The Defense of the City of the Rose

The Messenger of Allah had become aware of these latest developments beforehand. He came together with his Companions in consultation so they could decide the plan of action they needed to take. Even though the Muslims did not want to fight, the Quraysh had come together and were coming their way. They needed to find a way to overcome this tribulation. Our beloved Prophet asked his Companions one by one on what action they thought needed to be taken. Should they stay in Medina and weaken the enemy by scattering them throughout the streets of the city? Or would it be more convenient to come out of Medina, fight chest to chest in the battlefield and push back the enemy that way?

Everyone put their opinion forward, but most of which were spoken were risky. Just then, one of the Companions, Salman al-Farisi, put forth an idea. “O Messenger of Allah, in the land of Fars, when faced with the danger of raids by horsemen, we would dig trenched surrounding us and thus would protect ourselves!”
This offer was accepted with contentment by both our Prophet and the Respected Companions. A great trench was to be dug surrounding Medina, the City of the Rose, and the city was to be protected in this way. Later on, the location for the trench was determined. Because the surroundings of Medina made it difficult to be surpassed by armies, the enemies could only approach from the relatively more favorable northern face of the city. And that was exactly where the trench was going to be dug. The area was divided amongst the Companions and the digging operation started right away. The operation needed to be completed before the Meccan army arrived. Our beloved Prophet also worked alongside his Companions. Everyone was so locked into their task that they knew no such thing as getting tired. All hearts were beating with the same excitement for the same goal. The task of digging started right after the Morning Prayer and continued until sunset, and at nights, the Companions retreated into their homes to rest.
The Messenger of Allah had devoted himself so much to this task that sometimes he would be digging the trench with a pickax, other times he would be carrying the dirt on his back and other times he would be throwing over the dirt with a shovel in his hand. Once, he had grown so tired that he had sat down in a corner to rest for a bit. He had rested his cheek on a stone and had fallen asleep just like that. This situation did not slip Abu Bakr and Umar’s notice. They immediately came over to where he was sleeping and told the others to move away and not make any noise so that our Prophet could rest for a while. Our beloved Prophet’s sleep didn’t last long, though. Before long, he jumped out of his sleep.
“Why didn’t you wake me up? I wish you had woken me up earlier,” he said regretfully. He picked up his pickax and continued digging from where he left off. Meanwhile, he was also praying for his Companions and referring those who had troubled them in such a way to the mercy of Allah.
The digging of the trench was completed at the end of six days. There was now a long and wide obstacle in between the city of Medina and the non-believers. The Meccan army had reached Mount Uhud at the same time the Muslims had finished the digging of the trench.