WEBVTT

00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:03.660
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

00:00:03.660 --> 00:00:13.179
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

00:00:13.179 --> 00:00:17.859
A Concise Summary of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).

00:00:17.859 --> 00:00:23.170
Authored by Sheikh Musa bin Rashid al-Azimi.

00:00:23.170 --> 00:00:25.170
May Allah preserve him.

00:00:25.170 --> 00:00:35.390
The fifth year after the Hijrah.

00:00:35.390 --> 00:00:38.020
The Battle of the Trench (al-Khandaq).

00:00:38.020 --> 00:00:41.460
Or the Battle of the Confederates (al-Ahzab).

00:00:41.460 --> 00:00:46.020
It took place in Shawwal of the fifth year after the Hijrah.

00:00:46.020 --> 00:00:51.409
The cause of this battle.

00:00:51.409 --> 00:00:53.890
The cause of this battle was:

00:00:53.890 --> 00:00:57.409
A group of the leaders of the Jewish tribe of Banu al-Nadir,

00:00:57.409 --> 00:01:02.929
whom the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had expelled from Medina,

00:01:02.929 --> 00:01:05.250
and who had settled in Khaybar.

00:01:05.250 --> 00:01:08.769
Among them were Sallam bin Abi al-Huqayq al-Nadiri,

00:01:08.769 --> 00:01:10.769
Huyayy bin Akhtab,

00:01:10.849 --> 00:01:14.049
Kinanah bin Abi al-Huqayq al-Nadiri,

00:01:14.049 --> 00:01:16.049
Sallam bin Mishkam,

00:01:16.049 --> 00:01:18.049
and Kinanah bin al-Rabi'.

00:01:18.049 --> 00:01:22.689
They went out to Mecca and met with the leaders of Quraysh.

00:01:22.689 --> 00:01:27.730
They incited them to wage war against the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

00:01:27.730 --> 00:01:31.870
and promised them their own support and assistance.

00:01:31.870 --> 00:01:34.510
They agreed to this.

00:01:34.579 --> 00:01:37.219
Then they went out to the tribe of Ghatafan,

00:01:37.219 --> 00:01:39.920
and they also responded to them.

00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:44.480
Quraysh marched out with their allies and those who followed them.

00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:48.239
The tribe of Banu Sulaym met them at Marr al-Zahran.

00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:51.120
The tribes of Banu Asad and Fazarah also marched out,

00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:53.519
as did Ashja' and Banu Murrah.

00:01:53.519 --> 00:02:00.180
The size of the Confederates' army and their departure.

00:02:00.180 --> 00:02:03.780
Ten thousand of the Confederates gathered,

00:02:03.780 --> 00:02:07.939
and their commander was Abu Sufyan Sakhr bin Harb.

00:02:08.020 --> 00:02:10.900
They headed toward the Prophetic city of Medina,

00:02:10.900 --> 00:02:17.199
without a pre-arranged time they had agreed upon.

00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:23.039
The Prophet, peace be upon him, consults his Companions.

00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:26.379
And the digging of the trench.

00:02:26.379 --> 00:02:30.060
When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, heard

00:02:30.060 --> 00:02:32.620
of their march toward Medina,

00:02:32.620 --> 00:02:36.300
he consulted his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.

00:02:36.300 --> 00:02:40.219
Salman al-Farisi, may Allah be pleased with him, suggested it,

00:02:40.300 --> 00:02:45.419
and the Battle of the Trench was his first witness to the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with him.

00:02:45.419 --> 00:02:50.939
He suggested to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, that they dig a trench

00:02:50.939 --> 00:02:55.780
to stand between the Confederates and the Prophetic city.

00:02:55.780 --> 00:03:00.099
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, ordered it,

00:03:00.099 --> 00:03:02.819
and the Muslims hastened to do so.

00:03:02.819 --> 00:03:08.620
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, worked on it himself.

00:03:08.620 --> 00:03:11.099
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said:

00:03:11.099 --> 00:03:16.219
"There were manifest signs during its digging, the explanation of which would be lengthy,

00:03:16.219 --> 00:03:20.800
and proofs of prophethood whose reports have been transmitted successively."

00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:23.919
Imam al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih

00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:27.120
from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:

00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:31.919
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, went out to the trench,

00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:37.280
and the Emigrants (Muhajirun) and the Ansar were digging on a cold morning.

00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:41.780
They had no slaves to do that work for them.

00:03:41.780 --> 00:03:46.419
When he saw the exhaustion and hunger they were suffering, he said:

00:03:46.419 --> 00:03:50.259
"O Allah, there is no life but the life of the Hereafter,

00:03:50.259 --> 00:03:53.900
so forgive the Ansar and the Emigrants."

00:03:53.900 --> 00:03:56.530
They replied to him:

00:03:56.530 --> 00:04:00.009
"We are those who have pledged allegiance to Muhammad

00:04:00.009 --> 00:04:04.270
to strive in Jihad as long as we live."

00:04:04.270 --> 00:04:07.150
The two Sheikhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim) narrated in their Sahihs

00:04:07.150 --> 00:04:11.349
from al-Bara' bin 'Azib, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:

00:04:11.349 --> 00:04:14.110
On the day of the Confederates,

00:04:14.110 --> 00:04:18.389
when the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was digging the trench,

00:04:18.389 --> 00:04:21.829
I saw him carrying the earth of the trench

00:04:21.829 --> 00:04:25.990
until the dust covered the skin of his abdomen.

00:04:25.990 --> 00:04:28.660
He was a man with much hair.

00:04:28.660 --> 00:04:32.259
I heard him reciting the verses of Ibn Rawahah

00:04:32.259 --> 00:04:34.740
while he was carrying the earth,

00:04:34.740 --> 00:04:36.500
saying:

00:04:36.540 --> 00:04:40.259
"O Allah, had it not been for You, we would not have been guided,

00:04:40.259 --> 00:04:43.939
nor would we have given charity, nor would we have prayed.

00:04:43.939 --> 00:04:47.180
So send down tranquility upon us,

00:04:47.180 --> 00:04:50.939
and make our feet firm if we meet the enemy.

00:04:50.939 --> 00:04:54.379
Indeed, those who have transgressed against us,

00:04:54.379 --> 00:04:58.420
if they desire sedition, we refuse it."

00:04:58.420 --> 00:05:00.660
Imam al-Qurtubi said:

00:05:00.660 --> 00:05:04.060
The Muslims worked diligently on the trench,

00:05:04.060 --> 00:05:06.420
while the hypocrites hung back

00:05:06.420 --> 00:05:09.699
and began to slip away secretly.

00:05:09.699 --> 00:05:13.220
So verses of the Qur'an were revealed concerning them,

00:05:13.220 --> 00:05:15.899
which Ibn Ishaq and others have mentioned.

00:05:15.899 --> 00:05:19.379
Whoever among the Muslims finished his portion

00:05:19.379 --> 00:05:21.220
would return to help others

00:05:21.220 --> 00:05:24.009
until the trench was completed.

00:05:24.009 --> 00:05:32.230
It contained clear signs and proofs of prophethood.

00:05:32.230 --> 00:05:37.290
The intensity of the hunger and cold that afflicted them.

00:05:37.290 --> 00:05:41.649
The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, continued digging the trench,

00:05:41.649 --> 00:05:44.889
and they endured, while digging,

00:05:44.889 --> 00:05:48.459
extreme hunger and severe hardship.

00:05:48.459 --> 00:05:52.939
Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad with a sound chain of transmission

00:05:52.939 --> 00:05:57.500
from Jabir bin 'Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:

00:05:57.500 --> 00:06:00.740
When the Prophet, peace be upon him,

00:06:00.740 --> 00:06:02.860
and his Companions dug the trench,

00:06:02.860 --> 00:06:05.660
they suffered severe hardship,

00:06:05.699 --> 00:06:09.060
to the point that the Prophet, peace be upon him, tied

00:06:09.060 --> 00:06:12.899
a stone against his stomach due to hunger.

00:06:12.899 --> 00:06:16.300
Imam al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih

00:06:16.300 --> 00:06:20.920
from Jabir bin 'Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:

00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:23.879
We were digging on the day of the Trench

00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:26.639
when a hard rock appeared,

00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:29.319
meaning a thick, solid piece,

00:06:29.319 --> 00:06:32.079
upon which the pickaxe would have no effect.

00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:35.279
The Prophet, peace be upon him, came,

00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:36.680
and they said:

00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:40.120
"This is a rock that has appeared in the trench."

00:06:40.120 --> 00:06:41.360
He said:

00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:43.279
"I am coming down."

00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:47.000
Then he stood up, his stomach bound with a stone,

00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:51.759
and we had stayed three days without tasting any food.

00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:56.040
The Prophet, peace be upon him, took the pickaxe

00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:58.000
and struck the rock,

00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:01.759
and it turned into a heap of shifting sand,

00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:04.579
meaning flowing sand.

00:07:04.620 --> 00:07:10.259
Imam Ibn Jarir al-Tabari narrated in his Tafsir with a sound chain of transmission

00:07:10.259 --> 00:07:14.620
from 'Abdullah bin 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:

00:07:14.620 --> 00:07:19.180
My maternal uncle, 'Uthman bin Maz'un, sent me on the night of the Trench,

00:07:19.180 --> 00:07:22.980
in severe cold and wind, to the city,

00:07:22.980 --> 00:07:24.459
and he said:

00:07:24.459 --> 00:07:27.620
"Bring us some food and a blanket."

00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:28.819
He said:

00:07:28.819 --> 00:07:33.060
I asked the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, for permission,

00:07:33.060 --> 00:07:34.459
and he granted it to me.