An alliance is formed

This took place in the month of Shawwal, AH 5 A number of Jews who had formed a party against Muhammad went to Quraysh at Mecca and invited them to join them in an attack on Muhammad so that they might get rid of him altogether. Seeing the plight of the Banu Nadir tribe probably was a motivator. Quraysh said: "You, Oh Jews, are the first scripture people and know the nature of our disputed with Muhammad. Is our religion the best or his?" They replied that certainly their religion was better than his and they had a better claim to be in the right. Interesting to see the Jews endorse the pagan Arab religion over Islam. Probably they were a bit more easy-going about religion than Muhammad. This predictably upsets Muhammad, who gives this reply: It was about them that Allah sent down: Quran 4:51: Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture? They believe in A-Jibt and At-Tâghût and say to the disbelievers that they are better guided as regards the way than the believers. Quran 4:52: They are those whom Allâh has cursed, and he whom Allâh curses, you will not find for him (any) helper. Or have they a share in the dominion? Then in that case they would not give mankind even a Naqîra (speck on the back of a date stone). Quran 4:54: Or do they envy men for what Allâh has given them of His bounty? Then, We had already given the family of Ibrâhîm (Abraham) the Book and Al-Hikmah, and conferred upon them a great kingdom. Quran 4:55: Of them were (some) who believed in him, and of them were (some) who averted their faces from him; and enough is Hell for burning. One may wonder what right Muhammad has to correct the Jews in matters of their religion. After all, they were literate and knew their scritures and their religion much better than Muhammad did. Back in Mecca, there is general rejoicing over coming along so well: These words rejoiced Quraysh, and they responded gladly to their invitation to fight Muhammad, and they assembled and made their preparations. Then that company of Jews went off to Ghatafan of Qays Aylan and invited them to fight Muhammad, and told them that they would act with them and that Quraysh had followed their lead in the matter; so they too joined in with them. A multi-clan alliance is formed, with the purpose of putting and end to Muhammad and his activity.

Preparing the defense

When Muhammad heard of their intention, he drew a trench around Medina and worked at it himself, encouraging the Muslims with the hope of reward in heaven. Being probably short on worldly rewards, Muhammad used the heavenly instead. It works: The Muslims worked very hard with him, but the disaffected held back from them and began to hide their real object by working slackly and by stealing away to their families without Muhammad's permission or knowledge. A Muslim who had to attend to an urgent matter would ask Muhammad's permission to go and would get it, and when he had carried out his business, he would return to the work he had left becuase of his desire to do what was right and his respect for the same. Getting the Muslims in line was a never-ending work. The discipline was quite strict - even going to answer the call of nature required the personal permission of Muhammad. So Allah send down concerning those believers: Quran 24:62: The true believers are only those who believe in Allâh and His Messenger; and when they are with him on some common matter, they go not away until they have asked his permission. Verily, those who ask your permission, those are they who believe in Allâh and His Messenger. So, if they ask your permission for some affairs of theirs, give permission to whom you will of them, and ask Allâh for their forgiveness. Truly, Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Worth noting is the formulation "Allah and His Messenger." Since Allah never spoke directly to anyone except Muhammad, this becomes a requirement to obey Muhammad unconditionally. We see the Quranic backing for the requirement that even taking a toilet break required explicit permission. This is true obedience, as is appreciated in the hadith: This passage came down concerning those Muslims who desired the good and respected it, and obeyed Allah and his Messenger. Then Allah said of the disaffected who were stealing away from work and leaving it without Muhammad's permission: Quran 24:63: Make not the calling of the Messenger among you as your calling one of another. Allâh knows those of you who slip away under shelter. And let those who oppose the Messenger's commandment beware, lest some Fitnah should befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them. Quran 24:64: Certainly, to Allâh belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. Surely, He knows your condition and the Day when they will be brought back to Him, then He will inform them of what they did. And Allâh is All-Knower of everything. As we have seen on many occasions, suitable scripture appears when Muhammad needs the Muslims to do something extraordinary. The Muslims worked at the trench until they had finished it.

The stone

I have heard some stories about the digging of the trench in which there is an example of Allah's justifying His messenger and confirming his prophetic offcie, things which the Muslims saw with their eyes. While the 'I have heard' introduction is Ibn Ishaq's way of indicating low credibility for a story, the details and variants of this are so rich that it is likely that the basic event actually took place. Also, it is the only clear example of Muhammad having a prophecy that came true. This is worth looking at in detail. When they were working on the trench a large rock caused great difficulty, and they complained to Muhammad. He called for some water and spat on it; then he prayed as Allah willed him to pray; then he sprinkled the water on the rock. Those who were present said: "By Him who sent him a prophet with the truth, it was pulverized as though it were soft sand, so that it could not resist axe or showel." Another account of the difficult rock is somewhat different. No water or spitting, but the same result: I was working with a pick in the trench where a rock gave me much trouble. Muhammad, who was near at hand, saw me hacking and saw how difficult the place was. He dropped down into the trench and took the pick from my hand, and gave such a blow that lightning showed beneat the pick. This happened a second and a third time. I said: "Oh you, dearer than father or mother, what is the meaning of this light beneath your pick as you strike?" He said: Did you really see that, Salman? The first means that Allah has opened up to me the Yaman; the second Syria and the west; and the third the east.' We catch here a glimpse of the motivation for Muhammad and the early Muslims. Abu Hurayra used to say when these countries were conquered in the time of Umar [2nd caliph] and Uthman [3rd caliph] and after: "Conquer where you will, by Allah, you have not conquered and to the resurrection day will not conquer a city whose keys Allah had not given beforehand to Muhammad."

An alternative account

Tabari has a much more detailed account of this event. We step in after the hitting of the stone: Muhammad turned to the men and asked: "Did you see what Salman says?" They said: "Yes, Messenger of Allah, you who are as dear to us as father and mother; we saw you strike and lightning come out like waves. We saw you shout "Allahu-Akbar" and so we shouted "Allahu-Akbar." We saw nothing else. "You have spoken truely," he said. "I struck my first blow, and what you saw flashed out, so taht the palaces of al-Hirah and al-Madain of Kisra lit up for me from it as if they were dogs' teeth, and Gabriel informed me that my nation would be victorious over them. These are the summer and winter capitals of the Sasanian Empire, located in present-day Iraq. Then I struck my second blow, and what you saw flashed out, so that the palaces of the pale men in the land of the Byzantines lit up for me from it as if they were dogs' teeth, and Gabriel informed me that my nation would be victorious over them. This may refer to the closer Syria or the further, much later, conquest of Asia Minor. Then I struck my third blow, and what you saw flashed out, so that the palaces of Sana lit up for me from it as if they were dogs' teeth, and Gabriel informed me that my nation would be victorious over them: This is located in present-day Yemen. "Rejoice; victory shall come to them! Rejoice, victory shall come to them! Rejoice, victory shall come to them!"" So the Muslims rejoiced and said: "Praise be to Allah! The promise of One who is true and faithful! He has promised us victory after tribulation." So when the allied clans came up, the believers said: "This is what Allah and his messenger promised us. Allah and his messenger have spoken truely." And it only increased them in faith and surrender. There is nothing like future prospects to increase morale. But the hypocrites said: "Do you not wonder? He discourses to you, increases your faith and promises you false things. He tells you that from Yatrib he can see the palaces of al-Hirah and al-Madain of Kisra and that they will be conquered by you - and this while you are digging the trench and cannot go forth!" These rational Muslims probably didn't realize the power of the determined elite. One questions stood open, however: What on earth justified that foreign countries should be conquered by Arabs? It certainly was not in retaliation for them invading Arabia, which hardly anyone bothered to do. Jealousy should be ruled out, as no true religious leader would succomb to such a simple feeling. The question gets no satisfactory answer. So the following Quran was revealed: Quran 33:12: And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said: "Allâh and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusion!" As always, the Quran has an apt reply. Much of Sura 33 is given as response to the Battle of the Trench. Anyone interested in the wider subject of Islam conquering the surrounding nations is recommended to read Legacy of Jihad by Andrew Bostom. This contains extensive details of Jihad conquest in line with this Islamic tradition. Much blood was shed and many tears were cried during these campaigns.

The siege

When Muhammad had finished the trench, Quraysh came and encamped where the torrent-beds of Ruman meet between al-Juruf and Zughaba with ten thousand of their black mercenaries and their followers from B. Kinana and the people of Tihama. Ghafatan too came with their followers from Najd and halted at Dhanab Naqma towards the direction of Uhud. While the number might or might not be accurate, there is no doubt that this is a quite significant force going against Muhammad and the Muslims. Muhammad and the Muslims came out with three thousand men having Sal at their backs. He pitched his camp there with the trench between him and his foes, and gave orders that the women and children were to be taken up into the forts. Quite fortunate for Muhammad that he had recently conquered forts from the Banu Nadir Jews. The enemy of Allah Huyayy b. Akhtab al-Nadri went out to Kab b. Asad al-Qurazi who had made a treaty with Muhammad. When Kab heard of Huyayy's coming, he shut the door of his fort in his face, and when he asked permission to enter he refused to see him, saying that he was a man of ill omen and that he himself was in treaty with Muhammad and did not intend to go back on his word because he had always found him loyal and faithful. Much quarreling follows. But eventually: Thus Kab broke his promise and cut loose from the bond that was betweeen thim and Muhammad. One may wonder, in the midst of all these alliances, war preparations and posturing: Where is the religious stuff? Where is the peaceful resolution of pointless conflicts, the couragious standing up against the worldly kings, the resignation from worldly affairs for the good of God? The answer is disappointingly simple: There isn't any. Nothing is being excluded from the accounts of Ishaq and Tabari. Before Muhammad was called to prophethood, he would seek solitude in the caves. But at no point after the somewhat unpleasent encounter there is it reported that Muhammad sought solitude in a systematic or religious fashion. During the decade of conflict in Mecca, the means were restricted to insulting words between the parties, rarely resolved by actually looking up ancient scripture, preferring to engage in more mutual denigration. Now for five years we have seen the conflict between Muhammad and the Meccans devolve into armed struggle, and it is set to continue like this. Islam has its five pillars (which was a bit in a flux still - the hadith has conflicting versions of them), but some stood out clear: Believe in Allah and obey Muhammad; Pay the Zakat tax; Fight the infidels. We know that Muhammad had a pulpit to speak from, but little about what he said there. When Muhammad and the Muslims heard of this, Muhammad sent Sad b. Muadh, who was chief of the Aus at the time, and Sad b. Udaba, chief of al-Khazraj at the time, together with Abdullah b. Rawaha, and Khawwat b. Jubayr, and told them to go and see whether the report was true or not. "If it is true, give me an enigmatic message which I an understand, and do not undermine the people's confidence; and if they are loyal to their agreement, speak out openly before the people." Good tactics. If there is good new, use it to encourage the fighting people. If there's not, deal with it. They went forth and found the situation even more deplorable than they had heard; they spoke disparingly of Muhammad, saying: "Who is the messenger of Allah? We have no agreement or undertaking with Muhammad." Sad b. Muadh reviled them and they reviled him. He was a man of hasty temper and Sad b. Ubada said to him: "Stop insulting them, for the dispute between us is too serious for recrimination." Then the two Sad's returned to Muhammad and after saluting him said: "Adal and al-Qara", i.e. (It is) like treachery of Adal and al-Qara towards the men of al-Raji, Khubayb and his friends. Muhammad said: "Allahu Akbar! Be of good cheer, Muslims." The rejection of the treaty is solid. Not much Muhammad can do about that. The situation became serious and fear was everywhere. The enemy came at them from above and below, until the believers imagined vain things, and disaffection was rife among the disaffected to the point that Muattib b. Qusyahr said: "Muhammad used to promise us that we should eat the treasures of Chosroes and Caesar, and today not one of us can feel safe in going to the privy!" The first sentence is paraphrased from Quran 33:10. We notice again a clear indication of the motivation of the early Muslims: booty. And quite a lot of it. Note that when we compare this statement with the actual amount of fighting reported, the fear seems to have been greater than the actual warfare. It reached such a point that Aus b. Qayzi said to Muhammad: "Our houses are exposed to the enemy" - this he said before a large gathering of his people - "so let us go out and return to our home, for it is outside Medina." Muhammad and the polytheists remained twenty days and more, nearly a month, without fighting except for some shooting with arrows, and the siege. It seems the siege was not quite as dramatic as indicated above.

A peace attempt

When conditions pressed hard upon the people, Muhammad sent to Uyayna b. Hisn and to al-Harith b. Auf, who were leaders of the Ghatafan, and offered them a third of the dates of Medina on condition that they would go back with their followers and leave him and his men, so peace was made between them so far as to writing a document. A suprisingly cheap price for buying them out of the alliance. But the Muslims don't like the idea: Sad b. Muadh said: "We and these people were polytheists and idolators, not serving Allah nor knowing him, and they never hoped to eat a single date of ours except as guests or by purchase. Now, after Allah has honoured and guided us to Islam and made us famous by you, are we to give them our property?" 'Our' is an interesting word for property recently taken from the Jews, and by violent means. But it does fit the Islamic tenet that everything in the world belongs to Allah, and therefore should be administered by his messenger and the Muslims. "We certainly will not. We will give them nothing but the sword until Allah decide between us." Muhammad said: "You shall have it so." Sad took the paper and erased what was written, saying: "Let them do their worst against us!"

An incursion

The siege continued without any actual fighting, but some horsemen of Quraysh donned their armour and went forth on horseback to the stations of B. Kinana, saying: "Prepare for fighting and then you will know who are the true knights today." They galloped forward until they stopped at the trench. When they saw it, they exclaimed: "This is a device which the Arabs have never employed!" A funny siege, actually. Medina was more of a collection of settlements than a city. Setting up a solid regiment of archers should be possible with 10.000 men at hand, and could have done sigificant damage. The trench, which cannot have been all that huge, is a big surprise to the Arabs. Even the idea of filling it in doesn't seem to cross their minds. Their skill of warfare seems quite limited. Then they made for a narrow part of the trench and beat their horses so that they dashed through it and carried them into the swampy ground between the trench and Sal. Ali with some Muslims came out to hold the gap through which they had forced a passage against (the rest of) them and the horsemen galloped to meet them. Not impossible to pass, after all. Now Amr b. Abdu Wudd had fought at Badr until he was disabled by wounds, and so he had not been at Uhud. At the battle of the Trench he came out wearing a distinguishing mark to show his rank, and when he and his contingent stopped, he challenged anyone to fight him. Ali accepted the challenge and said to him: "Amr, you swore by Allah that if any man of Quraysh offered you two alternatives, you would accept one of them?" While it is debatable wether the emigrants can still be considered members of the Quraysh tribe, this is less interesting than what follows: "Yes I did", Amr said. Ali replied: "Then I invite you to Allah and His messenger and to Islam." Effectively, Ali is asking for Amr to surrender. Amr said that he had no use for them. Amr, the free-spirited Arab, is not particular interested. Ali went on: "Then I call you to dismount." Amr replied: "O son of my brother, I do not want to kill you." Ali said: "But I want to kill you." This is a classic of Jihad. Polytheists (or at least those considered so by the Muslims) are given the choice between surrendering to Islam and death. This is not the grand 'We invite your nation' variety, but rather the down-to-earth personal one, where Ali takes up the task of killing his uncle. One may wonder what good religion is, when it causes people to behave like this. This so enraged Amr that he got off his horse and harmstrung him; hen he advanced on Ali and they fought, the one circling the other. Ali killed him and their cavalry fled, bursting headlong in flight across the trench. With Amr bleeding to death in the dust, the not-so-brave Quraysh panic and ride back across the supposedly inpenetrable trench. For those interested, Ibn Ishaq has more details, variant accounts, as well as poetry about this event.

Aisha and Sad

Aisha was in the fort of B. Haritha on that day. It was one of the strongest forts of Medina. The mother of Sad b. Muadh was with her. Aisha said: "This was before the veil had been imposed on us. Sad went by wearing a coat of mail so short that the whole of his forearm was exposed." The command of the veil is given in this verse: Quran 33:59: O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks all over their bodies. That will be better that they should be known so as not to be annoyed. And Allâh is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. This might be the most discussed verse in the entire Quran. Since the entire Quran is given in an ancient Arabic dialect, any interpretation, not to mention translation, of this verse remains unclear. The translation here represents the official Saudi-Arabic Islamic interpretation and English translation. The verse apparently was given in context with Aisha's scandal, and might be seen as a measure to prevent this from happening again. The notion that the women should veil them selves in order to not be annoyed (molested, attacked, raped) by men is particular to Islam and is still in use today. Most other cultures would take the opposite approach: To teach the men to contain themselves, and punish those who don't. But Islam is born out of a male-dominated society and does not use this approach. Sad went by wearing a coat of mail so short that the whole of his forearm was exposed. He hurried along carrying a lance, saying the while: Wait a little! Let Hamal see the fight. What matters death when the time is right? Fatalism His mother said: "Hurry up, my boy, for by Allah you are late." I said to her: "I wish that Sad's coat of mail were longer than it is", fo I was afraid for him where the arrow actually hit him. Sad was shot by an arrow which severed the vein of his arm. This was to have severe consequences in the battle against the Banu Qurayza a few weeks later. Sad said to Hibban b. Qays who shot him: "May Allah make your face sweat in hell. O Allah, if the war with Quraysh is to be prolonged spare me for it, for there is no people whom I want to fight more than those who insulted your messenger, called him a liar, and drove him out. O Allah, seeing that you have appointed war between us and them, grant me martyrdom and do not let me die until I have seen my desire upon Banu Qurayza." The quarrels between Muhammad and his clan are still the 'Casus Belli' for this war. Many good men had died already, and many more were to follow.

Quranic commentary

Muhammad and his companions remained in fear and difficulty when the enemy came on them from above and below. This is a reference to this Quranic passage: Quran 33:10: When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the throats, and you were harbouring doubts about Allâh. Quran 33:11: There, the believers were tried and shaken with a mighty shaking. Quran 33:12: And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said: "Allâh and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusion!" This is a reference to the promises Muhammad gave that the Muslims would conquor the Romans and the Persians and capture their treasures. Quran 33:13: And when a party of them said: "O people of Yathrib! There is no stand (possible) for you! Therefore go back!" And a band of them ask for permission of the Prophet saying: "Truly, our homes lie open." And they lay not open. They but wished to flee. A reference to those Muslims who had houses away from the mosque and Muhammad. They were outside the area of the siege and thus not protected from the Quraysh attackers. Quran 33:14: And if the enemy had entered from all sides, and they had been exhorted to Al-Fitnah (i.e. to renegade from Islâm to polytheism), they would surely have committed it and would have hesitated thereupon but little. The fear that the Muslims would turn renegates against Muhammad was very real. They had, after all, not achieved any of the glory they had been promised, and had been battling their kin and clan for years already. There is no doubt that the temptation to quietly siphon away and simply leave the war was significant. It is noteworthy how the Quran comments directly on actual events. This seems highly unlikely for the supposedly 'eternal tablet from the heavens.'

The betrayal

Then Nuaym b. Masud came to Muhammad saying that he had become a Muslim though his own people did not know of it, and let him give him what orders he would. Muhammad said: "You are only one man among us, so go and awake distrust among the enemy to draw them off us if you can, for war is deceit." Opportunity knocks. A secret Muslim behind enemy lines is a valuable asset. Politicians dealing with Islamic rulers today should pay special heed to the little sentence: "War is deceit". Thereupon Nuaym went off to B. Qurayza with whom he had been a boon companion in heathen days, and reminded them of his affection for them and of the speical tie between them. When they admitted that they did not suspect him, he said: "Quraysh and Ghatafan are not like you: The land is your land, your property, your wives and your children are in it; you cannot leave it and go somewhere else." True. The Jews had lived here for a thousand years. They were the ones who built Yathrib (present-day Medina), cultivated the lands, built the forts. Their claim to the land was beyond any form of dispute. Now Quraysh and Ghatafan have come to fight Muhammad and his companions, and you have aided them against him, but their land, their property and their wives are not here, so they are not like you. If they see an opportunity they will make the most of it; but if things go badly they will go back to their own land and leave you to face the man in your country, and you will not be able to do so if you are left alone. Perfectly logical reasoning here. So do not fight along with these people until you take hostages from their chiefs who will remain in your hands as security that they will fight Muhammad with you until you make an end of him." The Jews said that this was excellent advice. The deconstruction of confidence between the three parties gets off to a flying start. As it turned out, matters went exactly how Nuaym predicted it. Then he went to the Quraysh and said to Abu Sufyan b. Harb and his company: "You know my affection for you and that I have left Muhammad. Now I have heard something which I think it my duty to tell you by way of warning, but regard it as confidential." A serious case of double-crossing here. When they said that they would, he continued: "Mark my words, the Jews have regretted their action in opposing Muhammad and have sent to tell him so, saying: "Would you like us to get hold of some chiefs of the two tribes Quraysh and Ghatafan and hand them over to you so that you can cut their heads off? Then we can join you in exterminating the rest of them." He has sent word back to accept their offer; so if the Jews sent to you demanding hostages, don't send them a single man." His ability to lie and his talent for deception are supreme. Then he wen to the Ghatafan and said: "You are my stock and my family, the dearest of men to me, and I do not think that you can suspect me." They agreed that he was above suspicion, and so he told them the same story as he had told Quraysh. As we have seen frequently in other places, Islam takes precedence over bonds of family and kinship. Nuaym certainly invests all his credibility in this act of treason. On the night of the sabbath of Shawwal AH 5, it came about by Allah's action on behalf of his messenger that Abu Sufyan and the chiefs of Ghatafan sent Ikrima b. Abu Jahl to B. Qurayza with some of their number saying that they had no permanent camp, that they horses and camels were dying; therefor they must make ready for battle and make and end of Muhammad once and for all. No wonder. They had been camping in the Arab heat for weeks, without engaging the Muslims seriously yet. They replied that it was sabbath, a day on which they did nothing, and it was well known what had happened to those of their people who had violated the sabbath. Jews indeed. "Moreover, we will not fight Muhammad along with you until you give us hostages whom we can hold as security until we make and end of Muhammad; for we fear that if the battle goes against us and you suffer heavily, you will withdraw at once to your country and leave us while the man is in our country, and we cannot face him alone." The plot goes into action. Jews were not known to be particular valiant warriors, preferring to tend their fields and their trade, and they are now seeking to chicken out of the battle they had agreed to start, hoping to appease the Muslims and thus keep their land and livelihood. When the messengers returned with their reply, Quraysh and Ghatafan said: "What Nuaym told you is the truth. The people are bent on fighting and if they get an opportunity, they will take advantage of it; but if they do not, they will withdraw to their own country and leave us to face this man here. So send word to them that we will not fight Muhammad with them until they give us hostages." Quraysh and Ghatafan refused to do so, and Allah sowed distrust between them, and sent a bitter cold wind against them in the winter nigths, which upset their cooking-pots and overthrew their tents. The plot is perfect. It is mentioned frequently in the Quran that Allah is the best plotter, and this injection of distrust between the enemies of Muhammad proves the point. A Muslim investigator Hudhayfa b. al-Yaman sent to the camp of the Quraysh reports: Then Abu Sufyan said: "O Quraysh, we are not in a permanent camp; the horses and camels are dying; the B. Qurayza have broken their word to us and we have heard disputing reports of them. You can see the violence of the wind which leaves us neither cooking-pots, nor fire, nor tents to count on. Be off, for I am going." Thus, an act of treason and a gust of wind leaves the multi-tribe alliance crumbling. I returned to Muhammad as he was standing praying in a wrapper belonging to one of his wives. No matter what happened, Muhammad was never bereft of female company. When he saw me, he made me come in to sit at his feet and threw the end of the wrapper over me; then he bowed and prostrated himself while I was in it. When he had finished, I told him the news. When Ghatafan heard of what Quraysh had done, they broke up and returned to their own country. In the morning Muhammad and the Muslims left the trench and returned to Medina, laying their arms aside. Here ends the last concerted effort to stop the activities of Muhammad and the early Muslims, and Muhammad never again had to suffer the humiliation of fighting a defensive battle. And the Banu Qurayza were indeed left to the fury of Muhammad. The result was a disaster, a violent and complete termination of their settlement in Yathrib. This story is here: Raid of Banu Qurayza.