Salman said, “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, Messenger of Allah! I have seen something the like of which I have never seen.” The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, turned to the people and said, “Have you seen what Salman is describing?” They said, “Yes, Messenger of Allah.” He said:

“When I struck my first blow, there flashed forth what you saw. Through it, the palaces of al-Hirah and the cities of Khosrow were illuminated for me, as though they were dogs’ fangs; and Gabriel informed me that my community would prevail over them. Then I struck my second blow, and there flashed forth what you saw. Through it, the palaces of al-Hirah in the land of the Romans were illuminated for me, as though they were dogs’ fangs; and Gabriel informed me that my community would prevail over them. Then I struck my third blow, and there flashed forth what you saw. Through it, the palaces of Sana’a were illuminated for me, as though they were dogs’ fangs; and Gabriel, peace be upon him, informed me that my community would prevail over them. So rejoice!”

The Muslims rejoiced and said, “Praise be to Allah, whose promise is true. He has promised us victory after the siege.” But the hypocrites said, “Are you not amazed at Muhammad? He makes you promises and gives you vain hopes, telling you that he can see, from Yathrib, the palaces of al-Hirah and the cities of Khosrow, and that they will be opened for you—while you are only digging the trench out of fear, unable even to go out to relieve yourselves!”

He said: Then the Quran was revealed: “And when the hypocrites and those whose hearts were diseased said, ‘Allah and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusion.’” And Allah revealed this passage: “Say, ‘O Allah, Owner of all sovereignty...’” (1), to the end of the verse (Al Imran 3:26).

Abd al-Wahid ibn Ahmad al-Malihi informed us; Ahmad ibn Abdullah al-Nuʿaymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil informed us; Abdullah ibn Muhammad informed us; Muʿawiyah ibn Amr informed us; Abu Ishaq informed us, from Humayd, who said: I heard Anas say: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out to the trench and found the Emigrants and the Helpers digging on a cold morning. They had no slaves to do this work for them. When he saw the exhaustion and hunger they were suffering, he said:

“O Allah, true life is only the life of the Hereafter,
So forgive the Helpers and the Emigrants.”

They responded to him:

“We are those who pledged allegiance to Muhammad—
To fight in Allah’s cause for as long as we live.” (2)

Abd al-Wahid al-Malihi informed us; Ahmad ibn Abdullah al-Nuʿaymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Ismaʿil informed us; Muslim ibn Ibrahim informed us; Shuʿbah informed us, from Abu Ishaq, from al-Bara’, who said: On the day of the Trench, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, carried earth until it covered—or covered with dust—his stomach, and he was saying:

“By Allah, had it not been for Allah, we would not have been guided,
Nor given charity, nor prayed.
So send down tranquility upon us,
And make our feet firm when we meet the enemy.
Those people have indeed transgressed against us;
If they seek to provoke strife, we refuse!”

He would raise his voice on the words: “We refuse! We refuse!” (3)