survivor was Ka‘b bin Zaid bin An-Najjar who was carried wounded from among the dead. It was in Al-Khandaq (the trench) Battle that he was killed.
‘Amr bin Omaiyah Ad-Damari and Al-Mundhir bin ‘Uqbah bin ‘Amir, who were entrusted with the Muslims’ animals far from them, saw the birds circling in the air over the battleground. Al-Mundhir rushed to share in the fight till he was killed. But ‘Amr bin Omaiyah was captured. ‘Amir set him free when he knew that he was of Mudar tribe but that was after he had cut his hair. He did that to fulfil a pledge of his mother’s to set a slave free.
Returning to the Prophet [pbuh] ‘Amr bin Omaiyah conveyed the news of the painful disaster, which resulted in the murder of seventy of the best believers, and recalled the tragedy of Uhud but with the difference that those of Uhud were killed in a clear war but those of Ma‘una were killed in a disgraceful treachery. On his way back to Qarqara, ‘Amr bin Omaiyah rested in the shade of a tree, and there two men of Bani Kilab joined him. When they slept, ‘Amr killed them both, thinking that by doing that he would avenge some of his killed companions. Then he found out that they had been given a pledge of protection by the Prophet [pbuh]. He told the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] what he had done. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] said to ‘Amr: "You have killed two people; their blood-money shall be a debt I have to discharge." He then engaged himself collecting their blood-money from the Muslims and their allies, the Jews [Ibn Hisham 2/183-188; Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/109-110; Sahih Al-Bukhari 2/584- 586]. This very act was later to trigger the invasion of Bani An-Nadeer.
The Prophet [pbuh] was so deeply moved by this tragedy and that of Ar-Raji‘ that he used to invoke Allâh’s wrath against those people and tribes who killed his Companions. Anas reported that for thirty days the Prophet [pbuh] supplicated Allâh against those who killed his Companions at Ma‘una Well. Every dawn prayer he would invoke Allâh’s wrath against Ri‘l, Dhakwan, Lihyan and ‘Usaiyah. He would say, " ‘Usaiyah disobeyed Allâh and His Messenger." Therefore Allâh ÚÒ æÌá, sent down unto His Messenger a Qur’ânic verse that we kept on reciting till it was abrogated later on: ‘Inform our folk that we have encountered our Lord and He is satisfied with us and we are satisfied with Him.’ So the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] stopped his invocation. [Sahih Al-Bukhari 2/586-588]
Bani An-Nadeer Invasion
We have already spoken about the disgraceful behaviour of the Jews and how they were always thirsting to shed the blood of the Muslims and undermine the cause of Islam despite all the covenants and pledges they had given to the Prophet [pbuh]. Their behaviour fluctuated between resignation and slackness after the Banu Qainuqa‘ event and the murder of Ka‘b bin Al-Ashraf, and rebellion coupled with treacherous clandestine contacts with Quraish and the hypocrites in order to establish an alliance against the Muslims after the battle of Uhud ['Aunul Ma'bood 3/116-117]. Being inexperienced in war tactics, they resorted to conspiracy and intrigue hatching. They first of all declared open hatred and enmity, and chose to play all sorts of tricks that might harm the Muslims, but were very careful not to initiate any sort of hostilities that might involve them in open war.
The Prophet [pbuh], on his part, exercised the highest degree of patience with them but they went too far in their provocative deeds, especially after Ar-Raji‘ and Ma‘una Well events; they even made an attempt on his life.