The Madinan Period, Part 17: The Coalition Broken at the Trench
Section 7 of 15 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Madinan Period
A Wind, and Armies Unseen
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was using a powerful weapon against the enemies of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and that is duʿāʾ. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was saying, "O Allah, Revealer of the Book, quick to take account, defeat the clans. O Allah, defeat them and shake them" (al-Bukhārī 2933, 4115). And Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, accepted the duʿāʾ of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and He assisted the Muslims with soldiers they didn't see. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَآءَتْكُمْ جُنُودٌ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًا وَجُنُودًا لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرًا
“O you who believe, remember Allah’s favor to you, when the forces (of the infidels) came upon you, and We sent upon them a wind, and the forces (of angels) you did not see. Allah is watchful of whatever you do.” (33:9)
Armies came to attack the believers, and Allah sent upon them a wind and armies they didn't see. Allah sent armies that they didn't see: the malāʾikah and the wind were all armies sent by Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. The wind appears again below, in the story of Ḥudhayfah. And ever is Allah, of what you do, Seeing. So Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, is now sending soldiers from His armies to defend the Muslims.
The Muslims, by the way, also had a battle cry in al-Khandaq, and that was Ḥā Mīm, lā yunṣarūn: "They will not be victorious. They will not be victorious" (Abū Dāwūd 2597; al-Tirmidhī 1682).