Battle of the Trench

THE BATTLE OF THE DITCH:The Battle of the Ditch took place in Shawwal 5 A.H. It was a decisive battle but it presented to the Muslims grave trials that they had not previously experienced. Allah says inthe Qur’an:When they came against you from above you and from below you, and when your eyes swerved and your hearts reached your throats, and you thought thoughts about Allah; there it was that the believers were tried, and shaken most mightily. (33: 11)The Jews instigated these hostilities. People from the Banu’n-Nadir and the Banu Wa’il went to the Quraysh inMakkah, calling on them to fight the Messenger(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of Allah. The Quraysh who had already experienced war with the Prophet were reluctant to getinvolved again. However, the Jewish delegation painted such a rosy picture of the outcome that they agreed to co-operate.‘We will support you,’ the Jews promised, ‘until you obliterate him.’That delighted the Quraysh. They were eager to carry out the Jews’ ideas. They gathered their forces andprepared for battle. The Jewish delegation then went to the Ghatafan tribes and invited them to join the Quraysh. After the Ghatafan agreed to join in, they went to other tribes, presenting them with the same plan backed by the Quraysh.Thus an alliance was formed between the Quraysh, the Jews, and the Ghatafan against the Muslims.Certain conditions were drawn up. The Quraysh had to gather four thousand fighters and the Ghatafan six thousand, making ten thousand in all. This vast army was to be commanded by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb. The Jews agreed to give one year’s harvest of Khaybar to the Ghatafan to compensate them for their military expenses.WISDOM IS THE LOST PROPERTY OF THE BELIEVER:The Muslims decided to fortify themselvesin Madinahand defend the city. Their army numbered less than three thousand so Salman al-Farsi suggested that a ditch should be dug around the city for protection.‘In Persia,’ Salman said, ‘when we feared invaders, we would dig a ditcharound us to keep them at bay.’ The Messenger(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of Allah agreed to his suggestion and a ditch was dug on the exposed side from where they feared the enemy would attack. The Messenger(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of Allah planned the work and assigned forty cubits of digging to each group of ten Muslims. The length of the ditch was about five thousand cubits and its depth varied between seven and ten cubits. Its width was at least nine cubits.THE SPIRIT OF EQUALITY AND MUTUAL SUPPORT AMONG THE MUSLIMS:The Messenger(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of Allah helped to dig theditch and encouraged the Muslims working alongside him. Although it was bitterly cold and food was in short supply, the work proceeded smoothly.Abu Talhah said, ‘We complained to the Messenger(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of Allah of hunger and we showed him the stones that we had tied round our bellies to ease the pain. Then the Messenger(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of Allah showed us that he had two stones on his belly.’In spite of all this they were happy, praising Allah and chanting poems. No one complained or expressed anyregrets.Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, ‘The Messenger(sallallahualaiyhi wassallam) of Allah went out to the ditch when the Muhajirun and Ansar were digging in the bitterly cold morning air. They had no slavesto do it for them. Seeing their state of fatigue and hunger, he said:O Allah! True life is the life of the Next World. So forgive the Ansar and the Muhajirun.In response they said:We are those who have given homage to Muhammad.To fight in jihad as long as we have life.The Muslims came upon a large rockwhich their picks could not shift. When they complained to the Messenger(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of Allah about it, he took up a pick, saying, ‘In the name of Allah.’ His first blow broke off a third of the rock and sent sparks flying.‘Allah is greater!’ he said, ‘I have been given the keys of Syria. By Allah,I see its red castles, if Allah wills.’He struck at the rock a second time and another third broke off.‘Allah is greater. I have been given the keys of Persia and, by Allah, I see the white castles of al-Mada’in.With his third blow, he invoked the name of Allah and the rest of the rock shattered.‘Allah is greater!’ he exclaimed, ‘Allah is greater! I have been given the keys of the Yemen. By Allah, I see the gates of San’a’ from here.PROPHETIC MIRACLES:A number of miracles were witnessedby the Companions at this time. Oncewhen the ground was too hard to dig in part of the ditch, the Messenger(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of Allah called for some water, spat into it and prayed a supplication willed by Allah. When he poured the water over the hard ground, it became soft like sand. On other occasions, a great blessing would appear when a small amount of food could satisfy a large number of Muslims or even be sufficient for an entire army of three thousand workers.“When they came to you from above you and from beneath you”The Muslims had scarcely finished work on the ditch when the Quraysh and the Ghatafan arrived and pitched camp outside Madinah with ten thousand warriors. The Messenger(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of Allah assembled his three thousand Muslims, keeping the ditch between them and the enemy.A treaty existed between the Muslims and the Madinan Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayzah. Huyayy ibn Akhtab, the chief of Banu’n-Nadir encouraged the Jews to break the treaty. When the Messenger(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of Allah heard of this, he realised that it was a serious setback and everyone feared the consequences. Some of the hypocrites displayed their hypocrisy openly. The Messenger(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of Allah even considered making a treaty with the Ghatafan, giving them one-third of Madinah’s dates in order to make things easier for the Ansar who always bore the greatest hardships during wars.He rejected that option after Sa’d ibn Mu’adh and Sa’d ibn ‘Ubadah advised him to remain firm, upright and resolute before the enemy and to refuse any compromise.‘Messenger of Allah,’ they said, ‘We and these people all used to associate other things with Allah andworship idols; none of us worshipped nor recognised Allah. They would not eat a single date except through hospitality or purchase. Now that Allah has honoured us with Islam and guided us to it and made us mighty by you and Himself, shall we still give them our property? By Allah, we have no need to and, by Allah, we will not givethem anything but the sword until Allah decides between us and them.’QURAYSH CAVALRY:The Messenger(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of Allah and the Muslimsremained besieged by their enemies but no fighting took place. However, some of the mounted Quraysh galloped their horses up to the edge of the ditch. When they saw the ditch, they Said, ‘By Allah, this is a device which the Arabs have never used!’Then, having found the narrowest part, they beat their horses until they jumped over the ditch into the territory of Madinah. Among them was the famous horseman Amr ibn Abd Wudd who was said to be the equal of a thousand horsemen. He stopped and asked, ‘Who will face me?’Ali ibn Abi Talib sprang forward and said, ‘Amr!You swore by Allah that if a man of the Quraysh offered you two alternatives, you would accept one ofthem!’‘Yes, I did.’‘I call you to Allah and to His Messenger(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) and to Islam,’ Ali said.‘I have no need of that.’‘Then I call on you to encounter me.’‘Nephew,’ said Amr to Ali, ‘By Allah, I do not want to kill you.’‘But, by Allah,’ Ali replied, ‘I want to kill you.’Amr was so furious that he leapt from his horse, hamstrung it, and slapped its face. Then he advanced on Ali who fought back. They circled one another, thrusting and parrying. Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) eventually beheaded Amr with a sweeping blow of his sword. The other horsemen rapidly retreated back across the ditch.A MOTHER ENCOURAGING HER SON TO FIGHT AND GAIN MARTYRDOM:Before the veil was prescribed, A’ishah, Umm al-Mu’minin, said thatshe was with the Muslim women in the fortress of Banu Harithah when, ‘Sa’d ibn Mu’adh passed by weari