The Life Of Prophet Muhammed

Al-Ahzab (the Confederates) Invasion

Once again, peace and security enveloped the Arabian Peninsula and this turbulent area began to experience a period of lull after a whole year war. The Jews, however, whose treachery, intrigues and disloyalty made them taste all types of humiliation and disgrace, were not admonished. After they had been exiled to Khaibar, they remained waiting anxiously for the results of the skirmishes going on between the Muslims and the idolaters. Contrary to their hopes, the events of the war were in favour of the Muslims, therefore they started a new stage of conspiracy and prepared themselves to deal a deadly blow against the Muslims, but were too cowardly to manoeuvre directly against them, so they laid a dreadful plan in order to achieve their objectives. Twenty chiefs of the Jews with some celebrities of Bani Nadir went to Makkah to negotiate an unholy alliance with Quraish. They began to goad the people there to attack the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] promising them full support and backing. People of Quraish, who had been languid and proved too weak to challenge the Muslims at Badr, seized this opportunity to redeem their stained honour and blemished reputation. The same delegation set out for Ghatfan, called them to do the same, and they responded positively. The Jewish delegation then started a fresh effort and toured some parts of Arabia and managed to incite the confederates of disbelief against the Prophet [pbuh], his Message and the believers in Allâh. Quraish, Kinanah and other allies from Tihama, in the south; rallied, ranked and recruited four thousand men under the leadership of Abu Sufyan. From the east there came tribes of Banu Saleem, Ghatfan, Bani Murrah, etc. They all headed for Madinah and gathered in its vicinity at a time already agreed upon. It was a great army of ten thousand fighters. They in fact outnumbered all the Muslims in Madinah, women, lads and elders included. To tell the truth, if they had launched a surprise attack against Madinah, they could have exterminated all the Muslims. However, the leadership inside the city was on the alert and the intelligence personnel managed to reconnoitre the area of the enemies, and reported their movement to the people in charge in Madinah. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] summoned a high advisory board and conducted a careful discussion of a plan to defend Madinah. After a lengthy talk between military leaders and people possessed of sound advice, it was agreed, on the proposal of an honourable Companion, Salman Al-Farisi, to dig trenches as defensive lines. The Muslims, with the Prophet [pbuh] at their head, encouraging, helping and reminding them of the reward in the Hereafter, most actively and diligently started to build a trench around Madinah. Severe hunger, bordering on starvation, could not dissuade or discourage them from achieving their desperately sought objective. Salman said: O Messenger of Allâh! When siege was to laid to us in Persia, we used to dig trenches to defend ourselves. It was really an unprecedented wise plan. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] hurriedly gave orders to implement the plan. Forty yards was allocated to each group of ten to dig. Sahl bin Sa'd said: We were in the company of the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh], the men used to dig and we evacuate the earth on our backs.

Some preternatural Prophetic signs appeared in the process of trenching. Jabir bin 'Abdullah, seeing the Prophet [pbuh] starving, slaughtered a sheep, cooked some barley and requested the Prophet [pbuh] and some Companions to accept his invitation, but the Prophet [pbuh] gathered all the thousand people engaged in digging the trench and they started to eat until they were all completely full and yet the shoulder of mutton and dough that was being baked remained as they were undiminished. A certain woman brought a handful of dates and passed by the Prophet [pbuh], who took the dates, threw them over his cloak and invited his followers to eat. The dates began to increase in number until they dropped over the trim of his robe. Another illustrious preternatural example went to the effect that an obstinate rock stood out as an immune obstacle in the ditch. The Prophet [pbuh] took the spade and struck, and the rock immediately turned into a loose sand dune. In another version, Al-Bara' said: On Al-Khandaq (the trench) Day there stood out a rock too immune for our spades to break up. We therefore went to see the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] for advice. He took the spade, and struck the rock uttering "in the Name of Allâh, Allâh is Great, the keys of Ash-Shâm (Geographical Syria) are mine, I swear by Allâh, I can see its palaces at the moment;" on the second strike he said: "Allâh is Great, Persia is mine, I swear by Allâh, I can now see the white palace of Madain;" and for the third time he struck the rock, which turned into very small pieces, he said: "Allâh is Great, I have been given the keys of Yemen, I swear by Allâh, I can see the gates of San'a while I am in my place." The same version was narrated by Ishaq.[Ibn Hisham 3/330,331] The northern part of Madinah was the most vulnerable, all the other sides being surrounded by mountains and palm tree orchards, the Prophet [pbuh] as a skillful military expert, understood that the Confederates would march in that direction, so the trench was ordered to be on that side. The Muslims went on digging the trench for several days; they used to work on it during the day, and go back home in the evening until it had assumed its full dimensions militarily before the huge army of the idolaters;[ibid] which numbered, as many as ten thousand fighters, arrived and settled in the vicinity of Madinah in places called Al-Asyal and Uhud.