Battle of Banu Qurayza: Difference between revisions

'''The Battle with Banū Qurayẓa''' is the last battle of the [[Prophet (s)]] with the Jews of [[Medina]] that took place in [[5]]/626 because [[Banu Qurayza]] violated their treaty with the Prophet (s) and became allied with the polytheists in the [[Battle of Ahzab]]. After the battle of Ahzab, Muslims headed to the stronghold of Banu Qurayza and besieged them. After about a month, Jews surrendered and proposed the arbitration of [[Sa'd b. Muadh]], and the Prophet (s) accepted. According to some reports, Sa'd b. Muadh taking the treaty between the Prophet (s) and Banu Qurayza, into consideration in one hand, and the rules of [[Torah]] in the other hand, declared that the combatant men of the tribe must be executed, and the children and women enslaved, and their estate forfeited. Some historians doubted about that Sa'd b. Muadh declaring that all men of the tribe must be executed.

By the propose of Banu Qurayza, the Prophet (s) accepted the arbitration of [[Sa'd b. Mu'adh]], one of the nobles of [[Aws]] and the head of Banu 'Abd Ashhal<ref>Sayyid Ja'far Murtada, ''al-Sahih'', Vol.12, P.90</ref>. Banu Qurayza proposed the arbitration of Sa'd b. Mu'adh because they had an alliance before Islam. Sa'd referring to the rules of [[Torah]] and the treaty between the Jews and the Prophet (s) declared that who had gathered against the Prophet (s) must be executed<ref>Sayyid Ja'far Murtada, ''al-Sahih'', Vol.12, P.88</ref>, and the children and women become enslaved. The Prophet (s) considered the verdict in accordance to the rules of God. The verses 56 to 58 of [[Sura al-Anfal]] and verses 26 and 27 of [[Sura al-Ahzab]] are about the battle with Banu Qurayza<ref>Al-Tabari, ''Tarikh al-rusul wa l-muluk'', sesele.1, P.1493; Ibn Hisham, ''al-Sira al-nabawiyya'', Vol.3, PP.265-6</ref>.

The verses 26 and 27 of [[Sura al-Ahzab]] verifies the verdict<ref>Sayyid al-Qutb, ''Fi zilal al-Qur'an'', Vol.6, P.569</ref>, but not the execution of all men of the tribe, but only those who acted against Muslims; [[Sayyid Ja'far Murtada al-'Amili]] in ''[[Al-Sahih min sirat al-Nabi al-a'zam|al-Sahih]]'' in the exegesis of the verse 26 of Sura al-Ahzab says: the part of the verse "… you killed a part of them, and took captive [another] part of them", the word used for ''taking captive'' (تأسرون, ta'sirun) is used for men; because in Arabic, for taking women captive, another word is used; but some exegetes have incorrectly interpret the word ''killed'' about men and the word ''took captive'' for women and children<ref>Sayyid Ja'far Murtada, ''al-Sahih'', Vol.12, P.148</ref>. So only fighters who had acted against Muslims executed and the rest became enslaved. As [[Ibn Shahrashub]] mentioned the total number of men 700, and the number of the executed 450<ref>Ibn Shahrashub, ''al-Manaqib'', Vol.3, P.171</ref>.

* Walid ‘Arafat also considered the story of Ibn Ishaq far from the real story of Banu Qurayza, the main reason is that Ibn Ishaq doesn’t have any correct document, and also some other reasons are mentioned<ref>W. N. Arafat, ''New Light on the Story of Banu Qurayza and the Jews of Medina'', Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (1976), pp. 100-107</ref>.