Those days witnessed many miracles. One of them occurred when the Companions encountered a massive rock while digging the trench and were unable to break it. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ struck the rock with his axe and said, ”In the Name of Allah.” A bright flash appeared, and one-third of the rock broke apart. ”Allahu Akbar! I have been granted the keys of Syria. By Allah, I can see its red palaces from where I stand.”

Then he said, ”In the Name of Allah,” and struck the rock again, breaking off another third of it. He said, ”Allahu Akbar! I have been granted the keys of Persia. By Allah, I can see Al-Mada’in, and I can see its white palace from where I stand.”

Then he said, ”In the Name of Allah,” and struck it a third time, shattering the remaining part of the rock. He then said, ”Allahu Akbar! I have been granted the keys of Yemen. By Allah, I can see the gates of Sana’a from where I stand.”

The Muslims Faced Extreme Hunger

Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:

”We were working with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the trench. I had a small sheep that was not particularly fat, and I said to myself, ”By Allah, I should prepare it for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” I asked my wife to grind some barley, and she baked bread from it. Then I slaughtered the sheep and prepared it for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

When evening came and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was about to leave the trench—since we worked there throughout the day and returned to our families at night—I said, ”O Messenger of Allah, I have prepared a small sheep that we had, along with some bread made from this barley. I would love for you to come to my home.” I intended to invite only the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

When I said this, he replied, ”Yes.” Then he ordered a caller to announce: ”Come with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to the house of Jabir ibn Abdullah!”

I said, ”Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return!”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came, and the people came with him. He sat down, and we brought the food before him. He invoked Allah’s blessing and mentioned His Name. Then he ate, and the people continued to eat in groups. Whenever one group finished, another group came, until all the people of the trench had eaten from it.” 

The Siege of the City of Madinah

   When Quraysh and their allies arrived at Madinah, they laid siege to the city. They expected the Muslims to meet them in open battle, as had happened at Uhud. When they prepared to engage in combat, several Quraysh horsemen, including Amr ibn Abd Wudd, Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl, and Nawfal ibn Abdullah, rode forward and called out, ”Prepare yourselves, O Banu Kinanah! Today you will know who the true warriors are.”

They then approached the trench and stopped before it. Upon seeing it, they said, ”By Allah, this is a strategy the Arabs have never used before.” They began searching for a narrow point through which they could cross. A group of horsemen eventually managed to pass through a section of the trench and moved into the area between the trench and Mount Sal’.

Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), accompanied by a group of Muslims, moved quickly to block the opening through which they had crossed. He then engaged in a duel with Amr ibn Abd Wudd and killed him. As a result, the horsemen retreated in defeat.

Nawfal ibn Abdullah also attempted to cross the trench but fell into it. The Muslims began throwing stones at him, and he cried out, ”O Arabs! A swift death would be better than this.” Ali ibn Abi Talib then descended to him and finished him off.

The Betrayal of Banu Qurayzah

     Banu Qurayzah was a Jewish tribe that betrayed the Muslims during the Battle of the Trench. Despite having a treaty with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, they broke their agreement and conspired with the Confederates against the Muslims. Huyayy ibn Akhtab, the leader of Banu Nadir, went to Ka’b ibn Asad, the chief of Banu Qurayzah and the guardian of their treaty with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. When Ka’b learned of his arrival, he locked the gate of his fortress and refused to let him enter.

Huyayy repeatedly asked for permission to speak with him, but Ka’b replied, ”You are an ill-fated man. I have made a covenant with Muhammad, and I will not break it. I have seen nothing from him except loyalty and truthfulness.”

However, Huyayy persisted in persuading him. He continued to pressure and influence Ka’b until he eventually agreed to break his treaty with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Huyayy promised him that if Quraysh and Ghatafan withdrew without defeating Muhammad ﷺ, he would join Ka’b in his fortress and share whatever fate befell him.

As a result, Ka’b ibn Asad violated his agreement and renounced the covenant that existed between Banu Qurayzah and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, placing the Muslims in an even more difficult situation during the Battle of the Trench.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ later confirmed the betrayal of Banu Qurayzah during the Battle of the Trench. To verify the reports, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ sent several prominent leaders of the Ansar and senior Companions, including Sa’d ibn Mu’adh, Sa’d ibn Ubadah, Abdullah ibn Rawahah, and Khawwat ibn Jubayr, to investigate the matter. He instructed them to verify the news and report back discreetly if the reports were true, so as not to weaken the morale of the Muslims.

When they reached Banu Qurayzah, they found that the tribe had indeed broken its treaty with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. This confirmed the treachery of Banu Qurayzah and intensified the danger facing the Muslims, who were already under siege by the confederate forces.

The Role of Nu’aym ibn Mas’ud in Breaking the Siege

As the siege dragged on and the hardship intensified, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ raised his hands to the heavens and supplicated:

”O Allah, Revealer of the Book, Swift in reckoning, defeat the confederates. O Allah, defeat them and shake them.”

Allah answered the prayer of His Prophet ﷺ and brought relief from an unexpected source. Nu’aym ibn Mas’ud Al-Ghatafani came to the Prophet ﷺ, announcing his acceptance of Islam and his willingness to assist the Muslims. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him

”You are only one man among us, so do what you can to discourage them from fighting us, for war is deception.”

Nu’aym first went to Banu Qurayzah and convinced them that they should demand hostages from Quraysh and their allies as a guarantee against any sudden withdrawal, ensuring that the coalition would remain committed to the battle. He then went to Quraysh and Ghatafan, presenting himself as a sincere advisor. He informed them that Banu Qurayzah regretted breaking their treaty with the Prophet ﷺ and intended to regain his trust by taking hostages from Quraysh and handing them over to him.

In this way, Nu’aym successfully planted distrust among the allied forces. Suspicion spread between the parties, weakening their unity and diminishing their determination, which contributed significantly to the failure of the siege.

Allah Bestowed Victory Upon the Muslims 

Victory finally came to the believers when powerful winds swept through the camp of the confederates, uprooting their tents, extinguishing their fires, and overturning their cooking pots. Allah also sent angels to shake them with fear and cast terror into their hearts. Allah says:

”O you who have believed, remember the favor of Allah upon you when armies came against you and We sent upon them a wind and armies that you did not see. And Allah is Ever Seeing of what you do.”

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

(Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:9)

As a result, the allied forces were forced to retreat, and Allah granted the Muslims a decisive victory without a direct battle taking place.

After the Battle of the Trench, the Muslims moved into a position of strength and initiative. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ indicated this change when he said:

”Now we will attack them, and they will not attack us.”

This statement reflected the major shift in the balance of power after the failure of the Confederates’ siege of Madinah. From that point onward, the Muslims gained the upper hand, while their enemies lost the ability to launch large-scale attacks against the Islamic state.