The Quraish and the Jews

From the book · p. 50

In brief· the site’s own summary, not the book’s words

Nabi ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) had made an agreement with the Jews of Madinah, but after Badr the Banu Qaynuqaa, and then the Banu Nadheer, turned against the Muslims; they were besieged and sent away, to Shaam and to Khaibar. The Quraish, the Jews and the munaafiqeen then plotted together, and in Zil-Qa'dah 5 A.H. an army of ten thousand, which later doubled, marched on Madinah. On the advice of Salmaan Farsi رضي الله عنه (may Allah be pleased with him), Nabi ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) and three thousand Sahaabah رضي الله عنهم (may Allah be pleased with them) dug trenches, and he broke with one blow a boulder they could not break. During a siege of almost fifteen days the Banu Quraizah joined the enemy and food ran out; the Sahaabah رضي الله عنهم (may Allah be pleased with them) showed Nabi ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) the stones tied to their stomachs for hunger, and he showed them two tied to his own.

After ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madinah, he built good relationships with all residents of the city irrespective of their religion. ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) made an agreement with the Jews that they would remain united. Nabi ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) adhered to this agreement but the Jews were unable to tolerate Islaam’s progress and secretly continued plotting against the Muslims.

When the Muslims were victorious in the Battle of Badr, they could not contain their anger and broke their agreement. In 2 the Jews from the tribe of Banu Qaynuqaa declared war against the Muslims. The Banu Nadheer also went against the Muslims. On seeing this, Nabi ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) began preparing for war. The Jews enclosed themselves in their forts. They were besieged for some time and thereafter banished. The Banu Qaynuqaa were banished to (Syria) and the Banu Nadheer to Khaibar.

The Quraish of Makkah, the Jews of and the , plotted as a united force against the Muslims. Hatred for the Muslims continued growing in all the tribes from Makkah to Madinah. The Battle of Zaat-ur-Riqaa’ that had taken place on the 10th 5 A.H. and the Battle of Dowma-tul-Jundul which had taken place in 5 A.H. were the outcomes of this plot. The Battle of Banu-ul-Mustaliq that took place on the 2nd 5 A.H. was also as a result of this plot.

For some time, the Quraish continued planning against the Muslims. Eventually, their plans became a reality, in 5 A.H. All these groups gathered their forces and decided to attack Madinah. An army of ten thousand fierce warriors, which later doubled, marched towards Madinah to attack the Muslims.

When this information reached Nabi ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him), he gathered the رضي الله عنهم (may Allah be pleased with them) and consulted them. Salmaan Farsi رضي الله عنه (may Allah be pleased with him) suggested that it was inappropriate to go out of Madinah to fight. Instead, trenches should be dug on the side where there was fear of the disbelievers attacking. This was due to the danger presented by the Banu Quraizah who were still in Madinah, as well as the munaafiqeen (hypocrites) who were present amongst the people of Madinah.

Thus, Nabi ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) together with three thousand Sahaabah رضي الله عنهم (may Allah be pleased with them) prepared to dig these trenches. Whilst the Sahaabah رضي الله عنهم (may Allah be pleased with them) were digging, they encountered a large boulder which they were unable to break. Nabi ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) miraculously broke the boulder with just one blow. Nabi ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Sahaabah رضي الله عنهم (may Allah be pleased with them) toiled tirelessly day and night to dig the trench.

The disbelievers placed Madinah under siege for almost fifteen days. The Banu Quraizah, whom the Muslims feared, sided with the disbelievers and this increased their number.

The siege caused great uneasiness among the Muslims. The food provisions were exhausted and due to insufficient rations, people were suffering from starvation. In addition, there was no way of going out of Madinah.

Eventually, the Sahaabah رضي الله عنهم (may Allah be pleased with them) who were in a state of distress approached Nabi ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) complaining of hunger. They lifted their garments showing Nabi ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) that they each had a stone tied to their stomachs. Rasulullah ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) lifted his garment and showed the Sahaabah رضي الله عنهم (may Allah be pleased with them) two stones tied to his stomach.

When the disbelievers realised that they were unable to cross the trench, they began throwing stones and shooting arrows at the Muslims. The Muslims also counter attacked. This encounter continued for a long time which caused Nabi ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) to miss four of his .

In brief· the site’s own summary, not the book’s words

Nabi ﷺ had made an agreement with the Jews of Madinah, but after Badr the Banu Qaynuqaa, and then the Banu Nadheer, turned against the Muslims; they were besieged and sent away, to Shaam and to Khaibar. The Quraish, the Jews and the munaafiqeen then plotted together, and in Zil-Qa'dah 5 A.H. an army of ten thousand, which later doubled, marched on Madinah. On the advice of Salmaan Farsi رضي الله عنه, Nabi ﷺ and three thousand Sahaabah رضي الله عنهم dug trenches, and he broke with one blow a boulder they could not break. During a siege of almost fifteen days the Banu Quraizah joined the enemy and food ran out; the Sahaabah رضي الله عنهم showed Nabi ﷺ the stones tied to their stomachs for hunger, and he showed them two tied to his own.

The book’s text

The book’s text