This battle is also called the battle of Ah’zab. It involved
seven tribes who were moving towards Madinah under Abu Jahal with a combined
force of 24,000. Muslims were 3,000 under the command of the Noble Messenger
(s.a.w.a.s.). Hazrat Salman Farsi, later named as Salman Muhammadi, advised to
dig a trench around the city to prevent the invaders from entering the city.
Every Muslim, including the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) was involved in
digging the earth. When the invaders arrived, they were surprised to see the
trench as it was not known in Arabian Peninsula. They laid siege to the city
for 20 days. Banu Quraidha, the followers of the Scripture, had signed a
covenant of peace with the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.), joined the Pagans
providing additional men and equipment. This treacherous action was a
frightening surprise to the Muslims. The hypocrites in the Muslims ranks
circulated frightening rumors further increasing their fears. Surah al-ahzab Ayah 10-13 refers to the
situation, “Eyes became dull and hearts almost reached the throat when they
attacked you from above and below and you started to think of Allah with
suspicion. It was there that the hypocrites and those whose hearts were sick,
said, “The promise of Allah and His Messenger has proved to be nothing but
deceit. Our homes are defenseless. “In fact, they were not defenseless. They
only wanted to run away.”
Amr ibne Abduwud, a courageous man ventured to cross the
trench out of 24,000 fighters, speaks volumes about him. He challenged the
Muslims for a duel but there was no response from the companions. Imam Ali
(a.s.) requested permission from the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) who asked him
to wait. The second caliph further scared the companions by saying that Amr
fought with 1,000 people at one time! Amr again called for a dueler but still
no response came from the companions. Imam Ali (a.s.) again sought permission
and was refused by the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.), perhaps he wanted to give chance
to any other companion to fight. Now Amr
said, “You Muslims have been made to believe that there is Jannah, is there
anyone among you who has the courage to challenge me so that I can kill him and
send him to his Jannah.” The Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) asked his
companions, “Is there anyone among you who could stop the non-sense of this
dog?” This time also Imam Ali (a.s.) rose up and the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) gave him his turban, iron
dress, and his sword, Zulfiqar and said,
“Total Faith (Iman) is going against total infidalism (Kufr)” Amr Ibn
Abduwud said, “Your father was my friend I would not like to kill you.” Imam Ali (a.s.) replied, “By God, I would
love to kill you. “The duel started and dust enveloped them and when the
dust subsided the onlookers saw Imam Ali (a.s.) was holding Amr’s head and the
Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) shouted “Allah-o-Akbar” – God is Great, and prayed
that Allah grant such a stature to Ali that has not been granted to anyone until
then nor in future. At that moment
Gibeil came and said, “Allah has sent Salam to you and sent this box as a gift for
Imam Ali (a.s.). The box contained a green cloth with two lines written on it,
“Tohfatut Talibul Ghalib ila Ali ibn Abi
Talib” meaning this is the gift of Allah towards Imam Ali (a.s.). Allah also praised Imam Ali (a.s.) in Surah
al-Ahzab Aya 25, “Allah repelled the unbelievers in their rage. They could not
achieve anything good. Allah rendered enough support to the believers in
fighting. Allah is All-powerful and Majestic.” The Noble Messenger said, “One
stroke of Ali at the day of Khandaq is heavier than all the good deeds of my
Ummah until the Day of Judgment.”
Imam Ali (a.s.)’s initiative of killing the strong man of
Pagans and stopped the inflow of enemy forces prevented the catastrophe of
24,000 fighters crossing the trench. Amr ibn Abduwud’s death proved to the
enemy that if he could not survive, no one can. Hence there were two options
open to them. Continuity of siege not possible as the food supplies were dwindling.
Hurricane like wind caused damages. Hence, they opted for the other option and lifted
the siege and went back.
Source:
Duas.org, Ziaraat.com, Yanabe-ul-Muwaddat
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