He said, “Take heed, O warrior! I see you have taken off your coat of mail, whereas we have not yet removed ours.”

The narrator continued: The Prophet ﷺ sprang up in alarm and ordered the people not to perform the afternoon prayer (ʿAṣr) until they had reached Banū Qurayẓah.

So the people donned their arms, but they did not arrive at Banū Qurayẓah until the sun had set. At sunset they disputed among themselves. Some said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has bound us not to pray until we reach Banū Qurayẓah; we are still acting under his command and therefore incur no sin.” A group of them thus prayed, seeking Allah’s reward, while another group delayed the prayer until after sunset and performed it upon reaching Banū Qurayẓah, likewise seeking reward. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not censure either of the two groups.

Al-Bayhaqī then relates (1) through the isnād of ʿAbd Allāh al-ʿUmrī, from his brother ʿUbayd Allāh, from al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad, from ʿĀʾishah, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was with her when a man greeted us while we were in the house. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ rose in alarm and I followed him; there stood Dihyah al-Kalbī. He said:

“This is Gabriel. He has ordered me to go to Banū Qurayẓah. He says, ‘You have laid down your weapons, but we have not laid ours down; we pursued the idolaters until we reached Ḥamrāʾ al-Asad.’”

This occurred when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had returned from the Trench. The Prophet ﷺ rose in alarm and said to his Companions:

“I bind you not to perform the afternoon prayer until you reach Banū Qurayẓah.”

The sun set before they arrived. A group of Muslims said, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not intend that you abandon the prayer,” and so they prayed. Another group said, “By Allah, we remain under the explicit order of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and bear no sin.” Thus one party prayed—in faith and seeking reward—while the other delayed it, also in faith and seeking reward; and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not rebuke either group.

The Prophet ﷺ then set out and passed by several gatherings on the way to Banū Qurayẓah. He asked,

“Has anyone passed by you?”

They replied, “Dihyah al-Kalbī (2) passed us on a dapple-grey mule with a brocade saddlecloth beneath him.”

He said, “That was Gabriel; he has been sent to Banū Qurayẓah to shake them and cast terror into their hearts.”

The Prophet ﷺ laid siege to them and instructed his Companions to screen him with shields (3) so that his words would reach them. He called out:

“O brothers of apes and swine!”

They said, “Abū al-Qāsim, you have never been foul-mouthed.” He continued the siege until they surrendered to the judgment of Saʿd ibn Muʿādh, who had been their ally. Saʿd ruled that their fighters be killed and their women and children be taken captive. This report has additional chains from ʿĀʾishah and others.

The scholars have differed over which party of Companions was correct that day; yet there is consensus that both groups are rewarded, excused, and not blameworthy. Some scholars held that those who postponed the prayer until they reached Banū Qurayẓah were in the right, because the specific command to delay the prayer that day takes precedence over the general injunction to perform it within its prescribed time.