In the course of his campaigns Muhammad came across the Jewish tribe of the Banu Qurayza who strongly resisted him. Eventually, however, they surrendered to his forces.
After being disarmed it was judged that the men of the tribe had to be put to the sword because they allegedly broke an agreement with the Muslims. Muhammad declared this was in line with Allah's judgement (Sahih Bukhari 5 59:447).
Muhammad actively participated in the massacre of these unfortunate unarmed men: "Then the apostle went out to the market of Medina (which is still its market today) and dug trenches in it. Then he sent for them and struck off their heads in those trenches as they were brought out to him in batches." (Ibn Ishaq) At least 600 unarmed males were killed, with some traditions putting the figure as high as 900.
It is clear that this massacre did not only include men of fighting age but also young boys. This is the testimony of a survivor: "Narrated Atiyyah al-Qurazi: I was among the captives of Banu Qurayzah. They (the Companions) examined us, and those who had begun to grow hair (pubes) were killed and those who had not were not killed. I was among those who had not grown hair. (Abu Dawud 38:4390)
The common response by Muslim apologists to charges related to this terrible massacre is to point to the alleged treachery of the tribe and to say something along the lines of 'They deserved it'. This assertion can be challenged but I will not do so here.
I want to instead focus on the fact that boys of around 10-11 (the average age of onset of male puberty) were massacred. A few questions for those who would like to defend Muhammad’s actions:
What influence could these children have had on the policies of their elders that would 'justify' their execution?
Why was such an utterly arbitrary measure (looking for hair) used to decide who will die?
Is this kind of 'rough justice' really what we would expect from an ‘excellent example'? (Qur’an 33:21)
For much more about the troubling actions of the founder of Islam, please see my book ‘Questioning Islam - Tough Questions and Honest Answers About the Muslim Religion’.
Kind regards,
Peter
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