In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad

(^144) I" fIN rlJOtllrps uf the I'ropkl
and so he scnt Hudhayfah to gather imeUigcnce during the night. H ud-
harfah came back with the good news of their total disarray: chaos
reigned in the enemy ranks. and the cold had paralyzed them. The m en
were breaking camp, and many fighters had already left. The P rophet told
his CUl1lpalJions lhc good news after morning prayer, when daylight con-
firmed that the enemy was gone. T he siege, which had taken place in the
fi fth year of hjjrah (627 CE). had las ted twenty-five days, and the Confed-
erates were going ho me beaten witho ut having fo ught, bearing th e burden
of a real as well as symbolic defeat.
The Banu Qurayzah
The Prophet released his men and allowed them to visit their homes. The
enemy was gone and tbe siege had been lifted; the exhausted Medina peo-
ple, who had lo st hope and reached th e limits of th eir resistance, rejoiced
at the outcome.. Muhammad went home immedia tely and rested until the
first afternoon prayer. A fter he had prayed, the Angel Gabriel came to
him and informed him that God commanded rum to g o immediately to
th e Banu Qurayzah , whose betrayal had almost led to the extermination
o f the r ... llIslim eommunit)" and besiege their fo rtress.
The Prophet at once addressed his Companions and the whole audi-
ence present in the mosque, requesting them to get ready immediately in
order to go to the Banu Qurayzah. As the fvlus!im s set o ff in gro ups, the
Prophet ordered: " Let none of you perform the second afternoon prayer
[al·anj until you reach Qurayzah territory.,,29 Time was short, and the
Muslims, who had hoped to have some rest at last, had only enough time
to gather their equipment, put on th eir battle gear, and start o ut. In one
of the groups heading toward the Banu Q u rayzah, an argument took
place. I t was time to pray al-asr, and some of them, literally repeating the
Propht::t's order, maintained that they must not pray on the way but must
wait until they reached the Sanu QUNlyzah.^30 The o th ers atgued that the
P rophet's intention was that mey must burry there, but that when praycr
rime came they must of course pray on time. So part of the group did not
pray, keeping to th e literal meaning of the Pwphet's words, while me
other part prayed, referring to the spirit of the recommendation. Later on,
mey asked the Pro pher which was lhe correct interpretacion, and he