to go out and relieve himself.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the idolaters then remained opposite one another for a little more than twenty nights. No open battle took place between them; they merely exchanged arrows while the city stayed under siege.
The Prophet ﷺ next sent word to ʿUyaynah ibn Ḥiṣn and al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAwf, offering them one-third of Medina’s date harvest on condition that they withdraw with their men. A truce was negotiated and even put into writing, yet no witnesses were summoned and no binding pledge was concluded; it was still only a matter under discussion.
When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was about to finalize the matter, he summoned the two Saʿds—Saʿd ibn Muʿādh and Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah—and sought their counsel. They asked, “Messenger of Allah, is this something you personally wish us to do, is it a command from Allah that we must obey, or is it a concession you are making on our behalf?” He replied, “It is a concession I am making for you. By Allah, I am doing so only because I see the Arab tribes have loosed a single arrow against you, and I wished to blunt their attack.”
Saʿd ibn Muʿādh said, “Messenger of Allah, back when we and these people were polytheists, they would not have dared to take from us so much as a single date except as guests or by purchase. Now that Allah has honored us with Islam and strengthened us through you, shall we hand our wealth over to them? We have no need for that. By Allah, we will offer them nothing but the sword until Allah judges between us and them.”
The Prophet replied, “Do as you wish.” Saʿd took the draft document and erased it, saying, “Let them exert themselves against us.”
The standoff between the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the confederate forces continued; there was no fighting save for a few Quraysh horsemen—among them ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd Wudd, ʿIkrimah ibn Abī Jahl, Hubayrah ibn Abī Wahb, and Ḍirār ibn al-Khaṭṭāb. They armed themselves, mounted their horses, and rode out. Passing the encampments of Banū Kinānah they called, “Prepare for battle, Banū Kinānah! Today you will see who the true horsemen are.” Then they urged their mounts into full gallop until they reached the trench. When they saw it they exclaimed, “By Allah, this is a stratagem—the Arabs have never employed such a ruse!” They sought a narrow spot in the trench, lashed their horses, and vaulted across with them