Life-of-Muhammad

Life of Muhammad sa 83BATTLE OF THE DITCHA large army was raised in the fifth year of the Hijra.The strength of this army has been estimated byhistorians as between ten and twenty-four thousandmen. But a confederated army raised out of the differenttribes of Arabia could not be an army of ten thousand.Twenty-four thousand seems nearer the truth. It couldeasily have been eighteen or twenty thousand. The townof Medina which this horde wished to attack was amodest one, quite unable to resist a concerted attack byall Arabia. Its population at this time was little morethan three thousand males (including old men, youngmen and children). Against this population the enemyhad raised an army of twenty to twenty-four thousandable-bodied men, experienced in warfare; and (havingbeen assembled from different parts of the country) theywere an army with a well-selected personnel. Thepopulation of Medina, on the other hand, which couldbe called upon to resist this huge army included malesof all ages. One can judge the odds against which theMuslim population of Medina had to contend. It was amost unequal encounter. The enemy was twenty totwenty-four thousand strong, and Muslims hardly threethousand including, as we have said, all the males of thetown, the old and the young. When the Prophet sa heardof the huge enemy preparations, he held a council andasked for advice. Among those who were consulted wasSalman ra the Persian, being the first Muslim convertfrom Persia. The Prophet sa asked Salman ra what they didin Persia if they had to defend a town against a hugearmy. "If a town is unfortified, and the home force verysmall," said Salman ra , "the custom in our country is todig a ditch round the town and to defend from inside."The Prophet sa approved of the idea. Medina has hills onone side. These provided a natural protection on thatside. Another side with a concentration of lanes had acompact population. On this side the town could not beattacked unawares. The third side had houses and