Execution of the men of the Jewish tribe Banu Qurayza

The Banou Qourayza were one of the three great Jewish tribes of Yathrib, the future Medina, of which the other two — Banou Qaynouqa and Banou Nadir — had already been expelled. A pact bound them to the Muslim community for the defense of the city.

During the siege known as the Trench, led by the Meccans and their allies, the tribe was accused of having negotiated with the besiegers. Once the siege was lifted, it was in turn besieged in its fortresses and surrendered after several weeks. Arbitration was entrusted to Sa'd ibn Mou'adh, chief of the Aws, traditional allies of the tribe and himself mortally wounded: he ruled that the men would be executed, the women and children reduced to captivity, and the property divided.

The sentence was carried out in the marketplace of Medina. This is the most widely debated episode in the Muslim biographical tradition, and it has been commented upon as much by jurists as by historians.