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Posted by msk2000 on 12/04/07 06:37
Similarly, there is the story of the lamb, that has come down to us
from one who was there: 'We worked with the Apostle at the trench. I
had a half-grown lamb and I thought it would be a good thing to cook
it for Allah's Messenger. I told my wife to grind barley and make some
bread for us. I killed the lamb and we roasted it for the Prophet
(Pbuh). When night fell and he was about to leave the trench, I told
him we had prepared bread and meat and invited him to our home. I
wanted him to come on his own, but when I said this he sent someone to
call all the men to come along. Everyone arrived and the food was
served. He blessed it and invoked the Name of Allah over it. Then he
ate and so did all of the others. As soon as one lot were satisfied,
another group came until all the diggers had eaten enough, but still
there was food to spare.
On March 24, 627 A.D, Abu Sufyan arrived with more than ten thousand
men. The Muslims numbered only three thousand.
Quraysh and their allies surrounded Medinah but between the two armies
was the long, wide trench.
The Prophet (pbuh) and his men stayed behind this trench for nearly a
month defending the city against their more powerful enemy. Many times
warriors tried to cross the trench and enter the city, but each time
they were pushed back by the Muslims. The Muslims were afraid that if
any did manage to cross over, the Jews inside Medinah would join
forces with them and the Muslims would be beaten. The Jewish tribe of
Bani Quraydhah, who had stood by the, agreement with the Muslims, were
pressed by a Jewish emissary from the enemy, to break their promise.
Eventually they agreed to do so and when the news of this reached the
Prophet (pbuh) and his companions they were greatly troubled. Sa'd ibn
Mu'adh, the leader of the tribe of Aws, was sent by the Prophet (pbuh)
with two other men to find out if this were true. When they arrived in
the part of Medinah where the Jews lived,
they found was even worse than they had previously thought.
Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, whose tribe was closely allied with the Bani
Quraydhah, tried to persuade their leader not to break the treaty with
the Muslims, but he refused to listen. This meant that the Muslims
could not relax their guard for one moment, for they were now
threatened not only by the enemy beyond the trench, but by the Bani
Qurayzah, within the walls of the city.
Things became more difficult for the Muslims day by day. It was
extremely cold and food began to run out. To make matters worse, the
Bani Qurayzah began openly and actively to join forces with the other
Jews and cut off all supplies to the Muslims, including food. The
enemies of Islam then planned how to capture Medinah.
The situation looked desperate and the Prophet (pbuh) prayed to Allah
to help the Muslims defeat their enemies. That very night a sandstorm
blew up which buried the tents of Quraysh. The storm continued for
three days and three nights making it impossible for the enemy to
light a fire to cook a meal or warm themselves by.
On one of these dark nights the Prophet (pbuh) asked one of his men,
Hudhayfah Ibn al-Yaman, to go on a dangerous mission. The Prophet
(pbuh) told him to make his way across the trench to the enemy camp
where he should find out what they were doing. With much difficulty
Hudhayfah crossed the trench and made his way to a circle of Quraysh
warriors talking in the darkness. He sat near them, but as there was
no fire, no one noticed him. He then heard Abu Sufyan's voice: 'Let us
go home!' he said. 'We have had enough. The horses and camels are
dying, the tents keep blowing away, most of the equipment has been
lost, and we can not cook our food. There is no reason to stay!'
Shortly after hearing this Hudhayfah made his way quickly and quietly
back across the trench and the next morning the Muslims rejoiced to
find that what he had overheard had come true-Quraysh and their allies
had gone away!
The siege of Medinah had ended in a great victory for Islam. But this
was not to be the end of the difficulties, for the Archangel Gabriel
the Prophet (pbuh) and told him that he should punish the Bani
Qurayzah for betraying him and the Muslims.
On hearing this, the Prophet (pbuh) ordered the Muslims to march
against the Bani Qurayzah as they hid in their fortress. The Muslims
besieged them for twenty-five days until they finally gave in. On
surrendering, they asked the Prophet (pbuh) to let someone judge their
case, and he agreed. He also allowed them to choose who would give the
ruling. The man chosen to judge the Bani Qurayzah was Sa'd ibn Mu'adh,
leader of the Aws, a tribe which had always protected the Qurayzah in
the past. Sa'd ibn Mu'adh who had himself been wounded in the battle,
decided that the Jews should be tried by their own Holy Law, according
to which anyone who broke a treaty would be put to death. As a result
all the men of the Bani Qurayzah were executed and the women and
children made captive.
If the Jews had succeeded in their pact, Islam would have been
destroyed. Instead from that day on, Medinah became a city where only
Muslims lived.
Very soon after peace had been restored to Medinah, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh
died of his wounds. It was said that the Archangel Gabriel came in the
middle of that night and said to the Prophet (pbuh) '0 Muhammad, who
is this dead man? When he arrived, the doors of heaven opened and the
Throne of Allah shook.' The Prophet (pbuh) got up as soon as he heard
this, but found that Sa'd was already dead. Although he had been a
heavy man, the men who carried his body to the grave found it quite
light. They were told that the angels were helping them. When he was
buried, the Prophet (pbuh) said three times 'Subhan Allah!' (Glory be
to Allah!), and 'Allahu Akbar!' (Allah is Most Great!). When asked why
he did this, he replied, 'The grave was tight for this good man, until
Allah eased it for him.' This is one of the rewards that Allah gives
to martyrs and good Muslims.
The Treaty Of Hudaybiyah
Ouraysh had tried to destroy Islam but had failed. The number of
Muslims grew and their armies increased from three hundred at the
battle of Badr, seven hundred at the battle of "Uhud, to three
thousand at the battle of the Trench. After the annual fast of
Ramadan, the Prophet (pbuh) had a dream, which indicated that the
Muslims should go to Mecca for the pilgrimage. One thousand and four
hundred Muslims got ready to go with him on the Lesser Pilgrimage
called 'the `Umra'. They dressed in white and went unarmed to show
Quraysh that they had come to make the pilgrimage and not to fight.
When Quraysh heard that the Prophet (pbuh) was on his way, they sent
troops with Khalid Ibn al-Walid to stop the Muslims from entering the
city. To avoid meeting this small army the Prophet (pbuh) changed his
route and led the men through rugged mountain passes. When they
reached easier ground he told them, 'Say, we ask Allah's forgiveness
and we repent towards Him 'At Hudaybiyah,
south of Mecca, the Prophet's camel knelt down and refused to go any
further. The Muslims thought she was either stubborn or tired, but the
Prophet (pbuh) said: 'The same power that once stopped the elephant
from entering Mecca is now stopping us!' He then ordered them to make
camp, which they did, although they all hoped they would travel on to
the sacred Ka'bah the following day.
On setting up camp, the believers were dismayed to find that the
springs were almost dry. When he heard this the Messenger of Allah
(pbuh) instructed a man called Najiyah to take the bowl of water in
which he had performed his ablutions, pour it into the hollows where
the small amount of spring water lay, and stir it with his arrows.
Najiyah did as he was told and the fresh water gushed up so suddenly
that he was hardly able to get out of the way in time.
Messengers were sent to Quraysh to tell them that the Muslims had come
only for the pilgrimage,
to worship Allah at the Holy Ka'bah, and that they wanted to enter the
city peacefully. But Quraysh took no notice. Finally, the Prophet's
son-in-law, 'Uthman Ibn Affan, a wise and respected man, was chosen to
go, and the Muslims settled down to wait and see what news he would
bring back. After they had waited a long time, the Muslims became very
worried. At last they decided that he must have been killed. A state
similar to that of Revelation then came upon the Prophet (pbuh). He
gathered the Muslims around him under an acacia tree and asked them to
swear their allegiance to him, which they did. This pact, which is
mentioned in the Koran, became known as the Treaty of Radwan (which
means Paradise). Shortly after, `Uthman Ibn Affan returned and the
Muslims were relieved to see that no harm had come to him. Some Meccan
warriors tried to attack the Muslim camp but were captured and brought
before the Prophet (pbuh), who forgave them when they promise to stop
attacking the Muslims. Soon after this, official messengers came from
Quraysh and talks began for a peaceful settlement
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