VOL 8.3

i8

The Victory of Islam

[The Messenger of God and the Muslims remained besieged by

their enemy. There was no fighting between them, except that

some horsemen of Quraysh — among them were ‘Amr b. 'Abd

Wudd b. Abi Qays (a member of the Banu 'Amir b. Lu’ayy),

'Ikrimah b. Abi Jahl and Hubayrah b. Abi Wahb (both from

Makhzum), Nawfal b. 'Abdallah, and Dirar b. al-Khaftab b. Mirda member of the Banu Muharib b. Fihr) clad themselves for battle. 90 They rode

out on their horses and passed by the Banu

Kinanah and said: "Get ready for warfare, Banu Kinanah. Today

you shall know who are the real horsemen." Then they advanced

toward the trench and halted by it. When they saw it, they said,

"By God, this is a stratagem that the Arabs have never employed."

They headed to a place where the trench was narrow and struck

their horses, so that they rushed through it and carried them

round onto the marshy ground between the trench and Sal'. 'Ali b.

Abi Talib went out with a band of Muslims and blocked the gap

through which they had driven their horses. The horsemen rode at

a fast pace toward them. 'Amr b. 'Abd Wudd had fought at the

Battle of Badr 91 until he was immobilized by wounds, and therefore

he had not been present at Uhud. When the Battle of the

Trench took place, he went forth wearing a mark, so that his

position would be visible. When he and his horsemen drew to a

halt, 92 'Ali said to him, "'Amr, you used to swear to God that if a

man of Quraysh ever summoned you to one of two alternatives,

you would accept one of them from him." "Yes," he replied. 'Ali b.

Abi Talib said, "I summon you to God, to His Messenger, and to

Islam." He replied, "I have no need of this." So 'Ali said, "Then I

summon you to fight." 'Amr said: "Why, O son of my brother? By

God, I do not want to kill you." ‘Ali said, "But I, by God, want to

kill you." 'Amr then became very angry. He jumped from his

90. Parallel with many more details: W, 470-72.

91. At the Battle of Badr in 2/642, a Muslim force from Medina defeated a large

Meccan force; see al-Tabari* I* 1282-338.

92. IH, III, 225, adds: "He said, 'Who will come out for single combat?' 'Ali b. Abi

Talib came out to him."

The Events of the Year 5

19

horse, hamstrung it 93 (or he struck it on its face), and advanced

toward 'Ali. The two fought in single combat With each other, and

’Ali killed 'Amr. His horsemen went away in a rout and rushed

through the trench in flight. Two men werej killed along with

‘Amr: Munabbih b. 'Uthman b. 'Ubayd b. al-Sabbaq b. 'Abd al-Dar

(he was hit by an arrow and died of it in Mecca) and Nawfal b.

’Abdallah b. al-Mughirah of the Banu Makhzum. Nawfal plunged

into the trench and became trapped in it. They pelted him with

stones. He said, "People of the Arabs, a slaying better than this!"

So ’Ali went down and killed him. The Muslims took his body.

They asked the Messenger of God to sell them his body. The

Messenger of God said: "We have no need for his body or its price.

Do with it as you like." So he left them to do as they pleased with

it.

According to Ibn Humayd — Salamah — Muhammad b. Ishaq —

Abu Layla 'Abdallah b. Sahl b. 'Abd al-Rahman b. Sahl al-An$ari 94

(a member of the Banu Harithah): At the time of the Battle of the

Trench, 'A’ishah, the Mother of the Faithful, 95 was in the fortress

of the Banu Harithah, one of Medina's strongest fortresses, and the

mother of Sa'd b. Mu'adh was there with her.

According to 'A’ishah: That was before the curtain 96 was imposed on us. Sa'd [b. Mu'adh] passed by wearing a coat of mail

93. A horse was hamstrung when its rider resolved not fa attempt escape but to

fight to the death,

94. His exact dates are unknown. His name is also given as Abu Layla b. ’Abdal-

lah b. ’Abd al-Rahman b. Sahl al-An?ari, and he is said to have been a reliable

transmitter. See Ibn Hajar, Tahdhlb, XII, a is.

95. On the title "Mother of the Faithful" conferred on Muhammad's wives, see

Watt, Muhammad at Medina, 286-87.

96. Arabic: hijab, "anything that veils, conceals, hides, covers, or protects"

(Lane, Lexicon, II, 516). Originally, the word designated the curtain that was set up in Muhammad's house to separate his wives from the view of unrelated male

visitors; in later usage it was applied to a veil or article of cjlothing concealing any Muslim woman's features and thereby protecting her frofa the desire of men. The institution of such a curtain in Muhammad's house is usually dated to this year, a.h. 5, and sometimes connected with the behavior of certain guests at the wedding of the Prophet and Zaynab bt. Jahsh. Qur’an 33:53 enunciates the injunction:

"O believers, enter not the houses of the Prophet, except leave is given you for a

meal, without watching for its hour. But when you are invited, then enter; and

when you have had the meal, disperse, neither lingering for idle talk; that is hurtful to the Prophet, and he is ashamed before you; but God is ijiot ashamed before the truth. And when you ask his wives for any object, ask thefa from behind a curtain (bi/ab); that is cleaner for your hearts and theirs." 'A’ishah's account of the so- called "Affair of the Lie" in a.h. 6 jp. 59, below) implies that by that date seclusion of the Prophet's wives was in force. On the development of regulations concerning the modest behavior expected from Muhammad's wives, see Watt, Muhammad at Medina, 284-871 El 2 , s.v. Hidjab, and Stowasser, Women in the Qur'an, Traditions, and Interpretation, 90-94, 127-31.

20

The Victory of Islam

tucked up so that his entire forearm was exposed, with his lance in

his hand. He was running about with it and reciting:

Wait a little, and liamal shall be present at the fray:

There is no harm in death when one's time is come. 97

His mother said to him, "Hurry up, son; by God, you are late!"

According to 'A’ishah: I said to her, "Umm Sa'd, 98 I wish

Sa'd's coat of mail were ampler than it is." I feared for him where

the arrow struck him. Sa'd b. Mu'adh was shot with an arrow, and

the median vein of his arm was cut.

According to Ibn IJumayd— - Salamah — Muhammad b. Ishaq —

'A?im b. ‘Umar b. Qatadah: The arrow was shot by Hibban b. Qays

b. al-'Ariqah (one of the Banu ‘Amir b. Lu’ayy). When he hit Sa'd,

Hibban said: "Take that! I am Ibn al-'Ariqah." Sa'd replied: "God

make your face sweat 99 in hellfire! O God, if Thou hast saved any

portion of the warfare with Quraysh, save me for it; for there are

no men against whom I would rather strive than men who hurt

Thy Messenger, called him a liar, and cast him out. O God, if Thou

hast set warfare between us and them, grant me martyrdom, and

do not let me die until Thou make my eye see its desire upon the

Banu Qurayzah."

According to Sufyan b. Waki' 100 — Muhammad b. Bishr 101 —

Muhammad b. 'Amr 102 — his father ['Amr b. 'Alqamah] 103 —

97. The verse was proverbial. Commentators give various identifications for

Hamal (whose name sometimes appears as Jamal).

98. I.e., "Mother [umm] of Sa'd," using the form of address (kunyah) that names

a person after his or her first son.

99. 'Arraqa ("make sweat") is a pun on the name al-'Ariqah.

100. Sufyan b. Waki* b. al-Jarr 3 h al-Kufi died in 147/861, see Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, IV, 113-24.

101. Muhammad b. Bishr b. al-Farafi?ah b. al-MukhtSr, a KGfan scholar, died in

203/818. See Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, IX, 73 - 74 -

102. Muhammad b. 'Amr b. 'Alqamah b. Waqqa? al-Laythi died in 144/761-62

or 145/762-63. See Ibn IJajar, Tahdhib, IX, 375-77.

103. For 'Amr b. 'Alqamah b. Waqqa? al-Laythi of Medina (exact dates not

known), see Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, VIII, 79-80.

The Events of the Year 5 21

'Alqamah 104 — 'A’ishah, who said: I went out at the time of the

Battle of the Trench following the footsteps of the people. Suddenly,

as I was walking, I heard footsteps on the ground behind

me. Turning around, I saw Sa'd; so I sat down on the ground. With

him, carrying his shield, was his brother's son, al-Harith b. Aws

(who, according to Muhammad b. 'Amr, had been present at Badr

with the Messenger of God). Sa'd was wearing an iron coat of mail,

but the extremities of his limbs stuck out of it — he was one of the

biggest and tallest of men. I feared for Sa'd's limbs. He passed by

me reciting: 105

Wait a little, and YLamal shall reach the fray:

How fair is death when one's time is come!

After he passed me I stood up and hurried into a walled garden

where there were a group of Muslims. Among them were 'Umar b.

al-Khatfab and a man wearing his tasbighah (according to

Muhammad [b. Hisham], a tasbighah is a mighfar 106 ), so that only

his eyes could be seen. 'Umar said: "You are very brave! Why have

you come? How can you tell? — perhaps there may be a retreat or

trouble." By God, he kept scolding me until I wished the earth

would split open for me to enter it. Then the man threw back the

tasbighah and revealed his face. It was Talftah , 107 and he said [to

‘Umar]: "You have talked too much! What flight and what retreat,

except to God? " Sa'd b. Mu'adh was shot with an arrow that day by

a man named Ibn al-'Ariqah, who said: "Take that! I am Ibn

al-'Ariqah." Sa'd said, "God make your face sweat in hellfire! 108

He had hit his median vein and cut it. (According to Muhammad

b. 'Amr: Some have said that whenever a person's median vein is

cut, it keeps oozing blood until the person dies.) Sa'd said, "O God,

do not let me die until Thou make my eye see its desire upon the

Banu Qurayzah" — in the Time of Ignorance 109 they had been his

confederates and clients.

104. Ed. Cairo, index, identifies him as 'Alqamah b. Qays al-Nakha’I. He was

supposedly ninety years old when he died sometime between 61/680 and 63/683. See Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, 276-78. However, the rest of the isnad points to 'Alqamah b. Waqqa? al-Laythl. See note 133, below.

105 . Literally, "reciting verse in rajaz meter."

106. I.e., "a portion of the mail of the coat of mail, that is conjoined to the

helmet, and protects the neck" — Lane, Lexicon, IV, 1299.

107. For a biography of Talhah b. 'Ubaydallah, a member of the Quraysh clan of

Banu Taym b. Murrah, who accompanied Muhammad on the Hijrah and

distinguished himself at the Battle of Uhud, see El 1 , s.v. Talha. The incident reveals Jalhah's coolness toward 'Umar and his closeness to 'A’ishah, elements that would be important in his subsequent career.

108. See note 99, above.

[14781

[ 1479 ]

22

The Victory of Islam

According to Ibn Humayd — Salamah — Muhammad b. Ishaq —

someone not to be doubted — 'Ubaydallah b. Ka'b b. Malik, who

used to say: No one hit Sa'd with an arrow that day but Abu

Usamah al-Jushaml, a confederate of the Banu Makhzum. God

knows best what actually happened.

According to Ibn Humayd — Salamah — Muhammad b. Ishaq —

Yahya b. 'Abbad b. ’Abdallah b. al-Zubayr 110 — his father, 'Abbad,

who said: 111 $afiyyah 112 bt. 'Abd al-Muftalib was in Fari', the

fortress of Hassan b. Thabit. 113

According to §afiyyah, who said: Hassan was with us there with

the women and children. A man from the Jews passed by us and

began to circle the fortress. The Banu Quray?ah had gone to war

and had broken their pact with the Messenger of God. There was

no one between us and them to defend us — the Messenger of God

and the Muslims, being face to face with the enemy, could not

leave them to come back to us when anyone came at us. So I said:

[1480] "Hassan, this Jew, as you see, is circling the fortress. By God, I fear

he will point out our exposed places to the Jews who are to our rear

while the Messenger of God and his companions are too busy to

attend to us. So go down to him and kill him." He replied: "God

forgive you, daughter of 'Abd al-Mut^alib! You know I am not the

man to do it." When he said that to me and I saw that nothing

could be expected from him, I girded myself, took a club, and,

having gone down from the fortress to the man, I struck him with

the club until I killed him.

109. Arabic, "in the jahiliyyah," the "time of ignorance" before Islam. See El 2 ,

s.v. Djahiliyya.

1 10. Yahya b. 'Abbad b. 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwam is said to have died

at the age of thirty-six, but no exact date is given. See Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, XI, 234-

35 i 1 1. On 'Abbad b. 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwim, see Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib,

V, 98. Parallels: IH, HI, 228 (tr. Guillaume, 458), AghanI, IV, 1 5 |ed. Cairo, IV, 1378).

1 12. Muhammad's paternal aunt; the daughter of 'Abd al-Muttalib's last mar-

riage, she was slightly younger than Muhammad.

1 1 3. Hassan b. Thabit of the tribe of al-Khazraj in Medina was the most promi-

nent of the poets supporting Muhammad. See EP, s.v. Hassin b. Thabit; GAS, II,

289-92.

The Events of the Year 5 23

When I had finished with him, I returned to the fortress and said:

 "Hassan, go down to him and strip him" — only his being a man kept me from stripping him. Hassan replied, " I have no need for his spoils, daughter of 'Abd al-

Muftalib." 114

According to Ibn Ishaq: The Messenger of God and his companions

continued in the fear and distress that God has described [in

the Qur’an], because their enemies had leagued together against

them and had come at them "from above them and below

them." 115 Then Nu'aym b. Mas'ud b. ‘Amir b. Unayf b. Tha'labah

b. Qunfudh b. Hilal b. Khalawah b. Ashja' b. Rayth b. Ghafafan

came to the Messenger of God and said, "I have become a Muslim,

but my tribesmen do not know of my Islam; so command me

whatever you will." The Messenger of God said to him: "You are

only one man among us. Make them abandon [each other], if you

can, so that they leave us; for war is deception."

Nu'aym b. Mas'ud therefore set out and came to the Banu

Quray?ah — he had been their drinking companion in the Time of

Ignorance — and said to them, "Banu Qurayzah, you know my

affection for you and the special tie between myself and you."

"Yes," they said, "you are not a person whom we doubt." He said

to them: "Quraysh and Ghatafan have come to make war on

Muhammad, and you have backed them against him. The position

of Quraysh and Ghatafan is not like yours. The land is your land.

Your wealth, your children, and your women are in it; you cannot

move from it to another. The wealth, children, women, and land

of Quraysh and Ghatafan are elsewhere; so they are not in a position

like yours. If they see an opportunity and booty, they will

take it; if it turns out otherwise, they will return to their lands and

leave you exposed to this man in your land, and you will have no

strength to deal with him if he is left to deal with you alone. So do

not fight on the side of the men [of Quraysh and Ghatafan], until

you take from them hostages from their nobles, to be in your

hands as surety for you that they will fight Muhammad with you

until you have fought it out with him." They said, "You have

given good counsel and advice."

1 14. The editor of ed. Cairo adds the following note: "According to al-Suhayli,

people infer from this tradition that Hassan was very cowardly. One scholar

disputes this and denies it on the ground that the tradition has a broken chain of

transmission. He says that if it were true, Hassan would have been mocked for it:

for he used to compose satirical verses against such poets as I?irar and Ibn al-

Ziba'rd, and they would engage in polemics and reply to him? yet no one ever

berated him for cowardice or branded him a coward. This indicates the weakness of Ibn Ishaq's tradition. If the tradition is true, perhaps he was sick that day with an illness that prevented him from being present at the fighting."

115. See note 85, above.

24

The Victory of Islam

Nu'aym then set out and came to Quraysh. He said to Abu

Sufyan b. Harb and the men of Quraysh who were with him:

"People of Quraysh, you know my affection for you and how I

have separated from Muhammad. Word has come to me of some*

thing that I consider it my duty to pass on to you as a matter of

sincere advice; but keep to yourselves what I say." "We will," they

said. "Then know," he said, "that the Jews have regretted what

they did regarding relations between them and Muhammad. They

have sent to him, saying: 'We regret what we have done. Will you

be satisfied with us if we take nobles from the tribes of Quraysh

and Ghatafan and give them to you, so that you can behead them?

Then we will be on your side against any of them that remain/ He

has sent them word saying yes. So if the Jews send to you asking

for hostages from your men, do not give them a single one of your

men."

Then Nu'aym set out and came to Ghatafan. He said: "People of

Ghatafan, you are my stock and my kin, the dearest of people to

me. I think you have no doubts about me." "Truly spoken," they

said. He said, "Keep to yourselves what I say." "We will," they

said. Then he spoke to them as he had spoken to Quraysh, warning

them as he had warned Quraysh.

Thus, on a Sabbath eve in the month of Shawwal of the year 5,

by the favor of God toward His Messenger, Abu Sufyan and the

chiefs of Ghatafan sent to the Banu Qurayzah 'Ikrimah b. Abl Jahl

with a group of men from Quraysh and Ghatafan. They said to the

Banu Quray?ah: "We are not in a place where one can stay. Our

camels and horses have perished. Come out to do battle tomorrow

morning, so that we can fight it out with Muhammad and finish

matters between us and him." The Banu Quray?ah sent back word

to Quraysh, saying: "Today is the Sabbath, a day on which we do

no labor. One of us violated it once, and you know what befell

The Events of the Year 5 25

him. 1 16 Moreover, we will not fight on your side until you give us

some of your men as hostages to be in our hands as surety to us

until we fight it out with Muhammad; for we fear that if the

warfare tests your mettle and the fighting becomes difficult for

you, you will hurry back to your lands, leaving us with the man in

our land, and then we shall have no strength to deal with

Muhammad."

When the messengers brought back to them what the Banu

Qurayzah had said, Quraysh and Ghafafan said, "You know, by

God, that what Nu'aym b. Mas'ud told you is indeed true." So they

sent to the Banu Qurayzah, saying: "By God, we will not give you

a single one of our men. If you want to fight, come out and fight."

When the messengers reached them with this message, the Banu

Qurayzah said [to each other]: "What Nu’aym b. Mas’ud told you

is indeed true! The men [of Quraysh and Ghafafan] only want to

fight. If they find an opportunity, they will take it; if not, they will

hurry back to their lands and leave you exposed to this man in

your lands." So they sent to Quraysh and Ghafafan, saying, "By

God, we will not fight on your side until you give us hostages."

Quraysh and Ghafafan refused. God caused them to abandon each

other. Then God sent against them in the bitter cold winter nights

a wind that began overturning their cooking pots and blowing

away their tents. When word of their disagreement and how God

had disrupted their unity reached the Messenger of God, he called

Hudhayfah b. al-Yaman and sent him to them by night to see what

the enemy was doing.

According to Ibn Humayd — Salamah — Muhammad b. Ishaq—

Yazid b. Ziyad 117 — Muhammad b. Ka’b al-Qurazi, who said: A

young man of al-Kufah 118 asked Hudhayfah b. al-Yaman, "Abu

116 . See note 117, below.

1 17. Yazid b. Ziyad (dates unknown; the name is also given as Yazid b. Abi

Ziyad, or Yazid b. .Ziyad b. Abi Ziyad) of Medina was a mawla of 'Abdallah b.

'Ayyash b. Abi Rabl'ah al-Makhzumi. See Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, XI, 328.

1 18. The Muslim garrison city of al-Kufah was founded ca. 17/638 in the caliphate of 'Umar on the Euphrates near the older city of al-Hirah; see EP, s.v. This report portrays hudhayfah as being asked many years later, after the conquest of Iraq and the settlement of al-Kufah, by a young Kfifan \fat& implies a man who has recently reached military age) to recall the events of the battle.

26

The Victory of Islam

'Abdallah, 119 you saw the Messenger of God and accompanied

him?" "Yes, nephew," he replied. The young man asked, "How

did things go with you?" "By God we toiled!" said Hudhayfah.

The young man said, "By God, had we lived in his time, we would

not have left him to walk on the ground; we would have carried

him on our necks." Hudhayfah said: "Nephew, by God, I can see

us with the Messenger of God at the trench. He prayed part of the

night, then turned to us and said, 'Who is a man who will go up

and see for us how the enemy is doing?' — the Messenger of God

stipulated for him that he should come back — 'and God shall

cause him to enter paradise/ 120 Not a man stood up. Again the

Messenger of God prayed part of the night and turned to us and

said the same words, but not one of us stood up. Again the Messenger

of God prayed part of the night and turned to us and said,

'Who is a man who will go up and see for us how the enemy is

doing and then come back?' — the Messenger of God stipulated

[1484] that he should return — 'and I will ask God that he may be my

companion in paradise/ But none of the men stood up, so intense

were the fear, the hunger, and the cold. When no one stood up, the

Messenger of God called me. I had no choice but to stand up when

he called me. He said, 'Hudhayfah, go and enter among the enemy,

and see what they are doing; make no disturbance, and come back

to us/

"So I went and entered among the enemy. The wind and God's

hosts 121 were taking their toll on them, allowing not a cooking

pot, fire, or tent of theirs to stay put. Abu Sufyan b. Harb stood up

and said, 'People of Quraysh, let every man see who is sitting next

to him/ So I took hold of the hand of the man who was beside me. 1

asked who he was, and he gave his name. Then Abu Sufyan said:

'People of Quraysh, by God you are not in a place where one can

stay. Horses and camels have perished. The Banu Quray?ah have

1 19. Abu 'Abdallah is Jdudhayfah's kunyah (nickname). Since the verbs in the

question are in the second person plural, the young man must have meant something like, "Did you and the people of your generation see the Messenger of God?"

120. I.e., he would be assured of paradise even though he had not died a martyr's

death.

121. God's hosts {junud Allah ) apparently refers to angels (so according to al-

Tabari, Jami' al-bayan, XXII, 81 ). Cf. Qur'an 33:9, "O you who believe! Remember

God's favor to you when there came against you hosts, and We sent against them a great wind and hosts [junudan] you could not see."

The Events of the Year 5

*7

broken their promise to us. Words hateful to us have come to us

from them, and you can see what we have suffered from this wind.

By God, no pot of ours stays put, no fire of ours keeps burning, and

no tent of ours holds together. So saddle up, for I am leaving!' Then

he went over to his camel, which was hobbled, seated himself on

it, and struck it. It jumped up with him, standing on three legs, for

its hobble was untied only after it stood up. Had it not been for the

injunction of the Messenger of God to me that I should not cause

any disturbance until I came to him — and I wanted to — I would

have killed him with an arrow."

Hudhayfah continued: "I went back to the Messenger of God.

He was standing, praying in a woolen wrapper woven with a

camel-saddle pattern that belonged to one of his wives. When he

saw me, he sat me at his feet and threw the edge of the wrapper

over me. Then he bowed down and prostrated himself, but I

disturbed him. After he pronounced a greeting, 122 I told him the

news. Ghafafan heard what Quraysh had done, and they hastened

back to their lands."

According to Ibn yumayd — Salamah — Muhammad b. Ishaq,

who said: The next morning, the Prophet of God left the trench

and went back to Medina with the Muslims, and they laid down

their weapons.

The Expedition against the Banu Qurayzah 123

According to Ibn Humayd — Salamah — Muhammad b. Ishaq — Ibn

Shihab al-Zuhri: At noontime Gabriel, 124 wearing a cloth-of-gold

turban, came to the Messenger of God on a mule with a brocadecovered

saddle. He said, "Have you laid down your arms, Messenger

of God?" "Yes," he replied. Gabriel said: "The angels have

not laid down their arms! I have just returned from pursuing the

enemy. God commands you, Muhammad, to march to the Banu

Qurayzah. I, too, will betake myself to the Banu Qurayzah." 1 25

122. I.e., either after he pronounced the salutation to the guardian angels with

which Islamic prayers end or after he greeted Hudhayfah.

123. Parallels: IH, in, 233-54 (tr. Guillaume, 461-69)1 W, D, 496-531.

124. Gabriel (Jibril) was the angel who brought revelations to Muhammad (cf.

Qur’an 2:97). See El 2 , s.v. Djabrall.

125. IH, in, 233, and W, II, 497, add "and will shake them."

28

The Victory of Islam

The Messenger of God commanded a crier to announce to the

people that whoever would heed and obey should not pray the

afternoon prayer until they were in (the territory of] die Banu

Quray?ah. The Messenger of God sent ‘Ali b. Abi Thalib ahead with

his banner to the Banu Qurayzah, and the people hastened to it.

’Ali b. Abi Talib marched and, having approached the fortresses,

heard foul words from them about the Messenger of God. He went

back and met the Messenger of God on the way and said, "Messenger

of God, it would be better for you not to go near these most

wicked men." "Why?" he asked, "I think you have heard them

insult me." He said, "Yes, Messenger of God." He said, 126 "If they

had seen me, they would not have said anything of the sort."

When the Messenger of God had approached their fortresses, he

said: "You brothers of apes! 127 Has God shamed you and sent

down his retribution on you?" They said, "Abu al-Qasim, 128 you

have never been one to act impetuously." 129

Before reaching the Banu Qurayzah, the Messenger of God

passed his companions at al-§awran. 130 "Has anyone passed you?"

he asked. "Yes, Messenger of God," they replied. "Dihyah b.

Khalifah al-Kalbl 131 passed us on a white mule with a brocadecovered

saddle." The Messenger of God said, "That was Gabriel,

sent to the Banu Qurayzah to shake their fortresses and cast terror

into their hearts."

When the Messenger of God came to the Banu Quray?ah, he

halted at one of their wells in a part of their territory called Bi’r

126. Ed. Cairo omits "He said," making the next sentence a continuation of

'Ali's words.

127. The Qur’an contains references to how God punished a group of Jews who

violated the Sabbath by changing them into apes; cf. Qur’ 5 n 2:65, 5:60, and 7:166. See pp. 24, above, and 30, below, where the Jews themselves allude to the legend.

128. Abu al-Qasim (father of al-Qasim) was Muhammad's kunyah (a familiar

name usually derived from the name of the bearer's first male child).

129. Arabic: ma kunta jahulan. On the meanings of the root j-h- 1 , which in-

cludes both the ideas of ignorance and of violent, blind, or impulsive action, see

Goldziher, Muslim Studies, I, 201-8; and Blachfere et al., Dictiormaire axabe-

franoais-anglais, I, 1845-46.

1 3 0. According to al-SamhQdi, Khuldfat al-waftf, 575-7*5, the place was located

at the farther end of al-Baqf , alongside the road to the Band Qurayzah.

13 1. Dihyah b. Khalifah al-Kalbl was traditionally represented as a rich mer-

chant of such beauty that the Angel Gabriel assumed his features. When he arrived in Medina, all the women were said to have come out to see him. See El 2 , s.v. Dihya.

The Events of the Year 5

29

Anna, 132 and the men joined up with him. Some men came to him

after the last evening prayer. They had not prayed the afternoon

prayer because of what the Messenger of God had said— that no

one should pray the afternoon prayer until in [the territory of] the

Banu Qurayzah because of the warfare against them that was incumbent

on them. They refused to pray because the Prophet had

said "until they reach the Banu Qurayzah"; so they prayed the

afternoon prayer there after the last evening prayer. God did not

find fault with them in His Book, nor did the Messenger of God

reprimand them for it. (This report is according to Muhammad b.

Ishaq— his father [Ishaq b. Yasar] 133 — Ma'bad b. Ka'b b. Malik al-

Ansari. 134 )

According to [Sufyan] b. Waki— Muhammad b. Bishr —

Muhammad b. ‘Amr — his father [*Amr b. ‘Alqamah] —

‘Alqamah — ‘A’ishah, who said: The Messenger of God pitched a

round tent over Sa*d in the mosque. 135 He laid down his arms —

that is, when he had come back from [the Battle of] the Trench —

and the Muslims, too, laid down their arms. Then Gabriel came to

him and said: "Have you laid down your arms? By God, the angels

have not yet laid down their arms! Go out to them, and fight

them!" The Messenger of God called for his breastplate and put it

on. Then he went out, and the Muslims went out too. When he

passed by the Banu Ghanm, 136 he said, "Who passed by you?"

They replied, "Dihyah al-Kalbi passed by us." (His demeanor,

beard, and face were likened to Gabriel's.) Then he encamped by

[the Banu Qurayzah]. (Sa‘d was in his tent that the Messenger of

God had pitched over him in the mosque.) He besieged them for a

month or for twenty-five nights. When the siege became too severe

for them, they were told to submit to the judgment of the

Messenger of God. Abu Lubabah b. ‘Abd al-Mundhir gave a sign

that it would mean slaughter. So they said, "We will submit to the

judgment of Sa'd b. Mu’adh." The Messenger of God said, "Submit

to his judgment." So they submitted. The Messenger of God sent

to him a donkey with a saddle padded with palm fiber, and he was

mounted on it.

134. Also vocalized Una.

133. Ishaq b. Yasar, the father of Muhammad b. Ishaq, was a mawla of Qays b.

Makhramah. He was considered a very reliable transmitter. His exact dates are not known. See Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib, I, 257.

134. The brother of 'Ubaydallah b. Ka’b b. Malik al-Ansari. See GAS, I, 276-77.

13 j. To shelter Sa’d b. Mu’adh while he was recuperating from his wound.

136. A clan of the al-Awsj see Watt, Muhammad at Medina, 154.

[1487]

30

The Victory of Islam

According to 'A’ishah: His wound had healed, so that nothing of

it was visible except what looked like a ring.

Resumption of the account of Ibn Ishaq: The Messenger of God

besieged them twenty-five nights, until the siege exhausted them

and God cast terror into their hearts. Huyayy b. Akhfab had entered

among the Banu Qurayzah in their fortress when Quraysh

and Ghatafan had gone back leaving them> this he did in fulfillment

of his compact with Ka'b b. Asad. When they became certain

that the Messenger of God would not depart from them until he

[1488] had fought it out with them, Ka'b b. Asad said to them: "People of

the Jews, you see what has befallen you. I shall propose three

alternatives to you. Take whichever one you will." "What are

they?" they asked. He said: "That we follow 137 this man and believe

him; for, by God, it has become clear to you that he is indeed

a prophet sent (from God] and that it is he whom you used to find

[mentioned] in your book. Then you will be secure in your lives,

your property, your children, and your wives." They said, "We

will never depart from the law of the Torah or exchange it for

another." "Since you reject this proposal of mine," he said, "come

let us kill our children and wives and go out to Muhammad and

his companions as men who brandish swords, leaving behind us

no impediments to worry us, until God judges between us and

Muhammad. If we die, we shall die having left nothing behind us

for which we fear; if we win victory, by my life we shall find

women and children." They said: "Kill these poor ones? What

would be the good of living after them?" He said: "Since you have

rejected these proposals of mine, tonight is the night of the Sabbath.

Perhaps Muhammad and his companions feel themselves

safe in it. Go down; perhaps we can take Muhammad and his

companions by surprise." They said, "Profane our Sabbath and do

on it what none of our predecessors has ever done, except those

you know about — and they were transformed in a way that you

surely know?" He said, "No man among you has ever for a single

night shown sound judgment since his mother bore him!"

137. Variant, "swear allegiance to.'

The Events of the Year 5

3i

Then they sent to the Messenger of God, saying, "Send us Abu

Lubabah b. 'Abd al-Mundhir, one of the Banu 'Amr b. 'Awf " 138 —

they 139 were confederates of al-Aws — "so that we can ask his

advice in this affair." The Messenger of God sent him to them.

When they saw him, the men rose to meet him, and the women

and children rushed to grab hold of him, weeping before him, so

that he felt pity for them. They said to him, "Abu Lubabah, do you

think we should submit to Muhammad's judgment?" "Yes," he

said, but he pointed with his hand to his throat, that it would be

slaughter. (Abu Lubabah [later] said, "By God, as soon as my feet

moved, I knew that I had betrayed God and His Messenger.") Abu

Lubabah rushed away at a loss. Before coming to the Messenger of

God, he tied himself to one of the pillars in the mosque, saying, "I

will not leave this spot until God forgives me for what I have

done." He promised God that he would never set foot on the

territory of the Banu Qurayzah. "Never," he said, "shall God see

me in a land where I betrayed God and His Messenger." When

news of him reached the Messenger of God — Abu Lubabah was

slow in coming to him, and the Messenger of God deemed him

late — he said, "Had he come to me, I would have sought forgiveness

for him; but, since he has done what he did, I cannot release

him from his place, until God forgives him."

According to Ibn Humayd — Salamah b. al-Fa^l — Muhammad b.

Ishaq — Yazid b. 'Abdallah b. Qusay?: 140 The forgiving of Abu

Lubabah was revealed to the Messenger of God while he was in the

apartment of Umm Salamah. 141 Umm Salamah said, "I heard the

Messenger of God laughing at daybreak; so I said, 'Why are you

laughing, Messenger of God? — may God make you laugh heartilyl '

138. ‘Amr b. ’Awf was a clan of al-Aws.

139. I.c., the Banu Qurayzah; on the alliance between the Banu Quray?ah and al-

Aws, see Watt, Muhammad at Medina, 214.

140. Yazid b. ’Abdallah b. Qusayt died in 122/740 at the age of ninety. See Ibn

Hajar, Tahdhib, XI, 342-43.

14 1. Muhammad married Umm Salamah Hind bt. al-Mughirah, whose hus-

band, Abu Salamah, had died of wounds after the Battle of Uhud, in 4/626; see

Poonawala, Last Years, 132, [ 1 , 1771). Muhammad's wives lived in separate apartments of his residence, which was adjacent to the mosque in Medina. He is said to have spent a night with each of them in turn; cf. Watt, Muhammad at Medina, 284, 396.

[1489]

32 The Victory of Islam

142 He replied, 'Abu Lubabah has been forgiven.' I said, 'Shall I

not announce the good news to him?' 'Yes/ he said, 'if you will.' "

So Umm Salamah stood at the door of her chamber (it was before

the curtain was imposed on them) and. said: "Abu Lubabah, rejoice!

God has forgiven you." The people swarmed toward him to

release him, but he said: "No, by God! Not until the Messenger of

God is the one who releases me with his own hand!" And so, when

he went out for the morning prayer, he released him.

According to Ibn Ishaq: Tha'labah b. Sa'yah, 143 Usayd 144 b.

Sa'yah, and Asad b. 'Ubayd— a group of men from the Banu

Hadl, 145 not from the Banu Qurayzah or al-Na#r (their genealogy

was superior to that), but cousins of the men in question — became

Muslims the night that Qurayzah submitted to the judgment of

the Messenger of God. During that night, 'Amr b. Su'da al-Qura?i

went out and passed by the guards of the Messenger of God —

Muhammad b. Maslamah al-An?ari was in charge of them that

night. When the latter saw 'Amr, he said, "Who is it?" "'Amr b.

Su'da," he replied. *Amr had refused to go along with the Banu

Qurayzah in their treachery toward the Messenger of God.

"Never," he had said, "will I act treacherously toward Muhammad."

Having recognized him, Muhammad b. Maslamah said, "O

God, do not deprive me of (forgiveness for) 146 the lapses of the

noble"— and he let him pass. 'Amr went his way and spent that

night in the mosque of the Messenger of God in Medina. Then he

went away, and no one knows to this day into which of God's

lands he went. His story was mentioned to the Messenger of God,

(1491) who said, "He was a man whom God rescued for his loyalty."

142. Adhaka AUahu sinnaka— literally, "may God make your tooth laugh";

i.e., may He make you laugh or smile heartily, so that you reveal your side teeth.

The teeth immediately behind the four eyeteeth were called fawdifik ("laughers") because they became visible in laughter or smiling; see Lisan, IV, 2358.

143. So vocalized by ed. Leiden; perhaps to be vocalized "Sa'iyyah," as by the

editor of W, II, 503.

144. So vocalized by IH and ed. Cairo. Ed. Leiden prefers the vocalization "Asld"

on the basis of al-Dhahabi, Mushtabih, 299.

14s. On the clan of Hadl, which had become closely connected to the Band

Qurayzah, see Watt, Muhammad at Medina, 193-94.

146. Understanding iqalah, as in W, 504; IH, III, 238; cf. ed. Leiden, Glossarium,

p. CCCL.

The Events of the Year 5

33

According to Ibn Ishaq: Some men allege that he was bound

with an old frayed rope along with the Banu Qurayzah who were

bound when they submitted to the judgment of the Messenger of

God. In the morning his rope was cast aside, and no one knew

where he had gone. Then the Messenger of God said this saying

about him. But God knows best [what really happened).

According to Ibn Ishaq: In the morning, they submitted to the

judgment of the Messenger of God. The al-Aws jumped up and

said: "Messenger of God, they are our clients {mawdll), not clients

of al-Khazraj. You know what you did the other day with the

clients of al-Khazraj!" (Before besieging the Banu Qurayzah, the

Messenger of God had besieged the Banu Qaynuqa', who were

confederates of al-Khazraj. 147 They had submitted to his judgment.

'Abdallah b. Ubayy b. Salul 148 had asked him for them, and

he had given them to him.) Therefore, when the al-Aws spoke to

him, the Messenger of God said, "People of al-Aws, will you not be

satisfied if one of your own men passes judgment on them?"

"Yes," they said. So he said, "It shall be entrusted to Sa'd b.

Mu'adh." The Messenger of God had placed Sa'd b. Mu'adh in the

tent of a Muslim 149 woman named Rufaydah in his mosque. She

used to nurse the wounded and earn merit for herself by serving

Muslims who were impoverished. When Sa'd was struck by the

arrow in the ditch, the Messenger of God said to his tribesmen,

"Put him in Rufaydah's tent, so that I can visit him from

nearby." 150 When the Messenger of God appointed him judge over

the Banu Quray?ah, his tribesmen came to him and lifted him

onto a donkey on which they had put a leather cushion, for he was

a stout man. They brought him to the Messenger of God, saying,

"Abu 'Amr, 151 treat your clients well; for the Messenger of God

has put you in charge of the matter only that you may treat them

well." After they had plied him with many such requests, he said,

"The time has come for Sa'd for the sake of God not to be influenced

by anyone's reproach." Then one of his tribesmen who was

with him went back to the dwelling place of the Banu 'Abd al-

Ashhal and announced to them the death of the men of the Banu

Qurayzah before Sa'd b. Mu'adh reached them because of the

words he had heard from him.

147. For the campaign in 2/614 against the Jewish tribe of Banu Qaynuqa’ and

their expulsion, see Watt and McDonald, Foundation, 83-87 |I, 1359-62).

148. ’Abdallah b. Ubayy, a leader of al-Khazraj and one of the leading men of

Medina, had become a Muslim but was usually deemed to be a "hypocrite"

[munafiq) because of his opposition to some of Muhammad's decisions; see EP-, s.v. ’Abd Allah b. Ubayy.

149. IH and ed. Cairo: "a woman of Asiam."

150. Muhammad's house adjoined the mosque.

1 5 1. Addressing Sa'd by his kunyah.

34

The Victory of Islam

According to Abu fa'far [al-Tabari]: When Sa'd reached the Messenger

of God and the Muslims, the Messenger of God said (ac-

cording to Ibn Wakr— Muhammad b. Bishr— Muhammad b.

'Amr- his father— 'Alqamah, in a report that he attributed to Abu

Sa'id al-Khudri, 152 who said: When he— that is, Sa'd— came into

sight, the Messenger of God said), "Arise and go to your master

{sayyid )" (or he said "to the best of you"), "and help him dismount."

The Messenger of God said (to Sa'd], "Pass judgment on

them." He replied, "I pass judgment on them that their fighters

shall be killed and their children made captives and that their

property shall be divided." The Messenger of God said, "You have

passed judgment on them with the judgment of God and the judgment

of His Messenger."

Resumption of the account of Ibn Ishaq: As for Ibn Ishaq, he said

in his report: When Sa'd reached the Messenger of God and the

Muslims, the Messenger of God said, "Arise and go to your master."

So they arose and went to him and said, "Abu 'Amr, the

Messenger of God has entrusted you with your clients ( mawali ),

so that you may pass judgment on them." Sa'd said, "God's oath

and covenant be upon you in this matter, that the judgment on

them shall be what I judge!" "Yes," they replied. He said, "And

(1493] upon the one who is here"— (this he said] in the direction of the

Messenger of God, while turning away from the Messenger of God

out of respect for him. The Messenger of God said, "Yes." Sa'd

said, "I pass judgment on them that the men shall be killed, the

property divided, and the children and women made captives."

According to Ibn Humayd — Salamah — Muhammad b. Ishaq —

'A§im b. 'Umar b. Qatadah — 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Amr b. Sa'd b.

152. Abu Said Sa'd b. Malik b. Sinln al-Khudri al-An$ari (the Bani Khudrah

were a small group in the Banu al-Harith clan of al-Khazraj, cf. Watt, Muhammad

at Medina, 1 67 ), a companion of the Prophet, used to give legal opinions in Medina. He died ca. 63/682-83. See Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqdt, II/2, 124, 127, Ibn tfajar, I$&bah, HI, 78-80.

The Events of the Year 5

35

Mu'adh — 'Alqamah b. Waqqa§ al-Laythi, 153 who said: The Messenger

of God said to Sa'd, "You have passed judgment on them

with the judgment of God from above seven heavens." 154

According to Ibn Ishaq: Then they were made to come down,

and the Messenger of God imprisoned them in the dwelling of al-

Harith's daughter, a woman of the Banu al-Najjar. 155 The Messenger

of God went out into the marketplace of Medina (it is still

its marketplace today) and had trenches dug in it; then he sent for

them and had them beheaded in those trenches. They were

brought out to him in groups. Among them were the enemy of

God, Huyayy b. Akhfab, and Ka'b b. Asad, the head of the tribe.

They numbered 600 or 700 — the largest estimate says they were

between 800 and 900. As they were being taken in groups to the

Messenger of God, they said to Ka‘b b. Asad, "Ka'b, what do you

think will be done to us?" Ka'b said: "On each. occasion you do not

understand. Do you not see that the summoner does not discharge

(anyone] and that those of you who are taken away do not come

back? By God, it is death!" The affair continued until the Messenger

of God had finished with them.

Huyayy b. Akh{ab, the enemy of God, was brought. He was

wearing a rose-colored 156 suit of clothes that he had tom all over

with fingertip-sized holes so that it would not be taken as booty

from him, and his hands were bound to his neck with a rope.

When he looked at the Messenger of God, he said, "By God, I do

not blame myself for being hostile to you, but whomever God

forsakes is forsaken." 157 Then he turned to the people and said:

153. ‘Alqamah b. Waqqa? al-Laythl was bom during the lifetime of the Prophet.

See Ibn flajar, Tahdhlb, VII, 280-81.

154. The phrase, which uses the Hebrew loanword iaqT for "heaven," is usually

taken to mean, "You have judged with the judgment of God (written on the pre-

served tablet) above the seven heavens"; cf. Lane, Lexicon, III, 1137.

155. The Banu al-Najjar were the most numerous clan or clan group among al-

Khazraj; see Watt, Muhammad at Medina, 165-66.

156. Arabic fuqqdhiyyah refers either to the color of the garments (that of the

desert flower called fuqqak) Lane, Lexicon, VI, 2424), or to a kind of embroidery

(IH, III, 241).

157. Here and in the verses that follow I read man yakhdhuli lldhu, rather than

man yakhdhuli Uaha, the voweling of edd. Leiden and Cairo, which would mean

"whoever forsakes God." Huyayy, who remained a Jew to the end, certainly would not have considered hostility to Muhammad to be a forsaking of God. Furthermore, khadhala (fail to aid, forsake] and its opposite na?ara (aid) are normally predicated of God. Cf. Qur’an 3:154: "If God helps you, none can overcome you, but if He forsakes you, who then can help you after Him?"

36

The Victory of Islam

"People, there is no injury in God's command. It is the book of

God, His decree, and a battlefield of great slaughter ordained

against the Children of Israel." Then he sat down and was be-

headed. fabal b. Jawwal al-Tha'labl said:

By your life, Ibn Akhtab did not censure himself [for his action];

but whomever God forsakes is forsaken.

He fought until he made his soul attain its vindication,

and he strove to the utmost seeking glory.