060 - The Battle of Khandaq (Ahzab) Part 4

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Turn of the Tide

In the last episode, we had started talking about the role of Nuaym ibn Mas'ud al-Ghatafani in the battle. And he narrates in the first person in the Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi (كتاب التاريخ والمغازي) of al-Waqidi that he accepted Islam on the very evening of the nights of Khandaq. (Side note: This is the only book that has Nuaym's first-person narrative. He actually says, "This is my story," and he mentions that he had dealings with the Banu Qurayza, he used to drink with them, have dinner with them, and purchase his stock of dates from them and go back to the Ghatafan. And then he said it so happened that, "In the Battle of Khandaq, when we were camped outside, Allah threw Islam into my heart"—it is as if he is saying, "I have no idea where it came from.") So out of nowhere Allah threw Islam into his heart, and he said he went to the Prophet PBUH —and he saw him praying, so he waited until he finished— and then the Prophet PBUH said to him, "O Nuaym, why have you come?"—and this one phrase shows us another thing, and that is that the Prophet PBUH recognized Nuaym. As we said, the Prophet PBUH had already interacted with him. (So isn't it amazing that out of all of the 10,000 gathered outside, here is one *Ghatafani* who knows *Abu Sufyan* the leader of the Quraysh and *Ka'b ibn Asad* the leader of the Banu Qurayza, and he also has some basic relationship with *the Prophet PBUH*, and he embraces Islam right at this time? What are the odds?) So Nuaym said to him PBUH, "I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah. I have accepted Islam, so tell me to do whatever you want me to do." The Prophet PBUH said, "You are just one person. But go back and do anything you can think of to protect us." So Nuaym said, "O Messenger of Allah, do you allow me to say anything?" i.e., "Do you give me permission to use tactics that are not the most honest tactics?" The Prophet PBUH said, "War is khid'a." (And as we said, "khid'a" is different from "khiyana" [see the previous episode].)

So Nuaym went to the Banu Qurayza first and said what we said before (i.e., to take 70 noblemen from the Quraysh as collateral to ensure they don't abandon the war/siege.) He then went to Abu Sufyan and said, "The Banu Qurayza have now second-doubts and they want to go back to their treaty — they have offered Muhammad 70 of your heads as an expiation for what they have done. So I fear they are going to come to you with a ruse to give 70 of your men to them. So be careful, especially if they ask for your noblemen, because that is what they promised Muhammad." Then he said the same thing to his own people, "The Quraysh can leave at any time, and the Banu Qurayza can flip at any time, and they have offered 70 of us and 70 of the Quraysh to Muhammad as an expiation. So if they come asking 70, let us agree not to give them anything."

The Banu Qurayza sure enough sent Azzal ibn Samuel to the Quraysh, and he said to Abu Sufyan in a harsh manner, "The Quraysh have delayed too long (note: and by now at least 3 weeks have gone), and you have done nothing but talk. So let us agree on a date, you attack from your side, we from our side, and the Ghatafan from their side. And we will finish up this matter of Muhammad. But before we set the date, we ask that you give us 70 of your noblemen because we want to secure the fact that you are not going to turn around when the battle gets tough." Abu Sufyan said, "Let me think about this." So the Banu Qurayza returned empty-handed. Then Abu Sufyan announced to the Quraysh what Nuaym had told him that it was a clear plot and the Banu Qurayza are double-guessing themselves, "So let us not hand anyone over." The next day Nuaym went back to the Banu Qurayza and said, "Do you know what Abu Sufyan said as soon as your emissary left? He said, 'Wallahi, we will not hand them one baby camel (much less 70 of our noblemen). Do they expect us to trust them that they will not execute these 70 men and hand them to Muhammad?'" (Note: Most likely, Abu Sufyan actually had said this — because he is double-guessing the Banu Qurayza. And can you imagine how incensed the Banu Qurayza are going to be now, that after all that they have done, they are now being accused of betrayal?) Ka'b ibn Asad began sensing the shift of the tide, and he began saying, "Woe to me! Woe to me! I knew this would happen! Wallahi, Huyayy ibn Akhtab brings nothing but bad luck!" And Ibn Ishaq mentions that another of the Banu Qurayza, al-Zubayr ibn Batta (الزبير بن باطا), said, "If the Quraysh and Ghatafan leave, there will be nothing left for us except the sword (i.e. execution). And why should they give us 70 of their noblemen? They have more numbers than us, and they have more arms, and they have the advantage of being able to flee, whereas we will remain." (And note we learn here that the Banu Qurayza fully understand they deserve the punishment that is going to happen to them. They understand and knew the stakes.)

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The Sabbath

Abu Sufyan is agitated and feeling more and more perturbed that, "If the Banu Qurayza flips, this means they and the Muslims will surprise attack us." So he said, "We are not going to let that happen. Let us make the ultimatum. We are all going to attack tomorrow morning!" So he sent a high-level delegation led by Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahal to the Banu Qurayza and demanded that tomorrow morning the ahzab and the Banu Qurayza all attack the Muslims.

But Allah had willed something else. They came to the Banu Qurayza after Asr on Friday — the next day is Sabt (سبت - Saturday), i.e., Shabbat (שַׁבָּת - Sabbath) — and the Jews are not allowed to do anything on Saturday aside from resting and worship. (Side note: And to this day they practice this. For them, the observance of the Sabbath is the biggest sign of religiosity as salah is for us Muslims.) But the Quraysh have never lived with the Jews and have never heard of this custom; they are completely clueless about the Sabbath. So when the Jews said, "Tomorrow is Saturday, we cannot fight on Saturday, give us a delay, allow us some time and let us do it on Sunday," alarm bells start going off: "What do you need time for?!" "Why should we delay 24 hours?" "Just enough time to go and tell Muhammad and then come back with reinforcements against us?" And on top of this, Ka'b ibn Asad said, "And even on Sunday, we will not attack until you hand over 70 of your men." Still he isn't budging on that condition. So Ikrimah goes back confused and says to Abu Sufyan, "They have betrayed us. They say tomorrow is a day they don't work or fight." Abu Sufyan flew into a rage —and it's so happened Huyayy ibn Akhtab was with the Makkans at the time— so he called him and demanded an explanation, "What is this thing called the Sabbath?!" Huyayy explained it to him, but he said, "What is Sabt (Saturday) except a day between Sunday and Friday?!" But Huyayy was adamant that they can't do anything on Saturday, so Abu Sufyan said, "By al-Lat and al-Uzza, this is your treachery"—he could not believe there is something called the Sabbath.

Huyayy was so panicked he quietly snuck away and went to the Banu Qurayza, and he begged them to break the Sabbath to fight on Saturday. But Ka'b ibn Asad became even more enraged, "How dare YOU tell us to break the Sabbath! You are supposed to observe it with us! Go ahead and break it in order to fight your enemy! Wallahi, even if we are killed, we are not going to break the Sabbath!"—and technically, Ka'b was correct in terms of being a Jew; the Sabbath is a part of their shariah, and it is one of the biggest commandments (1 of 10) that Allah gave to them [see Quran, 16:124]. So deep down inside, he was a religious man — he could not fathom breaking the Sabbath and then expecting that they would be victors. Huyayy on the other hand was willing to break it out of hatred for the Prophet PBUH; but he was so scared of the consequences of Abu Sufyan he decided not to return to the Quraysh. And this decision proved to be his death, because he was inside the fortress of the Banu Qurayza when the Muslims surrounded the fortress (as will be discussed in the next episode).

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The Worst Weather & the Role of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman RA

Friday night turned out to be the worst night in terms of weather: Thunderstorm clouds began gathering, freezing cold winds gusting through the city, and it was the worst night of the year, or according to some of the sahaba, the worst night of their lives in terms of weather. And on that very night, the Prophet PBUH stood up and asked for a volunteer to go spy on the Quraysh and find out what's happening with them. And here we have another famous companion, Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman the Keeper of the Secrets of the Prophet PBUH, playing another incredibly brave and important role. (Recall his father al-Yaman was killed accidentally in the Battle of Uhud, and Hudhayfah in his generosity forgave not only the killers, but gave them back the blood money [see episode 48]. And this is that sahabi whose father and him were caught before the Battle of Badr by the Quraysh in the middle of the desert, and they were made to promise they wouldn't fight the Quraysh. So in the Battle of Badr, the Prophet PBUH did not allow them to participate even though the promise was extracted literally at the tip of a sword. He PBUH said, "You will fulfill your promise to them; and we will seek Allah's help against them" [see episode 36].)

Hudhayfah tells this story in the first person. The hadith is found in Sahih Muslim and others, and put together, it goes as follows: It is narrated that many years later (after the death of the Prophet PBUH), Hudhayfah was in Iraq as an old man sitting in a gathering with some young men. They wanted to hear stories about the days of the Prophet PBUH, so Hudhayfah told them some of the stories when one of the young men remarked, "Had I been with the Prophet PBUH, I would have shown what is real fighting behind him!" In one version, the young man said, "Had I been alive then, I would not even have allowed the Prophet PBUH to walk! I would have carried him on my back!"—he thinks he is better than the sahaba. So when Hudhayfah heard this, he gave a story that tells us of the Laylat al-Ahzab (ليلة الأحزاب - the Night of the Ahzab):

"I remember Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Ubayd, et al., all were with the Prophet PBUH. Severe winds were blowing all around, and on top of that it was freezing cold. The Quraysh were above us and the Banu Qurayza were beneath us (this is a reference to verse [33:10] of the Quran), and we were scared that our families would be attacked. And no night had ever come upon us darker and colder than that night. And no night had ever come upon us as windy as that night. The wind itself sounded like thunder. And it was so dark we could not see our fingertips if we extended our hands." Imagine that night: it's been a whole month of siege, they are cold, hungry, fearful for their families, the despair and tiredness they were in... Then Hudhayfah said, "[On that night] the Prophet PBUH stood up and said, 'Who is there who shall bring me news of the enemy; and I shall be his companion on the Day of Judgment.'" And Hudhayfah said not a single one amongst the sahaba said anything. In that auspicious gathering, not a single soul gave one whisper. So the Prophet PBUH repeated for a second time, "Who will go and bring me the news of the enemy; and I will be his companion on the Day of Judgment." And again nothing from the sahaba. Then for a third time the Prophet PBUH said, "Who will go and bring me the news of the enemy; and I will be his companion on the Day of Judgment." Three times in a row, and not a single companion stood up. Why? (i) This is not fard. (ii) After a whole month of siege, nobody had the energy or strength for the task. But Hudhayfah said, "And then the Prophet PBUH said, 'Ya Hudhayfah,' so I stood up; and he said, 'You go and get me the news.'" And from this, Hudhayfah said, "Now that he has mentioned me by name, I had to [go]"—and this shows us many things:

1. The direness of the situation, how difficult it is.

2. The honesty and modesty of Hudhayfah — he tells the story as it is, and he didn't put himself in a positive light. He said, "I had no choice but to go." And in this honesty we see his true maqam. There isn't a single witness to correct him, but still he tells the story exactly as it happened.

3. The difference between mustahabb (مستحب - recommended) and wajib (واجب - obligatory). When the Prophet PBUH said, "Who will go?" the sahaba understood it's mustahabb — it's just a request, not a fard commandment. But when he commanded Hudhayfah by name, he understood it became wajib for him to go.

4. The fadila (فضيلة - virtue) of Hudhayfah. Out of all of the sahaba, the Prophet PBUH chose him. There was a wisdom (and we will see why in a while).

5. The Prophet PBUH knew his men. He knew which sahaba would be best for which task. And by the way, obviously he cannot send a Qureshi (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, et al.) — he has to send someone that the Quraysh don't recognize. And Hudhayfah didn't fight in Badr, so the Quraysh don't know him.

Hudhayfah stood up shivering and trembling, scared and cold, so the Prophet PBUH made a du'a for him, "O Allah, protect him from in front of him and from behind, and from his right and from his left, and from on top and from below." And when narrating the story, Hudhayfah said, "After this du'a, every fear that I felt, it disappeared from my heart." And he walked in that darkness through the howling wind —only Allah knows how— until he found the campsite of the Quraysh, and he quietly made his way through the crowd until he said, "I saw the back of one that looked like a leader, and I figured out he was Abu Sufyan"—he has never seen Abu Sufyan (and that's the whole point; that's why he is being chosen). And he said he had a clear shot of Abu Sufyan and was about to take his arrow and shoot him, but then he remembered the commandment of the Prophet PBUH to be discrete, "Hide yourself and us from them (i.e., don't give yourself and us away)," so he stopped, sat down, and continued finding out what's happening.

After a while, Abu Sufyan spoke and said, "I am about to say something, so let everyone amongst you verify that the person next to him is trustworthy"—it's dark and nobody can see everybody else, so he wants to make sure it's his group, the Quraysh. So Hudhayfah said —and look at his quick thinking— he jumped on the man next to him, held him by his hand and said, "WHO ARE YOU!"—he intimidated the man with an aura of authority, so the man told him who he is. And then he jumped on the man on his left, held him by his hand and again said, "WHO ARE YOU!" and the man told him who he is. And in the process, Hudhayfah didn't tell them who he is. This is simple psychology. He intimidated people around him with such confidence and aura of authority that nobody suspected him. And where did this confidence come from on such a night? The du'a of the Prophet PBUH.

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The Quraysh Leave

Then Abu Sufyan stood up and said, "O my people, we are not here in our houses nor can we remain here forever. Our animals have perished, our horses are tired, and the Banu Qurayza have betrayed us." In his eyes, this 'fancy tale' of the Sabbath that they can't fight on a Saturday, is ludicrous and clearly an act of betrayal. And he continued, "Now you see this wind how it is harming us. Neither can we keep a pot on our fires, nor even can our fires remain lit." Subhan'Allah, the pots themselves were being turned upside down — it was a terrible windstorm. And when you have such a windstorm in the middle of a desert, it becomes a sandstorm. (Very few of us have experienced this, and wallahi, it is something we don't want to ever experience. Even in the city of Madinah today, when the dust gets so extreme, the entire area becomes so dark it makes you think you are blind. You can barely see your fingertips if you extend your hands. And the worst thing is you feel the dust and sand crawling over your entire body inside your thobe — it's so sticky and disgusting. And it's such an asphyxiating feeling — you cannot even breathe! And as we said, this is *in* the city; so we can only imagine what it was like for the Quraysh in the middle of the desert. And on top of that, the windstorm was an adhab [عذاب - punishment] from Allah upon them, so the magnitude must have been much worse.) So Abu Sufyan said, "You can see how the wind is harming us, and we don't even have a house to protect us, so I think we should all return. And whatever you say, I am returning anyway"—he has given up now. So he went to his camel, jumped on it, untied it, told it to get up, and he just left. And so the entire Quraysh left with him. Hudhayfah said, "I had another clear shot of Abu Sufyan, [he was completely defenseless,] but again I remembered what the Prophet PBUH said, so I let him go."

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Bringing Back the News to the Prophet PBUH

With this news, Hudhayfah returned back to the Prophet PBUH. Al-Bayhaqi says when Hudhayfah was returning back, he found in the middle of nowhere 20 horsemen coming towards him, turbaned with their faces covered, and they said to him, "Go tell your companion (the Prophet PBUH) that we have done the job of fighting for him." These are the angels.

Hudhayfah returned back to the camp, and he found the Prophet PBUH praying, so he waited. Notice Nuaym also said the same thing; but Hudhayfah added what Nuaym could not add; he added what Aisha RA said in Bukhari: "Whenever the Prophet PBUH was disturbed by something, he would stand up to pray." And Hudhayfah said, "I was shivering in the cold, and the Prophet PBUH was wearing a blanket (the equivalent of comforter) of one of his wives, so when he saw my state, he motioned to me to come into the blanket. So I came and sat at his foot until he finished salah"—and this was another blessing for him: He is sitting at the foot of the Prophet PBUH inside the blanket when he finishes his salah. "And when he finished, I gave him the good news. And at this, Allah SWT revealed:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَاءَتْكُمْ جُنُودٌ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًا وَجُنُودًا لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرًا

'O believers! Remember Allah's favor upon you when [enemy] forces came to [besiege] you [in Madinah], so We sent against them a [bitter] wind and forces you could not see. And Allah is All-Seeing of what you do' [Quran, 33:9]."

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The Windstorm Only Caused Them to Leave, and Did Not Kill Them

What was the Prophet PBUH doing standing? We learn from Sahih Bukhari, Musnad Imam Ahmad, and other books, that he PBUH was standing up to make du'a against the people of ahzab. We have some of these du'as narrated to us. Of them, Bukhari and Muslim reports: On the Night of Ahzab, the Prophet PBUH made du'a to Allah:

اللَّهُمَّ مُنْزِلَ الْكِتَابِ سَرِيعَ الْحِسَابِ، اللَّهُمَّ اهْزِمِ الأَحْزَابَ، اللَّهُمَّ اهْزِمْهُمْ وَزَلْزِلْهُمْ

"O Allah, the One who has revealed the Book, the One who is quick in retribution; O Allah, destroy the ahzab; O Allah, shake the ground from under them."

In another hadith, we learn that one of the sahaba, Abdullah ibn Abi Awfa (عبد الله بن أبي أوفى) wrote to the sahaba who were fighting the Khawarij (خوارج - Kharijites) 30 years later, and he tells them that in one of the battles that the Prophet PBUH fought (and we learn from another source that this is the Battle of Ahzab), he PBUH waited after the sun had set, then he stood up and said to the people, "O people, don't wish to meet the enemy. But if you are forced to fight, then be patient and know that Jannah is under the shade of the swords," and then he made the du'a:

اللَّهُمَّ مُنْزِلَ الْكِتَابِ وَمُجْرِيَ السَّحَابِ وَهَازِمَ الأَحْزَابِ، اهْزِمْهُمْ وَانْصُرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ

"O Allah, the One who has sent the Book down, and the One who moves the clouds, and the One who destroys the ahzab; destroy them, and help us against them."

Notice the Prophet PBUH invoked Allah saying Mujriy al-Sahab (مجري السحاب - Mover of clouds), and so subhan'Allah, Allah helped him PBUH by sending the winds and the clouds. The sandstorm and the severe chill. And this is exactly what Allah SWT mentions in verse [33:9] in the Quran.

Ibn Ishaq and other books mention that not a single tent of the Ghatafan and the Quraysh was left standing, not a single pot remained, and not a single fire remained lit. Every single man amongst them had to flee helter-skelter.

A very interesting point here: In a hadith, our Prophet PBUH said, "Allah has helped me with the Wind of Saba (الصبا); and Ad was destroyed by the Wind of Dabur (الدبور)." This shows us that of the armies of Allah are different armies of the winds. There is an army called Saba, and there is an army called Dabur (and there might be even more armies of the winds). What is Saba and what is Dabur? Ibn Hajar comments that Saba was that beautiful wind that carried the scent of Yusuf AS to Ya'qub AS, and it is the wind that gathers together the clouds to bring about rain. So it is generally a wind of mercy. And it is said it comes from the east. Whereas Dabur is harsher than Saba, and it comes from the west. When Allah SWT knew the concern the Prophet PBUH had for his people and that he wanted them to embrace Islam, He sent them the Saba and not the Dabur. That was the reason the Quraysh evacuated and were caused to leave, but the wind did not destroy even one of them. Subhan'Allah. Indeed Saba did not kill anyone amongst them. Why? Because Allah knew our Prophet's PBUH love for his people. And eventually —as we will see in later years of the seerah—the same Quraysh, the same Ghatafan, and the same ahzab— the bulk of them were guided to Islam. Had Allah sent the Dabur, they would not be around to be guided. (Because when the Dabur is sent what happens? Complete destruction like the destruction of the people of Ad.)

So this shows us the mercy of Allah.

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Outcome of the Battle

Thus the Quraysh returned home having gained absolutely nothing. They have been humiliated and disgraced in a manner unparalleled in Arabian history. 10,000 strong yet they were not able to vanquish the Muslims, much less cause mayhem and bloodshed. Not even killing 10 people — and even these were miscellaneous ones here and there. And in return, they were routed. And never again will they attack the Muslims, as our Prophet PBUH said in Musnad Imam Ahmad, "Now *we* are going to launch an attack, and they are not going to ever launch an attack against us."

The tide has officially changed.

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What Did Allah Use for Victory?

What did Allah use for the victory in the Battle of Ahzab?

1. The Iman of the Muslims and the du'a of the Prophet PBUH. (Side note: After the Battle of Ahzab, the Prophet PBUH would frequently say du'a pertaining to the battle; and we normally hear these phrases during Eid: "لَا إِلهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ وَحْدَهُ، صَدَقَ وَعْدَهُ، وَنَصَرَ عَبْدَهُ، وَأَعَزَّ جُنْدَهُ وَهَزَمَ الْأَحْزَابَ وَحْدَهُ - There is no god but Allah the Unique, He fulfilled His promise, and He helped His servants, and He brought about honor to His army, and He destroyed the ahzab all by Himself." And the du'a also contained some phrases we don't normally hear.) [Of them:] "وَكَفَى اللَّهُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الْقِتَالَ - And Allah spared the believers from fighting" [see Quran, 33:25]—and indeed, the Muslims didn't have to do anything other than prove their Iman to Allah SWT. When they proved their Iman, Allah was sufficient for them; He gave them all that they needed. "Whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make a way out for them, and provide for them from sources they could never imagine. And whoever puts their trust in Allah, then He [alone] is sufficient for them" [Quran, 65:2-3].

2. Nuaym ibn Mas'ud — Wallahi, an amazing persona. And there is nobody similar to him: A Ghatafani who has a friendship with Ka'b ibn Asad, has the trust of Abu Sufyan, and has interacted with the Prophet PBUH a few times in a neutral manner before embracing Islam; and then out of nowhere Allah threw Islam into his heart on the Night of Ahzab; and He used him to cause disunity amongst the ahzab. "If Allah helps you, none can defeat you" [Quran, 3:160]. (Side note: Nuaym after this made Hijrah and settled in Madinah, and he died a shaheed in the War of the Camel [36 AH].)

3. The ignorance of the Quraysh with regards to the rules of the Jews. The rule of the Sabbath seemed so bizarre to them. (Tangent: And in our time, some Jews believe they are not allowed to use electricity on Saturdays; some don't answer the phone; some have to walk to their synagogue even if they have to walk for miles — they are not allowed to take the car. And for those who are outside of the faith, all of this sound very harsh and bizarre; so can you imagine how it must have sounded to the Quraysh who had never heard any of these?) Abu Sufyan said, "What is Saturday except a day between Sunday and Friday?!" He thought the Jews were inventing some custom to trick him.

4. The long-drawn-out siege for over 25 days — Their animals and supplies were dwindling. From that high morale in the beginning, after 25 days of torture, they were so worn out and tired the morale went down all the way to zero.

5. Allah sent His armies of winds and angels. "We sent against them a [bitter] wind and forces you could not see" [Quran, 33:9].

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Conclusion

That was the end of the ahzab.

Immediately afterward, the Banu Qurayza had to be dealt with — and this is a very sensitive topic; it is one that Islamophobes always use to smear our Prophet PBUH; and in fact, when it comes to politics, this is the number one smear, that, "He massacred an entire tribe." And then there are charges of genocide, antisemitism, and racism. So this is something we need to talk about frankly. Most Muslims today try to gloss over these things when they talk about the seerah. But we are living in a society where we are being bombarded with unpleasant details and facts in the seerah. So it is better that you hear it from a Muslim da'i who has expertise in the seerah [rather than an Islamophobe trying to attack Islam]. No doubt there are some very troubling details, but wallahi, if we understand the context, we will see that the execution occurred not because of who the Banu Qurayza were, but because of what they did, i.e., treason and treachery. It's very simple. And we don't need to be apologetic or wishy-washy about it. In our time, there are many Muslims who are so embarrassed about the incident they try to deny it ever happened. But the incident is mentioned in sahih ahadith and every single book of seerah ever written, so to doubt it is to doubt the existence of the Prophet PBUH. And the Quran also mentions it indirectly (will be discussed in the next episode), so there is no way around it.

[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, June 2021]