140 III the FtJ(Iht"PI of f/J, ProphetCo nsultariom began between the various tribes to find the best means
of shortening the siege and taking possession of the city: without any
other provisions than their own, protracted hostilities could not be con-
sidered. They decided that a majority o f forces would gather to the north
in order to mobilize the 1-1edina fo rces on that side, while the rest tried to
cross the moat from the hence unguarded south, where access seemed
casier near the rocks. The Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayzah mainly lived in
that area; they had signed an assistance agreement with Muhammad, but
they might constitute the weak point in j\1edina's unity. H uyay, the chief
of the Banu Nadir clan, insisted on going to the Banu Qurayzah fortress
to speak to their chief, Kab ibn Asad, and tr y to convince him to break
his alliance with 11uhammad. Kab ibn Asad initially refused to receive
Huya)" but the latter insisted so strongly that the Banu Qurayzah chief let
himself be convinced, first to listen to him, then to betray the covenant.
This defection meant that the whole strategy of the Medina people col-
lapsed, since the Banu Qurayzah's alliance with the enemy opened a
breach from inside and gave the enemy access to the city, which meant
certain defeat and no less certain extermination for the Muslims.
By no means were all the Banu Q urayzah satisfied with their cruef's
decision, and tcnsions developed within the group, but the vast majority
agreed to join forces with the Quraysh and their allies. In the meantime,
the Prophet'S observations of the movements of enemy troop s in the
north led him to anticipate a trick, so he decided to check the reliability of
his alliances in the south, for he knew the Banu Q urayzah were far from
being all favorably inclined toward him. Meanwhile, he heard rumors that
the Banu Qurayzah chiefs had one-sided!y broken the covenant. If the
n ews turned out to be true, not only would the 11uslim army's morale col-
lapse, but they would have littJe chance of winning the battJe. He scnt twO
scouts whom he asked to gather intelligence and act judiciously: if the
rumor was groundless, tJ 1 eywere to announce it loud and clear to reassure
the troops and restore their courage; if it was true, they were to let him
knmv discreetJy. The news was true, the scouts reported, and 11uhammad
had to react immediately. He sent Zayd to the southern front with three
hundred men in order to prevent any enemy attempt to get through with
the Banu Q urayzah's support.
The siege was getting increasingly difficult to bear, and the Muslims
had to be constantly on alert. One day, the attacks were so numerous and