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Concept
Banu Qurayza
Summary
The Banu Qurayza (بنو قريظة; alternate spellings include Quraiza, Qurayzah, Quraytha, and the archaic Koreiza) were a Jewish tribe which lived in northern Arabia, at the oasis of Medina (previously known as Yathrib). They were one of the three major Jewish tribes of the city, along with the Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Nadir, before their elimination by the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Jewish tribes reportedly arrived in Hijaz in the wake of the Jewish-Roman wars and introduced agriculture, putting them in a culturally, economically and politically dominant position. However, in the 5th century, the Banu Aws and the Banu Khazraj, two Arab tribes that had arrived from Yemen, gained dominance. When these two tribes became embroiled in conflict with each other, the Jewish tribes, now clients or allies of the Arabs, fought on different sides, the Qurayza siding with the Aws.
In 622, Muhammad migrated to Medina after successfully negotiating with the Khazraj—to which his great-grandmother belonged—and the Aws to mediate their tribal conflicts in the city. Previously, in Mecca, tensions had arisen between Muhammad and the Quraysh following his attacks on their faith after they had previously shown little interest in his proselytizing activities. After the migration, Muhammad often raided Quraysh trade caravans and plundered their goods, leading to armed conflicts between the two. Muhammad also tried to convince the Jewish population of Medina that he was their prophet, but failed and was criticized, in part, for the inconsistency of his Quran with the Jewish scriptures. This led to the transfer of the direction of the Islamic prayer from Jerusalem to the Kaaba in Mecca, and sometime later to the expulsion of the Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Nadir from Medina by him.
After the Battle of the Trench, Muhammad was reportedly visited by Gabriel, who directed him to attack the Qurayza. Despite the tribe's earlier assistance in excavating the trench to impede the Meccans' advance and providing the Muslims with their tools, Muhammad later accused them of having sided with his enemy—a claim that they strongly refuted.
Official source
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