Ghazwah
Khandaq
Hua'i bin Akhtab was the biggest
habitual troublemaker among Banu Nadir who settled in Khaibar along with the
larger section of the Jews who were banished from Al-Madinah. Hua'i bin Akhtab,
Salâm bin Abul-Huqaiq, Salâm bin Mishkam and Kinânah bin Ar-Rubaiyi' were the prominent
chieftains of Banu Nadir. They along with Hud bin Qais and Abu Umârah, the
chieftains of Banu Wâ'il, went to Makkah and started raising funds for another
battle and the Quraish made lavish contributions to it. After collecting huge
amounts of wealth and exciting the people to the extreme, they went the Ghatfân
clans and played the same role there. Banu Kinânah also jumped on the
bandwagon. Finally they made contacts with Banu Quraizah of Al-Madinah who were
still bound to help the Muslims according to the pact signed by both the
parties. Banu Sulaim, Fazârah, Ashja', Banu Saad and Banu Murrah, and the
chieftains of the Quraish, Banu Nadir and Ghatfân that were not less than fifty
in number, all went to the Ka'bah and vowed to fight against the Muslims as
long as they lived.
They maintained great caution and
tight security in view of their past experiences, so the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) did not receive any
news about this greatest conspiracy hatched against Islam until it was too late
for the Muslims to do anything.
According to their plan, Abu Sufyân
set out from Makkah at the head of four thousand soldiers collected from the
allied tribes. At Marr-az-Zahrân the troops of Banu Sulaim also joined the
Makkan army; other of their allies kept on joining on the way. Hua'i bin Akhtab
was the chief of Banu Nadir, and the chief of the Ghatfân tribes was Uyainah
bin Hisn, while Abu Sufyân was the commander in chief of the allied forces.
Coming close to Al-Madinah, the
total number of the allied forces came at least to ten thousand or twenty-four
thousand according to some narratives. It consisted of four thousand five
hundred camels and three hundred horses.
When the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) received news of their nefarious design
to invade Al-Madinah, he called a meeting to decide on how to face an enemy
with far superior numbers and weaponry. They all agreed to fight a defensive
war. Salmân Fârisi (the Persian) (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) is reported to have said, "When we feared a charge by the
cavalry, we used to dig trenches to keep the invaders at bay." The Prophet
(صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) agreed to his
suggestion and decided to have a trench dug in the open ground lying to the
north of Al-Madinah.
The city was exposed only on that
side and was well-protected to the west, south and east by large plantations of
date palms, volcanic rocky plains and granite hills presenting considerable
obstacles to the progress of a mounted enemy. This was, in fact, the fort of
the Muslim troops. In the middle, the Prophet (صلى
الله عليه وآله وسلم) pitched his camp. The trench was dug five
yards wide and five yards deep. Groups of ten persons were each assigned the
task of digging a part of the trench after equal division of the whole area.
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
was performing the same work along with his loving Companions.
A large rock was causing great
difficulty in digging the trench for it could not be broken by the pick. When
the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
was informed, he dropped down into the trench and gave such a blow with the
pick that the rock was split and a glowing light came out of it. He (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said, "Allâhu
Akbar (Allâh is the Most Great), the keys of Syria have been given to me."
With the second blow of the pick, the Prophet (صلى
الله عليه وآله وسلم) split another portion of rock and said,
"Allâh is the Most Great, the keys of Persia have been given to me."
On the third attempt the remaining portion of the rock was broken to pieces.
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
then said, "Allâh is the Most Great, I have been given the keys of
Yemen." He then added, "Jibril the trustworthy has given me glad
tidings that all these countries will be under the possession of my
Ummah."
At a time when the Muslims were
making a desperate effort to save their lives against an army of twenty-four
thousand strong and when all of Arabia seemed to be thirsty for their blood,
glad tidings of the conquest of Persia, Rome and Yemen were given to the
Muslims. No one but Allâh the Almighty Alone could do such a thing.
Meanwhile news came to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) that even Ka'b bin
Usaid, the chieftain of Banu Quraizh had joined hands with the invaders and
Hua'i bin Akhtab had made a friendly entry into the citadel of Banu Quraizah to
rouse them against the Muslims. The Prophet (صلى الله
عليه وآله وسلم) sent Saad bin Mu'âdh and Saad bin Ubâdah to Banu Quraizah to
bring them back to their senses but in vain. In reply to the polite and
sensible approach, they very harshly replied that they knew of no Muhammad nor
did they have any commitment with him.
When the enemy troops drew near,
they exclaimed in amazement at the sight of the trench for it was a new
experience for the Arabians. They laid siege of Al-Madinah. It was the most tremendous
show of military power and strength on the part of the polytheists. The Muslims
had managed to send their women and children to a nearby citadel. A sudden
attack by the Jews, who happened to be within the bounds of Al-Madinah, was
looming large over the Muslims of Al-Madinah. The hypocrites could prove even
more injurious as they were always mixing with them.
Many times the disbelievers tried to
cross the trench but failed. They inspected the trench and, at last, found out
a spot where it was narrowest and their horses jumped over the moat and carried
their riders into the territory of Al-Madinah. One of these was the well-known
warrior, Amr bin Abd Wadd who was considered a match for two thousand horsemen.
Ali (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) bin Abu Tâlib (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) cut off his head
with a sweeping slash of his scimitar. The rest who had stormed the trench with
him darted back on their horses. Then the actual fight started and both sides
got engaged in an exchange of arrows, which would continue from morning till
evening. This siege lingered on for about a month, which was very difficult and
troublesome. The enemy camp was getting reinforcements from outside supporters
but the Muslims were deprived of any such help.
Once a Companion complained to the
Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) of being exhausted
by hunger, and showed him his stomach on which he had tied a slab of stone to
keep himself straight and active. The Prophet (صلى
الله عليه وآله وسلم) then showed him his own belly on which he
had tied two slabs of rock.
Since they were constantly under the
fear of being sniped at by the enemy, the Muslims used to keep guard the whole
night under the open sky besides being engaged in facing the enemy the whole
day. Mus'ab bin Qushair, a hypocrite, tauntingly remarked: "Though the
Prophet is giving Syria, Iran and Yemen to his Companions, I see in fact that
they are now unable to even live in Al-Madinah. Some of them used to say,
"They cannot even go out to answer the call of nature but see the dream of
conquering the empires of Caesar and Chosroes."
The Muslims were in a state of a
long-drawn-out siege. They were facing the scorching sun in the day, hunger,
the lurking danger of an enemy charge any time, and the nefarious activities of
Banu Quraizah and the hypocrites of Al-Madinah.
Mounting pressure of enemy power and
strength on one hand, and the lack of men and material on their side, the
Muslims were so determined and dauntless that whenever they were asked to
accept peace at the cost of their honor, they rejected the offer totally. Even
in such a period of distress and desperation, noble and fortunate souls were
coming into the fold of Islam.
Suddenly one day Nu'aim bin Mas'ud
belonging to the Ghatfân tribe, came to the Prophet (صلى
الله عليه وآله وسلم) breaking away from the enemy camp and
embraced Islam. He then said that he had a mission to sow the seed of discord
between Banu Quraizah and the Makkan army. Thus, he first went off to Banu
Quraizah and then to Abu Sufyân and talked in a way that both of them grew
doubtful of each other. As a result of this, Banu Quraizah held back from
lending any concrete and meaningful support to the Quraish. Both the parties
gave their ear and attention to what Nu'aim (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) said to them, for his acceptance of Islam was still a secret.
When the siege had lasted over 27 days, a violent windstorm uprooted the tents
of the polytheists and overwthrew their cooking pots.
"We
sent a hard gale and such an army they could not witness." (33:9)
Their fires were put out in their
camps and the polytheists took it as an ill omen. The polytheists were so much
overpowered by fear and frustration that they scuttled off in the darkness of
night.
Allâh the Almighty Himself sent to
His Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
the news that the bewildered polytheists had fled. Thereupon the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) sent Hudhaifah (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) bin Al-Yamân (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) to bring the news,
he gave the glad tidings that the enemy departed leaving no trace behind. The
Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) remarked, "The
Quraish shall not come at you after this year." The Muslims returned to
Al-Madinah overwhelmed with joy. This event took place in Dhul-Qa'dah, 5 AH.
Ibn Umm Maktum (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
was appointed the administrator of Al-Madinah in the absence of the Muslims. On
returning to Al-Madinah, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه
وآله وسلم) halted there only for a short while and said after offering
Zuhr prayer that the 'Asr prayer would be performed in the locality of Banu
Quraizah. So, the Muslims proceeded on to Banu Quraizah before laying their
arms aside.
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