Sayyid al-Shuhada, Medinah Sharif – Saudi Arabia
Coordinates: 24.477700, 39.595358
It is believed to be the place where martyrs of Battle of Khandaq are buried.
1 to 5 people (Reportedly 4) are said to have been martyred from the Muslims side.
Battle
The Battle of the Trench (Ghazwat al-Khandaq), also known as the Battle of Khandaq (Ma’rakah al-Khandaq) and the Battle of the Confederates (Ghazwat al-Ahzab), was a 27-day-long defence by Muslims of Yathrib (now Medinah Sharif) from Arab and Jewish tribes. The strength of the confederate armies is estimated around 10,000 men with six hundred horses and some camels, while the Medinan defenders numbered 3,000.
The largely outnumbered defenders of Medina, mainly Muslims led by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ , dug a trench on the suggestion of Hz. Salman the Persian رضي الله عنه, which together with Medina’s natural fortifications, rendered the confederate cavalry (consisting of horses and camels) useless, locking the two sides in a stalemate.
Hoping to make several attacks at once, the confederates persuaded the Muslim-allied Medinan Jews, Banu Qurayza, to attack the city from the south.
However, Hz. Muhammad’s ﷺ diplomacy derailed the negotiations, and broke up the confederacy against him.
The well-organised defenders, the sinking of confederate morale, and poor weather conditions caused the siege to end in a fiasco.
Casualties
The siege was a “battle of wits”, in which the Muslims tactically overcame their opponents while suffering very few casualties. Efforts to defeat the Muslims failed, and Islam became influential in the region. As a consequence, the Muslim army besieged the area of the Banu Qurayza tribe, leading to their surrender.
The defeat caused the Meccan Pagans to lose their trade and much of their prestige.
