The story of a terrible war in Arabia!
Channel: ICT Teaching
Date: 2022-06-12

The story of a terrible war in Arabia! According to the traditional Islamic sources, in 627 AD as a result of the Battle of the Trench and the betrayal of the Muslims by the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza, the Muslims under the direct military command of the prophet Muhammad laid siege to the Banu Qurayzah compound. After a siege of around 2 weeks, depending on the source, the Jews of Banu Qurayzah surrendered and entrusted their fate to a trusted intermediary from the Muslims of the tribe of 'Aws, Sa'd bin Mu'adh. Sa'd bin Mu'adh, however, claiming to be following the law of the Torah itself, advised Muhammad to slaughter the men folk of the tribe and sell the women and children into slavery. Muhammad took this advice and as a consequence between 400 and 900 prisoners of the tribe were slaughtered, many in front of their families, and the rest of the tribe were sold into slavery. The event is well attested to in the Islamic historical tradition, and has served as the basis for multiple rulings throughout history dealing with the treatment of captured non-Muslims by Muslim military forces.  Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (Arabic: سعد ابن معاذ) (c.590-627) was the chief of the Aws tribe in Medina and one of the prominent companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He died shortly after the Battle of the Trench.