Battle of Trench
(Shawwal 5 Hijri) 627 AD:
The third major battle of Muslims against the infidels of Makkah was Ghazwa Khandaq, which was fought in Shawwal 5 Hijri. This battle is called Battle of Khandaq because in it, Muslims dug a trench to defend Medina on the advice of Hazrat Salman Farsi, which was a unique thing for the Arabs. Ahzab means a group of tribes and in this, with the conspiracy of the Jews, various Arab tribes and Quraysh used force against the Muslims, so it is also called Ghazwa Ahzab.
Permanent enmity between infidels and Muslims:
Whenever there was any war action by the people of Makkah, the main reason for it was that the people accepted Islam. They did not accept the development of Islam in any way. When they got the opportunity, they started to implement their evil ambitions in Ghazwa Khandaq (Ahzab). This was the spirit of the infidels. In the battle of Uhud, the Muslims suffered loss of life and property and due to the damage to their fear and bad faith, some Arab tribes were greatly encouraged. They started taking part in anti-Islamic activities. Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (peace be upon him) won against them in the Battle of Badr and Battle of Uhud, due to which the fire of revenge flared up in his heart, so he decided to fight the war together with war preparations to take revenge from the Muslims.
Fear of economic loss and threat of Abu Sufyan:
Just as the infidels were harassing the Muslims, the Muslims also blockaded their trade routes as a countermeasure. Due to which their caravans did not even reach Iraq. So now there were only two ways for them, either the Quraysh accepted the obedience of the Muslims in Makkah or they ended the state of the Muslims, but the pride and arrogance of the Quraysh only encouraged them to decide with war. Now we will meet again in the field of Badr. Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (peace be upon him) accepted this change and he (peace be upon him) arrived at the appointed time with one and a half thousand Mujahideen. Abu Sufyan also left Makkah with an army of 2,000, but he got scared after hearing about the huge war preparations of the Muslims and avoided the war on the pretext of famine. Muslims remember this campaign as Badrasani.
Unity of the Jews with the Infidels:
The Jews who were expelled from Madinah had reached the end of their enmity and enmity and they wanted to destroy Islam from the roots, so the chiefs of Banu Nazir, Banu Qainqaa reached Makkah and made an agreement with Quraysh Makkah to fight against the Muslims.
Preparation of infidels and Muslims:
Like the Battle of Badr and the Battle of Uhud, the preparation for this battle was done secretly and the Muslims were not even informed about it. When he received information about the army of the infidels, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) called the Companions for a meeting. Finally, considering the results of the Battle of Uhud, they agreed on the opinion that the infidels should be fought in Madinah instead of outside.
Advice of Hazrat Salman Farsi:
Hazrat Salman Farsi was a non-Arab Sahabi. Those who were well acquainted with Iran’s methods of war proposed to dig trenches around Madinah, which Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) liked. So in order to examine this work, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself rode on a horse and went out on three sides of Madinah in the date gardens and houses. The trench was prepared and the army of the infidels also arrived.
Digging the trench and announcing the victory:
Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (peace be upon him) made a plan for digging a trench which was three and a half miles long, fifteen feet deep and fifteen feet wide. This work was completed within twenty days, three thousand Muslims were engaged in digging it. Ten men were responsible for 44 hands of digging, which they completed with great effort. When the trench was being dug, a big hard stone came to one place, which no one could break. When this news reached Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa, the prophet of God, he took a hoe with his blessed hand and hit the stone with such force that the stone cracked and a light appeared. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “I have been given the keys of the country of Syria.” On the second blow, he (peace be upon him) said, “I have been given the keys of Persia.” On the third blow, the stone crumbled, on which he said, “I have been given the keys of Yemen.” Explaining this, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Hazrat Gabriel (peace be upon him) has given me the good news that all the countries will come under the control of my ummah, so he (peace be upon him) while making dua said, “The good of the Hereafter is the real good, so may Allah bless the Ansar and the Muhajirin.”
Siege of Medina:
When Jarrar’s army of ten to four and twenty thousand reached Madinah, he did not see any signs of resistance from the Muslims, so they raised slogans of joy, then they took off their swords and marched towards Madinah while beating drums. They were going, but there was no slippage in the minds of the Muslims.
Protection of women and children:
Khatam-ul-Nabien Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) appointed a convoy of two hundred people in the neighborhood under the leadership of Hazrat Salim bin Aslam, in addition to sending the Muslim women and children to the safe fort. A Jew tried to do mischief on this fort, on which Hazrat Safiyya, the maternal grandmother of the Prophet (peace be upon him) killed him with a spear marker.
The Jewish Covenant:
At the same time, you received news that the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza broke the covenant and joined forces with the infidel Quraysh. On this, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent two Ansari chiefs, Hazrat Saad bin Muadh and Saad bin Ubada, to bring the Jews to the right path, but the Jews refused to listen to anything.
The general attack and the strategy of the Muslims:
When the infidels had been besieging Makkah for several days and did not see any success, besides the food and drink stock was running out, they got fed up and suggested that a general attack should be made from a less wide area. So Zarrar, Amr bin Abdud ‘Naufal and Ikramah succeeded in crossing the trench. Amr bin Abdud was killed first, Hazrat Ali killed the rest in one blow, Naufal fell into the trench while running and died there. During the siege, a rift broke out among the infidels due to the strategy of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa, peace be upon him. One of the chieftains of Banu Khatfan, a Jewish tribe, Naeem bin Masoud accepted Islam, which the infidels were not aware of.
Absence of relief:
The infidels had been besieged for many days. One night, a strong wind blew their tents and overturned their belongings. Abu Sufyan said to the army, “We are lying here outside our homes. The supplies have run out. The men and animals are all destroyed and miserable. The weather is unpleasant. It is impossible to light a fire and cook food because of the strong wind. The Jews have also left.” Therefore, saying that the siege was futile under these circumstances, he returned with his army.
In this way, Allah gave victory to the Muslims in Ghazwa Khandaq too.