The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 472
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 472 tied to it. 1 This starvation, coupled with the other hardships of war, had put the Muslims in a very difficult situation. The apprehension of constant threat also took its toll on their hearts, minds, and nerves. Naturally, the greatest burden of this strain was upon the Holy Prophet sa. Ummi Salamah ra relates that: “I have accompanied the Holy Prophet sa on many Ghazwāt, but none were as severe as the Ghazwah of the Ditch. The Holy Prophet sa was compelled to bear extreme hardship and discomfort. The Companions were also confronted with extreme adversity. Furthermore, these days were of immense cold and financial hardship. ” 2 On the other hand, the Holy Prophet sa had generally gathered the women and children of the city in a special area, which could be likened to a fortress. 3 However, a sufficient number of Muslims could not be made available to adequately protect them. Especially at such times when the enemy onslaught in the battlefield was at full force, the Muslim women and children would practically be left unguarded, and only such men would be left to protect them who for some reason or other, were unfit for the field of battle. Therefore, capitalising on a situation like the one just mentioned, the Jews proposed to attack one such area of the city where the women and children had gathered. These people sent a spy ahead of them to assess the situation in this quarter of the city. It so happened that the only person present near the women at the time was Ḥassān bin Thabit, the poet, who was unable to go to the battlefield due to his being very weak at heart. 4 When the women 1 Sunanut-Tirmidhī, Kitābuz-Zuhd, Bābu Mā Jā’a Fī Ma‘īshati Aṣḥābin-Nabiyyi sa , Ḥadīth No. 2371 2 * Tārīkhul-Khamīs Fī Aḥwāli Anfasi Nafīs, By Ḥusain bin Muḥammad bin Ḥasan, Volume 1, p. 485, Ghazwatul-Khandaqi, Mu’assasatu Sha‘bān, Beirut 3 * As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 625, Ghazwatul- Khandaqi Fī Shawwālin Sanata Khamsin, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) * Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 282, Ghazwatu Rasūlillāhi sa Al-Khandaqa Wa Hiyal-Aḥzābu, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) * Tārīkhul-Khamīs Fī Aḥwāli Anfasi Nafīs, By Ḥusain bin Muḥammad bin Ḥasan, Volume 1, p. 483, Ghazwatul-Khandaqi, Mu’assasatu Sha‘bān, Beirut 4 * Tārīkhul-Khamīs Fī Aḥwāli Anfasi Nafīs, By Ḥusain bin Muḥammad bin Ḥasan, Volume 1, p. 489, Ghazwatul-Khandaqi, Mu’assasatu Sha‘bān, Beirut * As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, pp. 629-630, Ghazwatul- Khandaqi Fī Shawwālin Sanata Khamsin, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001)