Al-Suhaylī (1) relates that someone once said, “Ḥassān was cowardly—indeed, exceedingly so.” He adds, however, that others rejected this claim and impugned the report, declaring its chain of transmission broken. They pointed out that Ḥassān used to trade satirical verses with the pagan poets—such as Ibn al-Zibʿarā, Dirār ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and others—yet none of them ever stigmatized him for cowardice. Among those who dismissed the story was Shaykh Abū ʿUmar al-Namirī. They further argued that, even if the report were authentic, perhaps Ḥassān had remained in the forts because of some temporary impediment. This is the view toward which al-Suhaylī himself inclined. Allah knows best.
Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah (2) recounts: The idolaters surrounded the Muslims, hemming them in as though they were inside a fortress encircled by enemy battalions. They besieged them for nearly twenty nights, seizing every vantage point, so that a man could scarcely tell whether he had completed his prayer or not.
He continues: They then dispatched a formidable contingent toward the dwelling of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and fought them from daylight until nightfall. When the time for the ʿAṣr prayer came, the contingent pressed so close that neither the Prophet ﷺ nor any of the Companions with him were able to perform the prayer as they wished. With nightfall the contingent withdrew.
It is claimed that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said, “They kept us from the ʿAṣr prayer; may Allah fill their bellies and hearts—and in another wording, their graves as well—with fire.”
When the ordeal intensified, many people fell into hypocrisy and uttered disgraceful remarks. Seeing the hardship and distress that had befallen them, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ began to give them glad tidings, saying, “By Him in Whose hand is my soul, what you are now experiencing of hardship will surely be relieved. I hope to circumambulate the Ancient House in safety, that Allah will deliver to me the keys of the Kaʿbah, that He will cause Chosroes and Caesar to perish, and that their treasures will be spent in the path of Allah.”
Al-Bukhārī (3) reports: Ishāq narrated to us, Rūḥ narrated to us, Hishām narrated to us, from Muḥammad, from ʿUbayda, from ʿAlī, that the Prophet ﷺ said on the Day of the Trench, “May Allah fill their houses and graves with fire, for they diverted us from the Middle Prayer until the sun had set.” The rest of the compilers—except Ibn Mājah—transmitted the same narration through various chains from Hishām ibn Ḥassān, from Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, from ʿUbayda, from ʿAlī.
Muslim and al-Tirmidhī (4) also recorded it through Saʿīd ibn Abī ʿArūbah, from Qatādah, from Abū Ḥassān al-Aʿraj, from ʿUbayda, from ʿAlī, with the same wording; al-Tirmidhī graded it ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.
Al-Bukhārī (5) further states: al-Makkī ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us, Hishām narrated to us, from Yaḥyā, from Abū Salamah, from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb came on the Day of the Trench after the sun had set, cursing the disbelievers of Quraysh and saying, “O Messenger of Allah, I could hardly pray until the sun was almost setting.” The Prophet ﷺ replied, “By Allah, I too have not prayed it.” We then went down with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to Baṭḥān; he performed ablution, as did we, and he prayed the ʿAṣr prayer after the sun had set.