In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
A Concise Summary of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
Authored by Sheikh Musa bin Rashid al-Azimi.
May Allah preserve him.
The fifth year after the Hijrah.
The Battle of the Trench (al-Khandaq).
Or the Battle of the Confederates (al-Ahzab).
It took place in Shawwal of the fifth year after the Hijrah.
The cause of this battle.
The cause of this battle was:
A group of the leaders of the Jewish tribe of Banu al-Nadir,
whom the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had expelled from Medina,
and who had settled in Khaybar.
Among them were Sallam bin Abi al-Huqayq al-Nadiri,
Huyayy bin Akhtab,
Kinanah bin Abi al-Huqayq al-Nadiri,
Sallam bin Mishkam,
and Kinanah bin al-Rabi'.
They went out to Mecca and met with the leaders of Quraysh.
They incited them to wage war against the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and promised them their own support and assistance.
They agreed to this.
Then they went out to the tribe of Ghatafan,
and they also responded to them.
Quraysh marched out with their allies and those who followed them.
The tribe of Banu Sulaym met them at Marr al-Zahran.
The tribes of Banu Asad and Fazarah also marched out,
as did Ashja' and Banu Murrah.
The size of the Confederates' army and their departure.
Ten thousand of the Confederates gathered,
and their commander was Abu Sufyan Sakhr bin Harb.
They headed toward the Prophetic city of Medina,
without a pre-arranged time they had agreed upon.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, consults his Companions.
And the digging of the trench.
When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, heard
of their march toward Medina,
he consulted his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.
Salman al-Farisi, may Allah be pleased with him, suggested it,
and the Battle of the Trench was his first witness to the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with him.
He suggested to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, that they dig a trench
to stand between the Confederates and the Prophetic city.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, ordered it,
and the Muslims hastened to do so.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, worked on it himself.
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said:
"There were manifest signs during its digging, the explanation of which would be lengthy,
and proofs of prophethood whose reports have been transmitted successively."
Imam al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih
from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, went out to the trench,
and the Emigrants (Muhajirun) and the Ansar were digging on a cold morning.
They had no slaves to do that work for them.
When he saw the exhaustion and hunger they were suffering, he said:
"O Allah, there is no life but the life of the Hereafter,
so forgive the Ansar and the Emigrants."
They replied to him:
"We are those who have pledged allegiance to Muhammad
to strive in Jihad as long as we live."
The two Sheikhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim) narrated in their Sahihs
from al-Bara' bin 'Azib, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
On the day of the Confederates,
when the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was digging the trench,
I saw him carrying the earth of the trench
until the dust covered the skin of his abdomen.
He was a man with much hair.
I heard him reciting the verses of Ibn Rawahah
while he was carrying the earth,
saying:
"O Allah, had it not been for You, we would not have been guided,
nor would we have given charity, nor would we have prayed.
So send down tranquility upon us,
and make our feet firm if we meet the enemy.
Indeed, those who have transgressed against us,
if they desire sedition, we refuse it."
Imam al-Qurtubi said:
The Muslims worked diligently on the trench,
while the hypocrites hung back
and began to slip away secretly.
So verses of the Qur'an were revealed concerning them,
which Ibn Ishaq and others have mentioned.
Whoever among the Muslims finished his portion
would return to help others
until the trench was completed.
It contained clear signs and proofs of prophethood.
The intensity of the hunger and cold that afflicted them.
The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, continued digging the trench,
and they endured, while digging,
extreme hunger and severe hardship.
Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad with a sound chain of transmission
from Jabir bin 'Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
When the Prophet, peace be upon him,
and his Companions dug the trench,
they suffered severe hardship,
to the point that the Prophet, peace be upon him, tied
a stone against his stomach due to hunger.
Imam al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih
from Jabir bin 'Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
We were digging on the day of the Trench
when a hard rock appeared,
meaning a thick, solid piece,
upon which the pickaxe would have no effect.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, came,
and they said:
"This is a rock that has appeared in the trench."
He said:
"I am coming down."
Then he stood up, his stomach bound with a stone,
and we had stayed three days without tasting any food.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, took the pickaxe
and struck the rock,
and it turned into a heap of shifting sand,
meaning flowing sand.
Imam Ibn Jarir al-Tabari narrated in his Tafsir with a sound chain of transmission
from 'Abdullah bin 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
My maternal uncle, 'Uthman bin Maz'un, sent me on the night of the Trench,
in severe cold and wind, to the city,
and he said:
"Bring us some food and a blanket."
He said:
I asked the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, for permission,
and he granted it to me.