Events That Took Place During the Digging of the Trench While the Muslims were digging the trench, Salman al-Farisi—the Companion who had suggested the idea of digging it—encountered a large rock in his assigned section. It broke his tools, including his pickaxe and shovel, and exhausted him. He called upon Umar ibn al-Khattab and said: “Umar, help me with this rock.” Umar went down to the trench and tried to break the rock, but it broke his tools as well and exhausted him. Umar said: “We must tell the Messenger of Allah about it.” So Umar went to the Prophet, who was working in another part of the trench. He said: “O Messenger of Allah, we have encountered a rock. It has broken our tools and exhausted our strength.” The Prophet said: “I will go down to it, if Allah wills.” The Prophet came to the rock, and when he was about to climb down into the trench, he lifted his garment. The Companions saw that he had tied a stone around his stomach because of the severity of his hunger. When the Companions saw him in this condition—tying a stone to his stomach—they realized that the Messenger of Allah was an example and a role model for the poor and needy among his الأمة, and an example for all Muslims who would come after him. The Prophet then jumped into the trench and said: “Bring me the pickaxe.” He took the pickaxe. It was shortly before sunset, and it was winter. He took the pickaxe and said: “Bismillah. Allahu Akbar.” Then he struck the rock. The Companions said: “A flash of lightning appeared, illuminating the area between the two lava fields.” The lava field was an area of igneous rocks that had formed after ancient volcanic eruptions, when the lava cooled and hardened. It was as though a dark house had suddenly been illuminated by a lamp. The Prophet said: “Allahu Akbar,” and the Companions said: “Allahu Akbar,” after him. Then he struck it a second time. Another flash appeared. He said: “Allahu Akbar,” and his Companions repeated: “Allahu Akbar.” Then he struck it a third time, and another flash appeared. He said: “Allahu Akbar,” and they said: “Allahu Akbar.” The rock then crumbled like a mound of sand. He said: “Now deal with your rock.” So they began removing it with their shovels. They said: “O Messenger of Allah, three times a flash appeared when you struck the rock, and each time you said ‘Allahu Akbar.’ What was the meaning of that?” He said: “When the flash appeared the first time, the red palaces of the lands of the Romans were illuminated for me. Jibril told me that you would conquer them and that their treasures would be spent in the cause of Allah. “When the flash appeared the second time, the palaces of Kisra were illuminated for me. I saw his palaces as though they were the tusks of elephants.” Then he turned to Salman and said: “O Salman, is there such-and-such and such-and-such there?” Because Persia was Salman’s homeland. Salman said: “By the One who sent him with the truth, he began describing the palaces of Kisra to me as though he had lived there.” Every time the Prophet described something, Salman would say: “I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet said: “By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, Salman, we will indeed conquer the palaces of Kisra and the palaces of Caesar. There will be no Kisra after him, nor Caesar, and all of their treasures will be spent in the cause of Allah. “But this will happen after me, Salman.” Meaning, after his death. Salman, who narrated this report, said: “By the One who sent him with the truth, I saw all of this come to pass.” Salman later became the governor of al-Mada’in during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab. Salman continued: “And when the third flash appeared, the land of Aden—meaning Yemen—was illuminated for me. By Allah, I could see the gates of Sana’a from where I was standing.” The Prophet used to spend the entire night praying, worshipping Allah, and making supplication. ⸻ Jabir and the Small Amount of Food When the Companions saw that the Prophet had tied a stone around his stomach because of severe hunger, there was a Companion named Jabir ibn Abdullah. His father was Abdullah ibn Jabir, the commander of the archers during the Battle of Uhud—the one who did not leave his position and was martyred. Jabir was his son. Jabir ibn Abdullah saw the Prophet with the stone tied around his stomach because of hunger. He could not bear to see the Messenger of Allah suffering from such hunger. So Jabir asked the Prophet for permission to go home. He said: “O Messenger of Allah, allow me to go home.” The Prophet gave him permission. Jabir went to his wife and said: “O Umm Abdullah, I saw something about the Prophet that I cannot bear. I saw him tying a stone around his stomach because of hunger. How can the Messenger of Allah be hungry while he is among us? Do we have any food tonight?” She said: “A small goat, and a handful of barley.” A small goat meant a young female goat, one that did not have much meat. Jabir asked: “And how much barley do we have?” She said: “A handful.” A very small amount—approximately the equivalent of a cup. So they slaughtered the goat, ground the barley, and placed the meat in the cooking pot. They waited until it was almost cooked. Then Jabir got up to invite the Messenger of Allah. His wife said: “Jabir, please do not embarrass me in front of the people. We do not have enough food to feed anyone except the Messenger of Allah, and perhaps a few of his Companions.” She was asking him not to invite many people because she was embarrassed by how little food they had. He said: “Do not worry. Just do what I told you.” Jabir went to the Prophet. Jabir said: “I went to the Messenger of Allah privately and said: ‘May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah. I saw hunger on your face. We have a little food that we would like to offer you. Please come to our home, O Messenger of Allah, with one or two men—or three.’” The Prophet asked: “And how much food do you have, Jabir?” I said: “A small goat and a handful of barley.” The Prophet said: “Wonderful! A lot of good food.” Then the Prophet called out in a loud voice: “O Bilal! Announce to all the people of the trench that Jabir has prepared a surah for you!” “Surah” was a Persian word, and the Companions did not know what it meant. Salman al-Farisi laughed and said: “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah! Who taught you the word surah?” The Prophet said: “Isn’t that your word in Persia? When you have a great feast, you call it surah, don’t you?” Salman replied: “Yes, by the One who sent you with the truth.” The entire army got up. Jabir became extremely anxious. He said: “The whole earth seemed to spin around me from confusion and embarrassment. I could not reject the Messenger of Allah’s command, but I did not know what to say to all these people!” Jabir said: “The Prophet came toward me and clasped my hand in his. He said: ‘How much food do you have, Jabir?’ I said: ‘A small goat and a handful of barley!’ And he said: ‘A lot of good food. A lot of good food.’” The Prophet walked on, and all the people of the trench walked with him. When they approached the city, the Prophet said: “Go ahead, Jabir, and tell your wife not to bake all the dough and not to take the cooking pot off the fire until I arrive.” Jabir hurried home. When he entered, his wife asked: “Did the Messenger of Allah come and accept your invitation?” He answered, his face having changed: “Yes. Yes—and all the people of the trench are with him!” She cried out: “Woe to you, Jabir! What are we going to feed all these people tonight?! Did you invite them, or did the Messenger of Allah?” He said: “By Allah, I did not invite them. The Messenger of Allah invited them himself, and he brought everyone from the trench—both the Muhajirun and the Ansar.” She asked: “Did he ask you how much food you had, and did you tell him that it was only enough for one or two people?” Jabir said: “Yes.” Jabir’s wife said: “Allah and His Messenger know best. Do not worry. The Messenger of Allah has something special in store tonight.” Jabir said: “When she said that, a great burden of anxiety was lifted from me.” That day, the Companions numbered approximately 1,300 men. When they arrived, they sat among the palm trees. Then the Prophet entered and said to Jabir: “Where is your food?” They said: “Here it is, O Messenger of Allah.” The dough was placed before him. He recited from the Qur’an whatever Allah willed him to recite, then blew upon it. He gathered the dough together again. Then he said: “Where is your cooking pot?” They said: “Here it is, on the fire.” He uncovered it and did with it what he had done with the dough, then covered it again. He began cutting pieces of dough and saying: “O Umm Abdullah, bake, and cover whatever you bake.” He continued cutting pieces and handing them to her while she baked. He would cut, and she would bake. He would cut, and she would bake. Jabir said: “By the One who sent him as a Prophet, our house became like a hill of bread.” Then the Prophet said: “Bring us the serving dishes, and borrow some from your neighbors.” Then he stood and said to his Companions: “Do not crowd together. The food is plentiful. Let ten people sit around each dish.” They brought the dishes. The Prophet placed the food in them, broke pieces of bread, poured broth over them, then took meat, shredded it, and gave it to his Companions. He said: “Eat and be satisfied. Do not worry. There is plenty of good food. Plenty of good food.” Jabir said: “By the One who sent him with the truth as a Prophet, our Companions continued eating throughout the night until they were full and left around midnight. Meanwhile, the Messenger of Allah continued cutting the dough, pouring the broth, and shredding the meat.” Then he asked: “Is anyone left?” I said: “No, O Messenger of Allah. They have all left.” The Prophet then sat down and ate. He was the last of them to eat. Then he turned to Jabir’s wife and said: “Eat from this, and give some of it away, for the people have been struck by famine.” Jabir said: “By the One who sent him as a Prophet, our dough was still as it had been, and our cooking pot was still as it had been.” ⸻ Abu Rafi’ and the Four Shoulders On another occasion, the Companions were suffering from severe hunger because of the scarcity of food, as well as intense cold. Even the Messenger of Allah had tied two stones around his stomach because of severe hunger. Rafi’ said: “I returned to my wife and said: ‘Woman, I saw the Messenger of Allah tying two stones around his stomach, and I could not bear seeing him like that. Do we have any food?’” She said: “A small goat, O Abu Rafi’.” I said: “Roast it.” Rafi’ said: “I knew that the Messenger of Allah loved the right foreleg of the animal, so I left that leg intact.” Then I went privately to the Prophet and said: “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah. I saw hunger on your face, and I have roasted this goat for you so that you may eat from it.” The Prophet said loudly enough for everyone to hear: “O Abu Rafi’, give me the foreleg.” He took it and distributed it among his Companions. Then he said: “O Abu Rafi’, give me the foreleg.” Abu Rafi’ said: “I looked, and there was still meat covering the leg.” So I gave it to him, and he distributed it among his Companions. Then he said: “O Abu Rafi’, give me the foreleg.” I gave him a third foreleg! He distributed it among his Companions. Then he said: “O Abu Rafi’, give me the foreleg.” I gave him a fourth foreleg. He distributed it among his Companions. I thought to myself: “Does a goat even have more than two forelegs?!” I had already given him four, and I could not contain myself any longer. I said: “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah! Does a goat have more than two forelegs?!” The Prophet looked at me and said: “May Allah have mercy upon you. If you had remained silent for an hour, I would have continued giving you as many forelegs as you requested.” Meaning: If you had simply kept asking, I would have continued giving them to you. He fed his Companions from four forelegs, even though a goat has only two. The Prophet was able to feed people through the unseen, and his supplications were answered. But then why did he dig the trench? Why did he tie a stone around his stomach? Why did he take practical measures? To teach us that: Reliance upon Allah without taking the necessary means is not true tawakkul; it is merely passivity and dependence. ⸻ Zayd ibn Thabit During the digging of the trench, Zayd ibn Thabit was still young. He was carrying dirt. The Prophet looked at him, smiled, and said about him: “What an excellent young man he is!” Because of his extreme exhaustion, Zayd fell asleep. Then Umarah ibn Hazm came and took Zayd’s weapon, intending to joke with him. When Zayd woke up, he became frightened and began searching for his weapon. The Messenger of Allah said to him: “You fell asleep, and your weapon disappeared.” Then the Prophet turned to his Companions and said: “Who knows where this young man’s weapon is?” Umarah said: “I do, O Messenger of Allah. It is with me.” The Prophet said: “Return it to him.” And he forbade frightening a Muslim or taking his belongings as a joke. ⸻ The Prophet Working Alongside the Companions Al-Bara’ ibn Azib said: “I could see the Messenger of Allah working alongside us. Whenever there was no basket in front of him”—because the Companions would sometimes take his tools from him so that he could rest for a little while—“he would carry the dirt in his garment and say: O Allah, there is no life except the life of the Hereafter, So have mercy upon the Ansar and the Muhajirun. ” This encouraged and motivated them to continue working. The Companions—both Muhajirun and Ansar—would respond: We are those who pledged allegiance to Muhammad To strive in jihad for as long as we live. And this would energize the people to continue working. When their enthusiasm began to weaken, they would say: O Allah, if not for You, we would not have been guided, Nor would we have given charity, nor prayed. So send down tranquility upon us, And make our feet firm when we meet them. The polytheists have transgressed against us, But if they seek to cause a trial, we will refuse, We will refuse, we will refuse. Through this encouragement and motivation, the trench was completed in six days and nights. The Prophet worked alongside them. Abu Bakr said: “He worked with us. He struck the ground with his pickaxe, used the shovel, and carried dirt in the basket. If he could not find something to carry the dirt with, he would scoop the dirt with his hands into his garment and carry it. Eventually, exhaustion overcame him, so he leaned against a rock and fell asleep.” Abu Bakr said: “O Umar, come here. Let us stand by the head of the Messenger of Allah and keep people away from him so that perhaps he can get some rest.” When the Prophet woke up, he said: “What is this?” Abu Bakr said: “You fell asleep for a little while, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet said: “Why didn’t you wake me? I am only one of you.” ⸻ The Hypocrites In contrast, some of the hypocrites would secretly slip away from the work and make false excuses. The Prophet was extremely shy and modest, so the following verse was revealed: “The true believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger. And when they are with him for a matter of collective concern, they do not leave until they ask his permission. Indeed, those who ask your permission are the ones who believe in Allah and His Messenger.” The “matter of collective concern” here refers to the digging of the trench. And the Prophet had the authority to grant or deny permission. “So when they ask your permission for some of their affairs, give permission to whoever you wish among them, and ask Allah to forgive them. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” The Prophet would seek forgiveness for them for the deficiency caused by their absence, so that they would not miss the reward completely. ⸻ The Completion of the Trench When they had finished digging the trench, the Prophet said to his Companions: “Is there anything left?” They said: “There is a narrow opening containing some rocks.” He said: “Raise the rocks there and use them as a shield. And pay close attention to that opening”—meaning, strengthen your guard there—“for I can see your enemy arriving tonight.” That night, the Prophet stood praying in his tent. Whenever he sensed danger, he would come out of his tent and call loudly: “Who is there?” Sa’d would answer: “Your servant, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas.” The Prophet would ask: “Who is with you?” He would answer: “Al-Zubayr.” The Prophet would say: “Guard that opening. I can see Quraysh moving around it.” Sa’d said: “So we went there, and we found that Quraysh had indeed reached it.” ⸻ Quraysh Sees the Trench Quraysh arrived. When they saw the trench, they were stunned. They said: “What kind of strategy is this?!” The Arabs had never known such a defensive tactic before. The Jewish leader who had brought them together, Huyayy ibn Akhtab, said: “I was told that there is a Persian man among his Companions. This must be his strategy. Perhaps he was the one who advised them to do this.” They began thinking and consulting with one another. There was no way for them to enter the city.