The Battle of the Trench (Part 2)

During the Battle of the Trench, Abu Sufyan was merely the puppet master and main organiser of the Meccan army and their allies. He was not involved in the fightings. However, the man that he decided to chose to be the head of offence on the battlefield was Amr ibn Abd Wudd.

Amr ibn Abd Wudd, being the head of offence, was very impatient and jittery when he saw the trenches and the inability to enter the city of Medina. One day, when him and his friends were on patrol, they noticed that a part of the trench was significantly narrower than its counterparts. From here, Amr ibn Abd Wudd saw an opportunity to attack. He took his horse and jumped the trench. Unfortunately for the city of Medina, he was successful. Now in the parameters of the city of Medina, he caused fear and anxiety upon the people of Medina. Many were afraid for their lives and afraid for the consequences of not surrendering themselves to the Meccan forces.

Upon walking into the city, Amr ibn Abd Wudd who happens to be a very intrusive and aggressive fighter called out to the people of the city. He conducted a cultural Arabic tradition which is to challenge a worthy opponent to a duel. When he called out for an opponent; he received no reply. He proceeded to call again for an opponent and again he gets no reply. But when he asks again, one brave lion stood amongst the crowd to accept the duel. That brave soul just happens to be the lion of Islam : Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.w) cousin; Ali ibn Abi Talib.

Ali, then proceeded to seek permission from the Prophet (pbuh) to battle against Amr. The Prophet (pbuh) agreed to the duel. However, what amazed both the opposing forces and Amr was the conduct in which Ali fought with. He battled with the spirit and code of conduct of Islam. Instead of just drawing his sword and fighting with all the might that he had. He did a few things before he fought with Amr. Firstly, Ali presented Amr with a chance to abandon his idolatry and paganism to join and accept Islam. Amr stubbornly declined Ali’s offer. Secondly, Ali presented Amr with the option of withdrawing from the battle and walking away untouched and unharmed. Amr, pridefully, declined the offer. Lastly, Ali invited Amr to draw the first strike in battle. It was common knowledge at the time that Ali never would initiate a fight (or draw the first strike). Amr, for once, accepted Ali’s offer. Then, they resumed to duel. But the fight resulted in Ali’s victory and Amr’s demise.

After the death of Amr, the entire Meccan forces were extremely disheartened and their spirits and morale was broken. This caused them to drop their swords and to stop their fighting. The opposing forces were no longer interested in waging war against the city of Medina and the people of Islam. Seeing the consequences of Amr’s deaths, Abu Sufyan was forced to lift up the siege of Medina. In this battle, many Meccans lost their lives. The opposing force suffered masses is casualties while the Muslims lost only a small number of souls.

This battle strengthen the threat of Islam on the Pagan world. More and more people were learning about Islam and they witnessed the greatness of Islam. This led more and more people to converting to Islam and accepting it as their religion. Islam, continued to be a strong power and influential to the people. Whereas, for the Quraysh people and the city of Mecca was losing their trade and much of their well-established rank was diminished. Yet, another victory (both physical and moral) for Islam.