In this battle, Quraysh and its collaborators from the family of Kinanah, the inhabitants of Tihamah with ten thousands men as well as the tribe of Ghatafan from Najd rushed to help Quraysh putting Muslims in a corner. The Messenger of Allah who knew their decision beforehand, ordered Muslims to dig a ditch around the city of Medina. Following this act, the sworn enemies of Islam surrounded the city from every side.
In this connection, the Holy Qur’an states: “…When they came upon you from above you and from below you…” (33:10). To fight the enemy, the Messenger of Allah rose for defense with three thousand Muslims behind the ditch and within the city. Amid this, the Jews inside the city were allied with the atheists so as to defeat the Holy Prophet and Muslims. Hence, the enemy pressured the people of Medina from inside and outside, adding to their worries. The horse-riders of Quraysh, including `Ikrimah ibn Abi-Jahl and `Amr ibn `Abd-Wudd who, in their wishful thinking, dreamt of a quick victory stood in the front line, asking for a challenger and declared a hand to hand fighting. Among Muslims, the first man who responded him was `Ali, saying: O Messenger of Allah, I am prepared to fight him! The Messenger of Allah said, “He is `Amr,” and kept silent. Asking for a challenger for the second time, `Amr said: Where is the paradise you promise with martyrdom? Why don’t you come to the field to be
وَفي غَزاةِ الخَنْدَقِ:
لَمَّا فَرِغَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ مِنْ حَفْرِ الْخَنْدَقِ أَقْبَلَتْ قُرَيْشٌ وَأَتْباعُها مِنْ كِنانَةَ وَأَهْلِ تِهامَةَ فِي عَشَرَةِ آلافٍ وَأَقْبَلَتْ غَطَفانُ وَمَنْ يَتْبَعُها مِنْ أهْلِ نَجْدٍ فَنَزَلوا مِنْ فَوْقِ الْمُسْلِمينَ وَمِنْ أَسْفَلَ مِنْهُمْ.
كَمَا قَالَ تَعالَى: ﴿إِذْ جَاءُوكُمْ مِنْ فَوْقِكُمْ وَمِنْ أَسْفَلَ مِنْكُمْ.﴾ فَخَرَجَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ بالْمُسْلِمينَ وَهُمْ ثَلاثَةُ آلافٍ وَجَعَلوا الْخَنْدَقَ بَيْنَهُمْ. وَاتَّفَقَ الْمُشْرِكُونَ مَعَ اليَهودِ وَاشْتَدَّ الأَمْرُ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمينَ. وَرَكِبَ فَوارِسُ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ مِنْهُمْ عَمْرُو بْنُ عَبْدِ وُدٍّ وَعِكْرِمَةُ بْنُ أَبِي جَهْلٍ. فَقالَ عَمْرٌو: مَنْ يُبارِزُ؟ فَقالَ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: أنَا. فَقالَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: إنَّهُ عَمْرٌو. فَسَكَتَ. فَقالَ عَمْرٌو: هَلْ مِنْ مُبارِزٍ؟ أيْنَ جَنَّتُكُمُ الَّتِي تَزْعُمونَ أنَّهُ مَنْ قُتِلَ مِنْكُمْ دَخَلَهَا؟ أَفَلا يَبْرُزُ إلَيَّ رَجُلٌ؟ فَقالَ عَلِيٌّ: أنَا لَهُ يَا رَسولَ
martyred and to go to paradise, is there no one to fight me? `Ali said: I will fight him. The Holy Prophet, at this time too due to an exigency and to prevent others from saying `Ali does not give others any chance and that he acts hastily, said: He is `Amr and kept silent.
On the third time when `Amr boldly cried out: Who is your fighter? Again `Ali said: O Messenger of Allah, I will fight him though he is `Amr! At this time, the Holy Prophet gave `Ali permission to fight, saying: Now Islam in its entirety is standing against atheism in its entirely implying that if `Ali achieves victory, Islam will be victorious and if `Amr overcomes, then there will be no name of Islam. Addressing `Amr after going to the battlefield, `Ali said: You have pledged that if a man of Quraysh calls you to two things, you will accept. `Amr said: It is so. `Ali said: I invite you first to God, His messenger and Islam. `Amr said: Forget it, I will never accept Islam! `Ali said: I am on foot, you better dismount your horse so as to fight hand to hand. `Amr who was feeling death, out of pity said: O son of my brother! I do not desire to kill you, for you are an honorable man and your father was an old friend of me! `Ali said: But by God, I desire to kill you. `Amr was disturbed by these words and dismounted his horse. `Ali threw him on the ground after an hour of hand to hand fighting `Ali killed him and his son too. Seeing this fatal scene, `Ikrimah ibn Abi-Jahl and other atheist took to their heels, leaving the battlefield. God returned their anger back to them, so the enemies found no benefit in continuing the fighting and thus were defeated.[182]
Seeing `Amr killed, `Umar ibn Khattab said to `Ali: He had a good coat of mail, why didn’t you take it off his body for there is no cuirass like it? `Ali said: It was not fair to leave him naked on the ground.[183]
`Abdullah ibn Mas`ud used to recite the verse “…and Allah sufficed the believers in fighting; and Allah is Strong Mighty” (33:25) about `Ali.[184]
Rabi`ah al-Sa`di reports: I went to Hudhayfah ibn Yaman, saying: Whenever I relate a Hadith on the excellence of `Ali, the people of Basrah reject us, saying: You are exaggerating and going to extremes about `Ali. Is there any Hadith which I can relate and the enemies cannot deny? Hudhayfah said: O Rabi`ah! Which merits of `Ali should
اللهِ. فَقالَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: إنَّهُ عَمْرٌو. فَسَكَتَ.
فَنَادَى ثالِثَةً. فَقالَ لَهُ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: أنَا لَهُ يَا رَسولَ اللهِ. فَقالَ: إنَّهُ عَمْرٌو. فَقالَ: وَإنْ كَانَ. فَأَذِنَ لَهُ وَقالَ: خَرَجَ الإسْلامُ كُلُّهُ إلَى الشِّرْكِ كُلِّهِ. فَخَرَجَ إلَيْهِ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: يَا عَمْرُو إنَّكَ قَدْ عَاهَدْتَ اللهَ تَعالَى أَلاَّ يَدْعُوَكَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ إلَى إحْدَى خِصْلَتَيْنِ إلا إخْتَرْتَها مِنْهُ. فَقالَ لَهُ: أَجَلْ. فَقالَ لَهُ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: فَإنِّي أَدْعُوكَ إلَى اللهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالإسْلامِ. فَقالَ: لاَ حَاجَةَ لِي بِذَلِكَ. فَقالَ: إنِّي أَدْعُوكَ إلَى النِّزَالِ. فَقالَ لَهُ: يَا ابْنَ أَخي، فَوَاللهِ إنِّي لاَ أُحِبُّ أَنْ أَقْتُلَكَ وَأَنْتَ كَرِيمٌ وَأَبوكَ لِي نَديمٌ. فَقالَ لَهُ عَلِيٌّ: وَلَكِنِّي وَاللهِ أُحِبُّ أَنْ أَقْتُلَكَ. فَحَمَى عَمْرٌو وَنَزَلَ عَنْ فَرَسِهِ ثُمَّ تَجَاوَلا ساعَةً. فَضَرَبَهُ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ فَقَتَلَهُ وَقَتَلَ وَلَدَهُ أيْضاً. وَانْهَزَمَ عِكْرِمَةُ بْنُ أَبِي جَهْلٍ وَباقِي المُشْرِكِينَ وَرَدَّهُمُ اللهُ بِغَيْظِهِمْ لَمْ يَنَالوا خَيْراً وَكَفَى اللهُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الْقِتالَ.
وَقالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الخَطَّابِ لِعَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: هَلاّ سَلَبْتَهُ دِرْعَهُ، فَمَا لأَحَدٍ دِرْعٌ مِثْلُهَا. فَقالَ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ: إنِّي إسْتَحْيَيْتُ أَنْ أَكْشِفَ عَنْ سَوْءَةِ ابْنِ عَمِّي.
وَكَانَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ يَقْرَأُ: وَكَفَى اللهُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الْقِتَالَ بِعَلِيٍّ وَكَانَ اللهُ قَوِيَّاً عَزِيزاً.
قَالَ رَبِيعَةُ السَّعْدِيُّ: أَتَيْتُ حُذَيْفَةَ بْنَ اليَمانِ فَقُلْتُ: يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللهِ، إنَّا لَنُحَدِّثُ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ وَمَناقِبِهِ فَيَقُولُ لَنا أهْلُ البَصْرَةِ إنَّكُمْ لَتُفَرِّطونَ فِي عَلِيٍّ، فَهَلْ أَنْتَ مُحَدِّثُنِي فِيهِ بِحَدِيثٍ؟ فَقالَ حُذَيْفَةُ: يَا رَبِيعَةُ، وَما تَسْأَلُنِي عَنْ عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ. وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَوْ وُضِعَ
I recount? By Lord in whose hand my life rests, if the deeds of the aides of Muhammad from the day he was ordained as prophet till the Day of Judgment are put on a pan of a scale and `Ali’s deeds are put on the other pan of scale, beyond doubt, `Ali’s deeds are heavier. Rabi`ah said: This is a Hadith for which one cannot sit or stand, implying that it is hard to accept and more hard to recount. Hudhayfah said: O fool! How can you say that this Hadith is hard to accept when the Messenger of Allah said the same thing on the day of the battle of the Ditch!
Then he added: Where were Abu-Bakr, `Umar, Hudhayfah, and all the companions of the Holy Prophet on the day when `Amr ibn `Abd-Wudd was yelling and challenging a fighter? All the crowds on that day were at a loss, creeping in a corner. It was only `Ali who responded to him, went to fight and killed him. By God in whose power my life is, the reward of `Ali’s deed on that day is more than the reward of the deeds of Muhammad’s companions till the Day of Judgment.[185]
Following the defeat of allies on the day of the battle of Ditch, the Messenger of Allah decided to suppress the Jews of Banu-Qurayzah who had allied with Quraysh, so gave `Ali the mission to inspect their situation from close with thirty men of Khazraj tribe, saying: O `Ali, see what state Banu-Qurayzah are in? Have they left their forts on not? Going on his mission, `Ali accompanied by his aides reached near the enemy’s position, seeing that they were stationed in their forts and had blocked entrances and exits, swearing at the Holy Prophet (s.a). `Ali immediately went to the Holy Prophet informing him of the situation and went directly to carry out his mission. Seeing `Ali, one of them said: The killer of `Amr has come and the others confirmed it. Hearing the name of `Ali, Banu-Qurayzah took to his heels, leaving his position. By advancing into the big fort, `Ali installed the standard of Islam. The running Jews were swearing at the Holy Prophet and speaking ill of him. The Messenger of Allah said: O the brothers of pigs and monkeys, where are you fleeing? When we confront our enemies, we will ruin their life and make the bright day dark for them. They said: O Abu-al-Qasim! You were not tyrant or foulmouthed. Hearing this, the Messenger of Allah turned back, ashamed and kept them under siege for twenty five nights. Since
جَمِيعُ أَعْمالِ أَصْحَابِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ السَّلامُ فِي كَفَّةِ الْمِيزَانِ مُنْذُ بَعَثَ اللهُ مُحَمَّداً إلَى يَوْمِ القِيامَةِ وَوُضِعَ عَمَلُ عَلِيٍّ فِي الكَفَّةِ الأُخْرى لَرَجَحَ عَمَلُ عَلِيٍّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ عَلَى جَميعِ أعْمالِهِمْ. فَقالَ رَبيعَةُ: هَذَا الَّذِي لاَ يُقامُ لَهُ وَلا يُقْعَدُ.
فَقالَ حُذَيْفَةُ: يَا لُكَعُ، وَكَيْفَ لاَ يُحْمَلُ وَأَيْنَ كَانَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرُ وَحُذَيْفَةُ وَجَميعُ أَصْحَابِ مُحَمَّدٍ يَوْمَ عَمْرِو بْنِ عَبْدِ وُدٍّ، وَقَدْ دَعا إلَى البِرازِ فَأَحْجَمَ النَّاسُ كُلُّهُمْ مَا خَلا عَلِيَّاً، فَإنَّهُ بَرَزَ إلَيْهِ فَقَتَلَهُ؟ وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ حُذَيْفَةَ بِيَدِهِ، لَعَمَلُهُ ذَلِكَ اليَوْمِ أَعْظَمُ أَجْراً مِنْ عَمَلِ أَصْحَابِ مُحَمَّدٍ إلَى يَوْمِ القِيامَةِ.
وَلَمَّا إنْهَزَمَ الأَحْزابُ قَصَدَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ بَنِي قُرَيْظَةَ وَأَنْفَذَ عَلِيَّاً عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ فِي ثَلاثِينَ مِنَ الخَزْرَجِ وَقالَ: أُنْظُرْ بَنِي قُرَيْظَةَ هَلْ نَزَلوا حُصونَهُمْ؟ فَلَمَّا شَارَفَها سَمِعَ مِنْهُمْ الهَجْرَ. فَرَجِعَ إلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ فَأَخْبَرَهُ. وَسارَ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ حَتَّى دَنا مِنْ سُورِهِمْ، فَأَبْصَرَهُ شَخْصٌ فَنادَى: قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ قَاتِلُ عَمْرٍو. وَقالَ آخَرُ كَذَلِكَ فَانْهَزَمُوا. وَرَكَزَ أمِيرُ المُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ الرَّايَةَ فِي أَصْلِ الْحِصْنِ وَاسْتَقْبَلُوهُ يَسُبُّونَ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ. فَنَادَاهُمْ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ: يَا إخْوَةَ القِرَدَةِ وَالْخَنازِيرِ، إنَّا إذَا نَزَلْنا بِسَـاحَةِ قَوْمٍ فَساءَ صَبَاحُ الْمُنْذَرِينَ. فَقَالُوا: يَـا أَبَـا القَاسِمِ مَا كُنْتَ جَهُولاً وَلا سَبَّاباً. فَاسْتَحْيَى صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَرَجَعَ القَهْقَرَى، وَحَاصَرَهُمْ خَمْس
they could not resist, they suggested to surrender and bowed to Sa`d ibn Mu`adh’s arbitration. The Messenger of Allah too accepted it. Sa`d ibn Mu`adh ruled their men to be killed, their women and children to be taken captive and their property to be divided among Muslims. At this time, the Holy Prophet (s.a) ordered the men of Banu-Qurayzah amounting to nine hundred to be put under watch in the houses of Banu’l-Najjar tribe. Then, he ordered the watchmen to bring them one by one near the ditch through the exit way of the neighborhood and ordered `Ali to behead them one after the other and to throw their bodies in the ditch. `Ali carried out the instructions, beheaded them all and threw them in the ditch.[186]
In the battle of Banu’l-Mustalaq in which `Ali was a pioneer, Muslims eventually gained the victory. In this battle, Malik and his son who were among the enemy leaders were killed by `Ali, and Juwayriyyah, the daughter of Harith ibn Abi-Dirar was taken captive and brought to the presence of the Messenger of Allah, who chose her for himself. After the battle, the father of Juwayriyyah came to the Holy Prophet, saying: O Messenger of Allah! My daughter must not be taken captive, for she is dignified and brought up in a respectable family! The Holy Prophet said: Go to your daughter and ask her if she wishes to be with us or she will be free to return with you. Harith hailed the Holy Prophet’s magnanimity and greatness, and conveyed the Holy Prophet’s message to his daughter but Juwayriyyah opted for God and His messenger, saying: God and His messenger are better than everyone and everything else! After this event, the Holy Prophet set her free, then married her and she became one the wives of the Messenger of Allah.[187]
In the battle of Hudaybiyah which led to peace treaty, the one who drew up and wrote the peace treaty between the Messenger of Allah and Suhayl ibn `Amr was `Ali. In this connection, two merits were added to his virtues no one shared with him.[188]
One of those two merits is that when the Messenger of Allah decided to perform minor Hajj of Hudaybiyah, he, along with a group of his companions, went to Juhfah to become Muhrim but there was no water in that area. So, the Messenger of Allah ordered Sa`d ibn Malik to take water skins and water-carrying camels to search for water. After a short time, Sa`d returned, saying: Since this region is
وَعِشْرينَ لَيْلَةً حَتَّى سَأَلُوهُ النُّزُولَ عَلَى حُكْمِ سَعْدِ بْنِ مُعاذٍ. فَحَكَمَ سَعْدٌ بِقَتْلِ الرِّجَالِ وَسَبْيِ الذَّرارِي وَالنِّسَاءِ وَقِسْمَةِ الأَمْوالِ. فَأَمَرَ النَّبِيُّ بِإنْزالِ الرِّجالِ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ فِي بَعْضِ دُورِ بَنِي النَّجَّارِ وَكَانوا تِسْعَمِائَةٍ، وَخَرَجَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ مِنْ بَعْضِ الدُّرُوبِ وَأَمَرَ بِإخْراجِهِمْ وَتَقَدَّمَ إلَى أمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ بِقَتْلِهِمْ فِي الْخَنْدَقِ فَفَعَلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ مَا أُمِرَ بِهِ.
وَفِي غَزاةِ بَنِي الْمُصْطَلَقِ كَانَ الفَتْحُ لَهُ. وَقَتَلَ أمِيرُ المُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ مَالِكاً وَابْنَهُ وَسَبَى جُوَيْرِيَّةَ بِنْتَ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ أَبِي ضِرارٍ فَاصْطَفَاها النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ لِنَفْسِهِ. فَجَاءَ أَبُوها بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ وَقالَ: يَا رَسولَ اللهِ، إن ابْنَتِي لاَ تُسْبَى، إنَّها إمْرَأَةٌ كَريمَةٌ. قَالَ: إذْهَبْ وَخَيِّرْها. قَالَ: لَقَدْ أَحْسَنَتْ وَأَجْمَلَتْ فَاخْتارَتِ اللهَ وَرَسُولَهُ. فَأَعْتَقَها رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَجَعَلَها فِي جُمْلَةِ أَزْواجِهِ.
وَفي غَزاةِ الْحُدَيْبِيَةِ: كَانَ أمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ هُوَ الَّذِي كَتَبَ بَيْنَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَبَيْنَ سُهَيْلِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو حينَ طَلَبَ الصُّلْحَ عِنْدَما رَأى تَوَجُّهَ الأَمْرِ عَلَيْهِمْ. وَلَهُ فِي هَذِهِ الغَزاةِ فَضيلَتانِ: إحْداهُما: إنَّهُ لَمَّا خَرَجَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ إلَى غَزاةِ الحُدَيْبِيَةِ نَزَلَ الْجُحْفَةَ فَلَمْ يَجِدْ بِهَا مَاءً، فَبَعَثَ سَعْدَ بْنَ مَالِكٍ بِالرَّوَايا فَغَابَ قَريباً وَعَادَ وَقالَ: لَمْ أَقْدِرْ عَلَى الْمُضِيِّ خَوْفاً مِنَ القَوْمِ. فَبَعَثَ آخَـرَ فَفَعَلَ كَذَلِكَ. فَبَعَثَ عَـلِيَّاً عَلَيْـهِ
under the enemy’s control, I fear to fetch water! The Holy Prophet assigned another person to fetch water. Like Sa`d, he too returned quickly and repeated what Sa`d had said. At this time, the Messenger of Allah ordered `Ali to do the work. After searching, `Ali found out that water was in a spot controlled by the enemy. Hence, without fearing the enemy, `Ali went to the same spot, filled the water skins, fastened them unto camels and brought them for the Holy Prophet (s.a) who praised his valuable deed and prayed for him.[189]
`Ali’s second merit is that when the peace treaty was being concluded, Suhayl ibn `Amr turned to the Holy Prophet, saying: O Muhammad, give back to us these slaves of ours who have joined you. The Holy Prophet was so annoyed with this request, that too, with bold tone that signs of anger could be seen in his face, for it is not right to entrust Muslims to atheists. Besides, his impolite tone implied domineering. Hence, the Holy Prophet said: O group of Quraysh! Stop your hostile attitude otherwise God will send to punish and behead you for the promotion of religion a person whose heart He has tried with faith. Those who were present said: O Messenger of Allah, who is he? The Holy Prophet said: The one who is mending my shoes in the room. To know the man with such a merit, people rushed to the room and found that it was `Ali ibn Abi-Talib.[190]
At a time one of the pair of shoes of the Holy Prophet was torn and had to be mended, he called `Ali to mend it. Then while walking a short space in his odd shoe, he turned to his companions, saying: One of you will fight for the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an in the same way that he fights along with me for its revelation. Abu-Bakr said: Is it me? The Holy Prophet said: No. The companions kept silent, looking at one another, asking themselves whom the Holy Prophet meant. Breaking the silence and pointing to `Ali, the Messenger of Allah said: He is the one who is presently mending my shoe, for he is the only person who stands against deviators and fight for the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an and those Sunnahs of me which will be abandoned. This is at a time when the book of Allah will be distorted and wrongdoers will interfere in religion. It is with `Ali’s fighting that God’s religion will gain a new life and he will cut their hands off religion.[191]
source : http://www.maaref-foundation.com
