The Battle of Banu Quraizah

Currently, incidents in the life of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra) are being narrated; among which there were incidents related to battles. One such expedition was the Battle of Banu Quraizah. Al-Waqidi has mentioned the names of the individuals who participated in the Battle of Banu Qurayza and according to this list, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra) and Hazrat Talhah bin Ubaidillahra participated in the Battle of Banu Qurayza from the tribe of Banu Taym.

(Al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi, Vol. 2, Ghazwat Bani Quraizah [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 2013], p. 4)

Abdur Rahman bin Ghanam relates,

“When the Holy Prophet (sa) set off towards the Banu Qurayza, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hazrat ‘Umar (ra) submitted to the Holy Prophet (sa), ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah! If people see you dressed in a beautiful worldly garment, they will be more inclined towards accepting Islam. Hence, you should wear the garment that Hazrat Sa‘d bin ‘Ubadah (ra) gave to you. You should wear this so that the disbelievers may see you dressed in a beautiful garment.’ The Holy Prophet (sa) replied, ‘I will do so. By Allah, if both of you agree on a matter, I will not oppose your advice. Moreover, my Lord has mentioned your examples to me in the same manner that he mentioned the examples of angels Gabriel and Michael. As far as Ibn Khattab is concerned, from among the angels, his example is like that of the angel Gabriel. Allah has destroyed the people among every nation through Gabriel, and from among the prophets, his example is like that of Prophet Noah (as), when he said:

رَّبِّ‭ ‬لَا‭ ‬تَذَرۡ‭ ‬عَلَى‭ ‬الۡأَرۡضِ‭ ‬مِنَ‭ ‬الۡكٰفِرِينَ‭ ‬دَيَّارًا‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“My Lord, leave not on the land a single dweller of the disbelievers.” [Surah Nuh, Ch.71: V.27]

And from among the angels, the example of Ibn Abi Quhafah (i.e. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)) is like that of the angel Michael, in that he seeks forgiveness for the people on earth and from among the prophets, his example is like that of Prophet Abraham (as), who said:

فَمَنۡ تَبِعَنِیۡ فَاِنَّہٗ مِنِّیۡ ۚ وَمَنۡ عَصَانِیۡ فَاِنَّکَ غَفُوۡرٌ رَّحِیۡمٌ

“So whoever follows me, he is certainly of me; and whoever disobeys me — Thou art, surely, Most Forgiving, Merciful.” [Surah Ibrahim, Ch.14: V.37]

The Holy Prophet (sa) further said, ‘If both of you agree on a certain matter, then I will not oppose your advice. The manner in which you advise is of different types and can be likened to the examples of Gabriel, Michael, Noah (as) and Abraham (as).’”

(Kanz al-‘Ummal, Vol. 7, p. 10, Kitab al-Fada’il, Bab Fada’il al-Sahabah, Hadith 360132, Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2004)

There is a narration in relation to when the Holy Prophet (sa) had besieged the Banu Quraizah. It is mentioned that ‘Aisha bint Sa’d relates from her father who said, “The Holy Prophet (sa) said to me, ‘O Sa‘d! Advance and shoot arrows at these people.’ I advanced ahead whereby they came in reach of my arrows. I had more than fifty arrows, which I shot in a matter of moments. It was as if our arrows were like a swarm of locusts. They fled inside and none of them peaked out. We became fearful regarding our arrows, lest they would all run out. Hence, we would shoot some of the arrows and keep some with us.”

Hazrat Ka‘b bin Amr Ma‘zani (ra) was among the archers as well. He relates, “On that day, I shot all the arrows that were in my quiver, to the extent that some part of the night passed by, at which point we stopped firing arrows at them.” He continues to say, “We had shot our arrows while the Holy Prophet (sa) was mounted on his horse. He was in his armour and other horse riders were around him. Then, when the Holy Prophet (sa) permitted us, we returned to our resting grounds for the night. For food, we had dates sent by Hazrat Sa‘d bin Ubadah (ra), which were plentiful. We got by on those dates for the night. It was observed that the Holy Prophet (sa), Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hazrat ‘Umar (ra) were also eating those dates. The Holy Prophet (sa) would say, ‘How excellent are dates for food.’”

(Al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi, Vol. 2, Ghazwat Bani Quraizah [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 2013], p. 6)

When Hazrat Sa‘d bin Ma’az (ra) gave his verdict for the fate of Banu Quraizah, the Holy Prophet (sa) praised him and said, “You have given a verdict according to the command of Allah.” Upon this, Hazrat Sa‘d (ra) prayed, “O Allah, if it is Your decree that the Holy Prophet (sa) will have to fight another war against the Quraish, then keep me alive for it. However, if it is Your decree that the wars between the Holy Prophet (sa) and the Quraish have ceased, then take my life.”

Hazrat ‘Aisha (ra) narrates, “Hazrat Sa‘ds wound opened, even though he had completely healed and only a small mark of that wound remained. He then returned to the tent that the Holy Prophet (sa) arranged for him.” Hazrat ‘Aisha (ra) continues, “The Holy Prophet (sa), Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hazrat ‘Umar (ra) came to him. I swear by Him in Whose possession is the life of Muhammad (sa) that I could hear and distinguish the sound of Hazrat Abu Bakr’s (ra) and Hazrat Umar’s (ra) cries, despite being in my separate tent (in other words, when Hazrat Sa‘d (ra) was breathing his last, both of them were crying). I was in my tent, and their condition was such that has been mentioned by Allah the Almighty in the following words

‮ ‬رُحَمَآءُ‭ ‬بَيۡنَهُمۡ‬‬

In other words, “they are tender among themselves.” [Surah al-Fath, Ch.48: V30]

(Ahmad bin Hanbal, Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, Vol. 8, Musnad ‘Aisha, Hadith 25610 [Beirut, Lebanon: ‘Alam al-Kutub, 1998], pp. 256-259)