The Enemy’s last attempt.
Nothing further was attempted by the enemy that day; but great preparations were made during the night, Khalid with a strong party of horsemen vainly attempting to clear the ditch Next morning the Muslims found the whole force of the enemy marshalled against them along the line of entrenchment. They sought to gain the Muslim side of the Trench, but were repelled at every point. The Trench, fully served its purpose; it could not be crossed, and during the whole operation only five Muslims were killed. The enemy, notwithstanding their large numbers, were paralysed by the vigilance of the Muslim outposts. In their utter frustration they regarded the Trench as an unworthy subterfuge, being a foreign artifice with which no Arab was acquainted..
Infidelity of the Quraitza Jews.
Meanwhile Abu Sufyan demanded of the Quraitza Jews the fulfilment of their engagement to join in a general but the Jews doubted the attack on the following day; Quraish and their allies and feared that if the struggle proved a failure, the besiegers might conveniently withdraw and leave them to their fate. They accordingly demanded hostages in security against such an event, and pleaded their Sabbath as a pretext for not fighting the following day. This attitude aroused, in turn, the suspicions of the Quraish that the Jews, for making their
peace with Muhammad, were demanding hostages of them for the purpose of handing them over to Muhammad. Abu Sufyan and his confederate chiefs were greatly disheartened. Their hope so long centred on the Quraitza Jews falling upon the city in the rear of the Prophet’s defences, was now changed into a fear of hostilities from the treacherous Quraitza themselves.
Troubles in the enemy’s Camp.
Dispirited at the loss of their bravest General, Amr b. Abd Wudd, and wearied, as they were, after the two vigorous but unsuccessful attempts, the Quraish and their allies had no courage to attempt another general assault. Discord was also rife among them. The Bedouins had no forage for their camels and horses, which were dying daily in considerable numbers. Provisions were running short. Above all, the weather was intolerably troublesome to them. Night set in upon them cold and tempestuous. A storm of wind and rain blew dust in their faces, overturned their tents, extinguished their fires, overthrew their cooking vessels, and sent their horses astray. They exclaimed that it was all due to witchcraft and enchantment of Mu- hammad, who would be seen shortly falling upon them with his whole force, and they were greatly struck with terror.
The Prophet who was in earnest prayer for the last three days appealed to the Almighty for his help in these words: “O Lord! Revealer of the Sacred Book, Who art swift in taking account turn the confederate host! Turn them to flight, O Lord, and make them quake.” The
1 Tafsir Durr Manthur; Sirat Mohammediya; Sirat-al-Halabia Tarikh-al-Khamis; Rawdzat-al-Ahbab.
fourth night, when he had finished his prayers, he asked if any one was willing to go to the camp of the enemy to spy on their activities. He promised Paradise to the person who might venture out for that purpose. Huzhaifa readily responded to the call and proceeded in the darkness of the night to the camp of the enemy where he saw devastations wrought by the tempest, and found Abu Sufyan in a gloomy mood. He came back to his camp, and reported in detail to the Holy Prophet what he had seen of the enemy. He was delighted to find his appeal to God being answered. “O true believers! Remember the favour of God towards you, when hosts (of infidels) came upon you and We sent against them a wind, and hosts (of Angels which) ye saw not, and God beheld what ye did.” (Sura xxxiii-9).
Siege raised by the Enemy
Either upset by the severity of the weather or struck with terror at this manifestation of Heavenly Wrath, after the loss of their best warrior at the hands of Ali, Abu Sufyan precipitately decided to raise the siege and to march back at once. Summoning the allied Chiefs, he made known to them his resolve. Issuing orders to break up the camp and immediately mounting his camel, he hastily made his way to Mecca followed by his armies; Khalid, with two hundred horses, guarded the rear against pursuit. The Ghatafans and the Bedouin allies retired to the desert from where they had come and not a single. soul was to be seen in the field.
In the morning the Muslims discovered to their great joy the sudden disappearance of the enemy and found. themselves unexpectedly relieved.They broke up their camp, in which they had been suffering the hardships of the siege for the last twenty-four days in the month of Shawwal-ZILQAD, 5 A.H. (or February- March 627 A.D.), and as soon as they received permission from the Prophet to leave the ground beside the hill of “Sila’ they dispersed with the greatest alacrity to their homes.
Aal-e-Qutub Aal-e-Syed Abdullah Shah Ghazi 