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The Massacre of the Banu Qurayzah: Difference between revisions
The Massacre of the Banu Qurayzah (view source)
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==Story from the Sira== | ==Story from the Sira== | ||
According to traditional sources, in Hijra year 5 (627 AD), on the orders of the Islamic Prophet [[Muhammad]], almost nine hundred Jews of a Medinan tribe named Banu Qurayza were massacred by the muhaajiruun and their Medinese Muslim allies. The killing began early in the day, ending in torchlight. Those who escaped death were taken captive and sold at [[Slavery|slave]] markets. | According to traditional sources, in Hijra year 5 (627 AD), on the orders of the Islamic Prophet [[Muhammad]], almost between four hundred and nine hundred Jews of a Medinan tribe named Banu Qurayza were massacred by the muhaajiruun and their Medinese Muslim allies. The killing began early in the day, ending in torchlight. Those of the tribe who escaped death were taken captive and sold at [[Slavery|slave]] markets. | ||
Muhammad’s problems with the Jews had not started here. Before the Banu Qurayza, the Jews of the tribes of the Banu Nadir and Banu Qaynuqaa’ had already been assaulted, stripped of their goods including their precious palm trees and exiled. The Banu Qurayzah had retained their position in Medinah through an alliance with the prophet. All was not well with them, | Muhammad’s problems with the Jews had not started here. Before the Banu Qurayza, the Jews of the tribes of the Banu Nadir and Banu Qaynuqaa’ had already been assaulted, stripped of their goods including their precious palm trees and exiled. The Banu Qurayzah had retained their position in Medinah through an alliance with the prophet. All was not well with them, though, as Muhammad continued to press on them to accept him as the messenger off [[Allah]]. As Muhammad had lost the battle of [[Uhud]] this had become difficult for him, and there was already doubt in the minds of some Muslims (mostly muhaajiruun) as to their loyalty to the prophet. | ||
Compounding matters, the Meccans pagans under the leadership of Abu Sufyan had entered into an alliance with the banished Jewish tribes of Medinah, furthering the suspicion of the Jews of Qurayzah whose fortress lay in the rear of the Muslims’ positions vis-à-vis the attack route of the Meccans. When the Meccans and their Jewish allies advanced with a huge army upon Medinah, at the suggestion of the Persian Salman the prophet ordered his numerically inferior forces to dig a trench between two pools of lava and the mountains in front of the city to cut off the advance of the Meccans and their confederates. For this reason the battle is traditionally known as the “Battle of Trench” or (or alternatively the “Battle of the Confederates” thanks to the large confederacy of different tribes which advanced upon Madinah). | Compounding matters, the Meccans pagans under the leadership of Abu Sufyan had entered into an alliance with the banished Jewish tribes of Medinah, furthering the suspicion of the Jews of Qurayzah whose fortress lay in the rear of the Muslims’ positions vis-à-vis the attack route of the Meccans. When the Meccans and their Jewish allies advanced with a huge army upon Medinah, at the suggestion of the Persian Salman the prophet ordered his numerically inferior forces to dig a trench between two pools of lava and the mountains in front of the city to cut off the advance of the Meccans and their confederates. For this reason the battle is traditionally known as the “Battle of Trench” or (or alternatively the “Battle of the Confederates” thanks to the large confederacy of different tribes which advanced upon Madinah). | ||
Unable to break the defenses of the Medinian Muslims, the Meccans sent an emissary, “the enemy of Allah, Huyayy bin Akhtab An-Nadri” <ref>Ibn Hisham, Ibn Ishaq, Alfred Guillaume (translator), The life of Muhammad: a translation of Isḥāq's Sīrat rasūl Allāh Oxford Universite Press p.453, 2005</ref>, to the Banu Qurayzah in an attempt to bring their aide and end the stalemate with the massacre of Muhammad and the Muslims. Ibn Ishaq does not make it clear how he knows this however he claims that the negotiation came to naught due to the Qurayzah’s insistence that the Meccans offer hostages in order to assure they would not leave the field of battle till Muhammad was defeated ( | Unable to break the defenses of the Medinian Muslims, the Meccans sent an emissary, “the enemy of Allah, Huyayy bin Akhtab An-Nadri” <ref>Ibn Hisham, Ibn Ishaq, Alfred Guillaume (translator), The life of Muhammad: a translation of Isḥāq's Sīrat rasūl Allāh Oxford Universite Press p.453, 2005</ref>, to the Banu Qurayzah in an attempt to bring their aide and end the stalemate with the massacre of Muhammad and the Muslims. According to ibn Ishaq, initially the leader of the Banu Qurayzah Ka'b bin Asad al-Qurayzi did not even allow Huyayy bin Akhtab to enter the compound, but was goaded into doing so be Huyayy's accusation that bin Ka'b did not want to share his food. Ibn Ishaq does not make it clear how he knows this however he claims that the negotiation came to naught due to the Qurayzah’s insistence that the Meccans offer hostages in order to assure they would not leave the field of battle till Muhammad was defeated (though they did in fact end up leaving without defeating Muhammad). According to ibn Ishaq, the Banu Qurayzah after much "wheedling" agreed only to not aide the Muslims or to obstruct or fight the confederates. Ibn Ishaq offers as evidence of the Banu Qurayzah’s perfidy an Isnad chain from Yahya bin ‘Abbaad bin ‘Abdullah bin Az-Zubayr with a story that a Muslim woman, Safiyah bint ‘AbdulMuttalib saw a Jewish scout of the Banu Qurayzah reconnoitering a Muslim fort in preparation for an attack. She told the fort's commander Hassan of this and asked him to kill the scout, and when he refused she took a club and went out and beat the man to death<ref>ibid, 458</ref>. Other than this ibn Ishaq relates that Allah “sowed discord” between the confederates and the Banu Qurayzah, which resulted in the Meccans retreating without having defeated Muhammad or engaged in a coordinated attack upon the Muslims with the Banu Qurayzah <ref>ibid, 459</ref> | ||
The battle of the trench being won, Muhammad and his men put their entrenching tools and weapons down to head home. According to the sira, though, Allah had other plans. The angel [[Jibra'il]] appeared to Muhammad just as he had put down his weapon, and informed him that the battle was not yet over for the Jews of the Banu Qurayzah still needed to be dealt with due to their treachery, mentioned above. Muhammad informed his men that they were not to pray the 'asr prayer until they reached the Banu Qurayzah compound, meaning he wanted them to go there quickly. The Muslims lay siege to the compound for differing amounts of time depending on the source (ibn Ishaq claims 25 days before "Allah cast terror in their hearts"). The Banu Qurayzah were told to surrender and accept Islam, something they swore they would never do. Despairing of their position, according to ibn Ishaq, they discussed three options: accepting Islam, killing their wives and children and engaging in a banzai-style attack against the numerically superior Muslim forces (perhaps, modern commentators have added, in emulation of their religious forbearers as Masada in Palestine), or engaging in a sneak attack on the Jewish Sabbath. The Jews of the Banu Qurayzah found none of these options acceptable. | |||
The | The Jews of the Banu Qurayzah chose the latter option. | ||
The tribe of 'Aws, allies of the Banu Qurayrzah from the time of [[jahilliyah]], asked for mercy for them from the prophet. The prophet, not wanting to cause dissension in his ranks (oaths and alliances of loyalties were very important in tribal Arab society, as in the absence of courts and established governments the only guaranty of security and justice which could be obtained was the promise of protection from allies in the case of murder, family fueds or war), entrusted the fate of the Banu Qurayzah to a trusted elder shaykh of the 'Aws, Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh. Once he had ascertained that both the Banu Qurayzah and the prophet would abide by his judgement, whatever it be, he gave it without hesitation: the men of the Banu Qurayzah were to be executed to the last, while the women and children should be sold into slavery. ibn Mu‘adh justified this decision as being from the Torah of the Jews itself. ibn Ishaq does not cite the verse and chapter from the Bible but this is usually taken as a reference to the book of Deuteronomy 20:12-14: | |||
{{Quote|Deuteronomy 20:12-14|וְאִם לֹ֤א תַשְׁלִים֙ עִמָּ֔ךְ וְעָשְׂתָ֥ה עִמְּךָ֖ מִלְחָמָ֑ה וְצַרְתָּ֖ עָלֶֽיהָ וּנְתָנָ֛הּ יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ בְּיָדֶ֑ךָ וְהִכִּיתָ֥ אֶת כָּל זְכוּרָ֖הּ לְפִי חָֽרֶב רַ֣ק הַ֠נָּשִׁים וְהַטַּ֨ף וְהַבְּהֵמָ֜ה וְכֹל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִהְיֶ֥ה בָעִ֛יר כָּל־ שְׁלָלָ֖הּ תָּבֹ֣ז לָ֑ךְ וְאָֽכַלְתָּ֙ אֶת שְׁלַ֣ל אֹיְבֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֛ן יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ לָֽךְ | {{Quote|Deuteronomy 20:12-14|וְאִם לֹ֤א תַשְׁלִים֙ עִמָּ֔ךְ וְעָשְׂתָ֥ה עִמְּךָ֖ מִלְחָמָ֑ה וְצַרְתָּ֖ עָלֶֽיהָ וּנְתָנָ֛הּ יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ בְּיָדֶ֑ךָ וְהִכִּיתָ֥ אֶת כָּל זְכוּרָ֖הּ לְפִי חָֽרֶב רַ֣ק הַ֠נָּשִׁים וְהַטַּ֨ף וְהַבְּהֵמָ֜ה וְכֹל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִהְיֶ֥ה בָעִ֛יר כָּל־ שְׁלָלָ֖הּ תָּבֹ֣ז לָ֑ךְ וְאָֽכַלְתָּ֙ אֶת שְׁלַ֣ל אֹיְבֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֛ן יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ לָֽךְ | ||