This section concerns how Allah, the Exalted, repelled the polytheists by His own power and might, cast fear into their hearts, sent upon them a violent storm, and caused their bodies to tremble. Allah did all this out of love for His Messenger, wishing to protect his noble circle and his domain.
Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal, through the transmission of Abu Amir, narrated from Abu Saʿid al-Khudri: "On the Day of the Trench, we said:
- O Messenger of God! Our hearts have reached our throats. Is there nothing we can say?
He said:
- Yes, there is: 'O Allah, cover our faults and remove our fears.'
Allah sent a violent wind against the faces of the Prophet’s enemies."
Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal also narrated from Jabir b. ʿAbdullah: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to the mosque of the Trench and took off his cloak. He stood up, raised his hands to the sky, and supplicated against the polytheists, without praying. Then he returned, supplicated against them again, and then prayed.
In the authentic collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim, it is narrated from ʿAbdullah b. Abi Awfa: "The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated against the Confederates (the polytheist groups who participated in the Battle of the Trench), saying:
'O Allah, Revealer of the Book, Swift in Reckoning! Defeat the Confederates. O Allah, defeat them and shake them.'
In another narration, he said:
'O Allah, defeat them and grant us victory over them.'
Al-Bukhari, narrating from Abu Hurayra, reported that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated:
'There is no deity except Allah, He alone. He strengthened His armies, aided His servant, and defeated the Confederates by Himself. After Him, there is nothing.'
Ibn Ishaq said: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions were gripped by the fear and severity described by Allah, due to their enemies helping one another against them and attacking them from all sides.
Then Nuʿaym b. Masʿud b. ʿAmir b. Unayf b. Thalabah b. Qunfudh b. Hilal b. Hilawah b. Ashjaʿ b. Rays b. Ghatafan came to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of God, I have become Muslim, but my people do not yet know of my Islam. Command me as you wish.
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
'You are but one man among us. If you are able, go among them and scatter them. For war is deception.'
Nuʿaym then went to Banu Qurayza, with whom he had been a friend in the pre-Islamic period. He said to them:
- O Banu Qurayza! You know my loyalty to you and the special relationship between us.
They replied:
- You speak the truth. We do not suspect you. Nuʿaym said:
- Quraysh and Ghatafan are not like you. The city is yours; your wealth, children, and women are here. You cannot go elsewhere. Quraysh and Ghatafan have only come to fight Muhammad and his Companions. Their lands, wealth, and women are elsewhere. If they find spoils, they will take them; if things go badly, they will return to their lands, leaving you alone with Muhammad, whom you cannot withstand. Therefore, do not fight alongside them unless you take their leaders as hostages, to keep as a guarantee until you capture Muhammad.
They said:
- You have given good advice.
Nuʿaym then went to the Quraysh, to Abu Sufyan b. Harb and the Quraysh men with him, and said:
- You know my loyalty to you and my distance from Muhammad. I have had an idea that I feel obliged to share with you as advice. But do not reveal that it comes from me.
They agreed. Nuʿaym said:
- Know that the Jewish group regrets breaking their pact with Muhammad. They have sent him word: We regret what we have done. Let us take some of the nobles of Quraysh and Ghatafan and hand them over to you, so you may execute them, and then we will join you against them and eradicate them.
Muhammad has replied: Very well. So if the Jews ask you for hostages, do not give them anyone from among you!
Nuʿaym then went to Ghatafan and said:
- O people of Ghatafan! You are my origin, my kin, and my tribe. You are the dearest of people to me. I do not think you would suspect me.
They said:
- You speak the truth. You are not suspect among us.
Nuʿaym said:
- Then do not reveal that these words are from me.
They agreed. He told them the same as he had told the Quraysh, warning them as well. On the Saturday night of the month of Shawwal in the fifth year of the Hijra, one of the things Allah did for His Messenger was that Abu Sufyan b. Harb and the leaders of Ghatafan sent Ikrima b. Abi Jahl with a group from Quraysh and Ghatafan to Banu Qurayza. They said: 'We are not in a place to stay. Our camels and horses are perishing. Come early tomorrow to fight Muhammad with us and resolve what lies between us.'
Banu Qurayza replied:
'Today is Saturday, a day on which we do nothing. Some of us have acted on this day before and suffered consequences. Moreover, we will not fight Muhammad with you unless you give us some of your men as hostages, as a guarantee. We fear that if the fighting turns against you, you will flee to your lands and leave us alone with Muhammad, whom we cannot withstand.'
When the messengers returned with Banu Qurayza’s reply, the Quraysh and Ghatafan said:
'By Allah, the news Nuʿaym b. Masʿud gave you is true. Send word to Banu Qurayza: By Allah, we will not give you a single man as a hostage. If you want to fight, come out and fight.'
Banu Qurayza, when the Quraysh messengers delivered this reply, said:
'Indeed, what Nuʿaym b. Masʿud told us is true. Quraysh and Ghatafan want nothing but fighting. If they win, they will take spoils; if they lose, they will return to their lands and leave you alone with Muhammad. Send word to Quraysh and Ghatafan: We will not fight Muhammad with you unless you give us hostages.'
They refused to give hostages, and Allah created division between the two sides. Allah sent upon them a bitter wind on a cold winter night, overturning their pots, containers, and cooking vessels, and throwing everything into disarray.
Ibn Ishaq narrated Nuʿaym b. Masʿud’s story more beautifully than Musa b. ʿUqbah. Al-Bayhaqi also narrated it in his work "Dala'il." The summary is as follows:
Nuʿaym b. Masʿud was a man who spread what he heard. One night, he happened to pass by where the Messenger of God was. The Messenger asked him:
- What news do you bring?
He replied:
- The Quraysh and Ghatafan have sent word to Banu Qurayza, asking for reinforcements to fight you. Banu Qurayza replied: We will help you, but only if you send us hostages.
They broke the pact made by the hand of Huyayy b. Akhtab, on the condition that hostages be given as a guarantee.
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Nuʿaym: 'I will tell you a secret. Do not tell anyone. They have sent me word inviting me to make peace, on the condition that I send the Banu Nadir back to their homes and property.'
Nuʿaym went to the Ghatafan, and as he left, the Messenger said to him: 'War is deception! I hope Allah will bring about something for us.'
Nuʿaym went to the Ghatafan and Quraysh and informed them. They hurriedly sent a group with Ikrima to Banu Qurayza. This coincided with Saturday night. Ikrima and his group asked the Banu Qurayza Jews to fight the Muslims with them, but they refused, using the excuse of the Sabbath, and also demanded hostages from Quraysh and Ghatafan as a guarantee. Allah placed discord among them, and they disagreed.
I say: It is possible that the Qurayza, having lost hope of things going well with Quraysh and Ghatafan, sent word to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) proposing peace on the condition that the Banu Nadir be allowed to return to Medina. This is possible; Allah knows best.
Ibn Ishaq said: "When news reached the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) of their dispersal and that Allah had scattered their confederation, he called Hudhayfa b. al-Yaman and sent him to find out what they were doing at night."
Ibn Ishaq narrated from Yazid b. Ziyad b. Muhammad b. Kaʿb al-Kurazi that a man from Kufa said to Hudhayfa b. al-Yaman:
- O Abu ʿAbdillah, did you see the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and keep his company?
- Yes, O son of my brother.
- What did you do?
- By Allah, we strove and struggled.
- By Allah, if we had met him, we would not have let him walk on the ground; we would have carried him on our shoulders.
- O son of my brother, by Allah, I saw our state with the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Trench, and he was praying at a certain time of the night. Then he turned to us and said:
- Who will rise and see what the people (the polytheists) are doing, and then return? I will ask Allah to make him my companion in Paradise.
Because of the intensity of fear, hunger, and cold, none of us moved. When no one responded, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) called me. When he called me, I had no choice but to rise. He said:
- O Hudhayfa! Go and enter among the people. See what they are doing, and do not speak of anything until you return to us.
I went and entered among the people. The wind and Allah’s soldiers (the angels) were doing their work upon them. None of their pots, fires, or buildings remained standing; all was overturned. Abu Sufyan then stood and said:
- O people of Quraysh! Let each of you see who is sitting beside him! I took the hand of the man next to me and asked, 'Who are you?' He replied, 'I am so-and-so, son of so-and-so.' Then Abu Sufyan said:
- O people of Quraysh! You are not in a place to stay. Horses and camels have perished. Banu Qurayza have not fulfilled their promise to us. We have received news from them that displeases us. The wind you see has struck us; no pot remains upright, no fire burns properly, no tent remains standing. Set out! I am leaving!
He went to his camel, which was tied. He mounted it, struck it, and it rose on three legs. By Allah, the rope was not untied before he left. If it were not for the Messenger’s command, 'Do not speak of anything until you return,' I would have killed him with an arrow.
When I returned to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), he was praying in a garment belonging to one of his wives, called Murahhal. When he saw me, he drew me to his feet, threw part of his garment over me, then bowed and prostrated. I remained thus until he finished, then I informed him of the news. The Ghatafan, having heard what the Quraysh had done, also secretly returned to their lands." This hadith is also narrated by Muslim b. Hajjaj in his "Sahih" from Yazid al-Taymi, who said: "We were with Hudhayfa when a man said to him:
- If I had lived in the time of the Messenger of God, I would have fought his enemies and sacrificed myself for him. Hudhayfa said:
- Would you really have done so? Let me tell you: On the night of the Battle of the Confederates (Trench), we were sitting in rows. Abu Sufyan and his men were above us, and the Jewish Qurayza were below us. We feared for our children. I have never seen a night so dark and stormy. The wind sounded like thunder. It was so dark we could not see our own fingers. The hypocrites asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission to return to Medina, saying, 'Our houses are exposed to the enemy,' though they were not. He gave permission to all who asked, and they fled. We were about 300 men. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us, passing by each man. When he reached me, I had nothing to shield myself from the enemy or the cold except a garment belonging to my wife, which did not even reach my knees. The Messenger came to me as I crouched on my knees. He said:
- Who are you?
- Hudhayfa.
- Hudhayfa, huh?
I crouched lower, not wanting to stand, but finally stood up. He said:
- There is news among your people (the polytheists). Go and bring me news of them.
I am the most fearful and obedient of people. I set out. The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated:
'O Allah, protect him from before him, behind him, on his right, on his left, below him, and above him.'
By Allah, all fear and trembling left me. As I approached the polytheist camp, the Messenger told me: 'O Hudhayfa! Do not do anything to them until you return to me.'
I went and saw a fire. A large, dark man was warming his hands and saying, 'Let us go, let us go.' I had never seen Abu Sufyan before. I drew an arrow and was about to shoot him, but remembered the Messenger’s words and refrained. I entered the camp and heard the men of Banu Amir saying, 'O family of Amir! Let us go, let us go. We can no longer remain here.' The wind was blowing among the soldiers, and I heard stones striking their loads and bedding. I set out to return to the Messenger. On the way, I saw about twenty horsemen, turbaned, who said: 'Tell your companion (Muhammad) that Allah has sufficed him.' I returned to the Messenger, who was praying wrapped in a cloak. As soon as I arrived, I began to shiver. The Messenger signaled for me to approach and threw part of his cloak over me.
When the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) was concerned about something, he would pray. I informed him of the news, that the enemy was departing. Thereupon, Allah revealed the following verse:
'O you who have believed, remember the favor of Allah upon you when armies came to [attack] you and We sent upon them a wind and armies you did not see. And Allah is ever Seeing of what you do.' (al-Ahzab 33:9) The following verses were also revealed, the last of which was:
'And Allah repelled those who disbelieved, in their rage, not having obtained any good. And sufficient was Allah for the believers in battle. And ever is Allah Powerful and Exalted in Might.' (al-Ahzab 33:25)
That is, Allah repelled the polytheists from the Muslims by the wind, the angelic armies, and other reinforcements He sent. 'And sufficient was Allah for the believers in battle.' That is, the Muslims did not need to fight the polytheists; rather, Allah, the Mighty and Powerful, repelled them by His own might.
For this reason, al-Bukhari and Muslim narrate from Abu Hurayra: 'The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: There is no deity except Allah, He alone. He fulfilled His promise, aided His servant, strengthened His army, and defeated the enemy groups by Himself. There is none besides Him.'
The verse, 'And sufficient was Allah for the believers in battle,' indicates that fighting between the Muslims and the polytheists was now ended. And so it was: the Quraysh could no longer fight the Muslims. As the late Muhammad b. Ishaq said: When the polytheists who participated in the Battle of the Trench returned, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, according to what has reached us:
'After this year, the Quraysh will not be able to fight you again. But you will fight them.'
The narrator says: Indeed, after that, the polytheists did not fight the Muslims. But the Muslims fought them until Allah granted the conquest of Mecca.
Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal narrated from Sulayman b. Surad: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Now we fight them, but they do not fight us.'
Ibn Ishaq said: In the Battle of the Trench, the following Muslims were martyred: Saʿd b. Muʿadh (whose death will be detailed later), Anas b. Aws b. Atik b. ʿAmr, ʿAbdullah b. Sahl (these three from the Banu ʿAbd al-Ashhal), Tufayl b. Nuʿman, Thalabah b. Ghanamah (these two from the Sulaimi branch of the Jusham tribe), and from the Najjar, Kaʿb b. Zayd, who was struck by a stray arrow and martyred.
Among the polytheists, three were killed: Munabbih b. ʿUthman b. ʿUbayd b. Sibaq b. ʿAbd al-Dar (struck by an arrow, died in Mecca from the wound), Nawfal b. ʿAbdullah b. al-Mughira (attempted to cross the trench on horseback, fell in and was killed; the polytheists paid a great price to recover his body), and ʿAmr b. ʿAbdi Wudd al-ʿAmiri (killed by ʿAli b. Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him).
Ibn Hisham said: In the Battle of the Trench, ʿAli killed ʿAmr b. ʿAbdi Wudd and his son Hisl b. ʿAmr.