Lessons from The Battle of Khandak (with British Sign Language) - Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Khutbah al-Ula: Opening

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا، وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ، وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ.

The Quranic Chapters Dedicated to Major Battles

There are certain chapters and surahs of the Quran that Allah has dedicated to certain incidents that took place in the life of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — for example, the battle of Badr mentioned in Surah al-Anfal, the battle of Uhud mentioned in Surah Al-Imran, the battle of Tabuk mentioned in Surah al-Tawbah, and so on and so forth. Different places, different incidents that took place in the life of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — Allah mentioned certain surahs and passages in the Quran that dealt with some of those major incidents: lessons, principles, benefits that we can derive.

It is one of those incidents and one of those passages of the Quran that I want to share with you today, and that is the Battle of the Trench — the Battle of Khandaq, also known as the Battle of Al-Ahzab, mentioned in the surah named after this battle: Surah Al-Ahzab.

The Battle of Khandaq: A Brief Overview

This battle took place in the 5th year of the Hijrah and it is a well-known incident, a well-known battle that took place in Islam. But briefly, to summarize and to recap: in the 5th year of the Hijrah, the confederation of armies of Arabia came and laid siege to the city of Medina. This was no longer a battle just between the Muslims and Quraish — like in Badr, like in Uhud. This time there were different tribes that came alongside Quraish: we had the people of Banu Fazara and Ghatafan and Banu Sulaym and all of these different tribes from Najd and from the Hijaz and from the different provinces of Arabia gathered together and they came to fight the Muslims. Some narrations say that they were between 8 to 10 thousand in the army of the disbelievers — and just to put that into context, it is said that the whole population of Medina, men, women, and children, was less than that number.

They came and laid siege to the city of Medina in the month of Shawwal in the 5th year of the Hijrah. When the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ heard that they were coming — this big army that was coming to destroy Medina, their goal being to wipe out Islam, to kill the Muslims, to sack the city of Medina once and for all — the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ gathered the companions, as he would often do, and made consultation — asked them for their advice and their opinions. There were different positions from amongst the companions, but one of them was from the illustrious companion Salman al-Farisi, may Allah be pleased with him. Salman said: "O Messenger of Allah, back home in Persia, if we were in a similar situation, what we would do is dig a trench that was wide and deep in order to defend the city from attack."

Medina's geography, its topography, is such that it is surrounded by mountains and lava rock — there is only one place that is practical for an attack, and that is from the eastern direction. So the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ liked this idea and told the companions that, in preparation for this impending attack, they should start to dig. So they dug. The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and the companions — everyday they would go and dig this deep and wide trench. Even today, if you go to Medina, there is a place where they have built a masjid called Masjid al-Khandaq — the Mosque of the Trench — that is part of where that trench was dug.

They dug it before those enemies arrived. Those people came — their army, 8 to 10 thousand — and just to give you an idea of how difficult that situation was: the companions had to ration their food, ration their supplies, because they didn't have the luxury or the comfort or the ease to go and deal in business, to go and tend to their lands and cultivate their fields. They were worried for their existence, for their lives and the lives of their families and their children. So every day they would go and they would dig, and food was rationed to the extent that the companions would take stones and rocks and tie them to their bellies — to suppress that feeling of hunger, to fool the stomach into feeling that it was full when it was empty. And our Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ used to tie two stones whilst others used to tie one. That is how difficult the situation became.

There are numerous incidents and numerous benefits — it is a beautiful story as to how the companions and the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ went through those difficult days and weeks. But this isn't the time and place for all of that.

The army of Quraish and their confederates came and laid siege to the city of Medina. One of the things that is interesting about this battle — even though we call it a battle — is that there was very little actual fighting that took place. There were a few skirmishes, a few shooting of arrows, a few people who tried to break the trench from the side of Quraish and the non-believing army. But actually, in terms of actual fighting, it was very little, because the trench did what it was meant to do. They stayed there for over 20 days and nights laying siege to the city of Medina.

As the time progressed, because Quraish came with a very clear objective — thinking that it would be easy, that their numbers, their force, their might would make it a quick job — they came and they found a trench: something which the Arabs were not even familiar with. So after 20 days they began to have disputes amongst themselves, problems amongst themselves, because this was not looking like the quick and easy job they had anticipated.

So after 20, 22, 23, 24 nights, the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was making du'a to Allah, and Allah sent a fierce, violent wind on the camp of Quraish and the other armies. It blew away their tents, blew away their possessions, blew away the ropes tying their animals — so they started to flee and their whole camp went into disarray. Already demotivated and already ready to go home, they decided that they would simply leave and go back home.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ told us in the hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1035; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 900)

"I was helped with the Saba" — the Saba is the easterly strong wind that Allah sent to help the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. Those people left and went back home, and Allah gave victory to the Muslims. This, in a nutshell, is what took place in the Battle of Khandaq — the Battle of the Trench.

What the Quran Teaches Us from Khandaq

But what I want to focus on today is something that Allah mentions in Surah al-Ahzab. As we said, the Quran doesn't speak about the historical story in a full, play-by-play account. What the Quran always does is give us lessons and principles — it teaches you what you can learn from those incidents.

Allah in this surah — Surah al-Ahzab — as he is mentioning one of those principles, tells us something extremely interesting but also extremely important: the way that the companions reacted. And Allah mentions two reactions that they had.

The first is an emotional reaction — a natural reaction. If you and I, or anyone else, were in a similar situation to what those companions were in, we would react in the very same way. It is a natural way to react in moments of fear, moments of terror, moments when you are fearing for your life, for the lives of your family and your children. The second is how the companions then dealt with those emotions once they coupled it with iman, with knowledge, and with the understanding that they had of their religion — what they learned from the Quran and from the Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

The First Reaction: The Natural Human Response

Allah says concerning the first reaction:

"O you who believe, remember the favour of Allah upon you when the armies amassed against you" — the armies meaning the confederates — "so We sent upon them a violent wind and armies that were invisible to your eyes" — meaning the armies of angels that came and cast terror into the hearts and into the armies of Quraish — "and Allah is ever watchful of that which you do."

"When you saw those armies amassing from above you and from beneath you" — imagine being in the city of Medina, and there are only a couple of thousand of you — two, three, four thousand — and amongst you are the hypocrites, as Allah mentions in this surah. The hypocrites were there every single moment of the way saying: "There is no hope, there is no point in fighting, there is no possible way that you can escape this time. لَا مُقَامَ لَكُمْ فَارْجِعُوا — go home." And they themselves did that, as Allah mentions in Surah al-Ahzab: the munafiqun — the hypocrites — came to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and said, "إِنَّ بُيُوتَنَا عَوْرَةٌ — our houses are exposed, we are not going to defend the city, we have to go and look after our own dwellings, our own homes." So they left also.

And all of this is taking place, and the Muslims can see these thousands of enemy soldiers amassing, gathering outside with a single purpose: to kill everyone within the city of Medina.

So Allah says: وَإِذْ زَاغَتِ الْأَبْصَارُ — "your eyes began to roll in your heads." It is an expression to show how much fear was cast into the hearts of the believers — a natural reaction; anyone would be in a very similar way if they were in that situation. وَبَلَغَتِ الْقُلُوبُ الْحَنَاجِرَ — "and your hearts reached your throats" — meaning you are so overcome by terror you can barely speak; you don't know where to look, you don't know how to react, because of the severity of that situation.

وَتَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ الظُّنُونَا — "and you even thought ill of Allah" — because shaytan plays on those emotions. Shaytan waits for those times — when there is anger, or fear, or whatever it may be — shaytan uses that as an opportunity to plant those thoughts that are unbecoming of the believer. What are those thoughts? "Where is the victory of Allah that was promised? Didn't they tell us that Islam would be supreme? Didn't the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ say that he would protect us?" All of those different things playing in their minds, because what seems to be the case now is that this is the end.

وَتَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ الظُّنُونَا — they had those thoughts that entered their minds concerning Allah, concerning the promises that Allah made, concerning the words of Allah in the Quran, concerning the promises made by His Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

هُنَالِكَ ابْتُلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ — Allah says, "That is when the believers were truly tested." Didn't Allah tell us elsewhere in the Quran:

"Do the people think that they can just simply say we believe and they will not be tested?" Doesn't Allah tell us in the Quran how often He tests the believers? In fact, Allah in the same surah — at the beginning of Surah al-Ahzab, or towards the beginning — says:

"Allah will question the people of truth concerning their sincerity." How can that be questioned unless you are tested in your faith?

هُنَالِكَ ابْتُلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ — the companions on that day were tested. وَزُلْزِلُوا زِلْزَالًا شَدِيدًا — "and they were shaken, a severe shaking." The word used is the same word used for a zalzala — for an earthquake — to show you the severity of what they were experiencing. And my words, no matter how eloquent, and no one's description, no matter how descriptive, can put into our minds and our hearts the actual things that were taking place — the actual emotions they were experiencing.

The companions of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in that situation had different options — just like anyone in a similar situation would have different options. But the one that they chose was to remain firm. The one that they chose was to trust in Allah and to trust in the Quran and what it says, to trust in the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. What they chose is certainty and iman over nifaq and hypocrisy like those other people did. That is the first reaction that they had.

The Second Reaction: Faith Tempering Emotion

But Allah towards the end of this passage — after He mentions a number of issues concerning the Battle of Ahzab — Allah then tells us the way that iman benefited them, the way that they were able to overcome and temper those emotions. Not because they were brave or courageous — even though amongst them were the bravest of all people: Abu Bakr is there, Umar is there, Uthman and Ali, may Allah be pleased with them all — you won't find many people, if anyone, braver than those individuals. But they are also humans; they also have real worries and fears like every other human. But Allah gave to them iman, and Allah gave to them knowledge, and so they realized that this was a test from Allah.

Allah towards the end of the story of the Battle of Ahzab then tells us the way that they reacted:

"And when the believers saw the confederate armies gathering, they said: 'This is what Allah and His Messenger promised us, and Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth.' And it only increased them in iman and it only increased them in submission to Allah."

What's the change that took place? Look at the words of the Quran and how beautiful is the description of Allah. They knew that there was a promise that was taking place. And this is often the fault we fall into, the mistake that we make: we focus so much on the end result — the promise that is made, the assurance that was given, the guarantee that is found in the Quran and the Sunnah — but we forget and neglect the path that leads you there. That is also mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah: the difficulty, the discipline, the patience, the trials — all of those things are also mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah.

But one of the problems with the weakness of iman and knowledge is that you only know the headline; you only take the end result — you don't know the path that leads you there. But the companions realized this. They understood, because they were people of knowledge, people of understanding, people who were closely linked to the Quran and the Sunnah. They said: "Actually, what is taking place now is the promise of Allah and His Messenger" — because they told us that this would be the path that you would have to take in order to attain the result. What were the munafiqeen saying? "He made you a promise and it was false — everything you find in the Quran is not true." But the believers realized: "No — actually this is the promise of Allah, the promise of His Messenger."

وَمَا زَادَهُمْ إِلَّا إِيمَانًا وَتَسْلِيمًا — so it only increased them then in iman, it only increased them then in submission to Allah.

This is an amazing principle for you and I in all of the issues that we face in our lives — in the dunya, its trials and its tribulations, all of the emotions that we have to deal with because of the different things that take place. To remember what Allah says, what the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ says — to temper and control our reaction, our emotion, with iman and with knowledge. That is something which is the way of the Muslim, and it is something which the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ instilled in his companions. And so if you are able to understand the Quran and the Sunnah — its principles, its methodology, its etiquettes — then in every situation you are able to focus on what Allah wants from you and to deal with that situation in a way that is pleasing to Allah.

Khutbah al-Thaniyah: Second Sermon

Responding Correctly in Every Situation

This principle, though, is not one that is only used in times of terror or in times of fear. The principle of knowing how to react — that there is a natural reaction as a result of being human — our religion doesn't say that you just respond in a human way. It tells you to respond in the way that is beloved to Allah. Everyone can respond in a human way — what I mean by that is with a natural reaction. What our religion tells us is that you have to find the way that Allah is telling you to behave in that situation, what the Prophet told us and taught us in terms of how we react to those issues.

And that's not only in times of fear. It could be in times of anger — the religion tells us how to behave in times of anger. In times of sadness, in times of grief, in times of distress, in times of fear — even in times of happiness and joy. You can't just be happy the way you want to be happy; you can't just express that joy in any which way. There is a way, an etiquette, that you behave in all of these situations.

The Story of Qarun: Joy Without Gratitude

And I will conclude by mentioning an example of that also from the Quran. Allah in Surah al-Qasas, towards the very end, mentions the story of a man by the name of Qarun — from the people of Musa, peace be upon him, from Bani Israel. This was a man who was extremely wealthy and rich. Allah describes his wealth and his richness by saying that the keys to his treasures used to be carried by strong, able-bodied men — and that is just the keys, let alone his treasures.

But when he was so overcome with his joy — as someone is when they have an unlimited amount of wealth, a filthy amount of riches that they could never, even in a number of lifetimes, ever spend — that person becomes so happy that sometimes, if it isn't tempered with that iman, with that knowledge of Allah and His Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, that person responds in a way that they gloat and they boast and they become arrogant. Now, instead of just being happy at the grace of Allah and His blessing, they become arrogant and proud.

So his people said to him: لَا تَفْرَحْ — and the word used is the one for joy. "Don't be happy" — but it doesn't mean don't be happy in any which way; it means don't be happy in that way, in the way in which you boast and you gloat and you show arrogance and pride, for Allah does not love that type of joy and happiness. So what should he have done instead? Use that which Allah gave you to attain the life of the hereafter. Allah told us the way. Allah told us that when you have knowledge and iman, that is the correct way to respond — that is how you use these blessings of Allah.

So whatever that emotion, whichever situation you are in, our religion — from the rahmah of Allah — is that He has given us the knowledge, the etiquettes, the principles that show us how to behave and how to react. This is an issue that all of us suffer from in different situations, in different scenarios — we respond in the way that we are in that moment; it is just the emotion, whether it is correct or incorrect. That is something which we later realize, and then maybe we regret, or we don't regret.

But our religion — what Allah praises those companions for in the Battle of Khandaq — is that they did not wait until after the effects or after the result to then respond in the correct way. But they realized it in that very moment of need.

True Patience: The Hadith of the Grieving Woman

In that very moment — as the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said to a woman who was suffering from grief, someone had died in her family so she was extremely upset and expressing her discontent and upset in a way that wasn't sanctioned in the shariah. The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ told her: "Be patient." But she, because of her grief and distress, did not realize who it was, so she said: "You don't know what I am going through — leave me alone." So the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ left her.

The people around her told her: "That is the Messenger of Allah you just spoke to." So she came to him and said: "You are the Messenger of Allah — I did not realize it was you." He said صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1283; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 926)

"True patience is when calamity first strikes" — whether it was me or someone else, whether you were reminded or not reminded. True patience — the true level of iman — is that you are able to temper those reactions yourself, because you have enough iman, enough knowledge of what Allah wants, what His Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ instructed.

We ask Allah that He bestows upon us iman and knowledge, that Allah makes that beneficial alongside righteous action, that Allah makes us from amongst those people who respond in a way that is pleasing to Him — in a way that lifts and raises our station, increases our good deeds, and forgives and expiates our sins.