Events Following the Treachery of the Banu Qurayzah

Mentioning this in detail, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II (ra) states,

“The Banu Quraizah had dishonoured their pact with the Muslims and this could not be passed over. The Prophet (sa) collected his exhausted force and told them that there was no rest for them yet. Before the sun went down, he said, they must reach the forts of the Banu Quraizah. Then he sent Ali (ra) to the Banu Quraizah to ask them why they had gone back on their treaty. The Banu Quraizah showed no regret and no inclination to ask for forgiveness. Instead, they insulted Hazrat Ali (ra) and the other Muslim delegates and started hurling vile abuse at the Prophet (sa) and the women of his family. They said that they did not care for Muhammad (sa) and had never had any kind of pact with him. When Hazrat Ali (ra) returned to report the reply of the Jews, he found the Prophetsa and the Companions (ra) advancing towards the Jewish forts.

The Jews had been verbally abusing the Prophet (sa), his wives and daughters. Fearing lest this should pain the Prophet (sa), Hazrat Ali (ra) suggested there was no need for the Holy Prophet (sa) to take part as the Muslims themselves could deal with the Jews. The Holy Prophet (sa) understood the matter and said, ‘You do not wish for me to hear their abuse, Ali?’ ‘Indeed,’ said Ali (ra). The Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘What difference does it make? Moses(as) was of their kith and kin. Yet they inflicted more suffering on him than they have on me.’ The Holy Prophet (sa) continued to advance. The Jews put up their defences and started fighting. Their women also joined them. Some Muslims were sitting at the foot of a wall. A Jewish woman, seeing this, dropped a stone on them and killed one of them. The siege went on for some days. At the end of this period, the Jews felt they would not be able to hold out for long. Then their chiefs sent word to the Prophet (sa) requesting him to send Abu Lubabah (ra), an Ansari chief of the Aus, a tribe friendly to the Jews.

They wanted to consult him about a possible settlement. The Holy Prophet (sa) sent Abu Lubabah (ra) to the Jews, who asked him if they should lay down their arms and accept the settlement of the Holy Prophet (sa). Abu Lubabah (ra) said that they should. But at the same time he passed a finger over his neck, making the sign of death. The Prophet (sa) had said nothing on this subject to anybody. But Abu Lubabah (ra), fearing that the crime of the Jews merited nothing but death, unwittingly made this sign, which proved fateful for the Jews. The latter declined Abu Lubabah’s (ra) advice and refused to accept the Holy Prophet’s conditions. Had they accepted it, the utmost punishment they would have suffered would have been expulsion from Medina. But as ill-luck would have it, they refused to accept the proposal by the Holy Prophet (sa).

Instead of the Holy Prophet’s proposal, they said that they would accept the punishment handed out by Sa‘d bin Mu‘az (ra), chief of their allies, the Aus. They would agree to any punishment proposed by him. A dispute also arose among the Jews. Some of them began to say that their people had really gone back on their agreement with the Muslims.

The behaviour of the Muslims, on the other hand, showed that they were true and honest and that their religion also was true. Those who thought in this way joined Islam. Amr bin Saadi, one of the Jewish chiefs, reproved his people and said, ‘You have committed a breach of faith and gone back on your plighted word. The only course now open to you is either to join Islam or give jizya.’ They said, ‘We will neither join Islam nor give jizya, for dying is better than giving jizya.’ Amr replied that in that case he stood absolved, and saying this left the fort. He was sighted by Muhammad (ra) bin Maslama, commander of a Muslim column, who asked him who he was. On learning of his identity, he told him to depart in peace and himself prayed loudly:

اَللّٰهُمَّ لَا تَحْرِمْنِيْ اِقَالَةَ عَثَرَاتِ الْكِرَامِ

That is, ‘God, give me ever the power to screen the mistakes of the decent.’ What he meant was that this Jew had shown remorse and regret over the conduct of his people. It was the moral duty of Muslims, therefore, to forgive men like him. In letting him go, he had done a good thing, and he prayed that God should give him the chance to do such good deeds again and again. When the Holy Prophet (sa) got to know of what Muhammad (ra) bin Maslama had done, he did not reprove him for letting go this Jewish leader. Rather, he approved of what had been done.”

(Dibacha Tafsir-ul-Quran, Anwar-ul-Uloom, Vol.20, pg. 282-284)

This also clarifies the misconception that the Holy Prophet (sa) was oppressive and ordered the killing of a Jewish tribe. They were themselves the architects of their own downfall. Instead of accepting the decision of the Holy Prophet (sa), they wished the decision to be passed from the leader of another tribe, who had accepted Islam. Nonetheless, this decision was made taking their own teachings into account. Therefore, no blame lies with the Holy Prophet (sa), nor with any of the companions.