Lessons of the Prophet’s Life

LESSONS OF THE PROPHET’S LIFE however, was vehemently opposed to this. They contended that if we remained in the town, the enemy would interpret it as a sign of cowardice and weakness: they should take the fight outside the city. ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy, however, concurred with the opinion of the leading companions.34 There were reasonable grounds for the view that the attack should be met from within the city. The geography of Madinah had all the makings of a natural defence system. To the south were orchards of date-palms, so thickly clustered as to make an attack impossible from that side. To the east and west, high mountains provided a natural barrier to any invader. There was only one front from which Madinah could be attacked. The city itself was a natural fortress. To leave it amounted to exposing oneself to an enemy attack on all four sides, whereas from within the town, only one front would have to be defended. And indeed, Madinah’s favourable location was subsequently taken advantage of in the battle, later known as the Battle of the Trench, in which the entire city was protected by the simple expedient of digging a trench on the open front to the northwest of the town. Although most of the leading companions, as well as ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy, were in favour of meeting the attack from within the city, the Prophet decided to accede to the wishes of the younger Muslims: along with an army of one thousand, he left the city and set off for Uhud. ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy was deeply offended to find that his wise and proper advice had been over-ruled. He followed the army