In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
An Abridgment of the Prophetic biography (Seerah),
Authored by Sheikh Musa Al-Rashid Al-'Azimi,
May Allah preserve him.
The Wounding of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him)
Skirmishes continued between the Muslims and the disbelievers,
And Hibban ibn al-'Ariqah shot an arrow,
Striking Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) in the medial arm vein (al-akhal).
Al-akhal is a major vein situated in the middle of the arm.
Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad, and Ibn Hibban in his Sahih with a good (hasan) chain of transmission,
On the authority of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:
"I went out on the Day of the Trench following in the footsteps of the people,
When I heard a heavy thudding of the ground behind me—
Meaning the rumbling sound of footsteps on the earth.
I turned around, and there was Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him),
Accompanied by his nephew, Al-Harith ibn Aws,
Carrying a mijannah,
Which means carrying a shield.
She said: So I sat down on the ground,
And Sa'd passed by wearing an iron coat of mail
From which his limbs protruded,
And I feared for the exposed limbs of Sa'd,
For he was among the largest and tallest of men."
She (may Allah be pleased with her) continued:
"A man from the polytheists then shot an arrow at Sa'd,
Who was called Ibn al-'Ariqah.
He shot him with an arrow of his,
Calling out to him:
'Take that! For I am Ibn al-'Ariqah!'
And it struck his medial vein, severing it."
Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad and At-Tirmidhi in his Jami' with an authentic chain,
On the authority of Jabir ibn 'Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him and his father), who said:
"On the Day of the Confederates, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) was shot,
And they severed his medial vein.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cauterized it with fire—
Meaning he applied fire to seal it and stop the bleeding—
But his hand began to swell.
So he left it alone,
And the bleeding resumed heavily.
He cauterized it a second time, and his hand swelled up again.
When he saw that,
He (may Allah be pleased with him) supplicated:
'O Allah, do not take my soul
Until You bring solace to my eyes regarding Banu Qurayzah!'
Thereupon, the bleeding from his vein ceased,
And not a single drop bled until they surrendered to the judgment of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh."
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) commanded
That Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) be moved to the mosque
In order to receive medical treatment there,
And so that he could visit him from up close.
Indeed, the two Shaykhs recorded in their Sahih collections
On the authority of 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:
"Sa'd was wounded on the Day of the Trench;
A man from Quraysh shot him,
Who was called Hibban ibn al-'Ariqah.
He struck him in the medial arm vein,
So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) pitched
A tent in the mosque in order to visit him from nearby."
The Continuation of Skirmishes and the Missed Prayers
When the siege dragged on for the polytheists,
They resolved to attack early the next morning—
Meaning they agreed among themselves to advance at the start of the day.
They spent the night mobilizing their troops,
Dispatched their squadrons toward every section of the trench,
And directed toward the tent of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
A dense, formidable battalion,
Among whom was Khalid ibn al-Walid.
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) confronted them
And fought them throughout that entire day,
Lasting well into a late hour of the night—
Meaning for an extended portion of the night.
They were completely unable to leave their positions,
And neither the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
Nor his Companions were able to perform the 'Asr prayer,
And according to some narrations,
Dhuhr, 'Asr, and Maghrib were all delayed past their prescribed times.
Then the polytheists retreated to their encampments and camp,
And there was no further fighting after that day
Until the polytheists eventually departed,
Though they never ceased sending reconnaissance patrols by night,
Hoping for an opportunity to launch a raid.
The two Shaykhs recorded in their Sahih collections
On the authority of Jabir ibn 'Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him and his father), who said:
"'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him)
Came on the Day of the Trench after the sun had set,
And began cursing the disbelievers of Quraysh.
He said: 'O Messenger of Allah,
I could scarcely pray 'Asr
Before the sun was about to set!'
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) replied:
'By Allah, I have not prayed it yet either.'
So we went down to But-han,
Where he performed ablution for the prayer and we performed ablution as well.
He then prayed 'Asr after the sun had set,
Followed immediately by the Maghrib prayer."
The two Shaykhs recorded in their Sahih collections,
With the wording belonging to Muslim,
On the authority of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said on the Day of the Confederates:
'They distracted us from the middle prayer,
The 'Asr prayer;
May Allah fill their houses and their graves with fire!'
Then he performed it between the two evening prayers—
Between Maghrib and 'Isha'."
Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad,
With an authentic chain meeting the criteria of Muslim,
On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"We were detained from praying on the Day of the Trench
Until an extended part of the night had passed after Maghrib,
And that is in reference to the words of Allah Almighty:
“And Allah repulsed the disbelievers in their wrath; they gained no good. Allah averted their attack from the believers. Allah is ever Strong, Mighty.” (33:25)
'And Allah is Ever-All-Strong, All-Mighty.'
He said: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) summoned Bilal,
Who pronounced the iqamah for the Dhuhr prayer,
And he prayed it, performing its prayer with utmost excellence,
Exactly as he used to pray it within its proper time.
He then commanded him to call the iqamah for 'Asr,
And he prayed it, performing its prayer with utmost excellence,
Exactly as he used to pray it within its proper time.
He then commanded him to call the iqamah for Maghrib,
And he prayed it in the same manner.
He said: And that was before Allah revealed the ruling
Regarding the Fear Prayer: 'whether on foot or riding.'
Imam An-Nawawi said:
'Know that in this hadith mentioned here,
As well as in Al-Bukhari,
It is stated that the missed prayer was the 'Asr prayer,
Which ostensibly suggests that no other prayer was missed.
Yet in the Muwatta' it states that they were Dhuhr and 'Asr,
While in other narrations,
It is reported that he delayed four prayers:
Dhuhr, 'Asr, Maghrib, and 'Isha',
Until an extended part of the night had elapsed.
The way to reconcile these various narrations
Is that the Battle of the Trench lasted for several days,
So this occurred on certain days,
While that occurred on others.'"
And moved
With the remainder
His lips.