Nu'aym ibn Mas'ud's Strategic Deception

During the Battle of the Trench, Nu'aym ibn Mas'ud of the Ghatafan tribe secretly embraced Islam and came to the Prophet offering his service. The Prophet told him: 'You are only one man among us, so try to sow discord among the enemy, for war is deception.' Nu'aym went first to Banu Qurayza, with whom he had a pre-Islamic friendship, and warned them that if the Confederates withdrew, the Muslims would punish them, advising them to demand hostages from the Quraysh as guarantee. He then went to Abu Sufyan and the Quraysh, telling them Banu Qurayza regretted breaking the treaty and planned to demand Quraysh hostages to hand over to Muhammad. When the Quraysh proposed a joint attack and Banu Qurayza demanded hostages first, each side believed Nu'aym's warnings and mutual suspicion destroyed their alliance. This brilliant intelligence operation was a turning point in the siege.