Answering Objections to Islam · Fulfilled Prophecies of Muhammad
The keys of Syria, Persia and Yemen at the Trench
Handle with care. Do not present the Trench narration as being in Bukhari. The Kisra narration is; the three-strikes narration comes through other collections.
In short
- 1.Battle of the Trench, 627 CE: 10,000 besiegers against a single Muslim city
- 2.Three strikes on the rock: the keys of Ash-Sham, of Persia and of Yemen
- 3.A further narration names the Persian king specifically — the treasures of Kisra bin Hurmuz
- 4.Adi bin Hatim's recorded reaction is open astonishment
- 5.Q 33:10-11 describes the Muslims' terror during the same siege
The claim being examined
Under siege at Medina in 627 CE by a coalition of ten thousand, outnumbered three to one, the Prophet struck a rock and announced the conquest of Greater Syria, Persia and Yemen.
The Islamic position
The timing is the argument. The claim was made at the point of likely annihilation, and a companion's recorded astonishment shows how absurd it sounded then.
Analysis
Two features make this hard to explain as bravado. First, the specificity: not "we will win" but named territories, and in the second narration a named Sasanian monarch. Second, the preserved reaction — the companions transmitted their own disbelief along with the prediction, which is not how legend-building usually works. The Qur'an in the same context records the Muslims' hearts rising to their throats, so the sources are not smoothing over the desperation of the moment.
From the Qur'an
Qur'an 33:10-11
وَبَلَغَتِ الْقُلُوبُ الْحَنَاجِرَ وَتَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ الظُّنُونَا
They massed against you from above and below; your eyes rolled with fear, your hearts rose into your throats. There the believers were sorely tested and deeply shaken.
From the Sunnah
Sunan an-Nasa'i / Musnad Ahmad (al-Bara ibn Azib) · Hasan/Sahih by grading of the collectors
God is Most Great, I have been given the keys of Ash-Sham; by God I can see its red palaces. God is Most Great, I have been given Persia; by God I can now see the white palace of Mada'in. God is Most Great, I have been given the keys of Yemen; by God I can see the gates of San'a from where I stand.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3595 (Adi ibn Hatim) · Sahih
A veiled woman will travel from Hira alone to circle the Ka'bah, fearing none but God — and the treasures of Kisra bin Hurmuz will be conquered. Adi said in astonishment: Kisra bin Hurmuz? He said: Yes, Kisra bin Hurmuz.
Sources
Abu Zakariya, Forbidden Prophecies, Ch. 2 · Sahih al-Bukhari 3595 · Ibn Ishaq / al-Tabari on the Battle of the Trench · Forbidden Prophecies, Ch. 2, pp. 62-65
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