (i.e. Trench), he put down his arms and took a bath. Then Gabriel whose head was covered with dust, came to him saying, "You have put down your arms! By Allah, I have not put down my arms yet." Allah's Apostle said, "Where (to go now)?" Gabriel said, "This way," pointing towards the tribe of Banu Qurayza. So Allah's Apostle went out towards them.}}

{{quote|Ibn Ishaq|Then they surrendered, and the apostle confined them in Medina in the quarter of d. al-Harith, a woman of B. al-Najjar. Then the apostle went out to the market of Medina (which is still its market today) and dug trenches in it. Then he sent for them and struck off their heads in those trenches as they were brought out to him in batches. Among them was the enemy of Allah Huyayy b. Akhtab and Ka`b b. Asad their chief. There were 600 or 700 in all, though some put the figure as high as 800 or 900. As they were being taken out in batches to the apostle they asked Ka`b what he thought would be done with them. He replied, 'Will you never understand? Don't you see that the summoner never stops and those who are taken away do not return? By Allah it is death!' This went on until the apostle made an end of them. Huyayy was brought out wearing a flowered robe in which he had made holes about the size of the finger-tips in every part so that it should not be taken from him as spoil, with his hands bound to his neck by a rope. When he saw the apostle he said, 'By God, I do not blame myself for opposing you, but he who forsakes God will be forsaken.' Then he went to the men and said, 'God's command is right. A book and a decree, and massacre have been written against the Sons of Israel.' Then he sat down and his head was struck off.<ref name="Guillaume463">Guillaume, Alfred, ''The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah''. Oxford University Press, 1955. ISBN 0-1963-6033-1; p. 461-464.</ref><ref name="Peters223">Peters, ''Muhammad and the Origins of Islam'', p. 222-224.</ref><ref>Norman Stillman, ''The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book''. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1979. ISBN 0-8276-0198-0; p. 141f.</ref>}}

It is worth mentioning here, not all were lucky enough to be beheaded among Banu Quraiza. Those whose lives were spared had a worse fate awaiting them. Again from Haykal:

{{Quote|1=[http://books.google.com/books?id=fOyO-TSo5nEC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false Muhammad Husayn Haykal - The Life of Muhammad. (p. 338)]|2=The Prophet divided the properties, women, and children of Banu Quraiza among the Muslims after he had separated one-fifth for public purposes. Each man of the cavalry received two shares, one for himself and one for his horse. On that day, the Muslim force included thirty-six cavalrymen. Sa'd ibn Zayd al Ansari sent a number of Banu Qurayza captives to Najd where he exchanged them for horses and armour in order to increase Muslim military power.<ref>Haykal, Muhammad Husayn (Author). Al-Faruqi, Ismail Raji (Translator). (2002). ''The Life of Muhammad''. (p. 338). Selangor, Malaysia: Islamic Book Trust.</ref>}}  

===Muslim Apologetics===