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The Battle of the Trench or Battle of the Ditch (Arabic غزوة الخندق), also known as or Battle of Confederates (Arabic غزوة الاحزاب) was an attack by the non-Muslim Ahzab (confederate armies) on the city of Medina in 627. The name "Battle of the Trench" refers to the trench that the Muslim defenders of Medina dug north of the city. Due to this trench, and the natural fortifications of Medina on other sides, the attacking Ahzab were unable to overcome Medina's Muslim defenders. Most of the Ahzab withdrew, resulting a victory for the Muslim defenders of Medina. The Qur'an chronicles this war in the Qur'anic verses . The Battle of the Trench was an early example of trench warfare.

Background

The invading armies were a confederation of the tribes Quraysh, Kinanah, Banu Sulaim, Ghatafan, Bani Murrah, Fazarah and Ashja' under the leadership of, amongst others, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb.

The "Confederates"

Due to the Quranic reference of Ahzab (meaning Confederates), the coalition of armies are referred to as such. The bulk of the Confederate armies consisted of the Quraysh of Mecca, lead by Abu Sufyan, who fielded 4,000 foot soldiers. In addition to that they had 300 men mounted on horses, and 1,000-1,500 men on camels. The second largest contingent was that of Ghatfan who lived near Khaybar, consisting of 1,000 soldiers lead by Unaina bin Hasan Fazari. Other tribes included the Banu Murra with 400 men lead by Hars bin Auf Murri; Banu Shuja with 700 men lead by Sufyanbin Abdu-Shams; Banu Asad lead by Tuleha Asadi. In total, the strength of the Confederate armies is estimated around 10,000.

Muslim defensive preparations

A man from Banu Khuza'a informed Muhammad about the Confederate armies. Outnumbered, the Muslims opted to engage in a defensive battle by establishing deep trenches to act as a barrier along the northern front. The tactic of a defensive trench was introduced to the Arabs by Salman the Persian, who acquired the knowledge in Persia. Traditional Muslim sources state that every capable Muslim (including Muhammad) in Medina contributed to digging the massive trench in twenty days. The ditch was dug on the northern side only, as the rest of Medina was surrounded by rocky mountains and trees, impenetrable to large armies. The digging of the ditch coincided with a near-famine in Medina. Women and children were moved to the inner parts of the city. The final Muslim army consisted of 3,000 men over the age of 15.

The Battle

The Quraish had recruited allies from northwestern Arabia to join the fight, including the assistance of the two exiled Jewish tribes.

When the Quraysh-led coalition arrived to fight, their cavalry unsuccessfully tried to cross the trench for three days. Amr ibn Wodd al-'Ameri and few other horsemen managed to find a narrow strip along the trench, and could finally jump over the trench and cross to the other side where the Muslim army gathered. Amr was a strong and widely feared man by the Arabs for his fighting abilities, and he was considered to be the greatest among all the heroes of Mecca. Ali ibn Abi Taleb Muhammad's cousin, still a youth at that time, triumphed in combat over Amr ibn Wodd and killed him, in what was a great calamity to the Meccan army. The other horsemen ran away, one of them fell in the trench and was killed. Ali, in this, had shown great courage to face Amro and his star rose even higher among the Muslims as a great hero. The Trench Battle was a huge psychological and strategic setback for the Quraish coalition forces as this was not something they were able to handle nor had they ever experienced this kind of warfare. The very fact that their strongest point was the cavalry, who could not cross the deep trenches, was a blow to their advances.

As the siege around Medina began to last longer than expected, Quraysh sent Huyayy bin Akhtab, the leader of Banu Nadir, to the Banu Qurayza, hoping to win their support. The Banu Qurayza's crucial location on the south side of Medina would allow the confederates to attack Muhammad from two sides. Banu Qurayza were hesitant to join the Meccan alliance since they had earlier made a pact of alliance with Muhammad. Because of this pact Muhammad had not bothered to make defensive preparations along the Muslims' border with the tribe.

Learning of the recent developments and realizing the grave danger this incident potentially posed, Muhammad sent three of his companions to bring him details of the recent developments. He advised the men to openly declare their findings, should they find the Qurayza to be loyal, so as to increase the morale of the Muslim fighters. However, he warned against spreading the news of a possible breach of the pact on the Qurayza's part, so as to avoid any panic within Muslim ranks.

The three men did not return with good news. They reported to Muhammad their findings in a metaphor: "Adal and Qarah". Maududi believes this metaphor meant that the Qurayza were about to kill the Muslims like the people of Adal and Qarah did after making a false pact of peace with Muhammad. Watt writes that the Banu Qurayza "seem to have tried to remain neutral" in the battle. In the third week of the siege, Banu Qurayza signaled to the Quraysh-led coalition their readiness to act against Muhammad, although they demanded that the Meccans provide them with hostages first, to ensure that they would not be abandoned to face Muhammad alone, if the battle did not go as The Meccans desired. Yet, The Meccans refused to give the Banu Qurayza any hostages, and considered this to be an insult. Shortly after that, when the siege began to be too much for the besieged Muslims to take, a violent, cold gale wind set on the camp of the Meccans in the north of Medina, and the Meccans immediately gave up the fight and marched home, to the bitterness of the Meccan combatants, and the horror and dismay of Banu Qurayza .

Muhammad Murders And Enslaves Helpless Banu Qurayza Captives

- Qur’an 33:26 And He brought those of the People of the Scripture who supported them from their strongholds, and cast panic into their hearts. Some ye slew, and ye made captive some. (M. Pickthall Translation)

- After the Meccans abandoned their attack on Medina, Muhammad sought and obtained unconditional surrender of the Jewish Banu Qurayza inside Medina. Though they were isolated from their would-be rescuers by the trench and not actively engaged in battle against the Muslims, these Jews had been in sympathy with the coalition attacking Medina. Muhammad ordered the murder of all his helpless adult male Jewish Banu Qurayza captives, many of whose heads he cut off himself. The women and children were taken into slavery to Muslims. Muhammad beneficently took one of the most beautiful Jewish women as his concubine.

Notes

1. al-Halabi, vol II, part 12, page 19
2. ibn Hisham (1962), pg 234
3. Nomani (1970), pg.370
4. al-Halabi, vol II, part 12, page 27
5. Maududi (1967), pg. 64
6. Maududi (1967), pg. 64
7. Maududi (1967), pg. 65
8. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Medina, page 36.

References

• al-Halabi, Nur al-Din. Sirat-i-Halbiyyah. Uttar Pradesh: Idarah Qasmiyyah Deoband. Translated by Muhammad Aslam Qasmi.
• Maududi, Sayyid Abul Ala (1967). The Meaning of the Quran. Lahore: Islamic Publications Limited.
• Nomani, Shibli (1970). Sirat al-Nabi. Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society.

See also

• Battle of Uhud
• Battle of Khaybar

External links

• http://www.thewaytotruth.org/prophetmuhammad/trench.html
• http://www.al-islamforall.org/Ghazwat/ghazwat/trench.htm

• Articles lacking sources from December 2006
• Battles of Muhammad
• Muslim history
• Battles of Khalid ibn Walid