Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq — Page 68
68 HADRAT ABU BAKR 68 Mad i nah against the forces of all of Arabia? The Holy Prophet sa , acting on the advice of Hadrat Salm a n F a rs i ra , dug a tunnel around one side of Mad i nah to protect it. Everyone in Mad i nah helped to dig the tunnel to defend the city, even the children helped with this task. On the other side of Mad i nah there were hills, which provided natural protection. The final side of Mad i nah housed the fortress of the Jewish tribe, Ban u Qurai z ah. The Ban u Qurai z ah had signed a pact of peace with the Muslims in which they had promised to help the Muslims defend Mad i nah if it was attacked. The Ban u Qurai z ah was responsible for protecting all the women and children of Mad i nah. However, rather than help the Muslims they were secretly helping the Makkans during the attack on Mad i nah. If their plan had succeeded the Muslims would have suffered a terrible loss, but Allah was protecting the Muslims. The disbelievers’ army surrounded Mad i nah, and besieged it for a month. During this time, there were small skirmishes. Finally, at the end of the month Allah’s help came to the Muslims in the form of a strong windstorm. The winds were so powerful that it became difficult to even light a fire to cook food. The disbelievers’ tents were uprooted and blown away. Cooking utensils were lost in