(Scenes from the Battle of the Trench)
Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {When they came to you from above you and from beneath you} [Quran, 33:11]
The trench had hardly been completed before the warriors of the Quraish and Banu Ghatafaan arrived and set up camps outside Madeenah. There were ten thousand of them in total. The Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), assembled his army of three thousand Muslims.
Uniting against the enemy and remaining resolute even when encountering difficulties:
At the time, there was a treaty between the Muslims and the Jewish tribe of Banu Quraydhah in Madeenah. Huyayy ibn Akhtab, the chief of Banu An-Nadr encouraged the Jews to break the treaty. When the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), heard of this, he realized that it was a serious setback and everyone feared the consequences. Some of the Hypocrites displayed their animosity openly. The Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), even considered making a treaty with the Ghatafaan, giving them one-third of Madeenah's dates in order to make things easier for the Ansaar, who always bore the greatest hardships during wars.
He rejected that option after Sa'd ibn Mu'aath and Sa'd ibn 'Ubaadah, may Allah be pleased with them both, advised him to remain firm and resolute before the enemy and to refuse any compromise.
"O Messenger of Allah," they said, "We and these people all used to associate other things with Allah and worship idols; none of us worshipped nor recognized Allah. They would not eat a single date except through hospitality or purchase. Now that Allah has honored us with Islam and guided us to it and made us mighty by you and Himself, shall we still give them our property? By Allah, we have no need to, and by Allah, we will not give them anything but the sword until Allah decides between us and them."
Bravery in the face of a powerful enemy:
The Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ), and the Muslims remained besieged by their enemies but no fighting took place. Some of the mounted fighters from Quraish rode up to the edge of the gaping trench. When they saw it, they exclaimed, "By Allah, this is a device which the Arabs have never used!" On finding the narrowest part, they struck their horses until they jumped over the ditch into the territory of Madeenah. Among them was the famous horseman 'Amr ibn 'Abd Wudd, who was said to be the equal of a thousand horsemen. He stopped and asked, "Who will face me?"
'Ali ibn Abi Taalib, may Allah be pleased with him, sprang forward and said, "'Amr! You swore by Allah that if a man of the Quraish offered you two alternatives, you would accept one of them!" 'Amr responded, "Yes, I did." 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I call you to Allah and to His Messenger sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) and to Islam." "I have no need of that," 'Amr replied.
"Then I call on you to encounter me," said 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him. "Nephew," said 'Amr to Ali, "By Allah, I do not want to kill you." "But, by Allah," replied 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, "I want to kill you!"
'Amr was so furious at this that he leapt from his horse, hamstrung it, and slapped its face. Then he advanced on 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, who fought back valiantly. They circled one another, thrusting and parrying. 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, eventually beheaded 'Amr with a sweeping blow of his sword. The other horsemen who were trying to get through the ingenious barrier hastily retreated.
Seeking Shahaadah (martyrdom) and striving for it:
Before the veil was prescribed, 'Aa'ishah, the Mother of Believers, may Allah be pleased with her, said that she was with the Muslim women in the fortress of Banu Harithah when Sa'd ibn Mu'aath, may Allah be pleased with him, passed by wearing an ill-fitting armor so that his forearm was exposed. He was chanting verses and his mother called, "Catch up, my son. By Allah, you are late!"
'Aa'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, continued, "I said to her, "Umm Sa'd, I wish Sa'd's armor were longer than that."
The apprehension of 'Aa'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her was not unfounded. Sa'd ibn Mu'aath, may Allah be pleased with him, was hit by an arrow which severed one of his veins, causing excessive bleeding. He died a martyr in the subsequent battle with the Banu Quraydhah.
