Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (6/340)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

Nor did the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, rebuke them for it. He said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, besieged them for twenty-five nights, until the siege had exhausted them and Allah cast terror into their hearts.

Huyayy ibn Akhtab had entered the fortress of Banu Qurayzah after Quraysh and Ghatafan had withdrawn from them, in fulfillment of the pledge he had made to Ka'b ibn Asad.

When they became certain that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would not leave them until he had engaged them in battle, Ka'b ibn Asad said, “O assembly of Jews, you see what has befallen you. I am offering you three alternatives, so choose whichever you wish.” They asked, “What are they?” He said, “We should follow this man and affirm him. By Allah, it has become clear to you that he is a Prophet sent by Allah, and that he is the one whom you find mentioned in your Scripture. Then your homes, property, children, and women will be secure.”

They said, “We shall never abandon the ruling of the Torah or exchange it for anything else.” He said, “If you refuse this, then come: let us kill our children and women, then go out against Muhammad as men with swords drawn, leaving behind no burden to weigh upon our minds, until Allah judges between us and Muhammad. If we are destroyed, we shall be destroyed without leaving behind anything for which we fear; and if we prevail, then, by my life, we shall acquire women and children.” They said, “Should we kill these helpless ones? What good would there be in life after them?”

He said, “If you refuse this as well, tonight is the night of the Sabbath. Perhaps Muhammad and his Companions will feel secure on this night, so descend upon them, that we may perhaps take Muhammad and his Companions by surprise.” They said, “Would we violate our Sabbath and introduce into it something that none before us introduced—except those of whom you know, who suffered a transformation that is no secret to you?” He said, “Has not a single one of you, since his mother bore him, ever spent even one night in his life showing sound judgment?”

He said: They then sent word to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “Send to us Abu Lubaba ibn Abd al-Mundhir, the brother of Banu Amr ibn Awf, that we may consult him concerning our affair.” They were allies of the Aws, so the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent him to them. When they saw him, the men rose to meet him, while the women and children came eagerly toward him, weeping before him, and he felt compassion for them.

They said, “O Abu Lubaba, do you think that we should surrender to Muhammad’s judgment?” He replied, “Yes.” [They asked, “What will he do with us if we surrender?”] (1) He then gestured with his hand toward his throat, indicating slaughter. Abu Lubaba said, “By Allah, my feet had not yet moved before I realized that I had betrayed Allah and His Messenger.”

Abu Lubaba then set off at once. ⦗80/a⦘ He did not go to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, but instead tied himself to one of the pillars of the mosque and said, “I shall not leave this place until Allah accepts my repentance for what I have done.” He made a covenant with Allah that he would never again set foot in the land of Banu Qurayzah, and that Allah would never see him in a town in which he had betrayed Allah and His Messenger.

When news of him reached the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his return was delayed, (2) he said, “Had he come to me, I would have sought forgiveness for him. But since he has done what he has done, I will not be the one to release him from his place until Allah accepts his repentance.”

Then Allah Most High revealed to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that He had accepted Abu Lubaba’s repentance, while he was in the house of Umm Salamah. Umm Salamah said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, laughing, so I said, ‘What has made you laugh, O Messenger of

(1) The text enclosed in parentheses is omitted in manuscript A. (2) Added from manuscript B.

وَلَا عَنَّفَهُمْ بِهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ، قَالَ وَحَاصَرَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ خَمْسًا وَعِشْرِينَ لَيْلَةً حَتَّى جَهَدَهُمُ الْحِصَارُ، وَقَذَفَ اللَّهُ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الرُّعْبَ. وَكَانَ حُيَيُّ بْنُ أَخْطَبَ دَخَلَ عَلَى بَنِي قُرَيْظَةَ فِي حِصْنِهِمْ حِينَ رَجَعَتْ عَنْهُمْ قُرَيْشٌ وَغَطَفَانُ وَفَاءً لِكَعْبِ بْنِ أَسَدٍ بِمَا كَانَ عَاهَدَهُ. فَلَمَّا أَيْقَنُوا أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ غَيْرُ مُنْصَرِفٍ عَنْهُمْ حَتَّى يُنَاجِزَهُمْ، قَالَ كَعْبُ بْنُ أَسَدٍ: يَا مَعْشَرَ يَهُودَ إِنَّهُ قَدْ نَزَلَ بِكُمْ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ مَا تَرَوْنَ وَإِنِّي عَارِضٌ عَلَيْكُمْ خِلَالًا ثَلَاثًا فَخُذُوا أَيَّهَا شِئْتُمْ، قَالُوا: وَمَا هُنَّ؟ قَالَ: نُتَابِعُ هَذَا الرَّجُلَ وَنُصَدِّقُهُ فَوَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ تَبَيَّنَ لَكُمْ أَنَّهُ نَبِيٌّ مُرْسَلٌ وَأَنَّهُ الَّذِي تَجِدُونَهُ فِي كِتَابِكُمْ، فَتَأْمَنُوا عَلَى دِيَارِكُمْ وَأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَبْنَائِكُمْ وَنِسَائِكُمْ، قَالُوا: لَا نُفَارِقُ حُكْمَ التَّوْرَاةِ أَبَدًا وَلَا نَسْتَبْدِلُ بِهِ غَيْرَهُ، قَالَ: فَإِذَا أَبَيْتُمْ هَذِهِ فَهَلُمَّ فَلْنَقْتُلْ أَبْنَاءَنَا وَنِسَاءَنَا ثُمَّ نَخْرُجْ إِلَى مُحَمَّدٍ رِجَالًا مُصَلَتِينَ بِالسُّيُوفِ وَلَمْ نَتْرُكْ وَرَاءَنَا ثِقَلًا يُهِمُّنَا حَتَّى يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ، فَإِنْ نَهْلَكْ نَهْلَكْ وَلَمْ نَتْرُكْ وَرَاءَنَا شَيْئًا نَخْشَى عَلَيْهِ، وَإِنْ نَظْهَرْ فَلَعَمْرِي لَنَتَّخِذَنَّ النِّسَاءَ وَالْأَبْنَاءَ، فَقَالُوا: نَقْتُلُ هَؤُلَاءِ الْمَسَاكِينَ فَمَا خَيْرٌ فِي الْعَيْشِ بَعْدَهُمْ؟ قَالَ: فَإِنْ أَبَيْتُمْ هَذِهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّيْلَةَ لَيْلَةُ السَّبْتِ وَإِنَّهُ عَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ مُحَمَّدٌ وَأَصْحَابُهُ قَدْ أَمِنُوا فِيهَا فَانْزِلُوا لَعَلَّنَا أَنَّ نَصِيبَ مِنْ مُحَمَّدٍ وَأَصْحَابِهِ غِرَّةً. قَالُوا: أَنُفْسِدُ سَبْتَنَا وَنُحَدِثُ فِيهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ أَحْدَثَ فِيهِ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَنَا؟ أَمَّا من قد عملت فَأَصَابَهُمْ مِنَ الْمَسْخِ مَا لَمْ يَخْفَ عَلَيْكَ؟ فَقَالَ: مَا بَاتَ رَجُلٌ مِنْكُمْ مُنْذُ وَلَدَتْهُ أُمُّهُ لَيْلَةً وَاحِدَةً فِي الدَّهْرِ حَازِمًا؟ قَالَ ثُمَّ إِنَّهُمْ بَعَثُوا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ أَنِ ابْعَثْ إِلَيْنَا أَبَا لُبَابَةَ بْنَ عَبْدِ الْمُنْذِرِ أَخَا بَنِي عَمْرِو بْنِ عَوْفٍ، وَكَانُوا حُلَفَاءَ الْأَوْسِ نَسْتَشِيرُهُ فِي أَمْرِنَا فَأَرْسَلَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِلَيْهِمْ، فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهُ قَامَ إِلَيْهِ الرِّجَالُ وَهَشَّ إِلَيْهِ النِّسَاءُ وَالصِّبْيَانُ يَبْكُونَ فِي وَجْهِهِ فَرَقَّ لَهُمْ، فَقَالُوا: يَا أَبَا لُبَابَةَ أَتَرَى أَنْ نَنْزِلَ عَلَى حُكْمِ مُحَمَّدٍ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، [قَالُوا: مَاذَا يَفْعَلُ بِنَا إِذَا نَزَلْنَا] (١) ؟ فَأَشَارَ بِيَدِهِ إِلَى حَلْقِهِ أَنَّهُ الذَّبْحُ، قَالَ أَبُو لُبَابَةَ: فَوَاللَّهِ مَا زَالَتْ قَدَمَايَ حَتَّى عَرَفْتُ أَنِّي قَدْ خُنْتُ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ، ثُمَّ انْطَلَقَ أَبُو لُبَابَةَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ ولم يأت ٨٠/أرَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ حَتَّى ارْتَبَطَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ إِلَى عَمُودٍ مِنْ عَمَدِهِ، وَقَالَ: لَا أَبْرَحُ مَكَانِي حَتَّى يَتُوبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيَّ مِمَّا صَنَعْتُ، وَعَاهَدَ اللَّهَ أَنْ لَا يَطَأَ أَرْضَ بَنِي قُرَيْظَةَ أَبَدًا، وَلَا يَرَانِي اللَّهُ فِي بَلَدٍ خُنْتُ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فِيهِ أَبَدًا، فَلَمَّا بَلَغَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ خَبَرُهُ وَأَبْطَأَ عَلَيْهِ (٢) قَالَ: أَمَا لَوْ جَاءَنِي لَاسْتَغْفَرْتُ لَهُ، فَأَمَّا إِذَا فَعَلَ مَا فَعَلَ فَمَا أَنَا بِالَّذِي أُطْلِقُهُ مِنْ مَكَانِهِ حَتَّى يَتُوبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَنْزَلَ تَوْبَةَ أَبِي لُبَابَةَ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَهُوَ فِي بَيْتِ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ، قَالَتْ أُمُّ سَلَمَةَ فَسَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَضْحَكُ فَقُلْتُ مِمَّا تَضْحَكُ يَا رَسُولَ

(١) ما بين القوسين ساقط من "أ". (٢) زيادة من "ب".