It is narrated from Sayyida Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her), she says: I have not forgotten these words of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the day of the Trench, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) was handing bricks to the noble Companions, and the hair of his blessed chest had become dusty, and he was saying: O Allah! The real goodness is the goodness of the Hereafter, so forgive the Ansar and the Muhajirin. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: Woe to the son of Sumayyah, for a rebellious group will kill him. Hasan ibn Sirin says: I mentioned this hadith before Muhammad ibn Sirin, so he said: Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mention Ammar’s mother by name? I said: Yes, because she (Sumayyah, may Allah be pleased with her) used to come and go to Sayyida Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to dig the trench. During the digging, a rock appeared at a certain spot where the pickaxes would not work. The noble Companions complained about it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) came, and Sayyiduna ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) says,“I think Sayyiduna Bara’ (may Allah be pleased with him) also stated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came and put his garment aside and went towards the rock. He (peace and blessings be upon him) took the pickaxe, recited ‘Bismillah’, and struck it hard; one third of the rock broke off. He (peace and blessings be upon him) proclaimed loudly: ‘Allahu Akbar! The keys of Syria have been given to me. By Allah! At this moment, from this very place, I am seeing the red palaces of Syria.’ Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited ‘Bismillah’ again and struck the pickaxe again; another third of the rock broke off. He (peace and blessings be upon him) proclaimed loudly: ‘Allahu Akbar! The keys of Persia have been given to me. By Allah! At this moment, from this very place, I am seeing Mada’in and its white palace.’ Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited ‘Bismillah’ and struck the pickaxe for the third time, and the remaining rock shattered into pieces. He (peace and blessings be upon him) proclaimed loudly: ‘Allahu Akbar! The keys of Yemen have been given to me, and at this moment, from this very place, I am seeing the gates of Sana’a.’

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the day of the Battle of the Trench, when the disbelievers were hiding behind their shields, Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) demonstrated by holding his shield in front of his nose, showing how a man holds his shield in front of himself, and then sometimes lowers it to look towards the opponents. He says: I reached for my quiver and took out a blood-stained arrow, placed it on the bow, and when that disbeliever lowered his shield a little, I immediately shot the arrow. I remember well that the arrow struck such-and-such part of the shield, and he fell down, and his legs began to tremble. Seeing this scene, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed so heartily that his molar teeth became visible. I asked: What was the reason for your laughter? Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Upon seeing the condition of that man.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sulaiman bin Surad (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said on the occasion of the Battle of Ahzab: "After today, we will attack them; they will no longer attack us."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said on the day of the Battle of Ahzab: May Allah fill their houses and graves with fire; they kept us occupied from the middle prayer, that is, the Asr prayer.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the day of the Battle of the Trench, we were prevented from performing the prayer until the time after Maghrib had passed. In another narration, it is stated: until a part of the night had passed. This was at a time when the detailed rulings regarding fighting had not yet been revealed. When Allah helped us in the battle, as Allah Almighty says: {وَکَفیٰ اللّٰہُ الْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ الْقِتَالَ وَکَانَ اللّٰہُ قَوِیًّا عَزِیْزًا۔} … Allah was sufficient for the believers in the battle, and Allah is All-Powerful, All-Dominant over all. Then the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him), so he gave the iqamah for Zuhr, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led the prayer in the same manner as he would in its original time. Then he gave the iqamah for Asr, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led the prayer in the same manner as he would at its time. Then he gave the iqamah for Maghrib, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led the Maghrib prayer in the same manner as he would at its time.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the day of the Battle of Ahzab, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came towards the mosque, placed his cloak down, stood up and raised his hands to supplicate against the disbelievers, and did not perform the prayer. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) came again, supplicated against them, and led the prayer.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) invoked curses upon the groups of disbelievers and said: O Revealer of the Book, O Swift in reckoning, O Defeater of armies and groups! Defeat them and shake their feet.

It is narrated from Muhammad bin Ka'b Qarzi that a young man from among us in Kufa said to Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him): O Abu Abdullah! Did you people see the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and keep his company? He said: Yes, nephew. He asked: What was your attitude and behavior towards him (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: By Allah! In those days, we were in severe hardship. So the young man said: By Allah! If we had found your time, we would not have let the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) walk on the ground, and we would have carried him on our shoulders. Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O nephew, I saw us, the Companions, with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at the time of the Trench (Khandaq). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed for a long time at night, then turned to us and said: Who is there who will get up and go to see what the enemy is doing? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set a condition (guarantee) that if he returns, Allah will admit him to Paradise. No man stood up. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed for a long time, then turned to us and said: Who is there who will go and see what the enemy is doing? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set a condition, a guarantee, that he will return. I will pray to Allah that he will be my companion in Paradise. But due to the intensity of fear of the enemy, the severity of hunger, and the severity of cold, no one stood up. When no one stood up, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called me. Since he called me specifically, I had no choice but to get up. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Hudhayfah! Go and infiltrate among the enemy and see what they are doing. And do not do anything unusual until you return to us. Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I went and joined them. A fierce wind and Allah's armies were causing havoc. Because of the fierce wind, neither their pots stayed in place, nor their fire, nor their tents. Meanwhile, Abu Sufyan bin Harb stood up and said: O Quraysh! Let every man see who is sitting with him. Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I quickly grabbed the hand of the man next to me and asked: Who are you? He told me: I am so-and-so, son of so-and-so. Then Abu Sufyan said: O group of Quraysh! Now you cannot stay at this place. All the horses have perished. And Banu Qurayzah have broken their promise with us. What they have done to us is extremely unpleasant to us, and you see the situation of the fierce wind. By Allah! Our pots are not staying anywhere. The fire does not burn, and the tents are not staying in place. Prepare to depart. I am going. Then he got up towards his camel, whose feet were tied with a rope. He sat on it, struck it, but had not untied its rope, so the camel tried to get up three times, but finally stood up. If it were not for the covenant not to do anything unusual until returning to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I could have killed him with a single arrow if I wanted. Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Then I returned to the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). At that time, he was praying, wrapped in a decorated woolen cloak of one of his wives. When he saw me, he brought me into his tent and covered me with one side of the cloak. He was in the cloak. He bowed and prostrated in that state. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the prayer with salam, I told him the whole matter. And when Banu Ghatafan heard all that Quraysh had done, they turned their camels towards their homeland.

Yazid narrated to us that Muhammad bin Umar narrated to us from his father, and he from his grandfather Alqamah bin Waqas. He said that Lady Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated to me that on the day of the Trench (Khandaq), I set out following the footprints of the people. I heard the sound of someone walking on the ground behind me. When I turned around, it was Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him), and with him was his nephew Sayyiduna Harith bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with him), carrying a shield. Umm al-Mu’minin (may Allah be pleased with her) says: Seeing them, I sat down on the ground. When Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by, I saw that he was wearing an iron coat of mail. His arms and legs were exposed outside the armor. I feared for those parts of Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) that the enemy might attack them. Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) was taller than all the people. As he passed by, he was reciting this rajaz (poetry):“Would that the camel could show some of its strength and bravery in battle. How beautiful is death when its time comes—it must come.”… 1 (Would that the camel could display some of its strength and bravery in battle; how good is death when its time comes—it is bound to come.) Umm al-Mu’minin (may Allah be pleased with her) says: After he passed by, I got up and went to a garden. There were some Muslims present there, among them Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). There was a man there who had a helmet of iron on his head! (For research on the words and explanation of the poem, see Musnad Ahmad, Muhaqqiq, vol. 42, p. 27.)

He was also wearing protective iron gear that covered his neck and the front part of his armor. When Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw me, he said,“Why have you come? By my life! By Allah! You are very brave. Did you not fear that some trouble might occur, or a severe battle might break out, or the enemy might capture you?”Sayyida (may Allah be pleased with her) says that he kept reproaching me until I wished that the earth would split open for me right then and I would go into it. The armed man removed the gear from his face, and it was Talha bin Ubaidullah (may Allah be pleased with him). He said,“Umar! It is a matter of great regret. Today you have been very harsh. Where is the battle, and to whom can one flee except Allah?”Sayyida (may Allah be pleased with her) says: While he was saying this, a polytheist from the Quraysh, whose name was Ibn al-‘Arqah, took aim and shot an arrow at him, saying,“I am Ibn al-‘Arqah, take this arrow from me.”The arrow struck him on the Akhil vein of his arm and severed it. Sayyiduna Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) immediately prayed to Allah, saying,“O Allah, do not let me die until You cool my eyes regarding Banu Qurayza.”Sayyida (may Allah be pleased with her) says: Banu Qurayza were their allies and companions in the time of ignorance, i.e., before Islam. Sayyida Umm al-Mu’minin (may Allah be pleased with her) says: Blood started to flow from his wound. Allah sent a fierce wind upon the polytheists, and it sufficed the believers in the battle. Allah is Most Powerful and Dominant over all. Abu Sufyan and his companions went towards Tihamah, and Uyainah bin Badr and his companions went towards Najd, and Banu Qurayza returned and locked themselves in their forts. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) returned to Madinah, put down his weapons, and ordered a leather tent to be set up for Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) in the mosque. Umm al-Mu’minin (may Allah be pleased with her) says: During this time, Jibreel (peace be upon him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and there were still traces of dust on his teeth. He said,“(O Messenger of Allah) Have you put down your weapons? By Allah! The angels have not yet put down their weapons. Set out towards Banu Qurayza and fight them.”Umm al-Mu’minin (may Allah be pleased with her) says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) put on his weapons and ordered the people to set out (towards Banu Qurayza). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out and passed by Banu Ghanm, who were neighbors of the mosque. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked,“Who has just passed by you?”They said,“Dihyah Kalbi (may Allah be pleased with him) has just passed by us.”Dihyah Kalbi’s beard, teeth, and face resembled Jibreel (peace be upon him). Umm al-Mu’minin (may Allah be pleased with her) says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went towards Banu Qurayza and besieged them for twenty-five (25) nights. When the siege became severe and their hardship increased, it was said to them,“Be content with the decision of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).”They consulted Abu Lubabah bin Abd al-Mundhir (may Allah be pleased with him), and he indicated to them by gesture that he (the Prophet) would slaughter and kill you. Banu Qurayza said,“We are content with the decision of Sa’d bin Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him).”So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“Accept his decision.”They also agreed to this. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a message to Sa’d bin Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) and called him. He was brought riding on a donkey with a saddle made of palm leaves. He was made to ride the donkey, and his people were around him. They said,“O Abu Amr! They are your allies and friends, and they have broken their covenant. Their intention was that you should decide carefully.”You are well aware of all their circumstances. He listened to their words in silence and did not reply to any of them, nor did he look towards them. When he reached near the houses of Banu Qurayza, he turned to his people and said,“Now such a time has come upon me that I do not care about the blame of any blamer for the sake of Allah.”Abu Sa’id (the narrator) says: When Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“Stand up and go to your chief and help him down from the donkey.”Upon hearing this, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“Our chief (master, lord) is Allah.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“Help him down, help him down.”The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him,“You decide about them.”Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“I decide that those among them who fought against the Muslims should be killed, their women and children should be taken captive, and their wealth should be distributed among the Muslims as spoils of war.”Upon hearing his decision, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said,“You have given a decision about them that is exactly in accordance with the decision and will of Allah and His Messenger.”Umm al-Mu’minin (may Allah be pleased with her) says: Then Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed,“O Allah! If there is any battle left between Your Prophet and the Quraysh, then keep me alive to participate in that battle, and if there is no battle left between Your Prophet and the Quraysh, then take me to Yourself.”His wound burst open, although it had almost healed and only a wound the size of an earring remained. After making this decision, Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) returned to the tent that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had set up for him. Umm al-Mu’minin (may Allah be pleased with her) says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) went to him. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, I could distinguish the voices of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) crying separately in my room. The love among these Companions was as Allah Almighty has said: {رُحَمَآئُ بَیْنَہُمْ} that these Companions are extremely compassionate and merciful to one another. Alqamah says: I asked,“Mother! What would the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) do on such occasions?”She replied,“His eyes would not shed tears at anyone’s death, but when he was grieved, he would hold his blessed beard in his hand.”