سورة الأحزاب

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Indeed Hud (peace be upon him), Allah avenged him against his enemies with a fierce wind, and Allah the Exalted aided the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) in the Battle of the Trench with a storm and other hosts that they did not see. It was a wind that stirred up whirlwinds of sand and dust, and Allah the Exalted Himself says in this regard: يا أَیُّهَا الَّذینَ آمَنُوا اذْکُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللهِ عَلَیْکُمْ إِذْ جاءَتْکُمْ جُنُودٌ فَأَرْسَلْنا عَلَیْهِمْ ریحاً وَ جُنُوداً لَمْ تَرَوْها [O you who believe! Call to mind the favor of Allah to you when there came down upon you hosts, so We sent against them a strong wind and hosts that you saw not].

Imam Husayn (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) that he said: "One of the Jews of Sham and one of their scholars had read the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms and the books of the prophets, and knew their proofs. He came to a gathering in which the companions of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) were present — among them Ali (peace be upon him), Ibn Abbas, Ibn Masud and Abu Sa'id al-Juhani. The Jewish scholar said to the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): 'O nation of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! You attribute all the ranks of the prophets and all the virtues of the messengers to your own Prophet. Will you then answer my questions about him?' The companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) were alarmed by his words, but Ali (peace be upon him) said: 'Yes. Allah did not grant any prophet a rank, nor any messenger a virtue, except that He gathered all of them for Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and He bestowed upon that noble one many times more.' ... The Jew said: 'Allah avenged Hud (peace be upon him) against his enemies by means of the wind. Has anything like this happened for the honorable Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) as well?' He said: 'That is correct. Allah has given the honorable Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) something greater than this. Allah destroyed his enemies by means of the wind at the Battle of the Trench, when He sent a wind that scattered the pebbles, and dispatched an army of angels which the polytheists did not see. And Allah gave Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) precedence over Hud (peace be upon him) with eight thousand angels, and bestowed upon him another virtue: that the wind of Hud's time (peace be upon him) was a wind of wrath, but the wind of the Prophet's time (peace be upon him and his family) was a wind of mercy. And in the Noble Quran He says: يا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا اذْکُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللهِ عَلَیْکُمْ إِذْ جاءَتْکُمْ جُنُودٌ فَأَرْسَلْنا عَلَیْهِمْ رِیحاً وَ جُنُوداً لَمْ تَرَوْها [O you who believe! Call to mind the favor of Allah to you when there came down upon you hosts, so We sent against them a strong wind and hosts that you saw not].'"

Ali ibn Ibrahim: This verse was revealed concerning the confederates from Quraysh and the other Arab tribes who banded together against the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). The story is as follows: Quraysh gathered together in the fifth year of the Hijra and went among the other Arab tribes seeking their help and inciting them to fight the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). Thus ten thousand fighters were mustered, and the tribes of Kinana, Sulaym and Fazara were with them. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had driven the tribe of Banu al-Nadir — a clan of the Jews who are of the descendants of Harun (peace be upon him) — out of Medina and they had gone to Khaybar, their chief, whose name was Huyayy ibn Akhtab, went out toward Mecca and came to Quraysh and said to them: "Muhammad has wronged us and you, and has driven us from Medina, from our homes and our possessions, and has also driven out our cousins, Banu Qaynuqa. So travel throughout the land and gather your allies and others so that we may march against Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family); for there remain of my people in Yathrib seven hundred fighting men who are of Banu Qurayza. Between them and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) there is a covenant and treaty, and I will make them break the treaty between themselves and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and they will stand with us against Muhammad. In this way, you will attack Muhammad from the front and they from the rear."

Banu Qurayza were two miles from Medina, and their dwelling-place was called Bi'r al-Muttalib. Huyayy ibn Akhtab kept going around among the Arab tribes together with Quraysh until he managed to gather about ten thousand fighters from Quraysh, Kinana, al-Aqra ibn Habis with his people, and Abbas ibn Mirdas with Banu Sulaym. This news reached the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and he consulted with his companions, who were themselves seven hundred men, in this matter. Salman al-Farsi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Few in number cannot withstand the many in a prolonged war." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "What shall we do?" Salman replied: "We should dig a trench (khandaq) to be a barrier between us and them, so that by this means you can hold them back even if the war is prolonged, and they will not be able to attack us from every side. We people of the non-Arabs, in the land of Persia, when a great host of enemies suddenly attacked us, we used to dig trenches, so that fighting would only take place in known locations." At this, Jibra'il descended upon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and said: "Salman has given sound advice." Thus the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) commanded that the distance from the region of Uhud to Ra'ih be paced out and measured, and that at every twenty or thirty paces a group of the Muhajirin and Ansar be stationed to dig the trench. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) commanded that spades and pickaxes be brought, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) himself took a pickaxe and began digging the trench at the place appointed for the Muhajirin, and Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) was carrying the earth out of the pit until the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) sweated and became exhausted, and said: "There is no life but the life of the Hereafter. O Allah, forgive the Muhajirin and the Ansar." When the people saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) digging, they redoubled their efforts in digging and carried the earth out quickly. On the second day they began digging early in the morning, while the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) sat in Masjid al-Fath. While the Muhajirin and Ansar were digging, they came upon a rock on which the pickaxes had no effect. So they sent Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) to inform him of the matter.

Jabir says: "I went toward the mosque and saw that the Messenger of Allah was lying on his back with his cloak under his head and had tied a stone to his belly." I said to him: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! We have come upon a rock on which the pickaxes have no effect." After hearing this, he rose and came quickly to the rock. Then he called for a vessel of water and washed his face and his two forearms with it, and wiped his head and his feet. Then he drank some of the water and spat some out of his mouth. Then he poured the water onto the rock, took a pickaxe, and struck the rock with it. A flash of lightning shone forth, and in its light we saw the palaces of Sham. Then he struck another blow and another flash shone forth, and in its light we saw the palaces of Mada'in. Then he struck another blow and another flash shone forth, in which the palaces of Yemen were shown to us. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Allah will open these lands to you which the lightning has flashed upon, and you will conquer them." Then the rock crumbled apart as grains of sand crumble.

Jabir says: "When I saw that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had placed a stone on his belly, I knew that he was hungry. I said to him: 'O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Do you have an appetite for food?' He replied: 'O Jabir, what food do you have?' I said: 'I have a she-goat and a sa (a measure) of barley.' He said: 'Then go and prepare the food you have.'" I went to my wife and instructed her to grind the barley, and I slaughtered the goat and skinned it, and told my wife to bake bread with the flour and to cook and roast the goat. When I had finished all this, I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! May my father and mother be sacrificed for you! The food is ready. Come to our house with whomever you wish." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) rose and went to the edge of the trench, then said: "O gathering of Muhajirin and Ansar! Answer Jabir's invitation, and come, let us go to his house." Jabir says: "There were seven hundred men in the trench, and they all came out of it. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), as he passed by any of the Muhajirin and Ansar, would say to them: 'Answer Jabir's invitation.'" I went home and said to my wife: "Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), has invited a great many people, and the food you have is not enough for all these guests." My wife said: "Did you not inform the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) of the amount of food we have?" I replied: "Yes." My wife said: "The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) knows better regarding the number of guests he has invited."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) entered the house, looked into the pot, then said: "Ladle out the food and leave some remaining." Then he looked into the oven and said: "Take out the bread and leave some remaining." Then he called for a dish, crumbled the bread into it, and ladled the broth over it, and said: "O Jabir! Bring ten of the guests to me!" I brought ten to him, and they ate of the broth until they were completely satisfied, and nothing could be seen in their bowl except the traces of their fingers. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "O Jabir! Bring me a leg of the goat." I brought it to him, and those ten ate it. Then he said: "Bring ten more of the guests to me." I brought ten, and they ate of the broth until they were satisfied, and nothing was seen in their bowl but the traces of their fingers. Then he said: "Bring me a leg of the goat." And those ten ate and left. Then he said: "Bring me another ten." I brought them and they ate of the broth until they were completely satisfied, and nothing was seen in their bowl but the traces of their fingers. Then he said: "O Jabir! Bring me a leg of the goat." I brought it and said to him: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! How many legs does a goat have?" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) replied: "Two legs." I said: "By Him who sent you in truth as a Prophet, I have brought you three legs." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "O Jabir! If you had remained silent, all these guests could have eaten of the leg of that goat." Then he said: "O Jabir! Bring me ten more." I kept bringing the guests to him ten by ten, and they ate until all of them had eaten of the broth. And by Allah! Enough of that food remained for us as well to feed us for several days.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) dug the trench and made eight gates for it, and at each gate placed one man from the Muhajirin and one man from the Ansar along with a group to guard it. Quraysh, together with the tribes of Kinana, Sulaym and Hilal, advanced and encamped at Zughaba. This was after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had finished digging the trench three days before Quraysh arrived. Quraysh advanced with Huyayy ibn Akhtab, and when they encamped at al-Aqiq, Huyayy ibn Akhtab came in the depths of the night to Banu Qurayza — who were inside their fortress and loyal to their covenant with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) — and knocked on the gate of the fortress. Ka'b ibn Asad heard the knocking on the gate and said to his wife: "This is your brother, who has brought misfortune to his own people, and has now come to bring misfortune to us as well, and to destroy us, and to order us to break the covenant between ourselves and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), while Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) has been faithful to us and has shown us good neighborliness."

Ka'b ibn Asad came out of his room and went to Huyayy ibn Akhtab and said: "Who are you?" He replied: "I am Huyayy ibn Akhtab, who has brought you the glory of the age." Ka'b replied: "Rather, you have brought me the humiliation and disgrace of the age." Huyayy ibn Akhtab said to him: "O Ka'b! Here is Quraysh with its commanders and chiefs, and with its allies from the tribe of Kinana, encamped at al-Aqiq; and here is Fazara with its commanders and chiefs, encamped at Zughaba; and Sulaym and other tribes have encamped at the fortress of Banu Dhubyan. Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and his companions cannot possibly escape with their lives from such a great multitude. So open the gate and break the covenant between yourself and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)." Ka'b replied: "I will not open the gate for you; go back the way you came." Huyayy said: "The only reason you will not open the gate for me is because of the barley porridge that is in the oven and you fear that I will share it with you. So open the gate, for I do not intend to eat it, and you are safe from that." Ka'b said to him: "May Allah curse you! You have entered upon me through a narrow door." Then Ka'b said: "Open the gate for him." So they opened the gate for him. Huyayy ibn Akhtab said: "O Ka'b, woe to you! Break the covenant between yourself and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and do not oppose my opinion; for Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) will never escape with his life from this great multitude, and if you lose this opportunity, you will never find another like it."

All the chiefs of the Jews who were inside the fortress — such as Ghazal ibn Shamul, Yasir ibn Qays, Rifa'a ibn Zayd, and al-Zubayr ibn Bata — gathered together, and Ka'b said to them: "What is your opinion?" They replied: "You are our master and ruler, and your command is to be obeyed and accepted by us, and you are the one who has the final word in our covenants and treaties. So if you break the covenant between yourself and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), we too will break it; and if you remain on that covenant, we too will remain firm on it; and if you go out, we too will go out with you." Al-Zubayr ibn Bata, who was an aged, experienced elder and had become blind, said: "In the Torah which Allah revealed in our Book, I read that a Prophet will be sent at the end of time, and the place of his rising and calling will be in Mecca, and he will migrate to Medina which is in this Buhayra, and he will ride the bare donkey, and wear a cloak, and be content with crumbs of bread and small dates. He is always smiling, cheerful, and a great warrior; there is redness in his eyes, and the seal of prophethood is placed between his shoulder blades. He places his sword on his shoulder and does not fear anyone in his path. His influence and rule will reach places that even horses and camels cannot traverse. So if this Prophet is Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), these people (the confederates) and their companions will not strike any fear in his heart, and if these towering mountains were to contend with him, he would overcome them."

Huyayy said: "This man (Muhammad) is not the Prophet mentioned in the Torah; for that Prophet was from the Children of Israel, but this man is from the Arabs, from the descendants of Isma'il, and the Children of Israel will never be followers of the descendants of Isma'il; for Allah has favored all of them over other people and placed prophethood and rulership among them. And we have made a covenant with Musa (peace be upon him) that we will not believe in any Messenger unless he brings us a sacrifice which the flames of fire consume, and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) has no sign with him and has only gathered his followers by means of magic." Huyayy ibn Akhtab wanted to overcome them with these words. He kept turning them away from their view until they answered him and accepted his opinion. So Huyayy ibn Akhtab said to Banu Qurayza: "Bring that covenant which was written between you and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)." They brought the covenant, and Huyayy ibn Akhtab took it and tore it to pieces and said: "Everything is now finished; equip yourselves and prepare for battle."

This news reached the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and grieved him greatly, and dread fell upon the hearts of the Prophet's companions (peace be upon him and his family). So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to Sa'd ibn Mu'adh and Usayd ibn Hudayr, who were from the tribe of Aws — and Banu Qurayza were considered allies of Aws — "Go to Banu Qurayza and see what they have done. If they have broken the covenant between us and them, do not inform anyone when you return to me; only say to me ambiguously: 'Adal and al-Qara.'" Sa'd ibn Mu'adh and Usayd ibn Hudayr arrived at the gate of the fortress, and Ka'b looked down upon the two from atop the fortress and insulted Sa'd and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). Sa'd said to him: "By Allah! Quraysh will flee, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) will besiege your fortress and reduce you to humiliation and disgrace, and will strike off your neck." Then Sa'd and Usayd returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and said: "Adal and al-Qara." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Those two tribes have been cursed; for we had commanded them not to break the covenant." The reason the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had ordered Sa'd and Usayd to mention the names of Adal and al-Qara ambiguously when they returned was that in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), Quraysh had planted spies to bring them news of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). Adal and al-Qara were two Arab tribes who had accepted Islam and afterwards turned back from it, and whenever any tribe turned back from Islam, those two tribes were struck as a proverb, and it was said: "Adal and al-Qara."

Huyayy ibn Akhtab returned to Abu Sufyan and Quraysh and informed them that Banu Qurayza had broken the covenant between themselves and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and Quraysh rejoiced at this news. Nu'aym ibn Mas'ud al-Ashja'i, who had embraced Islam three days before the arrival of Quraysh near the trench, came in the depths of the night to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! I have believed in Allah and confirmed you and concealed my faith from the disbelievers. So if you command me to join your companions and help you in this war, I will do so, and if you command me to cause division between the Jews and Quraysh, and to compel the Jews to abandon helping Quraysh and not to come out of their fortress, I will accept this with heart and soul." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) replied: "Cause division between the Jews and Quraysh; for in my view this act of yours is more effective than if you were to join us and fight Quraysh." Nu'aym said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): "Do you give me permission to say any false statement about you that I wish?" He replied: "Say whatever comes to your mind."

So Nu'aym came to Abu Sufyan and said to him: "You are aware of my love for you, and my counsel and love is that Allah should give you victory over your enemy. It has reached me that Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) has reached an agreement with the Jews that they will enter your camp and then rise up in opposition to you, and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) has promised them that if they do this, he will return to them their two companions, Banu al-Nadir and Banu Qaynuqa, whom Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) had driven out of Medina. So I do not see it prudent for you to allow them into your camp unless you take hostages from them and send them to Mecca so that you may be safe from their treachery and defection." Abu Sufyan said to him: "May Allah grant you success and give you a good reward! People like you give the best and most guiding advice." Neither Abu Sufyan nor any of the Jews were aware of Nu'aym's acceptance of Islam. After meeting with Abu Sufyan, Nu'aym came immediately to Banu Qurayza and said: "O Ka'b! You know my love for you. It has reached me that Abu Sufyan said: 'We shall bring these Jews out of their fortress and place them in the front line, in Muhammad's line of fire. If the Jews are victorious, the fame of this victory will remain for us, not for them; and if it becomes clear that Banu Qurayza were against us, by this means they will be placed on the front line of battle and will not be able to harm us from behind.' So I do not see it prudent for you to ask Quraysh to enter your camp unless you keep ten of the nobles and chiefs of Quraysh in your fortress as hostages, so that if they do not prevail over Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), they will return to you the covenant and treaty that had been made between you and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family); for if Quraysh flees and does not prevail over Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) will enter into war with you and will kill you." Upon hearing this speech, Banu Qurayza said: "Well done! You have given us most eloquent counsel. We will only come out of our fortress on the condition that we keep some men of Quraysh as hostages in our fortress."

Quraysh advanced toward the trench, and when they looked upon it, they said: "This is a stratagem unprecedented among the Arabs." Some said to Quraysh: "This is the plan of a man from the land of Persia who is a companion of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)." At this moment Amr ibn Abd Wudd, Hubayra ibn Wahb and Dirar ibn al-Khattab reached the trench, while the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was arraying his companions before him. Those three shouted at their horses and leapt over the trench and went to the side where the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was. All the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) took position behind the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and pushed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) forward, and a man from the Muhajirin — namely so-and-so — said to a man next to him who was one of his brothers: "Do you not see this devil (Amr)? By Allah! No one is able to escape from him with his life. Come, let us push Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) forward so that Amr may fight with him, and let us join our people."

At this moment Allah revealed to His Prophet the verse: "Allah surely knows those among you who hinder others and those who say to their brothers: 'Come to us [and withdraw from the battlefield]'; they [are weak people and] fight but little. They are miserly toward you; and when [moments of] fear [and crisis] come, you see them looking at you with their eyes rolling in their sockets like one who is about to faint. But when fear subsides, they sting you with their sharp tongues, out of greed for wealth; they have never [really] believed, so Allah has rendered their deeds worthless, and this is easy for Allah." (al-Ahzab/18–19).

Amr ibn Abd Wudd planted his spear in the ground and rode around it, reciting rajaz and saying:

وَ لَقَدْ بَحِحْتُ مِنَ النِّدَاءِ بِجَمْعِکُمْ هَلْ مِنْ مُبَارِزٍ
[I have become hoarse from calling out among your gathering: "Is there any challenger?"]

وَ وَقَفْتُ إِذْ جَبُنَ الشُّجَاعُ مَوَاقِفَ الْقَرْنِ الْمُنَاجِزِ
[I have stood in a very dangerous and terrifying position which all the brave shy away from standing in.]

إِنِّی کَذَلِکَ لَمْ أَزَلْ مُتَسَرِّعاً نَحْوَ الْهَزَاهِزِ
[I am like this; I have never ceased hastening toward strife.]

إِنَّ الشَّجَاعَةَ فِی الْفَتَی وَ الْجُودُ مِنْ خَیْرِ الْغَرَائِزِ
[Courage in a young man, and generosity, are among the best of qualities.]

At this the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) stood up and said: "Who is ready to fight this dog?" No one responded to the Prophet's call (peace be upon him and his family), and Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) rose and said to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! I will fight him." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "O Ali (peace be upon him)! This man is Amr ibn Abd Wudd, the champion of Yalyal." Ali (peace be upon him) said: "And I am Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him)." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Come close to me." Ali (peace be upon him) came near to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) with his own hands wrapped the turban on the head of Ali (peace be upon him) and gave him the sword Dhul-Fiqar and said: "Go and fight this man." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) also said: "O Allah! Preserve him from the front, from behind, from the right, from the left, from above, and from below."

Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), walking with haste, was saying:

لَا تَعْجَلَنَّ فَقَدْ أَتَاکَ مُجِیبُ صَوْتِکَ غَیْرُ عَاجِزِ
[Do not make haste, for the one answering your call, who is capable, has come to you.]

ذُو نِیَّةٍ وَ بَصِیرَةٍ وَ الصِّدْقُ مُنْجِی کُلَّ فَائِزِ
[Possessor of resolve and insight, and truth is the deliverer of every triumphant one.]

إِنِّی لَأَرْجُو أَنْ أُقِیمَ عَلَیْکَ نَائِحَةَ الْجَنَائِزِ
[I hope to set the wailing woman of funerals over you.]

مِنْ ضَرْبَةٍ نَجْلَاءَ یَبْقَی صَوْتُهَا بَعْدَ الْهَزَاهِزِ
[With a mortal blow whose sound will remain after the strife.]

Amr said to Ali (peace be upon him): "Who are you?" Ali (peace be upon him) replied: "I am Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), cousin of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and his friend." Amr said: "By Allah! Your father was my friend and companion, and I have no desire to kill you. Your cousin will not be safe by sending you against me; for I shall thrust this spear of mine into you and lift you off the ground with it, and hold you half-dead between heaven and earth." Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said to him: "My cousin was aware of these matters, that if you kill me, I will enter Paradise and you will enter Hell; and if I kill you, you will enter Hell, while I am in Paradise." Amr replied: "O Ali (peace be upon him)! Both of them (Paradise and Hell) be granted to you — in that case it is an unjust division." Ali (peace be upon him) said: "O Amr! Leave this argument aside. I have heard about you that you clung to the covering of the Ka'ba and said: 'Whoever presents three conditions to me in battle and asks them of me, I will grant him one of them.' I present three conditions to you; grant me one of them." Amr said: "O Ali (peace be upon him)! Present them to me." Ali (peace be upon him) said: "The first is that you bear witness to the oneness of Allah and the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family); that is, that you say: 'La ilaha illa Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.'" Amr replied: "Do not ask this of me; state the second condition." Ali (peace be upon him) said: "That you return and turn this army back from war with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family); for if he (the Messenger of Allah) is truthful in his claim, you who are from his tribe and closest to him will gain greater honor; and if he is a liar, the thieves and rabble of the Arabs will suffice to bring him down." Amr replied: "Will not the women of Quraysh talk of me by this act, and the poets mention in their poetry that I was afraid and turned my back to war, and abandoned the people who appointed me as their representative?" Ali (peace be upon him) said: "The third condition is that you dismount from your horse, for you are mounted and I am on foot, so that we may fight together." Amr dismounted from his horse and hamstrung it, and said: "This is a condition that I do not think anyone among the Arabs will blame me for."

Then Amr began the fight and struck Ali (peace be upon him) with his sword on the head. Ali (peace be upon him) held his shield up against the blow, and the blow was so strong that it cut through the shield, and the sword struck Ali's head (peace be upon him) and lodged there. Ali (peace be upon him) said to Amr: "O Amr! Is it not enough for you, being the champion of the Arabs, that I came to fight you alone, yet you have called someone to your aid?" Amr looked back over his shoulder at that moment, and Ali (peace be upon him) immediately struck a blow to both of Amr's legs and cut them both off. From the clash between the two, dust rose up, and the hypocrites said: "Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) has been killed." Then the dust settled and all looked, and they saw Ali (peace be upon him) sitting on the chest of Amr ibn Abd Wudd, holding his beard in his hand, ready to sever his head. Ali (peace be upon him) severed Amr's head from his body. Then he took Amr's head, and while blood was dripping from his head from Amr's blow, and his sword was also stained with blood, he went toward the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), and while Amr's head was in his hand, he was saying:

أَنَا عَلِیٌّ وَ ابْنُ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ الْمَوْتُ خَیْرٌ لِلْفَتَی مِنَ الْهَرَبِ
[I am Ali and the son of Abd al-Muttalib. Death is better for a young man than flight.]

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "O Ali (peace be upon him)! Did you kill him by stratagem?" Ali (peace be upon him) replied: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! War is entirely deception and stratagem."

Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) sent al-Zubayr to fight Hubayra ibn Wahb, and al-Zubayr struck a blow to Hubayra's head and split his skull. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) also ordered Umar ibn al-Khattab to fight Dirar ibn al-Khattab. When Dirar came out to fight Umar, Umar wanted to shoot an arrow at him. Dirar said to Umar: "Woe to you, O son of Suhhak, do you use an arrow in single combat? By Allah! If you shoot an arrow at me, I will kill all the leaders of Mecca." At this Umar was defeated, and Dirar went toward him and with his head pointed to his spear and then said: "O Umar! Keep this in mind; for I have sworn that whenever I have the ability to kill a man of Quraysh, I will not kill him." Umar did not forget this kindness of his, and after he became caliph, he made him governor.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) fought them at the trench for fifteen days. Abu Sufyan said to Huyayy ibn Akhtab: "Woe to you, O Jew! Where are your people?" Huyayy ibn Akhtab went to the Jews (Banu Qurayza) and said: "Woe to you! Come out of the fortress, for with the start of war the covenant between you and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) has been broken, and now you are neither allies with Quraysh nor allies with Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)." Ka'b said: "We will only come out of the fortress on the condition that Quraysh gives us ten of their chiefs to keep as hostages in our fortress, so that by this means if Quraysh does not prevail over Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), they will return the covenant between Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and us. For if we come out to fight and Quraysh flees after defeat and we remain in our homes, Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) will attack us and kill our men and take our women and children as captives. But if we do not come out, perhaps Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) will again preserve the covenant between us and him." Huyayy ibn Akhtab said to Ka'b: "You have a misplaced hope; for with the beginning of the war of the Arabs with Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), the covenant between you and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) has been broken, and now you are neither allies with Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) nor with Quraysh." Ka'b said: "This is from your ill omen and misfortune; for you are a bird that will fly away with Quraysh tomorrow and leave us alone in our homes, and Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) will attack us." Huyayy said to him: "I swear by the Allah of Musa (peace be upon him) that if Quraysh does not prevail over Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), I will return with you to your fortress and share in whatever befalls you." Ka'b said: "The answer is what I said. If Quraysh gives us people as hostages, we will come out of the fortress; otherwise, we will not do so."

Huyayy ibn Akhtab returned to Quraysh and informed them of this matter. When Huyayy ibn Akhtab said that Banu Qurayza wanted people as hostages, Abu Sufyan said: "By Allah! This is their first act of treachery. Nu'aym ibn Mas'ud spoke the truth. We have no need of the brothers of apes and swine."

When the war on the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) prolonged, the siege upon them tightened. At that time the weather was also very cold, and they were suffering from hunger, and they greatly feared the Jews. It was at that time that the hypocrites uttered the words which Allah has mentioned in the Qur'an, and all the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), except for a few, became hypocrites. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had told his companions beforehand that the Arab confederates would unite with one another and attack us from the front, and the Jews would practice treachery and we must fear them from behind, and they would strive hard, but the outcome and end of the matter would be in my favor and to their detriment.

When Quraysh came to war and the Jews practiced treachery, the hypocrites said: "Allah and His Messenger have given us nothing but false promises." (al-Ahzab/12). A group of the hypocrites had houses on the outskirts of Medina. They said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Do you permit us to return to our houses which are on the outskirts of Medina; for those houses have low walls and we fear that the Jews may raid them?" And another group also said: "Come, let us flee and take to the desert and seek refuge with the Bedouin Arabs; for all the promises of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) have been empty and vain."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had ordered his companions to guard Medina at night, and Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) guarded the entire army at night. So if anyone from Quraysh made a move, Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) would fight him. Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) would also cross the trench and go near Quraysh to keep watch on them, and would remain awake the entire night alone and would pray, and at dawn would return to his post. The mosque of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) there is well known, and anyone who knows of it goes there and prays in that mosque, and its distance from Masjid al-Fath to al-Aqiq is greater than the distance of shooting an arrow from a bow.

When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) observed the fear of his companions due to the prolonged siege, he went to Masjid al-Fath, which is a mountain upon which Masjid al-Fath stands today, and made supplication and confided in Allah regarding His promise. In part of that supplication, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "O Helper of the distressed, and O Answerer of the prayer of the helpless, and O Remover of great grief! You are my Master and my Guardian, and the Guardian of my ancestors before me. Remove our grief, sorrow, and sadness, and repel the evil of this people by Your might, strength, and power."

At this Jibra'il descended upon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and said: "O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Allah the Mighty and Majestic has heard your speech and prayer and has answered it, and has commanded al-Dabur (the west wind) to defeat Quraysh and the confederates together with the angels." Allah sent that wind toward Quraysh, and they were defeated and their tents were uprooted. At this Jibra'il descended and informed the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) of this matter.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) called Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman, who was near him, and heard no answer. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) called Hudhayfa a second time and again heard no answer. Then he called him a third time and Hudhayfa said: "At your service, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)!" The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "I call you and you do not answer me?" Hudhayfa replied: "The reason is fear, cold, and hunger." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Go among these people (Quraysh and the confederates) and bring me news of them, and do nothing until you return to me; for Allah has informed me that He has sent the winds against Quraysh and has defeated them."

Hudhayfa said: "I set out while trembling from the cold. By Allah! As soon as I passed the trench, I became as though I were in a bathhouse. So I went toward a large tent in which a fire was being kindled and dying down, and I noticed that Abu Sufyan was in that tent. Abu Sufyan had hung his testicles over the fire and was shivering from the intensity of the cold, and was saying: 'O gathering of Quraysh! If we wish to fight the people of the heavens, as Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) claims, we do not have the power to fight them, and if we wish to fight the people of the earth, we are able to overcome them.' Then he said: 'Let each of you look at the one seated next to him, so that there may not be a spy from Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) among us.'" Hudhayfa says: "I began, and said to the one on my right: 'Who are you?' He replied: 'I am Amr ibn al-As.' Then I said to the one on my left: 'Who are you?' He replied: 'I am Mu'awiya.' I myself took the initiative so that no one from them would ask me: 'Who are you?' Then Abu Sufyan mounted his camel, which was tied down, and had the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) not told me to do nothing until I returned to him, I could have killed him."

Then Abu Sufyan said to Khalid ibn al-Walid: "O Abu Sulayman! There is no choice but that I and you attend to the weak and helpless people." Then Abu Sufyan said to his companions: "Set off, for we are departing." They were defeated and turned back. At dawn, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to his companions: "Do not leave this place." When the sun rose, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), with the few companions who remained with him, entered Medina.

Abu Farqad al-Kinani had shot an arrow in the trench at Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah have mercy on him), and the arrow had severed a vein in Sa'd's arm, and blood was flowing from it. Sa'd had gripped the torn vein with his own hand. Then he said: "O Allah! If any of the war between Quraysh and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) remains, keep me alive for it; for no one is more eager than I to fight a people who have opposed Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family). And if the war between Quraysh and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) has ended, put an end to my life and make it my martyrdom, and do not let me die until I am assured against the treachery of Banu Qurayza." So the bleeding was stopped, and his hand swelled. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) set up a tent for him in the mosque, and he renewed his covenant with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family).

Allah revealed this verse: يَا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُوا اذْکُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللهِ عَلَیْکُمْ إِذْ جَاءتْکُمْ جُنُودٌ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَیْهِمْ رِیحًا وَجُنُودًا لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَکَانَ اللهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِیرًا * إِذْ جَاؤُوکُم مِّن فَوْقِکُمْ وَمِنْ أَسْفَلَ مِنکُمْ [O you who believe! Call to mind the favor of Allah upon you when hosts came against you, so We sent against them a wind and hosts you did not see, and Allah is ever Seeing what you do. When they came upon you from above you and from below you.] The meaning is Banu Qurayza, when they practiced treachery and the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) feared them: "[Remember] when they attacked you from above and below [the city] [and besieged Medina], and when eyes became dazed from the intensity of fear and hearts reached the throats, and you thought various evil thoughts of Allah. There the believers were tried and were shaken with a severe shock. And [also remember] when the hypocrites and the diseased of heart were saying: 'Allah and His Messenger have given us nothing but false promises.' And [also remember] when a group of them said: 'O people of Yathrib [O people of Medina]! This is no place for you to stay; return to your houses.' And a group of them sought permission [to return] from the Prophet, saying: 'Our houses are unprotected,' while they were not unprotected; they only wanted to flee [from the war]." (al-Ahzab/10–13). And by "them" is meant those who said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): "Give us permission to return to our houses which are on the outskirts of Medina; for we fear that the Jews may attack them." Allah revealed concerning them this verse: "Our houses are unprotected," while they were not unprotected; they only wanted to flee [from the war]. (al-Ahzab/13).

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) narrates from his forefathers (peace be upon them) that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said three times: "Which of you will go out to fight Amr, and I will guarantee him Paradise with Allah?" And each time Ali (peace be upon him) stood up while all the others lowered their heads. He called him near, and with his own hand tied a turban on his head. Then when he went out to battle, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "All of faith has gone out to battle all of polytheism." And at that point Amr was chanting war-verses and saying: "My throat became hoarse from calling out to your gathering, 'Is there any challenger?'" ... And soon the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) threw him to the ground and sat on his chest, and intended, while uttering the takbir and glorifying Allah, to sever his head. Amr said: "O Ali (peace be upon him), you have sat upon a great seat of mine; when you kill me, do not strip me bare." His Holiness said: "Your garment is more contemptible to me than that." And he cut off his head and brought it to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family). Umar said: "O Messenger of Allah, do you see Ali (peace be upon him), how he swaggers in his walk?" He said: "Allah does not love walking in this manner, except at such a station." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) stood and came out to meet the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), embraced him, wiped the dust from his eyes, and said: "This deed of yours today, if weighed on the scale against the deeds of the whole community of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), would be heavier than all their deeds, for no household of the polytheists remained but that it was struck by humiliation through the killing of Amr."

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): Abu al-Tufayl said: Indeed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) cursed Abu Sufyan on seven occasions, on all of which he had no choice but to curse him. ... The fourth was the day of the Trench, the day Abu Sufyan came with a great host of Quraysh, and Allah turned them back in their rage having attained no good. And Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, sent down two verses in Surah al-Ahzab in which He named Abu Sufyan and his companions kuffar (disbelievers), and Muawiyah on that day was a polytheist, an enemy of Allah and His Messenger. ... The sixth was the day of al-Ahzab (the Confederates), the day Abu Sufyan gathered Quraysh, and Amir ibn al-Tufayl gathered the tribe of Hawazin, and Uyaynah ibn Hafs the tribe of Ghatafan, and the tribes of Qurayzah and al-Nadir had also promised to aid them. On that day the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) cursed the commanders of the army and the soldiers. And he said: "As for the soldiers, whoever of them believes, my curse will not overtake him; but as for the commanders, there is not among them a believer, nor a noble one, nor a saved one."

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): Aban narrates from someone who reported to him, from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), on a dark and cold night during the Battle of the Ahzab, stood upon the hill on which the Masjid al-Fath now stands, and said: "Who will go and bring us news of them, and Paradise shall be [the reward] for him?" No one rose. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) asked the question again, and [again] no one rose. Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), gesturing with his hand, said: "Those people did not desire Paradise. Did they desire something greater than Paradise?" The Imam (peace be upon him) continued: "Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'Who is this [man]?' The man replied: 'Hudhayfa.' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'Have you not been hearing my words since the beginning of the night, that you did not utter a sound? Come near.' Hudhayfa rose, saying: 'The cold and weakness held me back from answering you — may Allah make me your ransom.' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'O Allah! Guard him from before him, from behind him, from his right, and from his left, until You return him to me.' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had said to Hudhayfa: 'O Hudhayfa! Let no action issue from you until you return to me.' Hudhayfa took his weapon, bow, and shield. Hudhayfa said: 'I went out from there feeling no weakness at all. I passed by the gate of the trench and saw that all the believers and the disbelievers had been afflicted by that chill and weakness.' When Hudhayfa set off, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) leapt up and called out: 'O Rescuer of the afflicted and O Answerer of the prayer of the distressed! Remove from me my sorrow, grief, and distress; for You see the state of me and my companions.' At that moment Jibra'il descended upon the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has heard your speech and your supplication and has answered you, so no longer fear or dread your enemy. [And He removed the terror of your enemy from you.]' So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) sat on both knees, opened his hands, and tears flowed from his eyes. Then he said: 'I am grateful, I am grateful, for how You have shown mercy to me and to my companions.' Then Jibra'il said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has sent against them a wind from the lower heaven carrying pebbles and a wind from the fourth heaven carrying stones.' Hudhayfa said: 'So I went out and suddenly found myself amid the fires of that people, and the first army of Allah, which was a wind carrying pebbles, came upon them and completely scattered and extinguished their fires and knocked down all their tents and threw down all their spears, until they placed their shields before them against the pebbles, and we could hear the sound of the pebbles striking the shields. At that moment Hudhayfa sat between two men of the polytheists. Iblis, in the guise of a commanding man whose opinion is obeyed, rose among the polytheists and said: "O people! You have taken your position in the field of this lying sorcerer. If you retreat now, you will lose nothing; for this punishment is not a lasting famine, and your camels and horses have perished. So return, and let each of you look at his neighbour." Hudhayfa said: I looked to my right and struck upon his hands and said: "Who are you?" He replied: "I am Mu'awiya." Hudhayfa said: I said to the one on my left: "Who are you?" He replied: "I am Suhayl ibn Amr." Hudhayfa said: And the great army of Allah came upon them. At that moment Abu Sufyan rose and went to his camel and cried out among the tribe of Quraysh: "al-Najah, al-Najah (Flee, flee)!" And Talha al-Azdi said: "Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) has brought you evil and harm." Then he rose and went to his camel and cried out among the tribe of Banu Ashja': "al-Najah, al-Najah (Flee, flee)!" Uyayna ibn Hisn did the same. Then al-Harith ibn Awf al-Murri did the like of it, then al-Aqra' ibn Habis did likewise, and all those confederates departed. Hudhayfa returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and informed him of the news. Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: 'That event was like the Day of Resurrection.'"

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Uqbah ibn Khalid narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) came to Masjid al-Ahzab and prayed there, and on the day of al-Ahzab he supplicated in this mosque and said: "O Helper of the grief-stricken, O Answerer of the prayer of the desperate, O Refuge of the sorrowful, O Helper of those who seek aid, remove my grief and sorrow, for indeed You see my state and the state of my companions and are aware of it."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): In the Battle of the Trench, when the siege of Medina intensified and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) saw that the people were groaning because of the hardship they had fallen into, he went to the location of Masjid al-Fath and prayed two rak'ahs and said: "O Allah! If this group perishes, there will be no one on the face of the earth to worship You." Allah sent a windstorm that uprooted their tents and overturned their baggage. He inflicted severe cold upon them, and poured dust and sand over them. The angels came to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Allah has commanded us to obey you, so order whatever you wish." He said: "Shake the polytheists and terrify them, and be behind them." So the angels did what he had commanded them. Then these verses were revealed: يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جاءَتْكُمْ جُنُودٌ [O you who believe! Call to mind the favor of Allah to you when there came down upon you hosts] — meaning the groups of the polytheists — فَأَرْسَلْنا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحاً وَ جُنُوداً لَمْ تَرَوْها وَ كانَ اللهُ بِما تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيراً * إِذْ جاؤُكُمْ مِنْ فَوْقِكُمْ [So We sent against them a strong wind and hosts that you saw not, and Allah is Seeing what you do. When they came upon you from above you] — meaning the Arab groups from above you (Al-Ahzab/10) — meaning Banu Qurayza, when they broke their covenant with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and joined the enemies of Islam against the Muslims. After that, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) came from the mosque toward the encampment and called for Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman and called him three times, and Hudhayfa, although he was nearby, did not reply; the third time he replied and said: "At your service, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)!" He said: "You hear my voice but do not answer?" Hudhayfa said: "The severity of the cold prevented me." He said: "Cross the trench and bring us news of Quraysh, and do not do anything until you return." Hudhayfa says: "I got up while I was shivering from the cold. I crossed the trench and my body became warm as if I were in a bathhouse. I went toward the camp of Quraysh, and saw no tent except the tent of Abu Sufyan. The chiefs of Quraysh were sitting with him. Before them firewood had been kindled — sometimes it would blaze up and sometimes the wind would put it out. I went and sat among them." Abu Sufyan said: "We have the power to fight with the forces of the earth, but we do not have the ability to face the forces of the sky. Let each of you ask the one sitting beside him, so that we may find out that there is no spy of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) here." Hudhayfa says: "Without delay I asked the one sitting on my right: 'Who are you?' He said: 'Khalid ibn al-Walid.' And I asked the one on my left, and he said: 'So-and-so.' But no one asked me who I was. Then Abu Sufyan said to Khalid: '[Either you go ahead and] gather the people to march so that they may join one another and I will be in the rearguard, or you be in the rearguard and rear of the army [and I will go ahead].' Khalid said: 'I will go ahead of the army and you be at its rear.' They all rose and went forward, and Abu Sufyan stayed behind. He came out of the tent, and I too went in his shadow. He mounted his camel, whose leg was tied, and hurriedly kept whipping the camel until he realized that its leg was tied. He dismounted and untied the camel's leg. I could easily have killed him, and I intended to kill him, but the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his family) instruction came to my mind — that he had said: 'Do not do anything until you return to me.' So I did not harm him and returned [to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)]. Morning had come, so I thanked Allah. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) also prayed the morning prayer with the people. And someone said: 'Let no one move from his place until the sun rises.' When the air became bright, no one had risen from his place except a few. When the sun rose, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and his companions returned. When he entered his house, he ordered that it be proclaimed that all should pray the Zuhr prayer at Banu Qurayza. [No one prayed except at Banu Qurayza.] The Muslims went toward them and reached a place that was covered with palm trees, and there was no place to alight. When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) arrived, he said: "Why do you not alight?" They said: "Because of the abundance of date-palms, there is no place to alight." He stopped on a path between the trees and gestured to the right and left, so the trees moved aside and clustered together and space was opened, and they alighted.

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): Jibra'il descended upon the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and said: "O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Allah the Mighty and Majestic has answered your supplication." So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) knelt down on both knees, spread out his hands, and tears flowed from his eyes. Then he said: "I am grateful, I am grateful, just as You have sheltered me and my companions." Jibra'il said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Allah has helped you and has sent against them a wind from the lowest heaven carrying pebbles, and also a wind from the fourth heaven carrying stones." Hudhayfa says: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) sent me to bring him news of them. I went out and observed that the fire of that people (Quraysh and the Confederates) had been extinguished, and the first army of Allah came forth — it was that violent wind carrying pebbles — and it extinguished all the fires and cast all the tents to the ground, until they were using their shields against the pebbles, and I could hear the sound of the pebbles striking the shields." At that moment the great army of Allah came forth, and Abu Sufyan went toward his camel. Then he cried out among the Quraysh: "النَّجاة النَّجاة [Flee, flee!]" Then Uyayna ibn Hisn (chief of Banu Fazara) did the same, and Harith ibn Awf (chief of Banu Murra) also did likewise, and all the Confederates left. Hudhayfa returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and informed him of the news, and Allah the Mighty and Majestic revealed this verse to His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): اذْکُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللهِ عَلَیْکُمْ إِذْ جَاءتْکُمْ جُنُودٌ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَیْهِمْ رِیحًا وَجُنُودًا لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا [Call to mind the favour of Allah to you when there came down upon you hosts, so We sent against them a strong wind and hosts that you saw not].

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) that, in a hadith concerning the encounter of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) with a Jew, he said: "The Jew said: 'Allah gave Hud (peace be upon him) victory over his enemies by means of the wind. Has Allah bestowed such a favour upon Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) as well?' Ali (peace be upon him) answered: 'It was indeed so, and Allah has bestowed upon Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) a favour superior to this. Allah the Mighty and Majestic, in the Battle of Khandaq, gave him victory over his enemies by means of the wind; when He sent against the Quraysh and the Confederates a wind that scattered the pebbles in the air, and also sent armies that they could not see. Then Allah, Blessed and Exalted, bestowed a further favour upon Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) by sending eight thousand angels, and gave him superiority over Hud (peace be upon him) in that the wind of the people of Aad was a wind of wrath and punishment, whereas the wind of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was a wind of mercy. Allah, Blessed and Exalted, says: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَاءتْكُمْ جُنُودٌ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًا وَجُنُودًا لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا [O you who believe! Call to mind the favour of Allah to you when there came down upon you hosts, so We sent against them a strong wind and hosts that you saw not].'"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), regarding the interpretation of the noble verse of Allah [in this battlefield], made the believers dispensable from fighting [and granted them victory] (Al-Ahzab/25), said: meaning through Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and his killing of Amr ibn Abd Wudd. And Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani, in what has been revealed concerning Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), narrated this narration with a chain from Sufyan al-Thawri, from a man, from Murrah, from Abdullah. A group of the commentators said that the verse اذْکُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللهِ عَلَیْکُمْ إِذْ جاءَتْکُمْ جُنُودٌ [Call to mind the favor of Allah to you when there came down upon you hosts] was revealed in the Battle of Ahzab concerning Ali (peace be upon him). When the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was informed of the gathering of the polytheists, on the counsel of Salman (peace be upon him) they dug the trench, and he ordered the children and women to go into the shelters. The Ahzab (polytheists) were busy with wine and singing. The Muslims were frozen in place, and that was because of the standing of Amr ibn Abd Wudd al-Amiri, nicknamed Imad al-Arab (the Pillar of the Arabs). He was reckoned among the hundred great ones of the kings and the thousand brave warriors of the Sa'alik. Amr was equal to a thousand warriors, and it was said concerning this: 'Amr ibn Abd Wudd was the first warrior who crossed the trench, and he was the horseman of Yalyal. The reason for this naming is that when he came with some horsemen of Quraysh and reached Yalyal — which is a valley — Banu Bakr came upon their path. He said to his companions: Go on. They went, and he stood in the face of Banu Bakr and prevented them from reaching them. And it was the trench.' He said: 'When Amr volunteered for combat, he was saying: Is there any challenger?' And the Muslims kept away from him. He hurled his spear toward the tent of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and said: 'O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), come out.' The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'Whoever goes to fight him, the imamate after me is for him.' The people held back from that. Hudhayfa said: 'The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: Come near to me, O Ali (peace be upon him).' Then he took his long turban from his head and wound it around his head nine times, and gave him his sword and said: 'Go about your task.'

The Messenger (peace be upon him and his family): Bara ibn Azib said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) was digging the earth with us on the Day of the Trench and was carrying the soil on his back, and he was saying: 'O Allah, had it not been for Your guidance, we would not have been guided, nor given charity, nor established prayer. So O Allah, send down Your tranquility upon us and make our feet firm. This group has wronged us, and when they intended sedition against us, we refused.'

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is narrated that a Jewish man asked Imam Ali (peace be upon him) about the qualities of the prophets. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: O brother of the Jews! The fifth of them is this: Quraysh and the Arab confederates gathered together and made a covenant and pact among themselves that they would not part from one another until they had killed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and, along with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), killed us too — the sons of Abd al-Muttalib. Then they advanced with all their arms and equipment until they encamped beside Madinah, confident of their victory. At that moment, Jibra'il descended upon the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and informed him of Quraysh's intention. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) then dug a trench for himself and his companions from among the Muhajirun and the Ansar. Quraysh came and besieged us from behind the trench, considering themselves powerful and us weak, and they thundered like thunder and lightning. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) supplicated to Allah concerning the matter of Quraysh, and adjured Quraysh by the right of kinship and relationship; but Quraysh refused, and it only increased them in arrogance. Their champion on that day — the champion of the Arabs — was Amr ibn Abd Wudd. He roared like an enraged camel, called for a duel, chanted war poetry, and brandished at times his spear and at times his sword. No one ventured to fight him and no one had any desire to fight him; no zeal stirred him up [and no one could stir anyone up against him], and no insight aroused eagerness in him. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) raised me up, tied the turban on my head with his own hands, and gave me this sword of his [Ali (peace be upon him) was pointing to Dhulfiqar with his hand]. So I went out toward Amr, while the women of Madinah were weeping, worried and anxious for me before Ibn Abd Wudd. Then Allah the Mighty and Majestic killed him at my hand — and this while the Arabs considered no one but him to be their champion — and he struck me with this blow [Ali (peace be upon him) was pointing with his hand to the crown of his head]. Then Allah, through the killing of Amr and through the wounds and harm I had inflicted on them, defeated Quraysh and the Arabs. Then Ali (peace be upon him) turned to his companions and said: "Is it not so?" They replied: "Yes indeed, O Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him)!"

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) narrates from his fathers that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said on the Day of Ahzab: "O Allah, on the Day of Badr You took from me Ubayda ibn al-Harith, and on the Day of Uhud Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib (peace be upon him), and this is my brother Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him). My Lord, do not leave me alone, and You are the best of inheritors. (Anbiya/89)"

Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said: We were with the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) digging the Trench, when Fatima (peace be upon her) came carrying a piece of bread, and she gave it to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). The Prophet said: "What is this?" She said: "It is a bread that I was baking for Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them), and I brought a piece of it for you." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "This is the first food that has entered your father's mouth in three days."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Ishaq said: When Ali (peace be upon him) killed Amr ibn Abd Wudd, he came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) with a beaming face. Umar ibn al-Khattab said: "O Ali, why did you not strip off his armour, the like of which is not found among the Arabs?" The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said: "I was ashamed to uncover the private parts of my cousin."