Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 160
160 would mass their troops on the least protected point, and, under cover of a sustained and galling discharge of arrows, attempt to force the trench. Over and again a gallant dash was made at the city, and at the tent of Mahomed, by such leaders of renown as Khalid and ‘Amr; and these were only repelled by constant counter-marches and unremitting archery. This continued throughout the day; and, as the army of Mahomed was but just sufficient to guard the long line, there could be no relief. Even at night Khalid, with a strong party of horses, kept up the alarm, and still threatening the line of defence, rendered outposts at frequent intervals necessary. But all the endeavours of the enemy were without effect. The trench was not crossed. The battle had gone on for two days. Still there had been no hand-to-hand fighting, no great bloodshed. Twenty-four hours of fighting had resulted in only three deaths on the enemy side and five on the Muslim side. Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh, a chief of the Aws tribe and a devotee of the Prophet, was wounded. Repeated attacks on the ditch, however, resulted in some damage, and this made further attack easier. Great scenes of valour and of loyalty were witnessed. It was a cold night, perhaps the coldest in Arabia. We have on the authority of Ayesha, the Prophet’s holy consort that the Prophet rose from his sleep again and again to guard the damaged part of the ditch. He became exhausted. He returned to bed but then, having warmed himself a little, went again to guard the ditch. One day he was so exhausted that he seemed quite unable to move. Then he said he wished some devoted Muslim would come and relieve him of the physical labour of guarding the ditch in the cold of the night. Soon he heard a voice. It was Sa‘d bin Waqqas. The Prophet asked him why he had come. "To guard your person," said Sa‘d. "There is no need to guard my person," said the Prophet "A part of the ditch is damaged. Go and guard it that Muslims may be safe. " Sa‘d went, and the Prophet was able to sleep. (There was some coincidence. For when the Prophet arrived at Medina and danger to his person was very great, even then it was Sa‘d who offered himself for a guard. ) On another occasion during these difficult days, the Prophet heard the sound of arms. "Who is it?" asked the Prophet. " ‘Abbad bin Bishr," was the reply. "Have you anyone else with you?" asked the Prophet. "Yes," said ‘Abbad, "A party of Companions. We will guard your tent. " "Leave my tent alone. The disbelievers are trying to cross the ditch. Go and fight them. " 180 As we said before, the Jews tried to enter the town surreptitiously. A Jewish spy lost his life in the effort. When they found that their intrigue had become known, they began to help the Arab confederates more openly. A concerted attack in the rear, however, was not attempted, because the field on this side was narrow and with the posting of the Muslim guards a large-scale attack had become impossible. But a few