In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Treasures of the Seerah.
The Expulsion of Banu Qurayzah.
Jibril, peace be upon him, came
to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and asked, "Have you laid down your weapons?"
He replied, "Yes." Jibril said,
"As for us, we have not laid down our weapons yet.
Advance against these people;
Allah commands you to do so."
So the Prophet (peace be upon him) set forth,
commanded the people, and said,
"None of you should pray 'Asr
except at Banu Qurayzah."
The Muslims set out in prompt obedience
to the command of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
toward Banu Qurayzah,
hastening their pace.
He gave the standard to 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib,
appointed Ibn Umm Maktum in charge of Madinah,
and advanced until he halted at the fortresses of
Banu Qurayzah,
besieging them for twenty-five nights.
Their chieftain, Ka'b Ibn Asad, made proposals to them,
saying,
"Either you embrace Islam
and join Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
in his religion;
or you kill your children
and go out to fight until you are all slain
to the very last man;
or you launch a surprise attack on the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and his Companions on the Sabbath,
when the Muslims feel secure from your harm."
But they rejected all of them.
Thereupon he said to them,
"By Allah, you are like donkeys,
accepting nothing at all!"
At that point, one of them stepped forward and said,
"O Messenger of Allah,
we surrender to the judgment of Sa'd Ibn Mu'adh."
This was because 'Abdullah Ibn Ubayy Ibn Salul,
as mentioned earlier,
had interceded for Banu Qaynuqa',
and the Prophet (peace be upon him) had spared them for his sake.
So these people sought the arbitration of Sa'd Ibn Mu'adh
because he had been their ally in the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah).
They said, "Perhaps he will defend us
just as 'Abdullah Ibn Ubayy Ibn Salul defended
Banu Qaynuqa'."
Yet they did not realize the vast difference between 'Abdullah Ibn Ubayy Ibn Salul,
the arch-hypocrite,
and Sa'd Ibn Mu'adh,
who was among the foremost of the righteous, may Allah be pleased with him.
So they said, "We submit to the judgment of Sa'd Ibn Mu'adh,
just as our brethren submitted to the judgment of 'Abdullah Ibn Ubayy Ibn Salul."
Then the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, ordered
that Sa'd Ibn Mu'adh be brought.
He had been wounded in his medial arm vein, may Allah be pleased with him.
When he arrived,
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"Stand up for your chieftain,"
meaning Sa'd Ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him),
"and help him down from the donkey he has arrived upon."
Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,
"Pass judgment upon your allies."
So they began clamoring to him,
"Be benevolent, O Abu 'Amr, toward your allies,
just as others showed benevolence!"
Thereupon Sa'd Ibn Mu'adh said,
"The time has come for Sa'd not to fear, for the sake of Allah, the blame of any blamer."
He then said,
"My judgment concerning them is
that their fighting men be executed,
and their women and children be taken as captives."
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"You have judged concerning them with the judgment of Allah."
So the Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded
the execution of their combatant men
and the taking of their women and children as captives.
Treasures of the Seerah.
The Expedition of Banu al-Mustaliq,
in the sixth year of the Hijrah,
also known as the Expedition of al-Muraysi'.
It took place in the sixth year,
though it is also said to have occurred at the end of the fourth year of the Hijrah.
The cause of this expedition was
that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
received word that the chieftain of Banu al-Mustaliq,
al-Harith Ibn Abi Dirar,
had rallied his people and whichever Arabs he could gather,
intending to wage war against the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
So the Prophet (peace be upon him) dispatched
Buraydah Ibn al-Husayb
to verify the matter.
He went to them, met al-Harith Ibn Abi Dirar,
and spoke with him,
then returned to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
informing him that they indeed intended to fight him.
Once the Prophet (peace be upon him) had verified
the truth of the report,
he rallied the Companions and ordered them to march forth.
A group of hypocrites also marched out with him,
because the hypocrites outwardly displayed Islam
while concealing disbelief.
When al-Harith Ibn Abi Dirar heard
of the departure of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
he was gripped by severe fear,
and the Arabs who were with him dispersed.
When the Prophet (peace be upon him) reached
al-Muraysi',
which was a watering hole belonging to Khuza'ah,
the banner of the Muhajirun was with Abu Bakr as-Siddiq,
and the banner of the Ansar was with Sa'd Ibn 'Ubadah.
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said
that no actual battle took place between them;
rather, the Prophet (peace be upon him) launched a surprise raid on them at the water
after most of their combatants had fled,
taking their offspring captive and seizing their wealth.
As recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, raided Banu al-Mustaliq
while they were heedless."
Among the captives taken during this expedition was
Juwayriyah bint al-Harith,
the daughter of the chieftain of his people.
She fell to the share of Thabit Ibn Qays,
who entered into a contract of manumission (mukatabah) with her.
Mukatabah means that he says to her,
"You shall have your freedom provided that you pay me an amount of money,"
such as one hundred or two hundred dinars,
according to whatever terms they mutually agreed upon.
When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, heard of that,
he paid the contract amount on her behalf
and then married her, peace be upon him, as a free woman.
When the Muslims heard that the Prophet (peace be upon him)
had married Juwayriyah,
they emancipated all the captives and offspring of Banu Khuza'ah in their possession,
saying,
"They are the in-laws of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him."
Two notable incidents involving the arch-hypocrite,
'Abdullah Ibn Ubayy Ibn Salul,
occurred during that expedition.
Treasures of the Seerah.
“They say: Surely, if we return to Al-Madinah the mightier will soon drive out the weaker; when might belongeth to Allah and to His messenger and to the believers; but the hypocrites know not.” (63:8)
'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, had a hired worker
named Jahjah al-Ghifari.
Jahjah jostled with Sinan Ibn Wabr al-Juhani at the water,
and they began to fight.
The Juhani shouted,
"O people of the Ansar!"
while Jahjah shouted,
"O people of the Muhajirun!"
Thereupon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,
"Do you invoke the slogans of Jahiliyyah while I am still among you?
Leave it, for it is foul and rotten!"
When 'Abdullah Ibn Ubayy Ibn Salul heard of this,
he said,
"Have they actually done it?
They rival us and outnumber us in our own land!
By Allah, the case between us and them
is just as the ancient saying goes:
'Fatten your dog and it will devour you!'
By Allah, if we return to Madinah,
“They say: Surely, if we return to Al-Madinah the mightier will soon drive out the weaker; when might belongeth to Allah and to His messenger and to the believers; but the hypocrites know not.” (63:8)
Then he turned to those present with him and said to them,
"This is what you have brought upon yourselves!
You settled them in your land
and shared your wealth with them.
By Allah, had you withheld from them what is in your hands,
they would have moved to a land other than yours!"
Zayd Ibn Arqam, may Allah be pleased with him, overheard these words,
and he was only a young boy.
So he went to his uncle and informed him,
and his uncle informed the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was present with him,
so 'Umar said, "O Messenger of Allah,
command 'Abbad Ibn Bishr to execute him!"
But the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) replied,
"How will it be, O 'Umar,
if people say that Muhammad kills his own companions?"
Then the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, remained silent.
When the people set out on the march,
Usayd Ibn Hudayr, may Allah be pleased with him, came to him,
and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to him,
"Have you not heard what your companion said?"
He asked, "And what did he say?"
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) replied,
"He claims that if he returns to Madinah,
“They say: Surely, if we return to Al-Madinah the mightier will soon drive out the weaker; when might belongeth to Allah and to His messenger and to the believers; but the hypocrites know not.” (63:8)
Thereupon Usayd Ibn Hudayr said,
"Then you, O Messenger of Allah, can drive him out of it if you wish!
He, by Allah, is the humiliated one,
and you, by Allah, are the mighty one."
Then he said, "O Messenger of Allah,
be gentle with him. By Allah, Allah brought you to us
when his people were already stringing beads
to crown him king, so he feels
that you have stripped him of his kingdom."
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, then kept marching
with the people until morning came,
and continued until the scorching sun began to trouble them.
Then the people halted and fell fast asleep,
for the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
did not want them to talk about this matter,
so he marched them until they were exhausted,
so that when they finally arrived, they immediately slept.
As for 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy,
he learned that Zayd had informed the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
about what had happened,
so he came to the Messenger of Allah, swore an oath, and said:
"By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I never said that;
rather, Zayd lied about me."
And those present from among the Ansar said:
"O Messenger of Allah, perhaps
the boy was mistaken in what he related,
and did not accurately recall what the man said." And so he was believed.
Zayd ibn Arqam said:
"I was struck with grief such as I had never experienced before,"
because he was accused of lying or misunderstanding.
He said: "So I stayed in my home
out of sorrow." Then Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, revealed:
"When the hypocrites come to you,
they say..."
“When the hypocrites come unto thee (O Muhammad), they say: We bear witness that thou art indeed Allah's messenger. And Allah knoweth that thou art indeed His messenger, and Allah beareth witness that the hypocrites indeed are speaking falsely.” (63:1)
"...and Allah knows that you are indeed
His Messenger, and Allah bears witness
that the hypocrites are indeed liars,"
up to His words, Exalted is He:
"They are the ones who say..."
“They it is who say: Spend not on behalf of those (who dwell) with Allah's messenger that they may disperse (and go away from you); when Allah's are the treasures of the heavens and the earth; but the hypocrites comprehend not.” (63:7)
“They it is who say: Spend not on behalf of those (who dwell) with Allah's messenger that they may disperse (and go away from you); when Allah's are the treasures of the heavens and the earth; but the hypocrites comprehend not.” (63:7)
"...and to Allah belong the treasuries
of the heavens and the earth,
but the hypocrites
do not understand."
"They say, 'If we return to Medina,
the more honorable will surely expel the humbler from it.'"
"Yet to Allah belongs all honor,
and to His Messenger,
and to the believers,
but the hypocrites
do not know."
Here, Allah, Blessed and Exalted, made it clear
that Zayd had not lied, may Allah be pleased with him;
rather, he had spoken the truth in what he reported,
and 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul
was a liar in his claim.
So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sent
for Zayd, recited it to him,
and then said to him: "Indeed, Allah
has vindicated you." And 'Abdullah,
the son of 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul,
was a righteous man from among the Companions of the Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
He stood up to his father
upon his entry into Medina
and said to him: "Are you the one who says,
'If we return to Medina, the more honorable will surely expel
the humbler from it,'
intending the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him?
By Allah, the Messenger of Allah is indeed the honorable one,
and you are the humblest!"
Thus the zeal for faith surpassed the bond of kinship.
Then he said: "By Allah, you shall not enter Medina
unless I kill you,
or the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, permits you."
At that point, the Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, ordered him to let him pass,
and he entered Medina.
In another narration, he came to
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and said: "O Messenger of Allah,
I know that my father said such-and-such,
so if you intend to kill him,
let me be the one to kill him;
for I fear that if I see my father's killer,
I will not be able to restrain myself."