once before his ruling on Banū Qurayẓah and once thereafter, just as we mentioned earlier—praise and bounty belong to Allah alone. When we have completed the story we shall, Allah willing, describe his death, burial, and the distinction he attained therein—may Allah be pleased with him.
Ibn Isḥāq said (2): They were then brought down, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ confined them in Madinah in the house of the daughter of al-Ḥārith, a woman of Banū al-Najjār.
I say: She was Nasība bint al-Ḥārith ibn Kurz ibn Ḥabīb ibn ʿAbd Shams. She had previously been the wife of Musaylimah the Liar, after whose death ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿĀmir ibn Kurayz married her.
The Prophet ﷺ then went out to the marketplace of Madinah, dug trenches there, and sent for the captives; their necks were struck in those trenches, and they were brought to him in batches. Among them were the enemy of Allah Ḥuyayy ibn Akhtab and Kaʿb ibn Asad, the chief of the tribe. They numbered six or seven hundred; those who give a larger figure say they were between eight and nine hundred. I say: It has already been related on the authority of al-Layth, from Abū al-Zubayr, from Jābir, that they were four hundred—Allah knows best.
Ibn Isḥāq said (3): They said to Kaʿb ibn Asad while they were being led to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in groups, “Kaʿb, what do you think will be done with us?”
He replied, “Will you never understand? Do you not see that the caller does not desist, and that whoever of you is taken away does not return? By Allah, it is slaughter.” That continued until the last of them was dealt with.
Ḥuyayy ibn Akhtab was then brought forward wearing a crimson robe that he had torn a finger-breadth along every seam so that it would not be taken from him; his hands were bound to his neck with a rope. When he looked at the Messenger of Allah ﷺ he said, “By Allah, I do not blame myself for having been your enemy, but whomever Allah abandons is truly abandoned.” He then turned to the people and said, “O people, there is no harm in Allah’s decree: a Book, a destiny, and a massacre that Allah has written for the Children of Israel.” He then sat down, and his head was struck off.
Jabal ibn Jawwāl al-Thaʿlabī recited:
By your life, Ibn Akhtab never blamed himself—
Yet he whom God forsakes is surely forsaken.
He strove until his soul had offered its plea,
Surging ever onward in the quest for honor.
Ibn Isḥāq (4) also mentioned the story of al-Zubayr ibn Baṭā. He was an elderly man who, on the Day of Buʿāth, had shown favor to Thābit ibn Qays ibn Shammās and had shaved his forelock. When this day came, Thābit wished to repay him. He went to him and said, “Do you recognize me, Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān?”
He replied, “How could someone like me fail to know someone like you?”
Thābit said, “I wish to recompense you.”
He answered, “The noble man recompenses the noble man.” Thābit then went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and asked that he be set free; the Prophet freed him. Thābit returned and informed him.
Al-Zubayr said, “An old man without family or children—what good is life to him?” Thābit therefore went back to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and asked that his wife and children be released; the Prophet granted that as well. Thābit returned and told him. Al-Zubayr said, “A household in al-Ḥijāz with no wealth—how can they survive in such a state?” So Thābit went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and requested that al-Zubayr’s property be restored to him; the Prophet granted it. Thābit came back and informed him, whereupon he said, “O Thābit, what has become…"