The Battle Of Trenches

Divine Succor

The siege continued for a month or so. The Muslims were hungry and weary while the transgressors were fully provided with arms and provisions. The hypocrites showed their true mettle such that many of them asked permission from the Prophet to return to Medina on the pretext that they had come in a hurry leaving the doors of their houses unlocked. In reality however, they just simply wanted to withdraw from the battlefront.

The Apostle (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his companions endured the days in nervous strain, harassed by the enemy in front and worried by the menace of the Jews in the rear. Then, suddenly one day Nu’aym b. Mas’ud belonging to the Ghatfan came to the Apostle and told him that he had secretly embraced Islam, but his own people did not know of it. He also offered to do whatever he was ordered. The Prophet replied, “You are the only man there, so remain with them and try to help us, for war is but a strategy and a clever device.”

After taking the prophet’s permission, Nu’aym b. Mas’ud went off to Banu Qurayda. He talked to them in a way that they began to wonder whether they had taken a correct decision in abandoning the Muslims, their next-door neighbors, for the sake of the distant tribes like the Quraish and the Ghatfan. He further advised them that it would be wise of them to demand some notable members of the Quraish and Ghatfan chiefs as hostages before joining their fight, so that they got a fair deal from their allies. Bani Qurayda expressed their gratefulness to Nu’aym for his excellent advice.

Nu’aym then went to the leaders of the Quraish and after assuring them of his sincerity, told them that Bani Qurayda were unhappy on taking sides with them. They were thinking of demanding some of their nobles as hostages, by way of security, on the pretext that the promise made to them by the allies was not broken. He also said that Bani Qurayda had actually sent word to Muhammad (peace be upon him) that they would hand over to him a few chiefs of the two tribes to prove their sincerity to him, so that he might cut off their heads. Nu’aym told the same story to the Ghatfan people as well. The seeds of distrust thus sowed by Nu’aym between Bani Qurayda, on the one hand, and the Quraish and the Ghaftan, on the other, made each cautious as well as suspicious of the other party. Abu Sufyan decided upon a general attack, and then demanded hostages from the Quraish and Ghatfan before pulling together with them. The stratagem of Nu’aym b. Mas’ud proved a complete success. The Quraish and the Ghatfan were convinced that the news brought by Nu’aym was entirely correct, and they promptly turned down the demand of the Jews. Bani Qurayda, on their part, became dead sure that their allies were not sincere to them. The discouragement suffered by the allied forces smashed their unity and exhausted their patience.

Then, in a cold and cloudy night, a violent hurricane from the desert uprooted the tents of the nomads and overthrew their cooking pots. The severe weather, sent by God, disheartened the enemy. Calling his men, Abu Sufyan said to them, “O Quraish, it is no longer a fit place to camp here. Our horses have died, Bani Qurayda have not kept faith with us and we have heard dreadful tidings of them. You can see the havoc caused by the gale; we have neither a cooking pot at its place, nor a lit fire, nor have a tent standing, nor yet a shelter to bank on. Get you gone, for I have decided to go.” Abu Sufyan then got up abruptly and going to his camel which was hobbled, mounted it and beat it, and he did not even free it from its hobble until it had stood up.

When the Ghatfan learnt that the Quraish had departed, they also vanished amidst the darkness of the desert.

Hudhayfa b. Al-Yaman, who had been sent by the Apostle to spy on the movements of the enemy, returned with the news of the enemy’s departure when the Prophet was offering prayers. He told the Apostle what he had seen.1 No trace of the enemy was left by the break of the dawn when the Apostle and the Muslims left their camp, not to the trench, but to their houses in Medina where they laid down their arms.2

This was a miracle worked by the mercy of God, as the Qur’an says about it:

“O ye who believe! Remember Allah’s favor unto you when there came against you hosts, and we sent against them a great wind and hosts you could not see. And Allah is ever Seer of what you do” (Qur’an 33:9).

“And Allah repulsed the disbelievers in their wrath; they gained no good. Allah averted their back from the believers. Allah is Strong, Mighty” (Qur’an 33:25).

And then the billowy clouds that had covered the heavens disappeared without any rainstorm or thunderbolt, leaving the sky of Medina as clear as ever. The Apostle said to his companions, “The Quraish shall not come at you after this year, but you would attack them after that.”3

Seven Muslims laid down their lives in the battle of the Trenches while they killed four of the infidels.

Footnotes:

1. Muslim, Chap. Ghazwatul Ahzab
2. Ibn Kathir, Vol. III pp. 214-21
3. Ibid., p. 221

Ardent Zeal Of Muslim Women

‘Aisha, who was then in the citadel of Bani Haritha with other Muslim women, was young enough to screen herself from men. She says that S’ad Mu’adh passed that way. He was putting on a coat of mail so small that his hands were fully exposed. He was reciting some verses, when his mother told him hurry up lest he should be late. “Umm S’ad, by God, I wish that his coat of mail were longer.” The fear expressed by ‘Aisha ultimately proved to be well justified for S’ad was shot by an arrow on his arm and died of excessive bleeding1 during the subsequent battle with Bani Qurayda.

Footnotes:

1. Ibn Kathir, Vol. III, p. 207

The Actual Fight

The army of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) pitched its tents behind the trench and watched day and night. Beyond the trench, the allied forces laid a siege of the city but the impasse continued for a few days without any actual fighting between the two armies. The enemy cavalry rode ahead and, on coming nearer, suddenly saw a wide ditch. The unexpected filled them with consternation.

“A novel device, a wily ruse” they exclaimed in amazement. How was the ditch to be crossed, they asked one another and decided to go around the trench to find where it was the narrowest. Some of them beat their horses so that they jumped over the moat and carried their rides into the territory of Medina. One of these was the well-known warrior, ‘Amr b. ‘Abdu Wudd, who was considered a match for a thousand horsemen. After crossing the ditch, he stopped and challenged anyone to fight him.

‘Ali immediately sprang forward and said to him, “’Amr, you declared to God that if a man of Quraish offered you two alternatives you would accept one of them.” “Yes, I did”, replied ‘Amr. “Then” said Ali, “I invite you to Allah and His Apostle and to Islam.” ‘Amr replied, ‘It is of no use to me.” “Then I call you to face me”, rejoined ‘Ali. “Why”, said ‘Amr, “O son of my brother, by God, I do not want to kill you.” “But,” retorted ‘Ali, “I do want to kill you.” ‘Amr was flushed with anger. He dismounted his horse, hamstrung it and slapped its face, then he turned to ‘Ali. ‘Amr fought, jostled with ‘Ali, made blows and parried, but ultimately ‘Ali cut off ‘Amr’s head with a sweeping slash of his scimitar. Two of his comrades who had stormed the trench with him darted back on their horses.

The Fiery Order

The Muslims had hardly finished work on the trench when the Quraish arrived and encamped outside Medina. They had ten thousand well-equipped warriors with them. Ghatfan came with their confederate tribes and encamped with the Quraish. The Apostle assembled his three thousand men to face them, the trench intervening between the camps of the two armies. Bani Qurayda, the Jewish tribe of Medina, had made a treaty with the Apostle for the defense of the city. However, Huyayy b. Akhtab, the chief of Bani Nadir, deported earlier from the city and coaxed Bani Qurayda into breaking the pledge made earlier by them.

The Muslims were placed in a desperate position, where an air of insecurity and fear seized the city. The faint-hearted hypocrites now showed their true colors, even sowing seeds of discontent among the rank and file. The Prophet at once realized the dangerous plight of the Muslims in general, and that of the Ansar in particular, who had always had to bear the major brunt of war with the infidels. The Apostle, therefore, proposed that it might be worthwhile to make peace with Bani Ghaftan by giving them one-third of Medina’s date harvest. The Apostle did not want the Ansar to be troubled any more for his sake. But S’ad b. Mu’adh and S’ad b. ‘Ubada, the two chiefs of Aus and Khazraj, did not agree to the suggestion. They said, “O Messenger of God, when we and the Ghatfan were polytheists and idolaters, neither serving God nor knowing Him, they got none of our dates except as guests or by purchase. Shall we give them our property after God has honored us with Islam and your guidance? No, by Allah, we shall give them anything but the sword until God decides between us.” “As you please,” replied the Prophet giving up such an idea.1

Footnotes:

1. Ibn Kathir, Vol. III, pp. 202-3

Some More Miracles

The companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) witnessed a number of miracles while digging the trench. Whenever a party felt any difficulty owing to the existence of any rock which they could not break or remove, the Apostle asked for some water and mixed a little of his saliva into it. Then he prayed as God willed him to pray; and directed to sprinkle the water on the rock which pulverized like a heap of sand.1

Very often, so they say, a little food sufficed for a large number of persons or even the entire army of three thousand workers.

Jabir b. Abdullah said, “When we were digging at the trench a huge pile of rock appeared as an obstruction. The people went to the Apostle and told him that a piece of rock had obstructed their work. Saying, ‘I shall go down’, he stood up while he had a stone tied on his belly, for we had been working three days without tasting food. The Prophet then took the mattock and struck it, which became a mound of sand pouring down. I then left the Prophet and went to my house. I asked my wife if she had anything, for I had seen the Prophet very hungry. ‘Yes’, said she, ‘I have a little barley and an ewe.’ I killed the ewe and she ground the barley, and we put the meat in a pot for cooking. When the meat was being cooked and the flour had been kneaded, I went to the Apostle and told him secretly that I had a little food for him, so he might come over with one or two more persons. The Apostle asked me how much victuals I had and I told him I had enough for the guests. The Prophet replied, ‘It is too good and sufficient.’ Then he asked me to go back and tell my wife not to take off the pot nor bake the dough until he had arrived. The Apostle invited all the people, Ansar and Muhajirrin, who came with him. I went back to my wife and told her if she knew that the Apostle had invited all the people, Muhajirin and Ansars, and everybody present there was coming with him. She asked, ‘Did the Prophet ask you about the food available?’ I replied in the affirmative. Then the Apostle came and told the people to enter the house. He took pieces of the loaves and placing meat on them, distributed to the people turn after turn, and kept the oven and the pot covered with a cloth. With this, he was able to share loaves of bread and meat to all his companions until everyone was satisfied. Then he asked my wife and me to take the food and give it to others, for we were also without food for a few days.”2

Another version of the incident related by Jabir says that he went to the Apostle (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and told him in a whisper that he had killed an ewe and had little barley which had been grounded and so if he might come with a few persons to share in the preparation. But the Apostle said aloud, “You who are working at the trench, Jabir has prepared a banquet.”

Footnotes:

1. Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, pp. 217-18
2. Bukhari, Bab-ul-Khandaq

Miracle Predicting A Bright Future

A large rock was causing great difficulty in digging the trench, for the pick mattock could not break it. When the Apostle (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was informed he went down into the trench and gave such a blow with the pickax that one-third of the rock was hewed asunder. Thereupon the Prophet said, “Glory be to God, the keys of Syria have been given to me.” With the second blow of the pick, the Prophet hewed another one-third of the rock and said, “Glory be to God, the keys of Persia have been given to me. By God, I see the white castle of Mada’in (Ctesiphon).” In the third attempt, the remaining portion of the rock was broken to pieces. The Apostle then said, “Glory be to God, I have been given the keys of Yemen. By God, I can now see the gate of Sana’a.1

At the time when this prediction was made, no prophecy could be more remote from the way things fall. Meager diet and bleak weather then emaciated the Muslims and the army, advancing against the not too well-fortified city, was threatening to deal a death blow to its defenders.

Footnote:

1. Ibn Kathir, Vol. III, p. 194

Enthusiasm And The Cooperative Spirit

The Apostle (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself helped the parties digging the portions of trench allotted to them. Although the winter season that had set in was extremely harsh1 and the impoverished Muslims had but little provisions to satisfy their craving for hunger, the work proceeded smoothly owing to the enthusiasm and perseverance of the volunteers.

Abu Talha relates that once when he was exhausted by hunger, he complained to the Apostle and showed his belly on which he had tied a slab of stone for allaying the uneasy sensation. The Apostle of God then showed him his own belly on which he had tied two slabs of rock.2

But, everybody was happy and cheerful in spite of these deprivations. The Apostle’s companions sang songs of pride3 and chanted praises of God to keep themselves busy in their task without a word of complaint from their lips.

Anas related that once the Apostle came to the place where they were digging the trench. He saw the Ansar and the Muhajirrin working hard to complete their work despite the piercing coldness of the chilly morning, for they had neither slaves nor servants to dig the trench for them. Seeing how they were laboring with their empty stomachs, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “O Allah, life is truly the life of hereafter; so pardon the Ansar and the Muhajirin.”

Overjoyed to hear the Apostle invoking forgiveness for them, the people present there said in reply: “It is we who have pledged to Muhammad, to fight in Jihad till the spark of life is imbued.”4

Anas further said that if one of them happened to procure a handful of barely, he used to grind and mix it with a little fat to be shared by all, enduring its offensive smell and taste in the process.

Footnotes:

1. Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, p. 216
2. Mishkat al-Masabih, Vol. II, p. 448. It was a custom among the Arabs that when they felt unbearable pangs of hunger, they used to tie a slab of rock on their bellies in order to allay the uneasy sensation and to be able to do their work.
3. Called Rajz
4. Bukhari, Kitab ul-Mughazi, Chap. Ghazwatul Khandaq

Wisdom: A Lost Property Of The Muslims

When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) received news of the Jews’ design to wipe the Muslims out of existence, he conferred with his companions on how to take the threat. It was decided that they launch a defensive war resisting the attack of the enemy on the city instead of facing the coalition in a pitched battle outside Medina. So the Apostle assembled a force of three thousand armed men in defense of the city.

A Persian companion, called Salman, advised to dig a trench along the side of Medina which was laid open to cavalry attack.1 This advice was well- known to the Iranians.2 Salman is reported to have said, “Apostle of God, when we feared a charge by the cavalry we used to dig trenches to keep the invaders at bay.”

The Apostle agreed to his suggestion and decided to have trenches dug in the open ground lying to the north of Medina. The city was exposed only on that side and was well protected to the west, south and east by clumped plantations, volcanic rocky plains and granite hills, presenting a considerable obstacle to the progress of a mounted army.3

The Apostle (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) marked the planned ditch and assigned forty cubits of digging to every batch of ten persons.4 The length of the trench was about five thousand cubits, its depth varied between seven to ten cubits and the width was normally nine cubits or a little more.5

Footnotes:

1. Ibid., p. 224
2. Khandaq, as the trench is called, is the Arabicised form of the Persian Khandak and Kandak.
3. The trench lay in the north of the city, its eastern end began at Harrata Waqim and extended up to valley of Bathan where the basalt plain of the west begins (Abdul Quddus Ansari, Athar al-Madina).
4. Ibn Kathir, Vol. III, p. 192
5. Ghazwah Ahzab by Ahmad Ba-Shum’il

The Battle Of Trenches

The battle of Trenches, or, of the Clans1, as it is called sometimes, took place in the month of Shawwal, 5 A.H. The battle was fought with great difficulties and overcome with comparable courage. It forged and tested the fortitude and patience of the Muslims that would later prove to be of immense benefit to them not only in winning over the Arabian Peninsula to their faith but also in taking its message to the distant lands. It was a decisive conflict between Islam and disbelief, or between light and darkness, whereby Muslims were put to the most crucial trials never ever experienced before.

“When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when eyes grew wild and hearts reached to the throats, and you were imagining vain thoughts concerning Allah.

There were the believers sorely tried, and shaken with mighty shock” (Qur’an 33:10-11).

The Jews were the real instigators of hostilities leading to the Battle of Trenches. Certain persons belonging to Bani an-Nadir and Bani Wa’il, who made no secret to see the Muslims eliminated, called upon the Quraish of Mecca and invited them to annihilate the Muslims altogether. At first, the Quraish did not show much interest in the proposal, for they had already twice exchanged and measured swords with the Muslims. But the Jews painted a rosy picture of the affair and promised the support of all the Jewish settlements in Arabia for getting rid of the Muslims once and for all. The Quraish ultimately agreed to their suggestion. The deputation of the Jews then went to the great desert tribe of Ghaffan and urged them to join in the expedition for the destruction of Yathrib. They called upon all the clans of Ghatfan, assiduously inviting them to join the Quraish in their combined drive against Islam.2

An alliance was thus formed between the Quraish, the Jews and the Ghatfan to wage a total war against the Muslims. An important clause of the agreement made for the venture was that the Ghatfan would muster six thousand soldiers for the military operations while the Jews would give them a whole year’s harvest of Khaybar to compensate for the expenses incurred by them. The Quraish, on their part, agreed to contribute four thousand combatants. A strong army of ten thousand was thus mobilized and Abu Sufyan assumed command of the combined force.3

Footnotes:

1. Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, p. 214
2. Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, pp. 214-15
3. Ibid., pp. 219-20