Life-of-Muhammad

90Life of Muhammad sabattle. If one of these prayers was upset by enemyattack, it pained him.To return to the battle, the enemy was attackingfrom the front, the Banu Quraiza were planning toattack from the rear but not in such a way as to makethe Muslim population alert. They wanted to enter thetown from behind and to kill the women and childrensheltered there. One day the Banu Quraiza sent a spy tofind out whether guards had been posted for theprotection of women and children and, if so, in whatstrength. There was a special enclosure for familieswhich the enemy regarded as their special target. Thespy came and began to hover round this enclosure andto look about suspiciously. While he was doing so,Safiyya ra , an aunt of the Prophet sa , spotted him. Onlyone male adult happened to be on guard duty at thetime and even he was ill. Safiyya ra reported to him whatshe had seen and suggested he should lay hand on thisspy before he was able to inform the enemy howunprotected the women and children were in that part ofthe town. The sick Muslim refused to do anything uponwhich Safiyya ra herself picked up a staff and began tofight this undesirable visitor. With the help of otherwomen she succeeded in over-powering and killing him.Later it was proved that this man was really an agent ofthe Banu Quraiza. Muslims became nervous and beganto apprehend other attacks from this side which theyhad so far thought quite safe. But the attack from thefront was so heavy that the whole of the Muslim forcewas needed to resist it. Nevertheless, the Prophet sadecided to spare a part of the force for the protection ofwomen and children. As we have said in our discussionof the Muslim numbers in this battle, out of twelvehundred men, the Prophet sa sent five hundred for theprotection of women in the town. For the defence of theditch, therefore, only seven hundred men were left tofight an army of between eighteen and twenty thousand.Many Muslims were unnerved at the odds which theyhad to face. They went to the Prophet sa and said how