Tricks and TmJiQn^139
th rough work molded their fraternity an d sense of belonging, and also
made it possible to give co llective expression to feelings, aspirations, and
bopes. Through his invocations, poems, and songs, the Prophet enabled
the women and men in his community-beyond their communion in faith
and ritual prayer-to commune through the voicing of emotions and the
musicality of hearts articulating their belonging to a common expression of
the self, a collective imagination, a culrure. They were united not only by
what they received from the One-and in which they had faith-but also
in their manner of speaking about themselves, of articulating their feelings
and of considering their place in the universe. Communion in faith, in the
intimacy of meaning, cannot remain purely conceprual; it can maintain its
vivifying energy only if it associates with communion in speech and action
within a conunon space of social and cultural references. Faith needs cul-
ture. Thus, when he needed to unite his Companions' energies, Muhammad
summoned up ail the levels of their being in the world in order to perfect
the unity of his community: deep faith in the One, the poetic phrasing of
feelings, the musicality of the song of emotions. From within his commu-
nity, sharing their daily lives, he attested that while he was indeed at the
One's service, beyond time and space, he also experienced their hisTOry and
partake of their culrure: he was one of them.
The moat that was emerging as the work progressed was a g reat suc-
cess: it \vould be impossible for enemy horsemen to cross it in any spot,
and the Muslim archers would without difficulty be able to prevent them
from undertaking any bold attempt. Before settling inside the city, the
Medina people gathered aU the crops in the oasis so that the enemy would
have to rely on their own food reserves. The enemy armies were now
approaching, and the 1.fuslims hurried back inside the city, behind the
moat, to wait for them.
The SiegeTo the south and east of Medina, the armies arrived and settled around
the city. They were surprised to see the moat, which thwarted their plan
to encircle the city and invade it in a joint attack from all sides. The moat
was indeed a war technit,jue unknown to the Arabs, and the Confederates
therefore had to fmd another plan of action to defeat the Muslims.