The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 475
X - Siege of Madīnah and Delicate State of the Muslims, Failure of the Disbelievers and Reality of Miracles 475 the least consideration and shall leave you here at the mercy of the Muslims. In the least, you should demand the Quraish and Ghaṭafān to hand over a few men as hostages, so that you may be reassured that you will not suffer betrayal in the end. ” The chieftains of the Banū Quraiẓah understood this advice of Na‘īm and became prepared to demand hostages from the Quraish so that they would not confront difficulty in the end. After this, Na‘īm bin Mas‘ūd went to the chieftains of the Quraish and said: “The Banū Quraiẓah are afraid that after you leave they may be faced with difficulty on your account; hence, they are beginning to doubt this alliance and intend to demand a few hostages as a guarantee. However, you should not give them any hostages at all, lest they betray you and hand over your hostages to the Muslims”, etc. , etc. Then, he went to his own tribe, the Ghaṭafān, and said similar things. 1 By God’s design, it so happened that the Quraish and Ghaṭafān were already planning an all-out attack upon the Muslims. This attack was to be waged from all four fronts of the city simultaneously, so that the Muslims would not be able to defend themselves due to their meagre number and their line of defence could be penetrated from one place or another. With this intention, they sent word to the Banū Quraiẓah that, “The siege is becoming overly prolonged and people are growing weary. Thus, we have decided that tomorrow all of the tribes shall wage a united attack upon the Muslims, you should also remain prepared for tomorrow’s assault. ” The Banū Quraiẓah, who had already spoken with Na‘īm responded, “Tomorrow is our Sabbath day and thus we are unable to engage the following day; and either way, until you hand over to us some hostages as a guarantee that you shall not betray us in the end, we cannot partake in this attack. ” When the Quraish and Ghaṭafān received this response from the Banū Quraiẓah, they were left astounded and said, “Na‘īm has spoken the truth, it seems as if the Banū Quraiẓah are bent upon betraying us. ” On the other hand, the Banū Quraiẓah received the response of the Quraish and Ghaṭafān that, “We shall not give you any hostages. If you wish to come in support, then do so without any conditions. ” As a result, the Banū 1 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, pp. 630-631, Ghazwatul- Khandaqi Fī Shawwālin Sanata Khamsin, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001)