Microsoft Word When the Moon Split Final

Digging the trench 
When the news of the coalition reached Madinah, the 
Prophet conferred with his Companions as to strategy. The 
Muslims being so heavily outnumbered, it was imperative that 
they come up with an impenetrable defence. Salman Al-Farsi 
advised that the Muslims should dig a trench to keep the enemy 
away, and everyone approved of the suggestion. 
Madinah was naturally fortified on three fronts, with volcanic 
plains and granite hills to the east, west and south; the city was 

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exposed only on the north, from where the enemy forces could 
launch an assault. Therefore, the Prophet chose to fortify that 
front. He marked the narrowest spot stretching between the east 
and west and covering a distance of about one mile. Both belts 
were connected at this spot by the trench. In the west, the trench 
began from the north of the Sal’a hills and joined the end of the 
easterly belt at Shaykhayn. 
The Prophet divided his men into units of ten with each 
responsible for diffing forty cubits. He himself participated in the 
task of digging the trench and carrying the loads of earth. It was a 
massive undertaking, and the Muslims worked steadily. Their 
morale soared as they relied on their faith in Allah and their 
devotion to His Prophet for moral sustenance. The 
Companions sang praises of Allah and the Prophet joined in. 
When the Prophet sang the Companions responded. They bore 
with quiet heroism the rigorous hardships before them, 
particularly the biting cold and gnawing hunger. A handful of 
barley was procured and cooked in rancid, foul smelling fat. 
Swallowing the food was a challenge in itself. 
Once a man went to the Prophet complaining of 
debilitating hunger. As proof, each showed him a slab of stone 
tied to his belly to stave off the hunger pangs. The Prophet
lifted his shirt. Tied to his abdomen were two slabs of stone. 
The pagans had clamoured for miracles to confirm the divine 
nature of the Prophet’s message. Allah had sent them signs that 
they ignored. During the excavation of the trench, Allah sent the 
Muslims several signs of His grace, signs that increased their faith 
and sustained them through adversity. 
On one occasion, Jabir bin Abdullah could not bear to see 
the Prophet assailed by severe hunger. He slaughtered a ewe, and 
his wife ground about 2 ½ kilograms of barley. He then went to 
the Prophet and discretely invited him and a few of the 
Prophet’s Companions. The Prophet accepted the invitation, 

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but brought everyone along – all one thousand of them. Everyone 
ate until he was full, but the pot remained replete and the bread 
continued to bake unchecked. 
Similarly, once, the sister of Nu’man bin Bashir took a 
handful of dates for her father and maternal uncle. The Prophet 
took the dates and scattered them on a cloth. He then called all 
the men as they worked away from the trench. Each of them ate 
to his fill and left, but the dates kept multiplying and could barely 
be contained within the cloth. 
The soil the men encountered was rocky and obdurate. Jabir 
and his group struck a particularly rocky patch that failed all their 
efforts. The problem was brought to the notice of the Prophet , 
and he struck it with his pick, it crumbled into a mound of pliant 
sand. 
Other obstacles became oracles with Allah’s grace. Baraa and 
his unit came across a large rock. The Prophet knelt and said 
Bismillah before he used his pick. A piece of the rock came loose 
with a light emerging from it. The Prophet said, “Allahu Akbar! 
The keys of Syria have been given to me, and right now I see its 
red castle.” 
The Prophet then struck a second blow with his pick and 
received the tidings of the imminent victory over Persia; the last 
blow signified the conquest of Yemen. In this way the entire rock 
was demolished, with each blow bringing the Muslims hope.