Two noble chieftains, like twin full moons—sheltering the poor with life-giving rain and providing fugitives a secure refuge—pressed on until, when they reached Madinah, they donned the garb of death, every veteran a keen-edged swordsman. For a month and ten days they held Muhammad and his Companions—who are the best comrades in war—under siege. At daybreak they called for the breaking of camp while you exclaimed, “We were on the brink of ruin with the doomed!” Had it not been for the trenches, they would have left in his ranks corpses for ravenous birds and wolves.

Ibn Isḥāq said: Ḥassān ibn Thābit—may Allah be pleased with him—answered him, saying (in the Kāmil metre):

Can the faded traces of an abandoned dwelling, barren and desolate, speak and return an answer to the one who questions them? It is a wilderness whose landmarks the heavy rain clouds and every storm-laden gust have wiped away. Yet I once saw its encampments adorned by fair-faced men of piercing lineage. So leave the homesteads and the recollection of every ivory-skinned maiden—graceful, sweet of speech, high-bosomed—and pour out your cares to God over what you witness of a people who have wronged the Messenger and rage in their anger. They marched against him with all their forces, mobilising the villagers and the desert Bedouin—an army in which ʿUyaynah and the son of Ḥarb advanced, their armour wrapped tight for the fray of the Confederates. When they reached Madinah they hoped to kill the Messenger and seize the spoils of war. They came upon us, thinking themselves able, but were driven back in wrath, turning heel—by a fierce, gusting wind that scattered their hosts, and by the armies of your Lord, the Sovereign of all lords. Thus Allah spared the believers the fighting and rewarded them with the finest recompense. After they had nearly despaired, He broke the coalition apart by sending down the victory of our King, the All-Bestowing. He gladdened the eye of Muhammad and his Companions and humiliated every denier and doubter—a heart-hardened rebel, stamped with suspicion, steeped in unbelief, whose garments can never be clean. Misery has clung to his heart; his breast will remain in disbelief until the end of these ages.

He said: Kaʿb ibn Mālik—may Allah be pleased with him—also replied, saying (Kāmil metre):

The turmoil of war has left us a remnant—by the finest favour of our Lord, the All-Bestowing.