THE
BATTLE OF THE TRENCH AND ITS CAUSE
The incident of “the Battle of the
Trench” occurred in 5 Hijri. The Seal of the Prophets صَلَّى
اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم had expelled the Jews of Banu Nadeer from
Madinah due to their violation of the pacts. Some of them went to Khayber and
settled there.
In Khayber, they formed an alliance
with the local Jews and then incited the polytheists of Arabia to wage war
against the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم, ensuring them every kind of help and support from their end.
All the disbelievers of Arabia formed a confederation and intended to go to war
against the Muslims. For this reason, it is also called Ghazwah al-Ahzaab (the
Battle of all the Confederates). The total number of the enemy was 10,000.
For this reason, Sayyiduna Salman
Farsi رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ suggested: “It is
better to engage in a defensive battle by staying inside the city. A trench
should be dug on the side from where, there is a risk of disbelievers’
invasion.”
Since three sides of Madinah were
surrounded by narrow streets of houses and clumps of date trees, hence, there
was not any possibility of an invasion from those three sides. There was only
one side that was open, therefore, it was decided that a deep trench should be
dug on that side.
Therefore, on 8 Zul-Qa’dah of 5
Hijri, the Final Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللهُ
عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم engaged in digging the trench with 3,000 companions’
رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُم. He صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم marked the boundaries
of the trench with his own blessed hands, and distributed ten yards of land to
ten men each. This trench was dug in approximately twenty days. The trench was
300 metres in length and 9 metres in width, whereas, the depth of the trench
was 5 meters.
In that age, the use of a trench in
a battle was a new experience for the people of Arabia, and it became one of
the reasons for success in this battle. When the army of the disbelievers
marched forward, they were astonished to see the trench before them. They
besieged Madinah, and this siege lasted for approximately one month. This siege
was so severe and tight that the Final Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم and the blessed companions’
رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُم went without food
completely on many occasions.
A few disbelievers crossed the
trench from one place, but when their prominent warriors were killed, the
remaining ones fled. In this battle, six Muslims embraced martyrdom. Abu
Sufyan, who was the commander-in-chief of the army of the disbelievers at that
time, got exasperated by the extremely cold weather, long siege and the
military rations running out.
In this situation, Allah Almighty
afflicted them with such a hurricane which put their cauldrons upside down and
uprooted their tents. In short, they found themselves in such a situation where
they had no other choice, but to flee.
The
Battle of Banu Quraydhah
During the Battle of Trench, Banu
Quraydhah broke the pact and helped the disbelievers. In order to punish them
for this, the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم set out for Banu Quraydhah with his army immediately after the
Battle of Trench. Banu Quraydhah surrendered after a siege of twenty-five days
and said that whatever decision Sayyiduna Saad Bin Muaaz رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ makes about them, they would accept it.
According to the decision made by
Sayyiduna Saad رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ,
those who fought out of them were killed, their women and children were made
prisoners, and their possessions were distributed among the Mujahideen.
Bear in mind that Banu Quraydhah
themselves chose Sayyiduna Sa’d Bin Mu’aaz رَضِيَ
اللهُ عَنْهُ as a mediator and then his verdict was acted upon, and the
decision of Sayyiduna Sa’d رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ
was actually in accordance with the religious teachings of Banu Quraydhah.
INTENTION
OF UMRAH AND AN ASTONISHING MIRACLE
In the sixth year of migration, in
Zul-Qa’dah, the Final Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللهُ
عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم set out for Makkah after wearing the Ihram
of ‘Umrah with 1400 companions’ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُم.
He صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم
thought that the disbelievers of Makkah might stop them from performing the
‘Umrah, therefore, he صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ
وَسَلَّم had already sent a person from the Khuza’ah tribe to Makkah so
that he could bring information about the intentions of the disbelievers of
Makkah.
When the caravan of the Beloved
Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم
reached near ‘Usfaan, he brought the news that the disbelievers of Makkah had
gathered all the disbelievers of the Arab tribes and instructed them that they
should not let the Muslims enter Makkah at any cost.
Therefore, the disbelievers of
Makkah gathered all the tribes that were united with them and formed an army.
In order to stop the Muslims, they went out of Makkah and camped at a place.
The Final Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم took a different path to where the army of disbelievers was
deployed. Heading forward through an unusual path, the Muslims reached
“Hudaybiyah”, and camped there.
There was a dire shortage of water
in Hudaybiyah. There was only one well, which dried up in only a few hours.
When the blessed companions became restless due to thirst, he صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم placed his blessed
hand into a large bowl, resulting in a water spring gushing forth from his
blessed fingers.
He صَلَّى
اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم then poured the water he used for Wudu
into the dry well along with one of his arrows. Due to this, so much water
gushed out of the well that the entire Muslim army and all the animals
continued to quench their thirst from that well for many days.
(Image
of a historical well structure at Hudaybiyah)
Hudaybiyah is a settlement, located
approximately at the distance of 24 kilometres from Makkah. One part of it lies
within the sacred precinct of the Haram, and one part of it lies outside the
Haram. Nowadays, this place is known as Shumaysi.
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