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More on al-Azhab / al Khandaq war..

re: Post #561

The war of Al-Khandaq (another name of this war is Al-Ahzab or The Confederates) one of the hardest and most difficult wars in the Prophet's life.

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The Battle of the Clans [Ma'rakat al-Ahzab] is a reference to a battle in the fifth year after the hijrah during the time of the Prophet Muhammad, alluded to in Surat al-Ahzab (Surah 33) in the Qur'an.

Historian 'Abd ar-Rahman Ibn Khaldun (as summarized by British Muslim Muhammad Pickthall in The Meaning of the Glorious Koran, originally published in 1930) wrote that in the fifth year of the Hijrah, members of the Bani Nadir, a Jewish tribe that the Prophet had expelled from al-Madinah for treason, went first to the leaders of the pagan Quraysh tribe in Mecca and then to the chiefs of the great desert tribe of Ghatafan, urging them to extirpate the Muslims and promising them help from the Jewish population who were still living in al-Madinah in ostensible alliance with the Muslims. As a result of their efforts, Quraysh with all their clans, and Ghatafan with all their clans marched to destroy the Muslims in al-Madinah.

When the Prophet had news of their plan, he ordered a trench to be dug before the city and himself led the work of digging it. The trench was finished when the clans arrived, 10,000 strong. The Prophet went out against them with his army of 3,000, the trench being between the two armies. For nearly a month the Muslims were exposed to showers of arrows , in constant expectation of attack by much superior forces; and, to make matters worse, news came that the Jewish tribe of Bani Qurayzah in their rear had broken their alliance with the Muslims and made common cause with Quraysh.

The Muslims' women and children had been put in strongholds - towers like the peel-towers of Northern England, of which every family of note had one for refuge in time of raids. These were practically unguarded, and some of the Muslims asked permission of the Prophet to leave the battle front and go to guard them, though they were not then serious immediate danger because the Bani Qurayzah were not likely to show their treachery until the victory of the clans was certain.

The case of the Muslims seemed, humanly speaking, hopeless. But a secret sympathizer in the enemy camp managed to sow distrust between the Bani Qurayzah and the chiefs of the clans, making both feel uneasy. The obstacle of the trench was unexpected and seemed formidable; and when a fierce, bitter wind from the sea blew for three days and nights so furiously that they could not keep a shelter up, or light a fire, or boil a pot, Abu Sufyan, the leader of the pagan Quraysh, ended the siege in disgust. And when Gatafan one morning found Quraysh had gone, they too departed for their homes.

On the very day when the Muslims returned from the trench, began the siege of the traitorous Bani Qurayzah Jewish tribe in their towers of refuge in al-Madinah. It lasted for 25 days after which they surrendered some of the tribe of Aws, whose adherents the Bani Qurayzah were asked the Prophet to show them the same grace that he had shown to the tribe of Khazraj, in the case of Bani Nadir, in allowing them to intercede for their dependents.

The Prophet said: 'Would you like that one of you should decide concerning them?' They said: 'Yes,' and the Prophet appointed Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, a great chief of Aws, who had been wounded in the battle and was being cared for in the mosque. Sa'd was sent for and rendered judgment on the Jews in accordance with the law in the Torah: he ordered their men to be put to death, their women and children to be made captive, and their property to be divided among the Muslims at the Prophet's will.

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Name

The Surah derives its name Al-Ahzab from verse 20.

Period of Revelation

The Surah discusses three important events which are: the Battle of the Trench (or Al-Ahzab: the Clans), which took place in Shawwal, A. H. 5; the raid on Bani Quraizah, which was made in Dhil-Qa'dah, A. H. 5; and the Holy Prophet's marriage with Hadrat Zainab, which also was contracted in Dhil-Qa'dah, A. H. 5. These historical events accurately determine the period of the revelation of this Surah.

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Search Terms

al Khandaq | Battle of al Khandaq | War of al Khandaq

al Ahzab | Battle of al Ahzab | War of al Azhab

Ma'rakat al-Ahzab