Part of A summary of the Prophet’s biography (the series is complete)
· Lesson 110 of 182
Summary of the Prophet’s biography | Episode (131) | The Battle of the Trench or Al-Ahzab
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
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A Concise Summary of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
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Authored by Sheikh Musa bin Rashid al-Azimi.
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May Allah preserve him.
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The fifth year after the Hijrah.
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The Battle of the Trench (al-Khandaq).
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Or the Battle of the Confederates (al-Ahzab).
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It took place in Shawwal of the fifth year after the Hijrah.
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The cause of this battle.
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The cause of this battle was:
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A group of the leaders of the Jewish tribe of Banu al-Nadir,
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whom the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had expelled from Medina,
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and who had settled in Khaybar.
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Among them were Sallam bin Abi al-Huqayq al-Nadiri,
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Huyayy bin Akhtab,
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Kinanah bin Abi al-Huqayq al-Nadiri,
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Sallam bin Mishkam,
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and Kinanah bin al-Rabi'.
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They went out to Mecca and met with the leaders of Quraysh.
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They incited them to wage war against the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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and promised them their own support and assistance.
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They agreed to this.
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Then they went out to the tribe of Ghatafan,
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and they also responded to them.
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Quraysh marched out with their allies and those who followed them.
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The tribe of Banu Sulaym met them at Marr al-Zahran.
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The tribes of Banu Asad and Fazarah also marched out,
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as did Ashja' and Banu Murrah.
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The size of the Confederates' army and their departure.
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Ten thousand of the Confederates gathered,
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and their commander was Abu Sufyan Sakhr bin Harb.
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They headed toward the Prophetic city of Medina,
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without a pre-arranged time they had agreed upon.
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The Prophet, peace be upon him, consults his Companions.
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And the digging of the trench.
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When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, heard
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of their march toward Medina,
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he consulted his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.
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Salman al-Farisi, may Allah be pleased with him, suggested it,
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and the Battle of the Trench was his first witness to the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with him.
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He suggested to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, that they dig a trench
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to stand between the Confederates and the Prophetic city.
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The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, ordered it,
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and the Muslims hastened to do so.
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The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, worked on it himself.
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Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said:
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"There were manifest signs during its digging, the explanation of which would be lengthy,
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and proofs of prophethood whose reports have been transmitted successively."
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Imam al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih
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from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
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The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, went out to the trench,
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and the Emigrants (Muhajirun) and the Ansar were digging on a cold morning.
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They had no slaves to do that work for them.
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When he saw the exhaustion and hunger they were suffering, he said:
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"O Allah, there is no life but the life of the Hereafter,
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so forgive the Ansar and the Emigrants."
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They replied to him:
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"We are those who have pledged allegiance to Muhammad
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to strive in Jihad as long as we live."
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The two Sheikhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim) narrated in their Sahihs
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from al-Bara' bin 'Azib, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
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On the day of the Confederates,
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when the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was digging the trench,
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I saw him carrying the earth of the trench
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until the dust covered the skin of his abdomen.
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He was a man with much hair.
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I heard him reciting the verses of Ibn Rawahah
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while he was carrying the earth,
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saying:
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"O Allah, had it not been for You, we would not have been guided,
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nor would we have given charity, nor would we have prayed.
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So send down tranquility upon us,
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and make our feet firm if we meet the enemy.
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Indeed, those who have transgressed against us,
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if they desire sedition, we refuse it."
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Imam al-Qurtubi said:
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The Muslims worked diligently on the trench,
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while the hypocrites hung back
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and began to slip away secretly.
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So verses of the Qur'an were revealed concerning them,
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which Ibn Ishaq and others have mentioned.
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Whoever among the Muslims finished his portion
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would return to help others
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until the trench was completed.
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It contained clear signs and proofs of prophethood.
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The intensity of the hunger and cold that afflicted them.
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The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, continued digging the trench,
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and they endured, while digging,
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extreme hunger and severe hardship.
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Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad with a sound chain of transmission
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from Jabir bin 'Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
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When the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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and his Companions dug the trench,
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they suffered severe hardship,
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to the point that the Prophet, peace be upon him, tied
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a stone against his stomach due to hunger.
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Imam al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih
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from Jabir bin 'Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
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We were digging on the day of the Trench
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when a hard rock appeared,
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meaning a thick, solid piece,
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upon which the pickaxe would have no effect.
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The Prophet, peace be upon him, came,
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and they said:
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"This is a rock that has appeared in the trench."
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He said:
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"I am coming down."
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Then he stood up, his stomach bound with a stone,
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and we had stayed three days without tasting any food.
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The Prophet, peace be upon him, took the pickaxe
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and struck the rock,
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and it turned into a heap of shifting sand,
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meaning flowing sand.
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Imam Ibn Jarir al-Tabari narrated in his Tafsir with a sound chain of transmission
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from 'Abdullah bin 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
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My maternal uncle, 'Uthman bin Maz'un, sent me on the night of the Trench,
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in severe cold and wind, to the city,
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and he said:
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"Bring us some food and a blanket."
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He said:
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I asked the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, for permission,
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and he granted it to me.