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The Treachery of Banu Quraidha

Anonymous

category: History & Biographies

source: Seerah.net

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The decision disclosed by Sa’d b. Mu’ad was in consonance with the Israelites’ law of war. The fifth Book of Moses, called Deuteronomy, containing the sacred law of the Jews on the subject in question runs like this:

“When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace, and open unto, then shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, but will, make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it; and when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword; but the women, and the little ones, and the cattle and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.” (Deut. 20: 10-14)

This was the practice followed by the Jews since the olden times. We read in the Book of Numbers that: “And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males. And they slew the kings of Midian, besides the rest of them that were slain, namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian; Balaam also son of Boer they slew with the sword. And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their flocks, and all their goods. And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castle, with fire.” (Num. 31:7-10). This law had not only enjoyed the approval of Moses but was also enforced by him.

“And Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the princes of congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle. And Moses said unto them; Have ye saved all the women alive?” (Num. 31:13-15)

The judgement declared by S’ad b. Mu’adh, executed before long, made sure that Madeenah henceforth play safe with the crafty and scheming Jews. The Muslims are now assured that none would act as traitors.

Sallam b. Abul Huqayq was one of the Jews who had played a leading role in inciting the desert clans to make a united bid to subvert Islam. The Khazraj killed him at his house in Khaybar. Aus had already done away with K’ab b. As’Ashraf who had done his utmost to provoke the Quraysh against the Muslims and to slander the Prophet of God (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam). Extermination of these two implacable enemies of Islam removed the source of danger ever willing to foment unrest for the burgeoning community in Madeenah. (Ibn Hisham, Vol. III, p. 273)

The settlement entered into by the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) with Banu Quraydha and other Jews of Madeenah was a defensive alliance along with an arrangement providing the basis for the establishment of a confederal administration in the city. It also included a very large measure of autonomy by the units, which was consistent with the needs and wishes of the Jewish tribes of Arabia. But Banu Quraydha had broken their word without any justification whatsoever. Therefore, they needed an exemplary punishment if only to warn the other treacherous or deceitful people against running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.

Commenting upon the imperative need of a deterrent punishment to the traitors on this occasion, R.V.C. Bodley writes in “The Messenger – The life of Muhammad”, thus:

“Muhammad stood alone in Arabia, a country equivalent in area to one-third of the United States, populated by about five million people. His own dominion was not much larger than Central Park; his means of enforcing his wishes, three thousand badly armed soldiers. Had he been weak, had he allowed treachery to go unpunished, Islam would never have survived. This killing of the Hebrews was drastic but not original in religious history. From a Moslem point of view, it was justified, from now on, the Arab tribes, as well as the Jewish, thought twice about defying this man who evidently intended to have his own way.” (Ibn Hisham, Vol. III, p. 217)

Another advantage gained by the destruction of this last but influential foxhole of treachery was that the bastion of hypocrisy built by ‘Abdullah b. Ubayy automatically became weak and impotent. The indifferent among the Muslims, were shocked and dejected and were ultimately driven to despair. With the Jewish stalking-horse destroyed before their very eyes, they gave up the habit of entertaining affliction against the Muslims. A Jewish scholar, Dr. Wellphenson has also reached this very conclusion that the punishment dealt out to Banu Qurayza helped to frighten and discourage the hypocrites. He had said: “In so far as the hypocrites were concerned, their clamors declined after the expedition against Banu Qurayza; thereafter they said or did nothing against the decision of the Prophet and his companions, as it was expected earlier.” (Al-Yahud fi Balad al-‘Arab, p. 155)

BENEVOLENCE AND LARGE-HEARTEDNESS

The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) sent some of his men on an expedition to Najd who captured Thumama b. Uthal, the chieftain of Banu Hanifa. When the cavaliers returned to Madeenah, they tied him to a stump in the Prophet’s Mosque. God’s Messenger (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) approached him and asked, “What do you expect, Thumama?” He replied, “If you kill me, Muhammad you will kill one whose blood will be avenged; if you show me a favor, you will show it to one who is grateful; and if you want property, you will be given as much as you wish.” The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) left him and when he passed by him the next time, he asked him the same question. Thumama repeated his earlier reply and the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) left him again. When the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) passed by him for the third time, he ordered Thumama to be set free.

Thumama went away to a grove of palm-dates and returned to the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) after taking a bath. He accepted Islam and said to the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam), “I swear to God, Muhammad that there was no face on earth more detested by me than yours, but now your face is the dearest of all to me. And, I swear to God that there was no religion more hateful to me than yours in the entire world, but now the dearest of all to me. What happened to me is that your cavalry seized me when I was going to perform ‘Umra.” The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam)congratulated him and bade him for it. When Thumama reached Mecca, someone asked him if he had turned a disbeliever. He replied, “No, by God, I swore that not a grain of corn will reach you from Al-Yamamah until God’s Messenger accords permission to it.”

Al-Yamamah was the chief market of food grains in Arabia from where the Meccans used to import their requirements. When Thumama went back to Al-Yamamah, he prevented the caravans from bringing wheat to Mecca. So the people of Mecca wrote to the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) requesting him to get the ban lifted. The kind-hearted Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam)asked Thumama to repeal the ban and allow the rationing and supply of food grains back to them. (Zad al-Ma’ad, Vol. I, p. 377, Sahi Muslim, Kitab-ul-Jihad was Siyar)

EXPEDITION OF BANU AL-MUSTALIQ AND THE AFFAIR OF IFAK

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