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Multiple factors came together to demoralize the Qurayshi coalition and got them to retreat, ending the battle:

– Imam Ali’s victory over Amr ibn al-Wadd – Shortage of food and fodder. They had prepared for quick battle, not a month-long seige – A violent storm that trashed the Qurayshi camp – Distrust sown between the kuffar and the jews by a secret convert – Some Arabs deciding they’d rather be ruled by Arab than by Jews, even of those Arabs are Muslims

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL9k-WuTfFE&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

The Qurayshi army arrive in Medina and are stumped by the trench, and persuade the Jewish tribe of Banu Quraydha in Medina and convince them to betray their oath of neutrality

The Muslims stand vigilant day and night to defend the trench, even missing their obligatory prayers.

Surah 33, Al Ahzaab captures the tension, covering the hypocrites who exposed themselves when they saw the pagan army, and the believers who saw the army as confirmation of what Prophet Muhammad had said to them.

Amr ibn al-Wadd, a feared warrior, crosses over the trench and calls for one on one combat. Imam Ali ibn Talib is the only one who’s willing to answer and defeats him in combat.

Lessons: – Do not broadcast and sensationalize evil, even if it is true, unless there’s a benefit in making it public – Trust Allah and know that there is something positive in every difficulty and hardship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmsL_Ex8pxg&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

Prophet Muhammad led by example, digging the trench harder than anyone else. When Fatima cooked some bread and brought it to him, she learned that it was the first thing the prophet had eaten in three days.

During the digging, Imam Ali also dug relentlessly and the Prophet praised him saying “May my father be ransomed for the one who digs”, highlights Imam Ali’s high position in his the eyes. Prophet Muhammad never said this about any other companion.

When some companions uncovered a large rock that no one could move, Prophet Muhammad hit it with three miraculous strikes, shattering it.

At the end, Jabir ibn Abdullah al Ansari invited Prophet Muhammad to dinner. The prophet extended the invitation to the rest of the exhausted companions. Jabir worried the food would run short, but when the Prophet arrived at Jabir’s home he blessed the food and there ended up being enough to feed every guest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pINIJqCUd_8&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

All the Muslim’s enemies band together in a final attempt to defeat them.

In the year 5 AH, the two banished Jewish tribes ally with the Meccans to mobilizing the masses for the ultimate battle against the Muslims, in what would later be known as the Battle of the Azhab, aka Battle of Khandaq.

The Quraysh had been humbled by their constant failure to wipe out the Muslims, and now that Muslims were blocking their trade routs the Quraysh were feeling the pain in their wallets. Abu Sufyan, receptive to the invitation by the Jewish tribes, rallies the Meccans and other Pagan tribes to raise the largest army the Arab peninsula had ever seen so far and they begin marching against Medina.

The Muslims in Mecca learn of this, and with Salman Al-Farsi’s advice, begin digging a tranch along the city’s border.

The banished Jews reach out to the one Jewish tribe still remaining in Mecca and convince them to also break their truce with the Muslims (now that a huge army is coming towards the city). The tribe openly reveals that they’ll break their covenant, and the Muslims realize they have to guard against enemies both outside and inside Medina.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAlQEbGoO8U&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

Sheikh Azhar Nasser explores additional Sunni counter arguments to the Shia claim that the Verse of Purification (Quran 33:33)

The discussion covers:

– Claims that the wives were already purified

– Claims that the actions of the wives had no impact on the prophetic household

– Claims that the Quran uses “ahl” to refer to wives in other places

– Questions about how the 12 imams were included in the verse of purity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9nlv_zeIk4&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

Sheikh Azhar Nasser explores Sunni counter arguments to the Shia claim that the Verse of Purification (Quran 33:33)

The discussion covers:

– Claims that the context of the verse being different

– Claims that the verses include all of Bani Hashim

– Claims that the verse doesn’t prove infallibility

The Q&A also answers:

– Why the Imams sometimes gave their children the same names as prominent Sunni’s like Aisha and Uthman

Ans: The names didn’t necessarily imply endorsement back then, though Imam Ali specificlly said he named his son after a different Uthman)

– Why didn’t the Quran explicitly state who the Ahlul Bayt were?

Ans: This was one of the ways Allah preserved the Quran without affecting free will. Otherwise the enemies of those people would have fought harder to change the Quran.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4J8QU_piqg&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

Continuing the identification of who is meant by the holy Ahl al-Bayt, Sheikh Azhar Nasser uses hadiths from Sunni sources that are accepted by both Shias and Sunnis to compare Shia and Sunni viewpoints.

Hadith include:

– (Jame-ut-Tirmidi) Hadith al Kisa – the hadith of the cloak

– (Sahih Muslim) Zahid ibn Akram’s explanation of why the wives are not part of the Ahlul Bayt

– (Al Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn) The prophet going to Fatima’s door every day for months after it was revealed, repeating the Verse of Purity saying “Oh Ahl al-Bayt…”

– (Sahih Muslim) Hadith of Mubahila, where the Christians of Najran rejected the Prophet’s message and were challenged to a mubahalah. Here the term “Ahl al-Bayt” was used for the holy five exclusively

– (Sahih al-Tirmidhi) Hadith Al-Thaqalayn, where the prophet said “I’m leaving for you that which if you hold onto you shall never devate., one is greater than the other: The Book of God-an extended rope between the Heavens and the Earth; and my progeny, my Ahl al-Bayt”

– The fact that the wives never used the Verse of Purification to show their superiority (despite sometimes using other claims to show their superiority)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3cSoTy0ZlU&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

Who does the Quran refer to when it says Ahlul Bayt? Sheikh Azhar Nasser compares Sunni and Shia viewpoints based on hadit from Sunni sources.

The three main perspectives are:

– It includes the Prophet’s wives, Bani Hashim, and the Holy Five (Ali, Fatima, Hassan, Hussain, and Prophet Muhammad)

– It includes just Bani Hashim and the Holy Five

– It includes just the Holy Five (shia perspective)

Sheikh Azhar discusses arguments for and against the verse of Purity (Quran 33:33) applying the wives as well as the Holy Five, looking at the verse in context with the surrounding verses.

The discussion covers:

– Why are wives referenced before and after this verse?

– Are wives actually being praised?

– Changes in pronouns

– Meaning of “warding off filth”

– Context changing from “Your houses” to “The house”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUEGYtgQxOs&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

Continuing the comparison of Shia and Sunni views on Aisha bint Abu Bakr, Sheikh Azhar compares Shia and Sunni perspectives on hadiths that cause each sect to have their varying opinions on Aisha.

Hadiths covered include:

– (Bukhari/Sahih Muslim) Prophet Muhammad apparently pointing to Aisha’s house and saying “fitna is from here”

– (Bukhari) Prophet Muhammad saying Aisha is like “the female companion of Yusuf”, i.e. Zulayqha

– (Bukhari/Muslim) Various hadith given by Aisha that include implications of the prophet listening to women singing and being bewitched and halucinating, thus damaging the prophet’s dignity with their alleged stories. (Shias reject the validity of these hadith)

Key message: The above and the discussions from the last lecture give Shia scholars enough reservations about Aisha’s narrations that they prefer to get their teachings from more reliable sources like Imam Ali and Lady Fatima

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQLj16n0-p4&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

Comparing the Shia and Sunni views on Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr and third wife of Prophet Muhammad. Sheikh Azhar also explains why the two sects may have such divergent views of her.

The lecture dives into:

– Why Shia’s believe Aisha was in her late teens when she married Prophet Muhammad (vs the Sunni narrative of being 9 years old)

– How Aisha gained an prominence above other wives of Propeht Muhammad

– Quranic verses establishing that the wives of Prophet Muhammad could choose to do either good or evil (Quran 33:30-31)

– Comparing views on whether the Verse of Purification applies to all wives of the prophet or only Imam Ali, Lady Fatima, and their children

– Quranic verses (Surah 66, verses 3-5) that accuse two wives of their deviation and threatens retribution. Sunnis and Shias both agree they refer to Aisha and Hafsa (another wife)

– Comparing Sunni/Shia views on whether there’s enough evidence of Aisha’s repentance after the above Quranic condemnation to depend on her as a reliable narrator of hadith

– Why Shias don’t believe the Quranic title “The Mothers of the Believers” was intended to honor Prophet Muhammad’s wives

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com