9يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا اذكُروا نِعمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيكُم إِذ جاءَتكُم جُنودٌ فَأَرسَلنا عَلَيهِم ريحًا وَجُنودًا لَم تَرَوها ۚ وَكانَ اللَّهُ بِما تَعمَلونَ بَصيرًاAli UnalO you who believe! Remember God’s favor on you when hosts (of the enemy) came down on you, and We sent against them a fierce (freezing) wind and (heavenly) hosts that you could not see. And God saw all that you did.1In 627CE, a leading group of the expelled Banū Nadīr Jews went to Makkah. They met with the Quraysh, urging them to continue fighting with the Muslims, and promised their help and support. These Jews then went to the Ghatafān and Qays Aylān tribes and, promising them help, encouraged them to fight against the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings (Ibn Hishām, 3: 225–226; Waqidī, Maghazī, 441–443). These intrigues resulted in a great anti-Muslim confederacy of Makkan polytheists, the desert tribes of central Arabia, the Jews (both those already expelled from and those still resident) in Madīnah, and the hypocrites. The last two constituted a fifth column within Madīnah. When God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, received intelligence of this anti-Muslim gathering of confederates, he consulted his Companions. It was their unanimous view that they should remain in Madīnah and fight from there. Salmān al-Fārisī suggested digging a trench around the city. It took six days of intense labor to dig this trench. The Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, divided the Muslims into groups of ten and told them to compete with each other. It was a hard task, there was not much time, winter was about to come in, and there was great hunger. Yet all the Companions worked enthusiastically. In order to not feel the hunger, each fastened a rock around his stomach. The Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, dug alongside them and fastened two rocks around his stomach. He kept strict control of the city so that no news of the preparation should reach the enemy. The enemy forces advanced against Madīnah in the hope of destroying the Muslims on an open battlefield. However, this new strategy that they faced was the first blow. Numbering around 20,000, the enemy forces camped near the trench. The Madīnans had no more than 3,000 soldiers. Moreover, the Jewish Banū Qurayzah and the hypocrites of the fifth column had already contacted the enemy. The Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, once again displayed his sagacity: he kept the soldiers within the city and stationed them so that they could both defend the city and safeguard their homes against possible attacks of the Banū Qurayzah. While the war was continuing with exchanges of arrows and stones, the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, engaged in diplomatic attempts to split the allied enemy forces. He was able to do that and dissension grew among them (Ibn Hishām, 3: 240–242). The Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, protected by Mount Sal, that lay behind the city, had ordered a narrow point to be made in the trench, as he expected that leading Qurayshī horsemen would try to cross there. This is indeed how it happened, for some of the most renowned Qurayshī warriors tried to cross to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Muslim fighters. ‘Ali, may God be pleased with him, the Messenger’s cousin and son-in-law, killed three of them, which discouraged the enemy from any new attempts. The siege lasted 27 days. The Muslims suffered greatly from hunger, cold, unending barrages of arrows and stones, attempts and concentrated assaults to cross the trench, and betrayals and intrigues within Madīnah. The Qur’ān describes this situation in the verses that follow. After almost four weeks, during which the enemy was disheartened by their failure and the believers proved their steadfastness and loyalty, there was a piercing blast of cold wind from the east. God also sent hosts of angels. (For God’s sending angels and its purpose, see 3: 124–127; 8: 9–10, 12) The enemy’s tents were torn up, their fires were extinguished, and sand and rain beat their faces. Terrified by the portents against them, they soon gave up. The Battle of the Trench was the last Qurayshī attempt to destroy Islam and the Muslims.