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.” To be continued/ part2,,,,,