Ka'b Ibn Asad - The Battle of Buath

The Battle of Buath

In 617 the pagan tribes of Medina, the Khazraj and the Aws, were in conflict. The Aws asked the Quayza and the Nadir for assistance. The Khazraj heard about it and they demanded that the Jews send forty hostages as a pledge of their neutrality. Once they had the hostages in their power, the Khazraj then threatened to kill them unless the Jews handed their lands over to the Khazraj. Some of the Jews were willing to submit, but Ka'b ibn Asad insisted that they should not sacrifice their ancestral homes, and so most of the hostages were killed. As a result, the Qurayza and the Nadir really did ally themselves with the Aws. This led to the Battle of Buath, in which the Aws narrowly defeated the Khazraj.