garrisons or been martyred like Hamza (a former Muslim martyr).
In the light of this reluctance, they had nothing except to comply with the Messenger’s judgement.
The
Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) ordered that the men should handcuffed, and this was done  under the supervision of Muhammad bin Salamah Al-Ansari while the women and children were  isolated  in confinement. Thereupon Al-Aws tribe interceded begging the Prophet (Peace be upon him) to be  lenient towards them. He suggested that Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh, a former ally, be deputed to give verdict  about them, and they agreed.
Sa‘d meanwhile stayed behind in Madinah due to a serious wound he sustained in the Confederates
Battle. He was summoned and brought on a donkey. On his way to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) ,  the Jews used to exhort him to be lenient in his judgement on account of former friendship. Sa‘d  remained silent but when they persisted he uttered: “It is time for Sa‘d not to be afraid of the blame  of  the blamers.” On hearing this decisive attitude, some of them returned to Madinah waiting fa  desperate  doom.
On arrival, he alighted with the help of some men. He was informed that the Jews had agreed to  accept  his verdict about them. He immediately wondered if his judgement would pass on all the people  present, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) included, turning his face away in honour of him. The reply  was positive.
He decided that all the able-bodied male persons belonging to the tribe should be killed, women and  children taken prisoners and their wealth divided among the Muslim fighters. The Prophet (Peace be  upon him) accepted his judgement saying that Sa‘d had adjudged by the Command of Allâh. In fact,  the Jews deserved that severe punitive action for the ugly treachery they had harboured against
Islam,  and the large arsenal they have amassed and which consisted of one thousand and five hundred  swords, two thousand spears, three hundred armours and five hundred shields, all of which went into  the hands of the Muslims. Trenches were dug in the bazaar of Madinah and a number of Jews between  six and seven hundred were beheaded therein. Hot beds of intrigue and treachery were thus  exterminated once and for all.
Huyai, a chief criminal of war, a devil of Bani Nadir and Safiyah’s father, had joined the ranks of Banu
Quraiza when Quraish and Ghatfan defected, was admitted into the audience of the Prophet (Peace be  upon him) with his hands tied to his neck with a rope. In audacious defiance, he declared obstinate  enmity to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) but admitted that Allâh’s Will was to be fulfilled and added  that he was resigned to his fate. He was ordered to sit down, and was beheaded on the spot.
Only one woman of the Jews was killed because she had killed a Muslim warrior by flinging a grinding  stone upon him. A few elements of the enemy embraced Islam and their lives, wealth and children  were  spared. As for the spoils of the war, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) divided them, after putting a  fifth  aside, in accordance with Allâh’s injunctions. Three shares went to the horseman and one to the  infantry fighter. Women captives were sent to Najd to be bartered with horses and weaponry. For  himself, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) selected Rehana bint ‘Amr bin Khanaqah, manumitted and  married her in the year 6 Hijri. She died shortly after the farewell pilgrimage and was buried in Al-
Baqi‘..
After the war with Banu Quraiza had been settled and they had been defeated, Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh’s wish  was gratified and he gave his last breath. In response to his supplication ‘Aishah (May Allah be  pleased  with her) narrated, Sa‘d’s wounds began to bleed from the front part of his neck while he was in his  tent which the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had pitched for him in the mosque so that he would be in  close proximity in order to inquire about and watch his well-being closely. The people were not scared  except when the blood flowed towards them, and in the Mosque along with Sa‘d’s tent, there was the  tent of Banu Ghifar. They said: O people of the tent, what is it that is coming to us from you? Lo! it  was
Sa‘d’s wound that was bleeding and he died thereon.
Jabir narrated that the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) had said: “The Throne of the
Compassionate shook for the death of Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh. ” When his bier was carried, At-Tirmidhi said: