Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq — Page 69
69 69 HADRATABU BAKR the wind, and their pack animals ran off out of fear of the storm. The disbelievers had already been frustrated from sitting for a month without fighting. This storm appeared to be a bad omen to them. Worried by this new trouble, the Quraish went back to Makkah. Once the Quraish left the rest of the tribes also returned to their homes. When the Ban u Qurai z ah saw that all the Arab tribes had abandoned the battlefield, they closed the gates to their fort and sat inside. Their scheme to crush the Muslims had utterly failed. The Holy Prophet sa sent a messenger to ask them why they had broken their word and sided against the Muslims. The Ban u Qurai z ah responded with vile words against the Holy Prophet sa and his family and they denied ever having made a pact with the Muslims. At this the Muslims attacked them and finally the Ban u Qurai z ah surrendered on the condition that the punishment for their treason not be given by the Holy Prophet sa but rather would be decided by their ally, the chief of the Aus tribe, Sa‘d bin Mu ‘a dh. This was a fatal error on their part because the punishment they received from the Holy Prophet sa would most likely have been expulsion from Mad i nah. However, the Holy Prophet sa and the Muslims accepted their condition and all parties agreed to accept the ruling of Sa‘d