Say: 'O Allah, cover our faults and calm our fears.' He said: Then He struck the faces of his enemies with the wind, so He defeated them by the wind (1).

17600 - From Mujahid regarding 'When armies came to you,' he said: The Confederates (al-Ahzab). 'Uyaynah ibn Badr, Abu Sufyan, and the Banu Qurayzah. 'Then We sent upon them a wind,' he said: meaning the easterly wind (al-saba) was sent against the Confederates on the day of the Trench (al-Khandaq) until it overturned their cooking pots upon their openings and uprooted their tents until it caused them to depart. 'And [with] soldiers you did not see,' meaning the angels. He said: The angels did not fight on that day (2).

His saying, the Almighty: 'Then We sent upon them a wind, and soldiers [whom] you did not see.'

17601 - From Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) who said: When the night of the Confederates (al-Ahzab) came, the northerly wind came to the southerly wind and said: 'Depart, for I have been commanded to support the Messenger of Allah.' The southerly wind replied: 'The free woman does not travel at night.' So Allah became angry with it and made it barren. Then Allah sent the easterly wind (al-saba) against them, and it extinguished their fires and cut their tent ropes. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: 'I have been helped by the easterly wind (al-saba), and 'Ad was destroyed by the westerly wind (al-dabur).' That is [the meaning of] His saying: 'Then We sent upon them a wind, and soldiers [whom] you did not see' (3).

[His saying, the Almighty: 'When they came at you from above you and from below you.']

17602 - From Aishah regarding His saying: 'From above you and from below you,' she said: That was on the day of the Trench (al-Khandaq) (4).

His saying, the Almighty: 'And [remember] when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease said, "Allah and His Messenger did not promise us except delusion."

17603 - Through the chain of Kathir ibn 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn 'Awf al-Muzani from his father from his grandfather, who said: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) dug the Trench (al-Khandaq) in the year of the Confederates (al-Ahzab). A white, round rock appeared to us from the trench, which broke our iron tools and was difficult for us. We complained to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and he took the pickaxe from Salman and struck the rock with a blow. It cracked, and a light shone from it that illuminated what was between the two tracts of land of Medina, as if it were a lamp in the depth of a dark night. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) shouted "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is the Greatest), and the Muslims shouted "Allahu Akbar." Then he struck it a second time, and it cracked, and a light shone from it that illuminated what was between them; he shouted "Allahu Akbar" and the Muslims shouted "Allahu Akbar." Then he struck it a third time, and it cracked, and a light shone from it that illuminated what was between them; he shouted "Allahu Akbar" and the Muslims shouted "Allahu Akbar." We asked him about it, and he said: "It shone for me the first time [showing] the palaces of al-Hirah and the cities of Chosroes (Kisra), as if they were the tusks of dogs, and Gabriel informed me that my nation will be victorious over them. It shone for me the second time [showing] the red palaces of the land of Rome, as if they were the tusks of dogs, and Gabriel informed me that my nation will be victorious over them. It shone for me the third time [showing] the palaces of Sana'a, as if they were the tusks of dogs, and Gabriel informed me that my nation will be victorious over them. So rejoice in the victory." The Muslims rejoiced and said: "Praise be to Allah, a true promise, for He promised us victory after the siege." Then the Confederates appeared, and the Muslims said: "This is what Allah and His Messenger promised us, and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth. And it increased them only in faith and submission." But the hypocrites said: "Do you not wonder! He speaks to you, promises you, and deludes you with falsehood; he tells you that he sees the palaces of al-Hirah and the cities of Chosroes from Yathrib and that they will be opened for you, while you are digging the trench and cannot even emerge [to relieve yourselves]." Then the Quran was revealed: "And [remember] when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease said, 'Allah and His Messenger did not promise us except delusion.'" (1).'