Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 26

(Ayah 26) ➊ { وَ اَنْزَلَ الَّذِيْنَ ظَاهَرُوْهُمْ مِّنْ اَهْلِ الْكِتٰبِ مِنْ صَيَاصِيْهِمْ: ’’صَيَاصِيْ‘‘ ’’ صِيْصِيَةٌ ‘‘} is the plural. The tool used by a weaver to straighten the threads of the warp and weft, the spur of a rooster which protrudes from one side of its leg, the horn of a cow or deer, a fortress, and anything with which a person defends and protects himself. (Qamoos) With the return of the Quraysh, Banu Ghatafan, and those who came with them, the Battle of Ahzab ended, but the conflict with Banu Qurayzah did not end, as they broke the treaty they had made with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims at that time. In that treaty, it was agreed that in the event of an attack by outsiders, the Muslims and the Jews would help each other, but the Jews broke this agreement and agreed with the Quraysh and the allied armies that they would attack Madinah from behind the Muslims. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) learned of this, he sent Sa'd bin Mu'adh, Sa'd bin 'Ubadah, and another Ansari companion (may Allah be pleased with them) to investigate and said: "If they are still upholding the treaty, declare it openly before everyone, but if the matter is otherwise, then indicate it by a sign." They went to them and saw that they had badly broken the treaty. They also spoke disrespectfully about the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Who is Muhammad? There is no treaty or pact between us and Muhammad." Sa'd bin Mu'adh and Sa'd bin 'Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with them) returned and indicated the reality of the situation to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) by a sign. The intentions of Banu Qurayzah were extremely dangerous, but Allah Almighty thwarted and disappointed them. Distrust arose between them and the Quraysh, and the situation did not reach the point where they fought alongside the Quraysh against the Muslims. Eventually, they locked themselves in their fortresses and prepared for confrontation.

➋ { وَ قَذَفَ فِيْ قُلُوْبِهِمُ الرُّعْبَ :} When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) returned to Madinah after finishing with the trench, he had just taken off his weapons and was bathing when Jibreel (peace be upon him) came and said: "You have put down your weapons, but we angels have not yet put down our weapons. Let us go to Banu Qurayzah." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ لَا يُصَلِّيَنَّ أَحَدٌ الْعَصْرَ إِلاَّ فِيْ بَنِيْ قُرَيْظَةَ ] [ بخاري، المغازي، باب مرجع النبي صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم من الأحزاب… : ۴۱۱۹، ۴۱۱۷ ] "Let no one pray 'Asr except at Banu Qurayzah." So he went and laid siege to Banu Qurayzah. This siege lasted for about a month, until they became helpless to resist, and Allah Almighty cast terror into their hearts. In the end, they agreed to surrender themselves to the Muslims on the condition that whatever decision Sa'd bin Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) made about them, they would accept it. Sa'd bin Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) had been struck by an arrow in the vein of his arm during the trench, as a result of which he was eventually martyred. He also considered that if Banu Qurayzah had succeeded according to the plan made with the Quraysh, they would have wiped out the Muslims completely; it was only by the special grace of Allah Almighty that He kept the Muslims safe.

➌ { فَرِيْقًا تَقْتُلُوْنَ وَ تَاْسِرُوْنَ فَرِيْقًا :} Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the people of Qurayzah agreed to the decision of Sa'd bin Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him), so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a message to Sa'd. He came riding on a donkey, and when he approached the mosque, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the Ansar: [ قُوْمُوْا إِلٰی سَيِّدِكُمْ أَوْ خَيْرِكُمْ ] "Stand up for your leader or (he said) your best man." Then he said: [ هٰؤُلَاءِ نَزَلُوْا عَلٰی حُكْمِكَ ] "These people have submitted to your decision." Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: [ تُقْتَلُ مُقَاتِلَتُهُمْ وَ تُسْبٰی ذَرَارِيُّهُمْ ] "Their men capable of fighting should be killed, and their women and children should be taken as slaves." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ قَضَيْتَ بِحُكْمِ اللّٰهِ وَرُبَّمَا قَالَ بِحُكْمِ الْمَلِكِ ] "You have judged according to Allah's decision," or he said: "You have judged according to the decision of the King." [ بخاري، المغازي، باب مرجع النبي صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم من الأحزاب… : ۴۱۲۱ ] 'Atiyyah al-Qurazi (may Allah be pleased with him) of Banu Qurayzah narrates: "I was among the captives of Banu Qurayzah. The Muslims would look, and whoever had grown pubic hair was killed, and whoever had not was not killed. Thus, I was among those who had not grown hair." [ أبوداوٗد، الحدود، باب في الغلام یصیب الحد : ۴۴۰۴ ]

The exegesis of this verse has been done along with the previous verse.

26. And those among the People of the Book [36] who supported the disbelievers, Allah brought them down from their fortresses [37] and cast terror [38] into their hearts. You killed a group of them, and you took another group captive [39].

[36] These were the Jews of Banu Qurayzah who were allies of the Muslims. After the exile of Banu Qaynuqa‘ and Banu Nadir, this was the only Jewish tribe left in Madinah. This was because this tribe was somewhat more noble and more observant of their covenants compared to the others. When Banu Nadir were exiled towards Khaybar and preparations for the Battle of Ahzab began, the chief of Banu Nadir, Huyayy ibn Akhtab, went to the chief of Banu Qurayzah, Ka‘b ibn Asad, in the darkness of night. Ka‘b realized that Huyayy had come to persuade him to break his covenant with the Muslims. Therefore, he did not open the door. Huyayy spoke some flattering words to him, so eventually he opened the door. Huyayy said: “Ka‘b! I have brought you the honor of the times and a rising sea. These people have made a pact with me that they will not leave until they have wiped out Muhammad ﷺ and his companions.” In response, what Ka‘b said is worthy of being written in golden letters. He said: “Huyayy! By Allah, you have brought me the disgrace of the times and a cloud that only thunders and flashes. Woe to you. Leave me to my own state. I have seen nothing but truthfulness and sincerity in Muhammad ﷺ.” [ابن هشام 2: 220، 221] But Huyayy kept enticing Ka‘b with false hopes until he finally compelled him to break the covenant. He said: If the Quraysh return without finishing off Muhammad, then I too will remain besieged with you and will not go back; then whatever fate befalls you will befall me as well. On this condition, Ka‘b also joined the confederates.

Internal Threats in Madinah:

To investigate this situation, the Prophet ﷺ sent the leaders of the Ansar (Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubadah, Sa‘d ibn Mu‘adh, ‘Abdullah ibn Rawahah, and Khawwat ibn Jubayr ؓ) to inquire about the matter, and also instructed them that if the news of Banu Qurayzah’s treachery was true, they should not inform him in the presence of others, but only by a gesture. When they returned and indicated to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that the news was true, it caused him great distress. The purpose of concealing this news was only so that the morale of the Muslims would not be weakened. The Muslims were at least assured of internal security in Madinah, but this situation created a threat within Madinah as well. [بخاری۔ کتاب المغازی۔ باب غزوہ خندق]
[37]
The Siege of Banu Qurayzah:

After about a month of siege, when the confederate army fled, it was now time to punish Banu Qurayzah for their breach of covenant. After the Battle of Khandaq, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was bathing at the house of Sayyidah Umm Salamah ؓ when Jibril came and said, “You have taken off your weapons, but the angels have not yet taken theirs off.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ immediately announced that the warriors should perform the ‘Asr prayer at the place of Banu Qurayzah. [بخاری۔ کتاب المغازی۔ باب مرجع النبی من الٰی بنی قریظة ومحاصرتہ ایاھم]

Thus, within a few hours, three thousand armed warriors reached Banu Qurayzah and laid siege to them. Banu Qurayzah fortified themselves (Huyayy ibn Akhtab also, as promised, was besieged with them). Their chief, Ka‘b ibn Asad, presented three proposals to his people: The Surrender of the Jews:
1. Accept Islam. In this case, your lives and property will be safe, and it has already become clear to you that this is indeed the true Prophet whose glad tidings you find in your own book.
2. Kill your wives and children with your own hands. Then fight bravely, and either die or achieve victory.
3. Or resort to trickery and attack the Muslims on the Sabbath, because they will be assured that there will be no fighting today.
But Banu Qurayzah did not accept any of their chief’s proposals, so he said in frustration: None of you has ever spent even a single night with wisdom. [الرحيق المختوم۔ اردو ص 494]

Now only one path remained before them, and that was to surrender their weapons to the Muslims.

[38]
The Jews Accept the Judgment of Sayyiduna Sa‘d ibn Mu‘adh:

Treachery and breach of covenant make a nation extremely cowardly. They had ample provisions, and they had prepared one and a half thousand swords, two thousand spears, three hundred coats of mail, and five hundred shields for the extermination of the Muslims. But at the time of need, none of these things benefited them. After only 25 days of siege, they surrendered on the condition that whatever decision their ally, Sayyiduna Sa‘d ibn Mu‘adh, made regarding them, they would accept it. They had enough provisions in the fortress that, if they wished, they could have remained besieged for a year and lived comfortably, but their guilty conscience soon made them restless, and Allah cast awe of the Muslims into their hearts.

[39]
The Fate of Banu Qurayzah:

Sayyiduna Sa‘d ibn Mu‘adh had received a severe wound in the Battle of Ahzab, as is evident from the following hadith: Sayyidah ‘A’ishah ؓ narrates that in the Battle of Khandaq, Sa‘d ibn Mu‘adh was struck by an arrow in the median vein, so a tent was set up for him in the mosque so that he could be visited closely. There was also a tent of Banu Ghifar in the mosque. When (Sayyiduna Mu‘adh’s) blood began to flow towards their tent, they became frightened and said: O people of the tent! What is this that is flowing from your side towards us? It was seen that blood was flowing from Sa‘d’s wound. Eventually, he died from this wound. [بخاری۔ کتاب الصلوٰۃ۔ باب الخیمۃ فی المسجد للمرضی وغیرھم]

Therefore, he could not participate in the Battle of Banu Qurayzah. He was brought to the site for judgment mounted on a donkey, and he showed no leniency to his treacherous allies. He gave the verdict: “(1) All the men should be killed, (2) the women and children should be taken as slaves, (3) their wealth should be distributed among the warriors.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, upon hearing this verdict, said: “You have given the same judgment as Allah has given above the seven heavens.” [بخاری۔ کتاب المغازی۔ باب مرجع النبی من الیٰ بنی قریظۃ ومحاصرتہ ایاھم]

Accordingly, more than six hundred fighting men were killed, and among the slain was Huyayy ibn Akhtab, who had compelled Banu Qurayzah to break their covenant and brought this calamity upon them. These people were not killed merely because they were prisoners of war, but they had other crimes as well, such as:
(1) Despite the renewal of the covenant, they broke it at a very critical time and exposed the Muslims to internal threats.
(2) Instead of facing the Muslims bravely, they tried to attack the forts of women and children.
(3) Even after the Battle of Ahzab, by joining Huyayy ibn Akhtab, they started inciting unrest in Madinah, and instead of repenting for their treachery, they began preparing for confrontation.