Reconsidering the Fate of Banū Qurayẓa Captives

The fate of the captives of Banū Qurayẓa remains one of the most challenging issues in the Prophetic tradition. Saʿd b. Muʿādh was responsible for issuing a sentence for the captives of Banū Qurayẓa, which is stated in many sources of Islamic history as follows: all men were to be executed, while women and children were to be taken captive. This article delves into the historical background of Jews in Hijaz to examine the reports of narrators who witnessed the enforcement of Saʿd’s sentence on Jewish captives. It also scrutinizes various reports of this sentence, assessing the context surrounding the sentence, and questions the accuracy of the number of those executed according to historical sources, which range from 400 to 900 people. While historical records confirm that some Banū Qurayẓa Jews were executed, it could be argued that only their leaders faced the death penalty.