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Ghazwah Ahzaab took place in 4th or 5th AH. Another name of this Ghazwah is 'Ghazwah Khandaq' (the holy war of the trench). When the Jews of Banu Nudayr tribe were exiled, in retaliation their chiefs went to Makkah and enticed the unbelievers of Makkah to launch war against the Holy Rasool and promised them that they would support them. Therefore, these Jews supported the unbelievers of Makkah by bribing them with a huge amount of wealth and a huge number of weapons to launch an attack on Madinah. Abu Sufyan united and mobilized a lot of tribes of the Jews and the unbelievers of Makkah and invaded Madinah. A few people of Makkah, from the tribe of Khuza'ah informed the Noble Rasool about this conspiracy. Therefore, the Holy N abi ordered for digging a trench in the outskirts of Madinah as proposed by Sayyiduna Salman Farsi. The Holy Nabi personally participated with other Muslims in digging of this trench.
The moment the Muslims completed the digging of the trench, right at that time; a well-equipped army of the unbelievers invaded holy Madinah from three sides. The army of unbelievers rushed so forcefully that the atmosphere of Madinah became hazy and grimy. Now see the description of this horrific battle in the Quranic words:
When the disbelievers came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes remained stagnant in astonishment and the hearts came up to the throats, and you began to think of various thoughts ( of hope and despair) regarding Allah. That proved to be the testing ground for the Muslims, and they were shaken with a severe shock.
[Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran)J (Part 21, Surah Al-Ahzaab, Ayah 10-11)
In this holy war, the hypocrites who apparently stood shoulder to shoulder with the Muslims, after seeing the enemy's army, they became coward and scooted away. Thus, their concealed hypocrisy was revealed. They started seeking lame excuses to quit the war and sought permission to hide in their homes. But, the loyal and the faithful Ansaar and Muhajireen fought the enemy with wonderful bravery. Their faithful loyalty and their bravery are described in the Holy Quran in the following words:
And when the Muslims saw the armies of disbelievers, they said, 'This is that which Allah and His Messenger promised us. Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth.' And it did not increase anything for them (the Muslims) but faith and being pleased with the pleasure of Allah.
[Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran)J (Part 21, Surah Al-Ahzaab, Ayah 22)
When pagans saw the trench surrounding Madinah as an unsurpassable hurdle in their way, they were astounded. They hysterically exclaimed, 'This is such a novel strategy that the people of Arab were unaware of until now'. However, pagans shot arrows and stones upon the Muslims from the edge of the trench. At some places, some of the pagans managed to cross the trench and a severe battle took place between the both sides. Although the Muslims were worried but there was not even a slightest weakening in their determination and courage. They were confidently fighting the enemy.
All of a sudden, the help from Allah came in the form of an abrupt and furious storm which emerged from the east. In fact, it was Divine torment that struck the unbelievers. Their cauldrons and cooking pots on the stoves blew away, their tents collapsed, an utter darkness fell everywhere and a surge of extreme coldness made the pagans
stumble. Then Allah sent an army of angels and their horror was so severe that the hearts of pagans started quivering. They were depressed, horror-stricken and hysterically haunted with fear to such an extent that they had no remedy other than to retreat.
Therefore, the chieftain of the unbelievers, Abu Sufyan made an announcement within his army that the entire ration has finished. The weather is severely dangerous, and the Jews have also withdrawn their support.
Therefore, under these circumstances, the
siege of Madinah is useless. After saying this,
he blew the kettledrum of departure and scooted away from the battlefield leaving behind lots of possessions. Other tribes also dispersed and ran away. After a passage of fifteen or twenty-four days, the hazy atmosphere of Madinah cleared up.
(Madarij-un-Nubuwwah (Persian), vol. 2, pp. 172-173)
It is the very same storm of Ghazwah Ahzaab which has been mentioned by Allah in the Holy Quran in the following words:
0 believers! Remember the Favour of Allah upon you when some armies came to (attack) you, so We sent on them a windstorm and the armies which you did not see. [Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran)J (Part 21, Surah Al-Ahzaab, Ayah 9)
Moral:
From this event, we get the moral lesson that whenever the Muslims are battling against the unbelievers in the battlefield, they should fight the battle with perseverance and firm belief that the unseen help of Allah will definitely descend for them. But the condition for Divine help is the purity of intention, perseverance, and an unceasing striding with patience. Therefore, in the battles of Badr, Uhud and Ahzaab, which were fought between the Muslims and the pagans, this reality was evident that even though, there were apparently hardships and difficulties for the Muslims, but when the Muslims showed determination, the Divine help joined them and within a wink of an eye, the state of affairs in the battlefield was completely changed and the Muslims were blessed with victory and the unbelievers, despite being huge in numbers and resources, were defeated.
The moment the Muslims completed the digging of the trench, right at that time; a well-equipped army of the unbelievers invaded holy Madinah from three sides. The army of unbelievers rushed so forcefully that the atmosphere of Madinah became hazy and grimy. Now see the description of this horrific battle in the Quranic words:
When the disbelievers came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes remained stagnant in astonishment and the hearts came up to the throats, and you began to think of various thoughts ( of hope and despair) regarding Allah. That proved to be the testing ground for the Muslims, and they were shaken with a severe shock.
[Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran)J (Part 21, Surah Al-Ahzaab, Ayah 10-11)
In this holy war, the hypocrites who apparently stood shoulder to shoulder with the Muslims, after seeing the enemy's army, they became coward and scooted away. Thus, their concealed hypocrisy was revealed. They started seeking lame excuses to quit the war and sought permission to hide in their homes. But, the loyal and the faithful Ansaar and Muhajireen fought the enemy with wonderful bravery. Their faithful loyalty and their bravery are described in the Holy Quran in the following words:
And when the Muslims saw the armies of disbelievers, they said, 'This is that which Allah and His Messenger promised us. Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth.' And it did not increase anything for them (the Muslims) but faith and being pleased with the pleasure of Allah.
[Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran)J (Part 21, Surah Al-Ahzaab, Ayah 22)
When pagans saw the trench surrounding Madinah as an unsurpassable hurdle in their way, they were astounded. They hysterically exclaimed, 'This is such a novel strategy that the people of Arab were unaware of until now'. However, pagans shot arrows and stones upon the Muslims from the edge of the trench. At some places, some of the pagans managed to cross the trench and a severe battle took place between the both sides. Although the Muslims were worried but there was not even a slightest weakening in their determination and courage. They were confidently fighting the enemy.
All of a sudden, the help from Allah came in the form of an abrupt and furious storm which emerged from the east. In fact, it was Divine torment that struck the unbelievers. Their cauldrons and cooking pots on the stoves blew away, their tents collapsed, an utter darkness fell everywhere and a surge of extreme coldness made the pagans
stumble. Then Allah sent an army of angels and their horror was so severe that the hearts of pagans started quivering. They were depressed, horror-stricken and hysterically haunted with fear to such an extent that they had no remedy other than to retreat.
Therefore, the chieftain of the unbelievers, Abu Sufyan made an announcement within his army that the entire ration has finished. The weather is severely dangerous, and the Jews have also withdrawn their support.
Therefore, under these circumstances, the
siege of Madinah is useless. After saying this,
he blew the kettledrum of departure and scooted away from the battlefield leaving behind lots of possessions. Other tribes also dispersed and ran away. After a passage of fifteen or twenty-four days, the hazy atmosphere of Madinah cleared up.
(Madarij-un-Nubuwwah (Persian), vol. 2, pp. 172-173)
It is the very same storm of Ghazwah Ahzaab which has been mentioned by Allah in the Holy Quran in the following words:
0 believers! Remember the Favour of Allah upon you when some armies came to (attack) you, so We sent on them a windstorm and the armies which you did not see. [Kanz-ul-Iman (Translation of Quran)J (Part 21, Surah Al-Ahzaab, Ayah 9)
Moral:
From this event, we get the moral lesson that whenever the Muslims are battling against the unbelievers in the battlefield, they should fight the battle with perseverance and firm belief that the unseen help of Allah will definitely descend for them. But the condition for Divine help is the purity of intention, perseverance, and an unceasing striding with patience. Therefore, in the battles of Badr, Uhud and Ahzaab, which were fought between the Muslims and the pagans, this reality was evident that even though, there were apparently hardships and difficulties for the Muslims, but when the Muslims showed determination, the Divine help joined them and within a wink of an eye, the state of affairs in the battlefield was completely changed and the Muslims were blessed with victory and the unbelievers, despite being huge in numbers and resources, were defeated.
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