146prisoners, many had also been exiled from th~ Banu Nadu. Thus, his
clemency had had no effect on most of those who had enjoyed it, and it
sent a confusing message throughout the Peninsula: Muhammad, people
thought, never lulled his prisoners, contrary to Arab o r even Jewis h rus-
Lo ms.n His clemency, rcpeatedly betrayed, was seen as a sign of weakness,
if nO[ madness. Besides, the Banu Qurnyzah's treason was so serious that
if their plans had been successful, it would have led to the extermination
of the J\iuslims, betrayed from within and crushed by an army of more
than lcn thousand.
Sad ibn .Muadh eventually arrived among the Banu Qurayzah. H e fir st
wanted [0 make sure his vcrdlct w'Ould be respected by all. He turned to
the lead ers of the various groups, who one by one pledged to abid e by his
decision. He finally addressed the Prophet, who confirmed that he would
nor oppose the judgment. Ibn 1\'luadh judged that th e men were [0 be exe·
cuted while th e women and children were to be considered as war cap-
tives. J\'l uhammad accepted the sentence, which was carried out during th e
following days. A number of capti\'es were ransomed br the Banu Nadir,
and Rayhanah, a Banu Qurayzah captive originally fro m th e Banu Nadir,
became the ProphCl's slave. She embraced Islam, but accounts differ as to
what became of her. Accordmg to so me sources, the Prophet set her free
and married her; others merely report that he married her, while some
have it that she refused marriage and remained his servant for five years,
until he died.^33
The news of the l\'luslims' Mofold victory spread through the Pen·
insula and radically uansformed perceptions and power balances. NOI
only had the Muslims resisted an army more than ten thousand suong,
but they had also shown unfailing determination. The fate meted out t o
the Banu Qurayzah men delivered a powerful message 10 all the neighbor-
ing tribes that betrayals and aggressions \\'ould hencefo rth be severely
punished. The message had been heard: such a simation never occurred
again while th e Prophet was :Llive.Zayn~lb and Abu ai-AsThe Prophet's daughter Zaynab had been married to Abu al·As, who had
not accepted Islam. She had Inluall}' stayed with him in Mecca, until the