The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 3 of 4

160 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
Also, al-Bayhaqi related, through 'Abd Allah al-Wmari, from his brother
Wbayd Allah, from alLQsim h. Muhammad, from 'A'isha, (who stated) that the
Messenger of God (SAAS) was with her, " ... and while we were there inside the
house, in came a man who greeted us. The Messenger of God (SAAS) got up in
a fright, and I arose too; suddenly, there was Dihya al-Kalbi. He (the Messenger
of God (SAAS)), said, 'This is Gabriel! He has ordered me to attack Banii
Qurayza. He said to me, "You have put down your arms, but we have not.'" We
had pursued the polytheists until we reached Hamra' al-Asad, following the
return of the Messenger of God (SAAS) from al-khandaq. So the Messenger of
God (SAAS) arose in great concern and said to his Companions, 'I require you
not to perform the al-'asr prayer until you arrive at Banii Qurayza.' The sun
set before they reached them and one group of the Muslims thought that the
Messenger of God (SAAS) had not wanted them to wait to say the prayer and
so they prayed. Another group maintained that they were acting in accord with
the requirement made by the Messenger of God (SAAS), and that they would
not be considered guilty of a sin for not praying. And so one group did pray, in
their faith and as a precaution, while another group did not, for the same reasons.
The Messenger of God (SAAS) did not berate any person from either group.
He then went forth and as he passed by any group of people, on his way to Banii
Qurayza, he would ask them, 'Did anyone pass by you?' They responded, 'Dihya
al-Kalbi passed by on his grey mule, mounted on a piece of brocade cloth.' He
responded, 'That was Gabriel; he has been sent to Bann Qurayza to shake them
up, and to cast terror into them.'
"The Messenger of God (SAAS) then besieged them, telling his Companions
to protect him with their shields so that he could hear their response. He called
out to them, 'Hey, you, you brothers of monkeys and pigs!' They replied, 'Abn
al-Qsim, you used not to employ bad language!'
"And so he besieged them until they came down, following the judgement of
Sa'd b. Mu'adh, whose allies they were. He decreed for them that their warriors
should be killed and that their children and women should become captive."
This hadith has excellent lines of transmission from 'A'isha and others.
The scholars differ over which of the two groups was correct that day. In fact
the consensus is that each of them was worthy and justified in their actions and
not to be severely criticized.
One group of scholars, however, maintains that those who postponed the
prayer from its predetermined time until they could perform it among Banii
Qurayza were correct, because their order to postpone it that day was specific
and special and therefore should have been given precedence over the normal
time for which it was determined under the law.
Abn Muhammad b. Hann al-Z&iri stated in his biography (of the Prophet
(SAAS)), "God knows that had we been there we would not have performed the