Allah? May Allah keep you smiling?” He replied, “Abu Lubaba’s repentance has been accepted.” I said, “Shall I not give him this glad news, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “Yes, if you wish.”
She then stood at the door of her chamber—this was before the command of veiling had been imposed upon them—and called out, “O Abu Lubaba, rejoice! Allah has accepted your repentance.” The people rushed toward him to release him, but he said, “No, by Allah. The Messenger of Allah himself must release me with his own hand.” When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed by him on his way out for the dawn prayer, he released him.
He then said: Thalabah ibn Shubah, Usayd ibn Shubah, and Usayd ibn Ubayd—men from Banu Hudhayl, neither of Banu Qurayzah nor Banu Nadir, though they were related to those people as paternal cousins—embraced Islam on the night when Banu Qurayzah submitted to the judgment of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
That same night, Amr ibn Sadah al-Qurazi departed. He passed by the guard of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded that night by Muhammad ibn Maslamah al-Ansari. When Muhammad saw him, he asked, “Who is this?” He replied, “Amr ibn Sadah.” Amr had refused to join Banu Qurayzah in their treachery against the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying, “I shall never betray Muhammad.” When Muhammad ibn Maslamah recognized him, he said, “O Allah, do not deprive me of the fortunate lapses of noble men,” and let him go.
Amr went on his way until he spent that night in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in Madinah. He then departed, and no one knew to which part of Allah’s earth he had gone. His case was mentioned to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he said, “That was a man whom Allah saved because of his faithfulness.” (1)
Some people claim that he had been bound with a rope among those of Banu Qurayzah who were bound when they submitted to the judgment of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. By morning, his rope was found cast aside, and no one knew where he had gone. They say that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made this statement about him on that occasion. Allah knows best.
When morning came, they submitted to the judgment of the Messenger of Allah. The Aws rose up and said, “O Messenger of Allah, they are our allies, rather than the allies of the Khazraj; and yesterday you did with the allies of the Khazraj what you already know.” Before Banu Qurayzah, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had besieged Banu Qaynuqa, who were allies of the Khazraj. They submitted to his judgment, and Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul asked him to spare them, so he granted them to him.
When the Aws spoke to him, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Will you not be pleased, O assembly of Aws, that a man from among you should judge concerning them?” They said, “Indeed.” He said, “Then that matter belongs to Sad ibn Muadh.”
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had placed Sad ibn Muadh in the tent of a Muslim woman named Rufaydah, in his mosque. She treated the wounded and devoted herself, seeking Allah’s reward, to serving any Muslim in need. When Sad was struck by an arrow during the Battle of the Trench, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had said to his people, “Place him in Rufaydah’s tent, so that I may visit him from nearby.”
When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, appointed him to judge concerning Banu Qurayzah, his people came to him and carried him on a donkey, having placed a leather cushion beneath him. He was a large man. They proceeded with him to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying, “O Abu Amr, deal kindly with your allies. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, appointed you over this matter only so that you would deal kindly with them.” When they persisted, he said, “The time has come for Sad not to be deterred, in the cause of Allah, by the blame of any blamer.”
Some of those of his people who had been with him returned to the dwellings of Banu al-Ashhal and announced to them the fate of the men of Banu Qurayzah, based on the words they had heard from him, before Sad ibn Muadh himself reached them.
When Sad reached the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, he said, “Rise for your leader and help him down.” They went to him and said, “O Abu Amr, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, has entrusted your allies to you, that you may judge concerning them.” Sad said, “Do you give Allah’s covenant and solemn pledge that my judgment concerning them shall be carried out?” They said, “Yes.” He said, “And does this also bind those who are here on this side”—where the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was—while he turned away from the Messenger of Allah out of reverence for him? (2) The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Yes.”
Sad said, “Then I rule that the men be executed, the property divided, and the children and women taken captive.” The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to Sad, “You have judged concerning them by the judgment of Allah from above the seven heavens.” (3)
They were then brought down, and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, confined them in the house of the daughter of al-Harith, a woman of Banu al-Najjar. He then went out to the marketplace of Madinah—the marketplace that remains there today—and had trenches dug there. He sent for them, and their necks were struck in those trenches, as they were brought out to him in groups. Among them were Huyayy ibn Akhtab, the enemy of Allah, and Kab ibn Asad, the leader of the people. They numbered six or seven hundred; those who give the larger estimate say that they were between eight and nine hundred.
As they were being taken to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in groups, they said to Kab ibn Asad, “O Kab, what do you think he is going to do with us?” Kab replied, “Do you not understand in every situation? Do you not see that the caller does not cease, and that whoever among you is taken away does not return? By Allah, it is execution.” This continued until the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had finished with them.
Then Huyayy ibn Akhtab, the enemy of Allah, came forward wearing an apple-colored robe which he had torn into pieces all over, each no larger than a fingertip, lest it be stripped from him intact. His hands were tied to his neck with a rope. When he looked upon the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, he said, “By Allah, I do not blame myself for having been your enemy; but whoever forsakes Allah will be forsaken.” Then he turned to the people and said, “People, there is no avoiding Allah’s decree: it is a written ordinance, a destiny, and a slaughter decreed for the Children of Israel.” He then sat down, and his neck was struck.
Urwah ibn al-Zubayr narrated from Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that she said: “Only one woman from Banu Qurayzah was executed. By Allah, she was with me, talking and laughing heartily, while the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was executing their men with the sword, when a caller called her by name: ‘Where is so-and-so?’ She said, ⦗80/b⦘ ‘Here I am, by Allah.’ I said, ‘Woe to you! What is the matter with you?’ She said, ‘I am to be executed.’ I asked, ‘Why?’ She replied, ‘Because of something I did.’” Aishah said: “She was taken away, and her neck was struck.” Aishah would say, “I shall never forget how remarkably cheerful she was and how much she laughed, even though she knew that she would be executed.”
Al-Waqidi said: The name of that woman was Shababah, the wife of al-Hakam al-Qurazi. She had killed Khallad ibn Suwayd by throwing a millstone down upon him. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, summoned her, and her neck was struck in retaliation for Khallad ibn Suwayd. (4) He said: Ali and al-Zubayr were striking the necks of Banu Qurayzah, while the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sat there.