Mohammad judged that the treachery of these tribesmen, renouncing their alliance and joining his enemies, deserved immediate punishment. The same day, he camped with his soldiers at the well of Enna, in front of his enemies' citadels; and after a blocus of twenty-five days, forced them to capitulate.
The Aus, to whom the Banu Quraizah had long been allied, begged the Prophet to spare their lives, as in the case of the Qaynuqa. The Prophet, however, considered that the treachery of the Banu Quraizah was a much more serious matter and he was not at all inclined to let himself be mollified. At last, desirous of meeting them halfway, he said: 'O Assembly of the Aus! will ye not consent to let one among you become arbitrator and decide what shall be done with your allies?'--'Yea! we consent.'--'Then let one of your chieftains, Sa'b ibn Mu'adh, seal their fate.'
Now, Sa'b ibn Mu'adh had been badly wounded during the Battle of the Ditch by an arrow which had severed an artery in the arm and he prayed Allah to let him live long enough to punish the Banu Quraizah for their felony. Sa'b, corpulent and too weak to walk, had himself placed on the back of an ass; where propped up by cushions and supported by two Believers, he was led to the assembly of the Mohadjirun and the Ansars, who stood up to do him honour, saying: 'The Prophet hath commissioned thee to decide the fate of they allies.'--'Will ye swear by Allah that my decision be carried into effect!'--'We swear it!'--'Well then, I decide that the men shall be slain, their property divided, and their wives and children sent into bondage.'--'Thy decision hath been inspired by the will of Allah!' concluded Mohammad.
Seven hundred Jews paid for their unjustifiable treachery with their lives. The wish for which Sa'b had lived was fulfilled. His old wound burst open, causing the last drops of his blood to flow away, and he earned the crown of martyrdom.
[Sidenote: EXPEDITION AGAINST THE JEWS OF KHAIBAR (_Year VI of the Hegira, A.D. 628_)]
Notwithstanding these grave defeats, the power of the Jews in Arabia was not definitively crushed.
The land of Khaibar, about ninety-six miles north of Al-Madinah, still belonged to them and it was richer and more important than the territory they had lost. Many Jews, driven from the neighbourhood of Al-Madinah, had taken refuge there; and by their thirst for revenge, they rekindled the hatred which the inhabitants already felt towards Islam.