The Muslim officers erected a catapult under the guidance of...

The Muslim officers erected a catapult under the guidance of Salman and stoned the towers and the interior of the fort for about twenty days. However, the enemies, too, continued to shoot arrows and thereby inflicted injuries on the soldiers of Islam. Now let us see as to how the Muslims procured a catapult at that juncture. Some say that Salman made it himself and taught the Muslim soldiers how to operate it.

Others believe that the Muslims came in possession of this military weapon at the time of the conquest of Khayber and brought it with them to Ta'if.[^5] It is not improbable that Salman himself made the catapult and taught the Muslims how to install and use it. History tells us that this was not the only catapult available with the Muslims, because, simultaneously with the Battles of Hunayn and Ta'if, the Prophet had sent Tufayl bin 'Amr Dowsi to pull down the idol-temples of the tribe of Dows.

He returned after successfully carrying out his assignment and came to the Prophet at Ta'if along with four hundred soldiers, all of whom belonged to his own tribe, as well as a catapult and a military vehicle. And during this battle these military equipments, which had been acquired by Tufayl bin 'Amr Dowsi as war booty, came into use.[^6] Splitting The Wall Of The Fort By Means Of Military Vehicles In order to make the enemy surrender, it was necessary to attack it from all sides.

It was, therefore, decided that, simultaneously with the installation of the catapult and throwing stones, the military vehicles should also be utilized to create a rent in the wall of the fort, so that the army of Islam might enter it. However, the battalions of the army of Islam were faced with a great difficulty in accomplishing this task, because arrows were showered on their heads from the towers and other spots of the fort and none could manage to approach the wall.

The best means of achieving this purpose were the military vehicles which were available with the organized armies of those times in an imperfect shape. A military vehicle was made of wood and was covered with a thick hide. Strong soldiers took their places inside it and pushed it towards the fort and began making holes in the wall under its cover. By making use of this military device the soldiers of Islam busied themselves bravely in splitting the wall.

However, the enemies threw melted iron and wires on the vehicle and burnt its covering; inflicted injuries on them.