The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the Muslims remained while their enemy besieged them, and there was no fighting between them, except that some horsemen of Quraysh—among them Amr ibn Abd Wudd, an ally of Banu Amir ibn Lu'ayy; Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl and Hubayrah ibn Abu Wahb, both of Makhzum; Nawfal ibn Abd Allah; Dirar ibn al-Khattab; and Mirdas, an ally of Banu Muharib ibn Fihr—armed themselves for battle, mounted their horses, and passed by Banu Kinanah. They said, “Prepare for battle, O Banu Kinanah! Today you shall know who the horsemen are.”

They then advanced toward the trench and halted at its edge. When they saw it, they said, “By Allah, this is a stratagem that the Arabs have never employed.” They then made for a narrow place in the trench and spurred their horses, which leapt across it. The horsemen maneuvered in the salt flat between the trench and Mount Sal', while Ali ibn Abu Talib came out with a group of Muslims and secured against them the breach through which they had forced their horses. The horsemen came charging toward them.

Amr ibn Abd Wudd had fought on the day of Badr until his wounds incapacitated him, [and so he did not take part at Uhud] (1). When the day of the Trench came, he emerged conspicuously marked so that his position could be recognized. When he and his horsemen halted, Ali said to him, “O Amr, you had made a covenant with Allah that if any man of Quraysh called you to either of two courses, you would accept one of them.” He replied, “Yes.”

Ali ibn Abu Talib said to him, “Then I call you to Allah, to His Messenger, and to Islam.” He said, “I have no need of that.” Ali said, “Then I challenge you to single combat.” (2)

He said, “Why, son of my brother? By Allah, I do not wish to kill you.” Ali replied, “But by Allah, I wish to kill you.” At this, Amr was enraged. He dismounted from his horse, hamstrung it, and struck its face. He then advanced upon Ali. The two grappled and fought, until Ali killed him. His horsemen fled, leaping back across the trench in escape.

Two men besides Amr were killed: Munabbih ibn Uthman ibn Ubayd ibn al-Sabbaq ibn Abd al-Dar, who was struck by an arrow and later died from it in Mecca; and Nawfal ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Mughirah al-Makhzumi. He had leapt across the trench but fell into it, and the Muslims pelted him with stones. He cried, “O Arabs! Being killed is better than this!” Ali went down to him and killed him. The Muslims gained control of his body, and they asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to sell them his body. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “We have no need of his body or its price. It is yours to take.” So he left them free to take it.

Aishah, the Mother of the Believers, said: “On the day of the Trench, we were in the fortress of Banu Harithah, one of the most secure fortresses of Medina. The mother of Sa'd ibn Muadh was with us in the fortress. This was before the command of hijab was imposed upon us. Sa'd ibn Muadh passed by wearing a shortened coat of mail, from which his entire arm was exposed. He carried a spear in his hand and was reciting:

‘Wait a little; you shall catch up with the heat of battle.
There is no harm in death when its appointed term has come.’

His mother said to him, “Hurry on, my son! By Allah, you have delayed.” Aishah said, “I said to her, ‘O mother of Sa'd, by Allah, I wish that…’”