The story of the People of the Ditch is named after the
ditch into which fire was lit and into which the believers of the new religion
(Christianity) were thrown.
The ditch was a deep fissure, a wide pit, or a wide hole
in the ground, dug by Yusuf ibn Sharahil ibn Tubba' al-Himyarī to torture the
Christians of Najran in Yemen forty years before the advent of the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him). It is said that there were over eighty men. Yusuf
ibn Sharahil's crimes were not limited to this massacre. He committed a number
of other crimes against Christians in Mocha, Zafar, Yarim, and parts of Ma'rib
and Hadhramaut (Wikipedia).
The Quran depicts this massacre in Surah Al-Buruj, where
God Almighty says: "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most
Merciful. By the heaven, holding the big stars, And
by the Promised Day (i.e. the Day of Resurrection); And by the witnessing day (i.e. Friday), and by the
witnessed day [i.e. the day of 'Arafat (Hajj) the ninth of Dhul-Hijjah]; Cursed were the people of the ditch (the story of the Boy
and the King).
Fire supplied (abundantly) with fuel, When they sat by it (fire), And they witnessed what they
were doing against the believers (i.e. burning them) (Surah Al-Buruj: 1-7)
Surah Al-Buruj recounts the story of the People of the
Ditch in a simplified manner. It establishes that they were burned in the ditch
because they believed in God. The surah also describes the king and his
followers as witnesses to this burning, clarifying that the motive for the
revenge against these believers was solely their faith in God. The surah
concludes the story by opening the door of repentance for those who carried out
this burning, while threatening those who do not repent with punishment by
burning them in the Hereafter in the Fire.
As for the Prophetic Sunnah, the Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) mentioned the story of the People of the Ditch in detail. He said,
and his word is the truth: “There was a king among those who came before you,
and he had a sorcerer. When the sorcerer grew old, he said to the king: ‘I have
grown old.’” So send me a boy to teach me magic. He sent him a boy to teach
him, and on his way he passed a monk, sat with him and listened to his words,
which impressed him. Whenever he went to the magician, he would pass by the
monk and sit with him, but when he came to the magician, he would be beaten. He
complained about this to the monk, who said: If you fear the magician, say: My
family detained me, and if you fear your family, say: The magician detained me.
While he was doing this, he came upon a great beast that had stopped the
people, and he said: Today I will know whether the magician is better or the
monk is better? So he took a stone and said, “O God, if the monk’s way is more
pleasing to You than the sorcerer’s, then kill this beast so that the people
may pass.” He threw the stone and killed it, and the people passed. He went to
the monk and told him what had happened. The monk said to him, “My son, you are
better than I today. Your power has reached the point I see. If you are ever
afflicted, do not reveal my whereabouts.” The boy used to heal the blind and
the lepers, and cure people of all kinds of ailments. The king’s courtier, who
had gone blind, heard of this and came to him with many gifts, saying, “I will
give you all of this if you heal me.” The boy replied, “I do not heal anyone;
only God Almighty heals. If you believe in God Almighty, I will pray to God,
and He will heal you.” So he believed in God Almighty, and God Almighty healed
him. He went to the king and sat with him as he used to. The king asked him,
“Who restored your sight?” He replied, “My Lord.” The king said, “Do you have a
lord other than me?” He said, “My Lord and your Lord is God.” So the king
seized him and continued to torture him until he revealed the boy’s whereabouts.
The king said to him, “My son, your magic has reached such a point that you can
cure the blind and the leper, and do such and such.” The boy replied, “I do not
heal anyone; it is God Almighty who heals.” So the king seized him and
continued to torture him until he revealed the monk’s whereabouts. The monk was
brought forth and told, “Renounce your faith.” He refused. So the king called
for a saw and placed it on the top of his head and sawed him in two. Then the
king’s companion was brought forth and told, “Renounce your faith.” He refused.
So the king placed a saw on the top of his head and sawed him in two. Then the
boy was brought forth and told, “Renounce your faith.” He refused, so he handed
him over to some of his companions and said, “Take him to such-and-such
mountain, climb it, and when you reach its summit, if he recants his faith,
then so be it; otherwise, throw him down.” So they took him and climbed the
mountain, and he said, “O God, protect me from them as You will.” The mountain
shook beneath them, and they fell. He walked back to the king, who asked him,
“What happened to your companions?” He replied, “God Almighty protected me from
them.” So he handed him over to some of his companions and said, “Take him and
put him in a small boat and go out to sea. If he recants his faith, then so be
it; otherwise, throw him overboard.” So they took him, and he said, “O God,
protect me from them as You will.” The boat capsized, and they drowned. He
walked back to the king, who asked him, “What happened to your companions?” He
replied, “God Almighty protected me from them.” He then said to the king, “You
will not be able to kill me until you do what I command you.” The king asked,
“And what is that?” He said, “Gather the people in one place and crucify me on
a tree trunk. Then take an arrow from my quiver, place it in the bow, and say,
‘In the name of God, the Lord of the boy,’ and shoot me. If you do this, you
will kill me.” So they gathered the people in one place and crucified him. Then
he took an arrow from his quiver, placed it in the bow, and said, “In the name
of God, the Lord of the boy,” and shot him. The arrow struck his temple, and he
put his hand to his temple and died. The people said, “We believe in the Lord
of the boy! We believe in the Lord of the boy! We believe in the Lord of the
boy!” The king was informed, and it was said to him, “Do you see what you
feared? By God, what you feared has befallen you. The people have believed.” So
he ordered ditches to be dug at the mouths of the roads, and they were dug and
fires were lit in them. He said, "Whoever does not renounce his religion,
throw him in." So they did, until a woman came with her young son, and she
hesitated to fall in. The boy said to her, "O mother, be patient, for you
are on the right path." (Narrated by: Suhaib al-Rumi; Source: Sahih
Muslim).
The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, tells
us what happened to the people of the trench as a lesson and admonition, and to
encourage patience in the face of adversity, i.e., trials. A person may be
afflicted with illness, poverty, or the machinations of those who seek to
slander him, violate his honor, and speak ill of him in every gathering, both
openly and secretly. He must be patient and forbearing, and always remember the
words of God Almighty: " And certainly, We
shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and
fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sabirin (the patient ones, etc.), Who, when
afflicted with calamity, say: "Truly! To Allah we belong and truly, to Him
we shall return", They are those on
whom are the Salawat (i.e. blessings, etc.) (i.e. who are blessed and will be
forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His Mercy, and it
is they who are the guided-ones[Al-Baqarah: 155-157] And the words of God: “Say
(O Muhammad SAW): "O My slaves who believe (in the Oneness of Allah
Islamic Monotheism), be afraid of your Lord (Allah) and keep your duty to Him.
Good is (the reward) for those who do good in this world, and Allah's earth is
spacious (so if you cannot worship Allah at a place, then go to another)! Only
those who are patient shall receive their rewards in full, without
reckoning" [Az-Zumar: 10]. And His words to His Prophet, peace and
blessings be upon him: “And endure you patiently (O Muhammad SAW), your
patience is not but from Allah. And grieve not over them (polytheists and
pagans, etc.), and be not distressed because of what they plot.” [An-Nahl: 127]
The story of the People of the Ditch is an inspiration
for Muslims to be patient and strong in faith so that they can endure trials
and tribulations, especially in times of persecution (trials and tribulations
in Islamic terminology).
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