EVENTS
626 CE / The Trench & Seige. 5th Year after Hijrah (Migration)
Important events and incidences that took place
The exiled Jews of Banu Nadir who had settled in Khaybar were determined to recover the land they had lost. Their hopes were centred on the preparations of Quraysh for a final attack on the Prophet; and towards the end of the fifth year of Islam these preparations were brought to a head by the secret visit to Makkah of Huyay and other Jewish leaders from Khaybar. Upon realising the intent behind the visit Abu Sufyan and other notables invited the Jews inside the Ka’bah, and together they swore a solemn oath to God that they would not fail one another until they had achieved their goal.
In 627, a massive army of ten thousand men-of Quraysh and their confederates-were on the March towards Madinah. Upon reaching its outskirts, they encamped. Word had reached the Prophet almost a week before the arrival and adopted a stratagem suggested to him by Salman Al-Farsi, a Persian companion. The Prophet mobilised the entire community to dig a huge trench around the most vulnerable parts of the city. Time was short and all efforts would have to be strained to the utmost if no dangerous gap were to be left in the defences. The Prophet worked alongside them, sometimes with a pickaxe, sometimes with a shovel and sometimes as a carrier. With tremendous effort, the whole trench was dug in six days.
The Prophet amassed three thousand Muslims on the side of Sal’ mountain in Madinah with only the trench separating the believers from the enemies.
When the Quraysh arrived with their army, they stared blankly at the trench; they were bewildered. The earth from the ditch had been used to build a high escarpment, which effectively shielded the Madinese in their camp. Khalid and Ikrimah examined the trench, albeit from a distance, to see where it might easily be crossed. “This is a piece of trickery!” they exclaimed in exasperation. Given the impossibility of crossing the trench, both sides maintained a simple exchange of javelins for a number of days.
The siege lasted only a month, but it seemed endless. Feeding and supplying the allies of Madinah as well as their own people, put a great strain on the city’s resources. The trench had to be manned day and night, so that each man would have to keep watch for long hours. On one occasion the time for noon prayer came and went without it being performed even by the Prophet. It was only when the last light had faded from the west that they moved back to their camps.
Abdullah Ibn Ubayy and his party of hypocrites, accused Muhammad of bringing ruin upon them, and the Jewish tribe of Madinah, Banu Qurayzah, openly began to support Quraysh, breaking their treaty with the Prophet and openly began to announce their renunciation of the pact. They now felt that the siege was too strong and the Quraysh would soon be victorious. Some of the companions adjured them to revert back to the treaty before it was too late, but they only answered: “Who is the Messenger of God? There is no pact between us and Muhammed not any agreement.”
Throughout the Battle of the Trench, as the siege became known, the Muslims were terrified. Faced with the prospect of extermination, some came close to despair. But even as those inside the city trembled, on the outside of the ditch, Quraysh were becoming exhausted. Their resolve began to waiver and finally snapped when a violent rainstorm devastated their camp. Abu Sufyan recognised defeat. Horses and camels were dying, the Qurayzah had failed to deliver any real help. “Be off,” he announced to his men, “for I am going.” When the Muslims peered over the escarpment the next morning, the plain was completely deserted.
LESSONS & WISDOMS
626 CE / The Trench & Seige
A closer look at the events; in search of deeper meanings and drawing lessons
The exiled Jews of Bani Nadhir who had settled in Khaybar were determined to recover the land they had lost. Their elite visited Makkah in secret and within the Ka’bah walls they swore a solemn oath with the Qurashites to God that they would not fail one another in annihilating the Prophet and his community. Together they roused up all the nomads in the plain of Najd who had grievances against Madinah and in the fifth Hijri year an army of ten thousand marched out heading towards Madinah.
The fierce battle that took place was known as the ‘battle of the trench’, and it holds the following wisdoms:
1) The digging of the trench was nothing short of astonishing-even shocking-to Arab sensibilities. No self-respecting Arab warrior would dream of shovelling earth like a slave. But Muhammad worked alongside his Companions, laughing, joking, and singing with his men. Thus was the morale raised.
2) The digging of the trench was symbolic of the obedience and subservience the Muslim community had for the teachings of the Quran. God had ordered them to “..muster up as much power as possible” and so they did, even when on the brink of starvation.
3) The participation of the Prophet in digging the trench teaches us the humbleness a leader should have as well as the attention to detail he should pay when executing a plan.
4) As was the regular practice of the Prophet, he consulted his disciples on formulating a peace treaty. One of the benefits of consultation is to engage ones team and instil in them a sense of purpose and loyalty.
5) The fact that the Prophet and his disciples offered the afternoon prayer after sunset shows us that missed prayers should be made up.
EDICTS & RULINGS
626 CE / The Trench & Seige
Revelation that came down during this year
The Quranic verses 13-20 of Chapter al-Ahzab were revealed during this incident:
You who have faith! remember God’s blessing to you when forces came against you and We sent a wind against them and other forces you could not see. God sees what you do.
When they came at you from above you and below you, when your eyes rolled and your hearts rose to your throats, and you thought unworthy thoughts about God,
at that point the believers were tested and severely shaken. When the believers saw the Confederates they said: ‘This is what God and His Messenger promised us. God and His Messenger told us the truth.’ It only increased them in faith and in submission.
The treason of banu Qurayzah and their subsequent fate at the hands of the Muslims was mentioned further into the chapter al-Ahzaab:
And He drove down those of the followers of the Book who backed them (i.e. supported the Quraysh against the Muslims) from their fortresses and He cast awe into their hearts; some you killed and you took captive another part.
***
The Islamic injunction for women to don a particular attire, known as the hijab, was revealed in this year through the Quranic chapter al-Ahzab, verse 59:
O Prophet! say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers that they let down upon them their over-garments; this will be more proper, that they may be known, and thus they will not be given trouble; and God is Forgiving, Merciful.
***
A few weeks after the introduction of the Hijab came the incident of ‘Ifk’, slander against the honor of the Prophet’s wife Aisha. Concocted by the Hypocrites; the head of which was Ibn Ubayy, the scandal rocked Madinah, and the story seemed so plausible that some the sincere Muslims began to believe it. As tensions rose to a disturbing climax, the Prophet confronted Aisha, who has taken refuge in her parents’ home. She had wept for two days but her tears dried like magic as soon as her husband entered the house. Muhammad urged her to confess her sin honestly; if she repented, God would forgive her. But with great dignity, the fourteen-year-old girl stood her ground and replied. There seemed little point in her saying anything at all, she said. She could not admit to something she had not done, and if she protested her innocence, nobody-not even her own parents-would believe her. She could only repeat the words of Prophet Yusuf, as mentioned in the Quran: patience in adversity is most goodly in the sight of God; and it is to God [alone] that I pray to give me strength to bear the misfortune which you have described to me”. She then turned silently and lay down on her bed.
The Prophet knew ‘Aisha through and through, and she must have convinced him, because as soon as she had finished speaking, he fell into the deep trance that was so often a prelude to revelation. He swooned and Abu Bakr put a leather cushion under his head, while he and his wife waited, terrified, for God’s judgement. “Good news, Aisha!” Muhammad cried at last: God had confirmed her innocence. Overcome with relief, her parent urged her to get up and come to her husband but ‘Aisha remained implacable. “By God, I will not stand up and go to him, and I will praise no one save God”.
The following verses from the Quranic chapter al-Nur had been revealed in relation to her innocence, may God be pleased with her:
There is a group of you who propagated the lie. Do not suppose it to be bad for you; rather it is good for you. Every one of them will incur the evil he has earned and the one who took it on himself to amplify it will receive a terrible punishment.
Why did not the believing men and the believing women, when you heard it, think well of their own people, and say: This is an evident falsehood?
CONTENTIOUS NARRATIVES
626 CE / The Trench & Seige
The ‘Massacre’ of Banu Qurayza
The siege of Ahzaab lasted only a month, but for both sides it seemed endless. Feeding and supplying the allies of Madinah as well as their own people, put a great strain on the city’s resources.
Abdullah Ibn Ubayy and his party of hypocrites, accused Muhammad of bringing ruin upon them and the Jewish tribe of Madinah, Banu Qurayzah, openly began to support Quraysh, breaking their treaty with the Prophet and began to announce their renunciation of the pact. They now felt that the siege was too strong and the Quraysh would soon be victorious. Some of the companions adjured them to revert back to the treaty before it was too late, but they only answered: “Who is the Messenger of God? There is no pact between us and Muhammed; not any agreement.” And when Muhammad heard of their treachery he was visibly distressed. He sent Sa’d ibn Mu’ath, who had been Qurayzah’s chief Arab ally before Hijrah, to negotiate, but to no avail. At one point the Qurayzah actually started to attack the Muslims from the southeast of the settlement whilst the Quraysh laid siege from the north, fortunately the effort petered out.
After the siege had ended and the Quraysh departed an explosive climate took over Madinah; the Qurayzah could not go unpunished for their crime.
The day after the departure of the Makkan army, Muhammad’s troops surrounded the fortress of Qurayzah, who asked that they be permitted to leave on the same terms as Qaynuqa’ and Nadir. They were all too aware of how divisive their actions had been and could only hope for the same merciful response Muhammad had given the other two Jewish tribes in the past. However, Muhammad refused: Nadir had proved to be just as dangerous to the Muslims in exile. In fact many of the neighbouring tribes had been taken aback by Muhammad’s leniency towards banu Nadhir and Qaynuqa’ only for them to take full advantage of it.
The elders of Qurayzah agreed to accept the arbitration of their former ally Sa’d ibn Mu’adh. However, Sa’d believed that the Qurayzah were an unacceptable security risk and made the conventional judgment: all men of the tribe should be executed, their wives and children sold into slavery, and their property divided among the Muslims. When Muhammad heard the verdict he responded by saying that Sa’d had judged in accordance with the ruling of God. The next day the sentence was carried out.
Contrary to what many Orientalist’s and Christian missionaries have remarked about this incident, terming it the ‘massacre of banu Qurayzah’, Muhammad agreed with the judgment not based on grounds of religious difference or anti-Semitism but due to fact the Qurayzah had committed high treason. Had they been successful, their treachery could have caused the annihilation of everyone living in Madinah; men, women and children.
There are no accounts from the primary sources that any of the other seventeen surrounding Jewish tribes in the oasis objected or tried to intervene. Indeed, such a judgement was expected by almost everybody in Arabia at that time. Moreover, these tribes continued living on friendly terms with the Muslims for many years to come. Some historians have duly noted that Muhammad had even spared the lives of some of the Qurayzah men on account of their loyalty and honouring of the pact.
What the executions did do was send a grim message to all surrounding tribes that Muhammad would not stand for treason or treachery.
The judgement was just and was in fact perceived as such, even by his enemies.