Dawah Power

Dawah Power

1986 5 May 30-31 Dawah Power (720) The Battle of the Trench took place in the year 5AH, when 10,000 armed men, under Abu Sufyan’s command, besieged Medina. The town of the Prophet was engulfed in deep crisis, summed up in these words of the Quran:

“The eyes were blurred, the hearts lept to the throats ...” (33 : 10).

So great was the strain upon the people of Medina at this time that one of the Muslims had this to say:

“Mohammad used to promise us that we would inherit the treasures of Khusrau and Caesar. Yet here we are today, not even able to proceed to relieve ourselves in safety.”

(Seerat Ibn Hisham, Vo. III, p. 239)

The Prophet used to keep himself informed of the movements of the enemy both in times of peace and war. When Abu Sufyan’s army set out from Mecca, the Prophet heard about their progress. He called his followers together for consultation, and asked them what should be done to protect the city.

It was Salman Farsi who suggested that a trench be dug around the city. On one side of Medina a string of date palms afforded natural protection, but the north-eastern and north-western faces of the city were exposed. A trench, about 5,000 feet long, seven to ten feet deep and ten feet wide, was dug on the exposed fronts.

The Muslim historian Ibn Kathir has written, on the authority of Tabari and Suhaili, that the first person to dig a trench of this nature was the Persian king Manuchahr, the son of Faridun. This king was a contemporary of Moses. Salman Farsi was, as his name suggests, of Persian origin, and he was well acquainted with this technique. He told the Prophet of the method Iranian people used to employ for defence against cavalry charges. The Prophet liked the idea, and himself joined with his companions in digging the trench.

The Persian origins of this technique can seen from the fact that the Arabic word for a trench – Khunduq – also has its roots in the Persian language. Originally the Persian word was Kanda, meaning literally something which has been dug. From Kanda was derived the word kandak, which in Arabic became Khunduq. The reaction of the Meccan army when they set eyes on the trench bears witness to their unfamiliarity with this technique. “By God,” they exclaimed, “This is a ploy which Arabs have never used. “

What strikes one here is this: the Prophet and his Companions were Arabs too, just as those who were attacking them were Arabs. How was it, then, that the Muslims found someone to inform them of this Persian technique, while their Meccan adversaries found no such person?

The reason for this difference was that the Muslim community was a dynamic unit, fired by the force of a faith that was spreading fast among other nations. As people from foreign lands entered the fold of Islam, the Muslims benefited from their new coreligionists’ own particular expertise and experience. Meccan society, by contrast, was in a state of stultification, its doors closed both to the dissemination and assimilation of new ideas. This was a special advantage which Muslim society enjoyed over other societies. Muslims themselves were spurred to communicate their faith to other nations; as a result they gained access to individuals such as Salman Farsi, who taught them the ways of Persia. The Arabs of Mecca, on the other hand, had nothing with which to attract such people, so they remained bereft of the knowledge which would have come with an influx of new people and ideas into their society.

If one looks at these two things together – the Muslims’ knowledge of Persian tactics and the Meccans ignorance of them one can see what a great asset it is for a community to be driven by the strength of true conviction. As it communicates its message to other nations, it also assimilates know-how from those with whom it comes into contact. A society which is not fired by such missionary spirit remains a stagnant one, which no one takes anything from, or adds anything to.

It was the power of Dawah – communication of the message of Islam – which put Muslim society at an advantage over all its opponents. Only with revival of the Dawah spirit can then advantage be restored.