MOSQUE AND FORTRESS OF THE BANU WAQIF
The refuge of souls during the siege.
The Unknown Mosque Next to Quba
A few steps from the Mosque of Quba, there is a mosque that most pilgrims overlook as they pass by. Yet, it carries a dual history: a history of prayer, and a history of protection.
This is the Mosque of the Banu Waqif. And right next to it once stood their fortress (atam) — one of the many stone refuges that the tribes of Medina built before Islam.
The Prayer of the Prophet ﷺ
According to the tradition of the Sîrah preserved by As-Samhudi in Wafa' al-Wafa, the Prophet ﷺ prayed in this mosque during his stay in Quba or during his subsequent visits to this area.
What an immense honor for a neighborhood: to have received the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The Fortress During the Siege of Khandaq
But the truly poignant story of this place lies in the Battle of Khandaq (5 AH). When 10,000 men from the coalition (al-Ahzab) marched on Medina, it was necessary to protect the most vulnerable.
Medina did not have a central citadel. But it had, scattered throughout the city, the fortresses of the tribes. The fortress of the Banu Waqif was one of the main refuges where women, young children, the elderly, the disabled, and the wounded were sheltered.
For an entire month, these vulnerable people lived behind the thick walls of the fortress, in fear and prayer, while the Prophet ﷺ and the companions dug the trench.
Why This Story is Powerful
This story reminds us of a forgotten dimension of the Battle of Khandaq: the familial, human, fragile dimension. Behind every hero, there was a mother, a wife, an elderly person, a disabled individual. The victory of Khandaq belongs to them as well.
The Famous Story of Safiya bint Abdul-Muttalib
During the siege, in a similar fortress, was Safiya bint Abdul-Muttalib (رضي الله عنها) — the aunt of the Prophet ﷺ, sister of Hamza, mother of Az-Zubayr.
A Jew from the Banu Qurayza came to spy on the fortress. Safiya — an elderly but courageous woman — seized a tent peg, descended into the courtyard, and killed the spy. Then she said to the companion present: "Go take his belongings. I did not want to take his possessions because he is a man and I am a woman." (Sîrah of Ibn Hisham)
This scene — an elderly woman killing a spy with a single blow of a peg — is one of the most striking images of Muslim women's courage.