Yunus ibn Bukayr and al-Bakkaʿī—al-Bakkaʿī providing the exact wording—narrated from Ibn Isḥāq: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ laid siege to them for twenty-five nights, until the hardship became extreme and Allah cast terror into their hearts. Ḥuyayy ibn Akhṭab had entered the stronghold with the Banū Qurayẓah after Quraysh and Ghatafān had withdrawn, in fulfillment of the pact he had made with Kaʿb ibn Asad.
When they were convinced that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would not depart until he had confronted them in battle, Kaʿb ibn Asad said, “O community of Jews, you can see the predicament that has befallen you. I am going to put before you three alternatives; choose whichever you wish.”
They asked, “What are they?”
He replied, “First: let us give our allegiance to this man and affirm his truthfulness. By Allah, it has become plain to you that he is a prophet sent by Allah, the very one you find described in your Scripture. If you do that, your lives and your property will be secure.”
They said, “We will never forsake the judgment of the Torah or exchange it for anything else.”
He said, “If you reject that, then come—let us kill our sons and our women, and then go out to Muhammad and his Companions with swords unsheathed, leaving nothing behind us that might weigh us down. Allah will then decide between us and Muhammad. If we perish, we perish without leaving descendants we would fear for; and if we prevail—by my life!—we shall soon acquire women and children anew.”
They said, “Shall we kill these helpless ones? What good would life be after them?”
He said, “If you reject that as well, then tonight is the eve of Saturday; perhaps Muhammad and his Companions feel secure on this night. Descend and attack, and maybe we can catch Muhammad and his Companions off guard.”
They replied, “Shall we profane our Sabbath and commit in it what none before us has ever done—except the one you know of, and you know the transformation that befell him?”
Kaʿb retorted, “Not a single one of you has spent even one night in his entire life acting with resolve.”
Yunus ibn Bukayr also transmitted this from Ibn Isḥāq, but through his father, from Maʿbad ibn Kaʿb ibn Mālik. In that version he mentioned the same account and added: they then sent for Abū Lubābah and narrated how he bound himself.