The Battle of the Trench

Of all the trials that struck the early Islamic community, Al-Khandaq was the most existential. Not because the fighting was the bloodiest, but because the coalition that had formed against Madinah was large enough to destroy the city completely. Ten thousand men stood at its gates. From within, the hypocrites threatened, and there was a Jewish tribe on the verge of breaking the treaty. The Prophet ﷺ and his Companions ﵃ dug a trench in bitter cold while hunger weakened them. And yet they survived. Not through military superiority, but through patience, unity and the help of Allah ﷻ.

The Cause

After the expulsion of the Banu Nadir in the fourth year after the Hijra, their leader Huyayy ibn Akhtab travelled to Makkah. He was a man of great rhetorical talent and political acumen, and he used both to convince the Quraysh of something they already wished to hear: that the moment had come to destroy Madinah for good.

Allah ﷻ revealed concerning this statement:

أَلَمۡ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ نَصِيبٗا مِّنَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِٱلۡجِبۡتِ وَٱلطَّٰغُوتِ وَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ أَهۡدَىٰ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ سَبِيلٗا

Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Book? They believe in idols and false gods, and say of those who disbelieve: “These are more rightly guided than those who believe.”

Surah Al-Nisa: 51

After the Quraysh, Huyayy travelled to the tribe of Ghatafan in Najd. He offered them half of the annual date harvest of Khaybar in exchange for their participation. They agreed. He then visited tribe after tribe. All were won over, whether by promises of plunder, by family ties to the Quraysh, or by their own enmity toward the Prophet ﷺ.

The Tribes of the Coalition

To understand what the Ahzab were, one must understand who took part in them and why. It was no random gathering of tribes. It was a carefully assembled network of interests, ties and grievances, each with its own motive for joining.

The Quraysh

The Quraysh of Makkah formed the core of the coalition. They had the most to lose and the strongest motivation. Badr had cost them seventy of their leaders. Uhud had partly restored their honour but had not destroyed Madinah. The trade routes to Syria were under constant pressure from Muslim expeditions. And Abu Sufyan, who had based his leadership on the promise of vengeance, had tied his credibility to a decisive victory.

They contributed four thousand infantry, three hundred cavalry and fifteen hundred camels to the coalition. Abu Sufyan personally took the supreme command. Khalid ibn al-Walid, the hero of Uhud, commanded the cavalry.

The Ghatafan

The Ghatafan were the largest and most powerful tribe of Najd. They consisted of several sub-branches, including the Banu Fazara and the Banu Murra, and could mobilise thousands of warriors. Huyayy offered their leader Uyaynah ibn Hisn al-Fazari half of the date harvest of Khaybar. Khaybar was the wealthiest agricultural region in northern Arabia, known for its palm groves and fertile soil. The promise of an annual income from Khaybar was, for a nomadic tribe like the Ghatafan, an attractive prospect.

Uyaynah ibn Hisn led the Ghatafan to Madinah with four thousand men, the largest contribution to the coalition after the Quraysh themselves.

The Banu Sulaym

The Banu Sulaym had a long history of enmity with the Muslims. They had earlier been involved in the massacre of Bi’r Ma’unah, where seventy Muslim scholars had been slaughtered. They had also taken part in the expedition of Uhud on the side of the Quraysh. For them, joining the coalition was not a difficult decision. They hated the Prophet ﷺ openly and saw in the coalition a chance to finish what had been begun at Uhud.

They contributed seven hundred warriors to the coalition.

The Banu Asad

The Banu Asad likewise had direct grievances. They were a tribe of significance in central Arabia and had earlier endured expeditions of the Prophet ﷺ that had threatened their sphere of influence. Huyayy approached their leader Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid, who would later himself become a false prophet but at this moment was still a powerful tribal chief. They joined out of a combination of tribal pride and calculation.

The Banu Murra

The Banu Murra were a sub-branch of the Ghatafan and were approached separately by Huyayy because of their geographical position. They controlled routes in northern Arabia that were strategically important for the supply of so large an army. Their leader al-Harith ibn Awf joined the coalition but would, during the siege, decide to withdraw his men, a decision that would later become a matter of dispute.

The Banu Ashja

The Banu Ashja were a smaller tribe but of significance because of their location and their family ties to the Ghatafan. They contributed four hundred men. Their tribal leader Mas’ud ibn Rukhaylah led them to Madinah. Notably, Nu’aym ibn Mas’ud ﵁, the man who would later, on behalf of the Prophet ﷺ, undermine the coalition from within, belonged to the Banu Ashja. He had travelled with his tribe as part of the coalition before secretly accepting Islam.

The Banu Kinanah and the Ahabish

The Quraysh had traditional alliances with the Banu Kinanah, a large tribe that dominated the area around Makkah, and with the Ahabish, a coalition of smaller tribes that supported the Quraysh during the sacred month. They were not so much persuaded as called up on the basis of existing obligations. It was a matter of tribal honour: when the Quraysh called, their allies came.

The Distribution of the Army

When the coalition marched on Madinah, the various contingents proceeded along separate routes to prevent confusion and conflicts along the way. Abu Sufyan led the Quraysh and their direct allies from the west along the usual coastal route. Uyaynah ibn Hisn led the Ghatafan and the tribes of Najd from the east along the Najd route.

The two armies were to meet only before the walls of Madinah. It was a logistical achievement of the highest order and proof of how seriously the coalition took its task. They had not come for a quick raid. They had come to put an end to Madinah.

The result was a coalition of a size the Arabian Peninsula had never before seen in its struggle against the Muslims. The Ahzab, the Confederate Tribes, marched on Madinah with an estimated ten thousand men.

The Preparation of the Muslims

The Prophet ﷺ received reports in good time of the approaching coalition. He called his Companions ﵃ together for a shura. The situation was clear: seven hundred to three thousand men against ten thousand. Open battle was no option. To defend Madinah from its buildings was also no option, for the city had no walls capable of withstanding an army of this size.

It was Salman al-Farisi ﵁ who put forward the idea that would change everything.

The idea was unknown in Arabia. The Arab tradition of warfare knew tribal skirmishes, ambushes and caravan raids, but no fortification or defensive works on this scale. The Companions ﵃ at once recognised the genius of the proposal. The Prophet ﷺ agreed and the digging began.

The trench was dug on the northern side of Madinah, the only side open and accessible to a large attacking army. The other sides of Madinah were protected by buildings, palm groves and rocky terrain unsuited to cavalry.

The Prophet ﷺ divided the Companions ﵃ into groups and assigned each a section of the trench. He ﷺ dug himself. Reports describe how he ﷺ personally cleared away the earth, carried stones and encouraged the men as they worked. When his Companions ﵃ saw him in this state, they doubled their effort.

The conditions were severe. It was winter. The ground was hard. The food supplies were scarce, and hunger was felt by all.

During the digging, a wonder occurred that the Companions ﵃ would remember all their lives. They came upon a large, hard rock that no tool seemed able to break.

The Companions ﵃ who were present passed this on with awe. They had seen a man who, in bitter cold and with a stone bound over his belly because of hunger, struck rock and proclaimed the rise of an empire that, at that moment, could only seem a dream.

The trench was dug in six days, an achievement that, given the circumstances, was extraordinary.

The Coalition Arrives

Abu Sufyan ibn Harb led the combined army of the Quraysh and their allies from the west. The Ghatafan and the other tribes of Najd approached from the east. When they reached the trench, they were stunned.

The trench was wide enough to stop cavalry and deep enough to keep infantry from crossing easily. The coalition pitched its camp on the far side and began attempts to cross the trench at vulnerable points. Day after day, these attempts were beaten back by the Muslims who guarded the bank.

The Prophet ﷺ positioned his army with Mount Sala at his back. The women and children were placed in the fortresses of the Banu Harithah. The Companions ﵃ stood watch day and night along the trench, relieving one another and sleeping in short stretches.

The Treachery of Banu Qurayza

After two weeks of siege, a development took place that made the situation of the Muslims critical at a stroke. Huyayy ibn Akhtab, who had come with the coalition, approached the leader of the Banu Qurayza, Ka’b ibn Asad. The Banu Qurayza was the third and last Jewish tribe in Madinah. Until then they had honoured the treaty with the Prophet ﷺ.

The news reached the Prophet ﷺ swiftly. The situation was now extremely grave: ten thousand men at the front, a treacherous tribe at the rear. The women and children in the Harithah fortresses were suddenly exposed.

He sent Sa’d ibn Mu’adh ﵁ and Sa’d ibn Ubadah ﵁ with several others to verify the news, and spoke to them apart before they set out.

It was the code. The betrayal was confirmed.

The Pressure Mounts

The siege went on. For nearly a month the Muslims stood day and night at the trench, exposed to the cold, to hunger and to the constant pressure of an enemy that far outnumbered them. The strain began to take its toll.

A group of warriors from the coalition, among them the famed horseman Amr ibn Abd Wudd, found a narrow and unguarded point in the trench and managed to cross over with several riders. Amr ibn Abd Wudd was reckoned in the Arab tradition to be the equal of a thousand warriors.

The rest of the riders who had crossed the trench fled back. The breach was closed.

Nu’aym ibn Mas’ud: The Stratagem

While the siege continued, a man appeared before the Prophet ﷺ whom no one expected: Nu’aym ibn Mas’ud of the tribe of Ghatafan. He had secretly accepted Islam without his tribe’s knowledge.

Nu’aym ibn Mas’ud ﵁ went to the Banu Qurayza and addressed them as a friend, as one who sought their welfare.

Then he went to Abu Sufyan and the leaders of the Quraysh and told them that the Banu Qurayza regretted breaking the treaty and intended to ask for hostages from the Quraysh to hand over to Muhammad ﷺ as proof of their good will. He told the same story to the Ghatafan.

The result was precisely what the Prophet ﷺ had hoped for. When the Quraysh sent messengers to the Banu Qurayza requesting a joint attack, the Banu Qurayza answered that they first wanted hostages. The Quraysh refused, convinced that Nu’aym’s account was true. Mutual mistrust had been sown, and the coalition began to fall apart from within.

The Turning Point: Wind and Angels

The coalition had now camped outside Madinah for nearly a month without forcing any breakthrough. Supplies began to run out. Horses died or grew weak from lack of food. Morale fell. And then Allah ﷻ sent His help in a manner no man could have planned.

Allah ﷻ had sent an icy wind that lifted the tents of the coalition, overturned the cooking pots and drove off the animals. Together with the angels He sent to fill the hearts of the coalition with fear, it was enough. The coalition broke off the siege and withdrew.

Allah ﷻ says:

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱذۡكُرُواْ نِعۡمَةَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيۡكُمۡ إِذۡ جَآءَتۡكُمۡ جُنُودٞ فَأَرۡسَلۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمۡ رِيحٗا وَجُنُودٗا لَّمۡ تَرَوۡهَاۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ بَصِيرًا

O you who believe, remember the favour of Allah upon you when armies came against you and We sent against them a wind and forces that you did not see. And Allah ever sees what you do.

Surah Al-Ahzab: 9

The Banu Qurayza

The day after the coalition had departed, while the Prophet ﷺ had just returned home and laid down his armour, Jibril ﵇ appeared to him.

The Prophet ﷺ at once had the call go out:

The army marched to the fortresses of the Banu Qurayza. The Banu Qurayza fortified themselves. A siege of twenty-five days followed. In the end they surrendered and laid down as a condition that Sa’d ibn Mu’adh ﵁, the leader of the Aws with whom they had an alliance, should pronounce judgement over them.

Sa’d ibn Mu’adh ﵁ had been gravely wounded at Al-Khandaq by an arrow that had struck his artery. He was brought on a camel to the Banu Qurayza.

Sa’d ibn Mu’adh ﵁ died shortly afterwards from his wound. The Prophet ﷺ said of him that the Throne of the Most Merciful had trembled at his death.

The Aftermath

Al-Khandaq was over. The coalition had fallen apart without delivering a decisive battle. The Banu Qurayza, the last Jewish tribe of Madinah, had been removed. The hypocrites, who during the siege had shown their true face by discouraging the men and abandoning the defence, had been thoroughly discredited. Allah ﷻ had named them by name in the Quran in the Surah revealed about Al-Khandaq.

Allah ﷻ says of those who had thought of fleeing:

وَإِذۡ يَقُولُ ٱلۡمُنَٰفِقُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ مَّا وَعَدَنَا ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥٓ إِلَّا غُرُورٗا

And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said: “Allah and His Messenger have promised us nothing but delusion.”

Surah Al-Ahzab: 12

The strategic significance of Al-Khandaq was enormous. The Prophet ﷺ himself put it most concisely:

It was a turning point. Badr had established the Muslims. Uhud had tested them. Al-Khandaq had secured their survival. The coalition that had mobilised ten thousand men had returned empty-handed. No tribe in Arabia would attempt a second time to assemble such a coalition. The initiative in the Arab world had shifted decisively to the Islamic state in Madinah.

The next phase would no longer be defensive.