Ibn Isḥāq (1) said: One of the Muslims who was martyred on the day of Banū Qurayẓah was Khallād ibn Suwayd ibn Thaʿlabah ibn ʿAmr al-Khazrajī. A woman dropped a millstone on him, crushing him severely. They relate that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “For him is the reward of two martyrs.”

I say: The one who hurled the millstone at him was that very woman—no other woman of Banū Qurayẓah was executed, as mentioned earlier. Allah knows best.

Ibn Isḥāq (2) said: Abū Sinān ibn Muḥṣin ibn Ḥurthān of Banū Asad ibn Khuzaymah also died while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was besieging Banū Qurayẓah, and he was buried in their graveyard, where he remains to this day.

The Death of Saʿd ibn Muʿādh (3), may Allah be pleased with him

It was previously noted that Ḥabbān ibn al-ʿAriqah—may Allah curse him—shot Saʿd with an arrow that struck the artery at his elbow. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ cauterised the wound with fire, and it closed. Saʿd had prayed that Allah would not let him die until his eyes were cooled by what befell Banū Qurayẓah, for they had broken the covenants, pledges, and guarantees they had made with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and had sided with the Confederates against him. When the Confederates withdrew from Madinah, Banū Qurayẓah were left disgraced, suffering a disastrous bargain in this world and the hereafter. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then marched out to besiege them, as detailed earlier. When he tightened the siege and surrounded them from every side, they agreed to submit to the judgment of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ so that he might rule concerning them as Allah directed him.

He, however, referred the verdict to the chief of the Aws—their allies in the pre-Islamic period—namely Saʿd ibn Muʿādh, and they accepted that. It is also said that from the outset they themselves had requested Saʿd’s arbitration, hoping for his tenderness, kindness, and bias toward them. They did not realise that he detested them more than he did their counterparts among the apes and swine, owing to the strength of his faith and his absolute truthfulness—may Allah be pleased with him and satisfy him.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ therefore sent for him. Saʿd was in a tent set up in the Prophet’s Mosque, and he was brought on a donkey fitted with a padded saddle because of his injury. When he drew near to the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ tent, the Prophet ordered those present to stand for him. Some said this was so he might dismount despite the severity of his wound; others said it was in honor of him before those awaiting judgment, thereby lending greater weight to his ruling—Allah knows best.

When Saʿd pronounced that their men were to be executed and their women and children taken captive, Allah cooled his eyes and soothed his breast concerning them. He then returned to his tent in the Prophet’s Mosque accompanied by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he prayed to Allah, Exalted is He, that