Verses 9–27
These verses deal with the Battle of Khandaq and the events that followed it with regards to the Banū Qurayẓah. And it is related to the section before it because it mentions keeping one’s pledges and breaking them.
Commentary
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَاءَتْكُمْ جُنُودٌ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًا وَجُنُودًا لَمْ تَرَوْهَا ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرًا٩
(33:9) O you who have faith! Remember Allah’s blessing upon yu when the hosts came at you, and We sent against them a gale and hosts whom you did not see. And Allah sees best what you do.
This reminds the faithful of the blessings God granted them during the Battle of Khandaq, which was waged over several days, by granting them His assistance and protecting them from the armies of the polytheists. For their enemies had assembled a great host that was drawn from different peoples and tribes, such as the Ghaṭfān, the Quraysh, the Abyssinians, the Kinānah, and the Jewish tribes of the Banū Qurayẓah and the Banū al-Naḍīr. This force laid siege to them from every direction, but God gave the wind supremacy over them and sent down angels to humiliate them.
This is reflected in God’s saying: O you who have faith! Remember Allah’s blessing upon you when…—“when” is either adverbial (ẓarf) for the blessing or to indicate its permanence—when the hosts came at you—from the tribes, each one with their own army, such as the Ghaṭfān, the Quraysh, and others—and We sent—this elucidates the blessing, which took place after the tribes came—against them a gale—the wind of al-Ṣabā, which is a freezing wind on winter nights—and hosts whom you did not see—the angels who came to humiliate the idolaters—And Allah sees best what you do.
إِذْ جَاءُوكُمْ مِنْ فَوْقِكُمْ وَمِنْ أَسْفَلَ مِنْكُمْ وَإِذْ زَاغَتِ الْأَبْصَارُ وَبَلَغَتِ الْقُلُوبُ الْحَنَاجِرَ وَتَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ الظُّنُونَا ١٠
(33:10) When they came at you from above and below you, and when the eyes rolled and the hearts leapt to the throats, and you entertained misgivings about Allah.
Those who came “from above”—meaning the eastern side of Medina—were the Ghaṭfān, the Banū Qurayẓah, and the Banū Naḍīr, while those who came from “below”—meaning the western side—were the Quraysh, who were accompanied by the Kinānah and the Abyssinians. Therefore, when they came at you from above and below you is an exposition of when the hosts came at you in the previous verse.
…and when the eyes rolled and the hearts leapt to the throats… is another exposition of when the hosts came at you.
The image of eyes rolling and hearts leaping into throats suggest that people were so terrified that they resembled people on their deathbeds, whose souls were about to depart their bodies.
And you entertained misgivings about Allah—meaning that the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was a sickness said to one another things like, “The disbelievers will be victorious and take control of Medina”, “Islam will be wiped out and the religion destroyed”, “the Age of Ignorance will return as if nothing has changed”, “God has deceived the faithful and their prophet”, and other such misgivings.
هُنَالِكَ ابْتُلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَزُلْزِلُوا زِلْزَالًا شَدِيدًا ١١
(33:11) It was there that the faithful were afflicted and jolted with a severe convulsion.
The demonstrative pronoun, there, refers to a time or place at a distance. In this case, it refers to the time when the armies came to Medina. This was extremely difficult for them. In this verse, afflicted means “tested”; jolted means to be agitated; severe (shadīd) means powerful (qawī). There difference between “severe” and “powerful” is that the former tends to be perceived with the senses, while the latter does not. Some say this is why qawī is predicated of God directly but not shadīd.
The meaning of this verse is: At that time of severity the faithful were tested and were agitated with extreme terror.
وَإِذْ يَقُولُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ مَا وَعَدَنَا اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ إِلَّا غُرُورًا ١٢
(33:12) And when the hypocrites were saying, as well as those in whose hearts is a sickness, Allah and His Messenger promised us naught but delusion.
Those in whose hearts is a sickness refers to those believers who are weak of faith. They are not the same as the hypocrites, who outwardly profess faith while inwardly hide their disbelief. And the hypocrites only refer to the Prophet as God’s Messenger because they are making an outward show of faith.
Delusion (ghurūr) means to lead a person to evil while making it appear good, and “to be deluded” (ightirār) means to allow oneself to be led in this way.
Al-Rāghib says:
To delude someone (gharartu fulānan) means to have seized his finest possession (ghurrah) and taken from him what you wanted, while ghirrah (“inadvertence”) means to be heedless while being awake.
Based on the context of the verse, the promise that the hypocrites and weak of faith call a delusion from God and His Messenger is the promise of Islam’s eventual victory over all religion. This promise appears frequently in the Qur’an, and it is also narrated that the hypocrites would complain, “Muḥammad promised us that we would conquer the palaces of Khosrow and Caesar. Right now we can’t even go to the lavatory in safety!”
وَإِذْ قَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ يَا أَهْلَ يَثْرِبَ لَا مُقَامَ لَكُمْ فَارْجِعُوا ۚ وَيَسْتَأْذِنُ فَرِيقٌ مِنْهُمُ النَّبِيَّ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّ بُيُوتَنَا عَوْرَةٌ وَمَا هِيَ بِعَوْرَةٍ ۖ إِنْ يُرِيدُونَ إِلَّا فِرَارًا ١٣
(33:13) And when a group of them said, O people of Yathrib! This is no place (muqām) for you, so go back! And a group of them sought the Prophet’s permission, saying, Our homes lie exposed, although they were not exposed. They only sought to flee.
Yathrib was the name of Medina before Islam, then it came to be known as Madīnat al-Rasūl (“the Prophet’s City”) after the Emigration, before this was eventually shortened to just “Madīna.” Muqām means residence. The phrase this is no place (muqām) for you, so go back means there is no sense in you staying here to face the armies of the polytheists, as they will surely be victorious, so go back! God follows this by relating what some others had said: And a group of them sought the Prophet’s permission…—meaning that some of the hypocrites and those who were weak of faith asked the Prophet to go back, saying as an excuse: Our homes lie exposed, meaning they were vulnerable to thieves and attacks by the enemy, although they were not exposed. They only sought to flee using this as a pretext.
وَلَوْ دُخِلَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ أَقْطَارِهَا ثُمَّ سُئِلُوا الْفِتْنَةَ لَآتَوْهَا وَمَا تَلَبَّثُوا بِهَا إِلَّا يَسِيرًا ١٤
(33:14) Had they been invaded from their flanks and had they been asked to apostatize (fitnah), they would have done so with only a mild hesitation.
In this verse, the things being invaded from their flanks are the houses; the remainder of the “they” pronouns refer to the hypocrites and those with a sickness in their hearts. This means “had the enemy entered these houses while these people were inside of them”. Based on the context, fitnah here means to apostatize and give up their faith.
The meaning of the verse as a whole is: Had the armies of the polytheists entered their homes from the flanks while they were within them, then demanded that their occupants renounce their faith, the hypocrites and those with a sickness in their hearts would have complied, hesitating only long enough to hear the question. This shows that they remain steadfast in their religion only so long as it is easy for them, but as soon as they face hardship, they are ready to give up at a moment’s notice.
وَلَقَدْ كَانُوا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ مِنْ قَبْلُ لَا يُوَلُّونَ الْأَدْبَارَ ۚ وَكَانَ عَهْدُ اللَّهِ مَسْئُولًا ١٥
(33:15) Though they had certainly pledged to Allah before that they would not turn their backs, and pledges given to Allah are accountable.
They would not turn their backs means they would not flee from fighting. This is an exposition of the pledge they made to God, which might refer to the pledge of allegiance (bayʿah) they gave to believe in God, His Messenger and whatever the Messenger brings. And, of course, one of the things he brought was to struggle in the way of God (jihād), from which it is forbidden to flee. And the meaning of the verse is clear.
قُلْ لَنْ يَنْفَعَكُمُ الْفِرَارُ إِنْ فَرَرْتُمْ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ أَوِ الْقَتْلِ وَإِذًا لَا تُمَتَّعُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا ١٦
(33:16) Say, Flight will not avail you should you flee from death or from being killed, and then you will be let to enjoy only for a little while.
After all, every soul shall die at an appointed time, and not an hour sooner or later than that. Running away will have no effect on that.
And then you will be let to enjoy only for a little while—and even if running away were to avail you, however much time you suppose that might give you, it will only be a little extra and it will invariably come to an end.
قُلْ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَعْصِمُكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ إِنْ أَرَادَ بِكُمْ سُوءًا أَوْ أَرَادَ بِكُمْ رَحْمَةً ۚ وَلَا يَجِدُونَ لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلِيًّا وَلَا نَصِيرًا ١٧
(33:17) Say, Who is it that can protect you from Allah should He desire to cause you ill, or desire to grant you mercy? They will not find for themselves any protector or helper besides Allah.
The previous verse called the attention of the addressees to the fact that human life has an appointed end, such that fleeing from battle will be of no avail. This verse calls their attention to the fact that good and bad occurrences are entirely dependent upon the will of God—there is nothing that can prevent them from happening, nor is there anyone that can protect the human being from them—therefore it is only prudent to entrust the matter to God’s will and to be steadfast in following His commands by placing your trust in Him.
But because of those with a sickness in their hearts, or whose hearts were preoccupied with their hidden faithlessness, the Qur’an transitions from telling the Prophet to speak to them to speaking to the Prophet directly: They will not find for themselves any protector or helper besides Allah.
قَدْ يَعْلَمُ اللَّهُ الْمُعَوِّقِينَ مِنْكُمْ وَالْقَائِلِينَ لِإِخْوَانِهِمْ هَلُمَّ إِلَيْنَا ۖ وَلَا يَأْتُونَ الْبَأْسَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا ١٨ أَشِحَّةً عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ فَإِذَا جَاءَ الْخَوْفُ رَأَيْتَهُمْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ تَدُورُ أَعْيُنُهُمْ كَالَّذِي يُغْشَىٰ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ ۖ فَإِذَا ذَهَبَ الْخَوْفُ سَلَقُوكُمْ بِأَلْسِنَةٍ حِدَادٍ أَشِحَّةً عَلَى الْخَيْرِ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ لَمْ يُؤْمِنُوا فَأَحْبَطَ اللَّهُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرًا ١٩
(33:18–19) Allah knows those of you who hinder others (muʿawwiqīn), and those who say to their brethren, Come to us! (halumma) and they take little part in the battle (baʾs), grudging you (ashiḥḥatan ʿalaykum). So when there is panic, you see them observing you, their eyes rolling, like someone fainting at death (ka alladhī yaghshā ʿalayhi min al-mawt). Then, when the panic is over, they smite you (salaqūkum) with sharp tongues in their greed for riches. They never have had faith. So Allah has made their works fail, and that is easy for Allah.
“To hinder” (taʿwīq) means to hold someone back or turn them away from something.
Halumma is a noun of verb (ism fiʿl) meaning “come!” (aqbil—in the imperative of form IV), which does not have any plural forms in the dialect of the Hejaz. Baʾs means “violence and fighting”. Ashiḥḥah is the plural of shaḥīḥ, which means “miserly.”
Someone fainting at death means “someone who has lost consciousness and whose eyes roll backwards”.
“To smite” (salq) means “to lash and strike”.
The meaning of these two verses is: God certainly knows those who hinder people from coming to you and turn them away from fighting. These are the hypocrites. And He knows those hypocrites who tell other hypocrites or those with weak faith, “Come to us!” and they do not participate in the fighting except a little, because they are miserly with themselves. And when the signs of battle bring fear, you see them looking at you aghast and gripped by terror, and their eyes roll like someone who is about to die. Then, when the fear has passed, they rebuke you and strike at you with their sharp tongues, even while they are stingy with the good things that you have won. Such people are neither believers, nor does faith take root in their hearts, no matter how much they might pretend. God has thwarted their deeds and made their works futile. And that is an easy thing for God.
يَحْسَبُونَ الْأَحْزَابَ لَمْ يَذْهَبُوا ۖ وَإِنْ يَأْتِ الْأَحْزَابُ يَوَدُّوا لَوْ أَنَّهُمْ بَادُونَ فِي الْأَعْرَابِ يَسْأَلُونَ عَنْ أَنْبَائِكُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ كَانُوا فِيكُمْ مَا قَاتَلُوا إِلَّا قَلِيلًا ٢٠
(33:20) They suppose the confederates have not left yet, and were the confederates to come, they would wish they were in the desert with the Bedouins asking about your news, and if they were with you, they would fight but a little.
In other words, their fear is so intense that they think the confederates—the combined armies of the polytheists and their allies that had come against the Prophet—had not really departed. And were the confederates to come a second time after they had left Medina they would wish—they would desire—that they were in the desert—outside of the city in the wilderness—with the Bedouins asking about your news—asking about events in Medina—and if they were with you—and had not gone out into the desert—they would fight but a little—they would not be much use to you even if they stayed with you as they largely stay away from the fighting.
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا ٢١
(33:21) In the Messenger of Allah there is certainly for you a good exemplar, for those who look forward to Allah and the Last Day, and remember Allah greatly.
An “exemplar” (uswah) is an example to be followed.
In the Messenger of Allah means in the case of God’s Messenger, and the exemplar he sets is one for them to imitate and follow. The expression there is certainly for you… (laqad kāna lakum) indicates that this is an unchanging fact, and the use of the past continuous tense (in the Arabic) indicates that it is a continuous duty for the faithful to follow him.
The meaning of this verse is: If you believe in the Prophet, then you should follow him in his words and deeds. You see that he suffers for the sake of God, that he is present on the battlefield, and that he strives his utmost for God.
In al-Kashshāf, Zamakhsharī writes:
If someone were to ask: What is the real meaning of God’s saying, In the Messenger of Allah there is certainly for you a good exemplar?
Comment: There are two ways of reading this. One is that he is a good exemplar in and of himself, meaning he sets a good example to be followed, as you might say “there are twenty measures of iron in a helmet,” meaning that it contains that amount of iron in and of its own self. The second aspect is that he possesses a moral quality that is worthy of imitation.
And it is the first of these two readings that is closest to what we have said.
…for those who look forward to Allah and the Last Day, and remember Allah greatly: “Those who” (man) is a permutation (badal) of the pronoun in “for you” (lakum), to show that imitating God’s Messenger is an exceptional quality that not everyone who calls themselves a believer possesses. Rather, it only belongs to those who have true faith and look forward to God and the Last Day, meaning those whose hearts are devoted to God and believe in Him, and whose hearts long for the Last Day and so act righteously and remember God abundantly; such a person never forgets his Lord and so always follows the Prophet in his deeds and behavior.
Some have said that a third-person pronoun cannot be a permutative (badal) of a second-person pronoun; therefore, it must either be a relative sentence (ṣilah) for good (that is, “an example who is good for those who look forward…”) or an adjective (ṣifah) for it. However, in all three cases, the meaning is virtually the same.
وَلَمَّا رَأَى الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْأَحْزَابَ قَالُوا هَٰذَا مَا وَعَدَنَا اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَصَدَقَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ ۚ وَمَا زَادَهُمْ إِلَّا إِيمَانًا وَتَسْلِيمًا ٢٢
(33:22) But when the faithful saw the confederates, they said, This is what Allah and His Messenger had promised us, and Allah and His Messenger were true. And it only increased them in faith and submission.
This describes the condition of the faithful when they saw the armies of the confederates laying siege to Medina. It was this event that occasioned their right-guidance, insight into faith, and their belief in God and His Messenger, contrary to the doubt and nay-saying that seized the hypocrites and those who were weak of faith. This shows that the faithful here refers to those who had dedicated their faith sincerely to God and His Messenger.
…they said, This is what Allah and His Messenger had promised us: This refers purely to what they saw, without any specifics, as in the verse: Then, when he saw the sun rising, he said, This is my Lord! ()
Regarding the promise they mention, some say that the Prophet had promised that a confederation would come against them and when they saw them approaching, they realized that this was what he had promised.
Others say that they had heard the verse: Do you suppose that you shall enter paradise though there has not yet come to you the like of those who went before you? Stress and distress befell them and they were convulsed until the apostle and the faithful who were with him said, When is Allah’s help? Look! Allah’s help is indeed near! () And when they saw the enemy approaching, they realized that they would suffer the overwhelming hardships and tribulations the prophets and faithful had suffered before them. So when they saw the confederates, they knew that the promise that God would come to their aid against their enemies was also true.
In truth, both of these interpretations can be correct based on the fact that the speakers combine Allah and His messenger in this promise.
…and Allah and His Messenger were true: The faithful bear witness that the promise was true—And it only increased them in faith and submission—meaning their faith in God and His messenger and their submission to God’s command to support His religion and strive in His way.
مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ ۖ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَضَىٰ نَحْبَهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَنْتَظِرُ ۖ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا تَبْدِيلًا ٢٣
(33:23) Among the faithful are men who fulfil what they have pledged to Allah. Of them are some who have fulfilled their pledge (naḥb), and of them are some who still wait, and they have not changed in the least.
Al-Rāghib says:
Naḥb means an obligatory vow (nadhr). If someone fulfils their pledge, it means they have paid it in full.
Of them are some who have fulfilled their pledge, and of them are some who still wait: Those “who have fulfilled their pledge” refers to those who have already given their lives, similar to the Arabic idioms “he fulfilled this duration (qaḍā ajluhu)”, “he ate his fill (istawfā akluhu)”, or “he got what he needed from this world (qaḍā min al-dunyā ḥājatahu)”.
…who fulfil what they have pledged to Allah—meaning they show that their pledges were truthful by standing their ground when they encounter the enemy. We know that this was their pledge because of the parallel between this verse and the previous verse about the hypocrites: they had certainly pledged to Allah before that they would not turn their backs (), just as the verse immediately before the one under discussion ran parallel to the doubt of the hypocrites and their lack of submission to God’s command.
and of them are some who still wait: Meaning, of them are some who have met their ends through death or being killed in the way of God, while there are others who await that. But they have not changed in the least from what they pledged and promised before.
لِيَجْزِيَ اللَّهُ الصَّادِقِينَ بِصِدْقِهِمْ وَيُعَذِّبَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ إِنْ شَاءَ أَوْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا ٢٤
(33:24) That Allah may reward the true for their truthfulness (bi ṣidqihim), and punish the hypocrites, if He wishes, or accept their repentance. Indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.
That is purposive (lil-ghāyah), and the verse as a whole explains the goal behind everything that has been said about the hypocrites and the faithful above.
…that Allah may reward the true for their truthfulness: The true (al-ṣādiqīn) refer to the faithful, whose truthfulness has been mentioned already. The bāʾ in bi-ṣidqihim signifies causation. Thus, the meaning of this phrase is: “That He may reward the faithful who have been true to their pledge on account of their truthfulness.”
And punish the hypocrites, if He wishes, or accept their repentance: Meaning, so that He may punish them if He wishes to punish them, and that is so long as they do not repent or He does not forgive them if they do. And God is all-forgiving, all-merciful.
Because this verse is explaining the goal behind God’s actions, there is a subtle point to be observed here, namely that sins can sometimes be a step towards forgiveness and happiness. This is not insofar as they are sins, but insofar as they might cause a soul to feel ashamed and cause it to awaken and repent to its Lord, and wrest itself free from sinning and wrongdoing, so that God will ultimately forgive it.
وَرَدَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِغَيْظِهِمْ لَمْ يَنَالُوا خَيْرًا ۚ وَكَفَى اللَّهُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الْقِتَالَ ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ قَوِيًّا عَزِيزًا ٢٥
(33:25) Allah sent back the faithless in their rage, without their attaining any good, and Allah spared the faithful of fighting, and Allah is all-strong, all-mighty.
Rage (ghayẓ) means a combination of fury and distress. Good (khayr) means what the faithless consider to be good, namely victory over the Prophet and the faithful.
The meaning of the verse is: “God sent back the faithless in a state of fury and distress, for they had not succeeded in what they set out to achieve. God spared the faithful from fighting so they did not have to fight, and God has the power to do whatever He wants, for He is all-mighty, and none can overpower him.
وَأَنْزَلَ الَّذِينَ ظَاهَرُوهُمْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مِنْ صَيَاصِيهِمْ وَقَذَفَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الرُّعْبَ فَرِيقًا تَقْتُلُونَ وَتَأْسِرُونَ فَرِيقًا ٢٦ وَأَوْرَثَكُمْ أَرْضَهُمْ وَدِيَارَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ وَأَرْضًا لَمْ تَطَئُوهَا ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرًا ٢٧
(33:26–27) And He dragged down those who had backed them from among the People of the Book from their strongholds, and He cast terror into their hearts. You killed a part of them and took captive part of them. And He bequeathed you their land, their houses and their possessions, and a territory you had not trodden, and Allah has power over all things.
To back someone (muẓāharah) means to support them; ṣayāṣī (strongholds) is the plural of ṣīṣiyyah (“stronghold”) and refers to their fortifications. Perhaps it says dragged down (anzala) instead of “expelled” (ikhrāj) because their fortifications were atop a castle or tower. Therefore, they came down from the heights of the walls to their enemies when they were leaving and blockaded.
He dragged down those who backed them: Meaning they aided the polytheists; namely, the Banū Qurayẓah.
From among the people of the book: The Jews.
From their strongholds: From their fortifications.
He cast terror into their hearts: As it is written.
You killed a part of them—meaning the men—and took captive part of them—meaning the women and children.
And He bequeathed you—meaning He gave you ownership after them of their land, their houses and their possessions, and a territory you had not trodden—which is the land of Khaybar or the land which God gave as booty, which had not been disturbed by horses or mounts; as for those interpretations which say that this refers to every land which will be conquered until the Day of Resurrection, or the land of Mecca, or the land of the Romans and the Persians, these are not in harmony with the tone or context of the verses under discussion. And Allah has power over all things.
Examining Narrations
- In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī and other biographers relate:
During the Battle of Khandaq, some of the Jews, including Salām ibn Abī al-Ḥuqayq and Ḥuyay ibn Akhṭab, were in a group of the Banū Naḍīr whom the Messenger of God had banished. They left and went to the Quraysh in Mecca, and called them make war on the Messenger of God. They said, “We will stand with you until we wipe them out.”
The Quraysh replied, “O group of Jews! You have the original scripture [the Torah]. So is our [traditional, polytheistic] religion better, or Muḥammad’s?”
They said, “No, your religion is better than his. You are closer to the truth than him.” They are those about whom God says: Do you not behold those who were given a portion of the book? They believe in idols and false deities [or sorcery], and tell the disbelievers, These people [the polytheists] are better guided than those who believe…. Sufficient is Hell to burn them! ()
Their words pleased the Quraysh, and they eagerly hastened to what they had been called to. They gathered their forces and made ready. Then that group of Jews left and went to [the tribe of] Ghaṭfān, and called on them make war against the Messenger of God. They told them that they were going to oppose him, and that the Quraysh had granted them their support, and so they also agreed to fight.
Then the Quraysh marched out. Their leader was Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb. The Ghaṭfān also marched forth. They were led by ʿUyaynah ibn Ḥaṣin ibn Ḥudhayfah ibn Badr leading the [Banū] Fazārah, al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAwf leading the [Banū] Murrah, and Musʿir ibn Jabalah al-Ashjaʿī leading those who of the Banū Ashjaʿ who followed them.
The Quraysh wrote to their allies among the Banū Asad, and Ṭalḥah agreed to assist along with his followers from the Banū Asad; these two, the Banū Asad and Banū Ghaṭfān, were allies. The Quraysh also wrote some of the men in the Banū Sulaym, and Abu al-Aʿwar al-Sulamī, along with his followers from the Banū Sulaym, agreed to aid the Quraysh.
When news of this reached the Messenger of God, he encircled Medina with a trench. This was at the suggestion of Salmān al-Fārsī, who at the time was a freeman. It was the first battle that Salmān al-Fārsī witnessed with the Prophet. He said, “O Messenger of God! In Persia, when they besieged us, we used to dig a trench to protect ourselves.” So the Messenger of God and the Muslims toiled until they had dug a solid trench.
Majmaʿ al-Bayān then speaks of the signs of the prophethood that emerged during the building of the trench. In it, Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥāfiẓ with a chain of narration from Kathīr ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf al-Muzanī, relates that his father said that his father said:
The Messenger of God built the trench in the Year of the Confederates [yawm al-aḥzāb, or 5 AH]. It was forty cubits per man.
My father relates from his father that the Messenger of God laid out the trench in the Year of the Confederates [5 AH]. There were about forty cubits (dhirāʿan) per ten men. The Emigrants (Muhājirūn) and the Helpers (Anṣār) disagreed about Salmān al-Fārsī, for he was a strong man. The Helpers said, “Salmān is one of us,” and the Emigrants said, “Salmān is one of us,” so the Messenger of God said, “Salmān is one of us, the family of the Prophet.”
ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf said:
Salmān, Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān, Nuʿmān ibn Muqarrin, six of the Helpers, and I were along forty cubits [of the trench]. We dug until we reached solid earth, and then, God brought forth from at the bottom of the trench a white, round rock which broke our picks and wearied us. So we said, “Salmān! Go tell the Messenger of God about this rock. Should we dig around it? There is a place near it that we could go around it. Or, let him give us his order about it, for we do not want to deviate from what he has planned.”
So Salmān went to the Messenger of God, who was in a round tent. He said, “O Messenger of God! A white, round rock has been uncovered in the trench, and it has broken our picks and wearied us. We cannot scrape away anything from it, neither a little nor a lot. What should we do?”
The Messenger of God went with Salmān to the trench, took a pick-axe, and struck the rock with a mighty blow. A flash of lightening sparked from it, illuminating everything between Medina’s two black stones [made from black lava flows], until it was like a light shining in a dark night. The Messenger of God said, “God is great!”—an expression of victory—and the Muslims did too. Then he struck another mighty blow, and another flash of lighting burst forth, then a third.
Salman said, “May my father and mother be ransomed for you, O Messenger of God—what do mine eyes see?”
He said, “The first one was God—the Mighty and Glorious—granting you victory over Yemen. The second one was God granting you victory over Syria and North Africa. The third one was God granting you victory over the East. So rejoice, O Muslims, in that!”
They said, “Praise be to God; it is a true promise.”
And when the allied clans heard of this, the believers said, “This is what God and His Messenger have promised us, and God and His Messenger speak the truth.” However, the hypocrites said, “Are you not amazed at what he is doing? He is making false promises to you and telling you that he—in Medina—he can see the castles of al-Ḥīrah [in Mesopotamia] and al-Madāʾin, ruled by the Persian king, and that you will conquer them, while you are digging a trench around yourselves and are too afraid to use the lavatory!”
Majmaʿ al-Bayān continues to relate another of the signs of the prophethood that occurred when they were digging the trench. This is related from Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥāfiẓ with a chain of narration from ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Ayman al-Makhzūmī. He says that he heard Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh say:
On the Day of the Trench, we were digging the trench and struck solid rock. So we said, “O Messenger of God! We have struck rock.”
The Messenger of God, “Sprinkle water on it.” Then he stood and went there, while a rock was bound to his stomach due to hunger. He picked up a pick-axe or spade, said “in the name of God” three times, then wielded a mighty blow, and it shattered to sand.
I said, “O Messenger of God, would you give me permission to go home?” He did, and I asked my wife, “Do you have anything [to eat]?”
She said, “I have some barley and a she-goat.” So she ground the barley and made it into bread, and I slaughtered the goat and skinned it. Then I left it to my wife, went to the Messenger of God, and sat with him for a while, then said, “Allow me to go, O Messenger of God.” He did. When I came home to my wife, the dough and meat were ready.
So I returned to the Messenger of God and said, “O Messenger of God, we have some food. Why don’t you and a couple of your companions come over?”
He said, “How much [food]?”
I said, “A measure (sāʿ) of barley, and a goat.”
So he told all the Muslims, “Come to Jābir’s house!” and they got up.
I remained, ashamed in a way that only God knows. I said, “He invited all those people for one measure of barley and one goat.” I went to my wife and told her how embarrassed I was that the Messenger of God was going to bring all these people home.
She said, “Did he ask you how many people you had food for?”
I said, “Yes.”
She said, “God and His Messenger know best. We have told him what we have.” At that, my sorrow lifted.
The Messenger of God came and said, “Let me have the meat.” The Messenger of God began to shred the meat and make it into a stew with pieces of bread; then he heated both the bread and meat. The people kept coming until everyone was satiated; whenever he returned to the oven and pot, they were full.
Then the Messenger of God said, “Eat, and serve your food.” And we continued eating it and serving it to all of the people.
Al-Bukhārī also relates this in his Ṣaḥīḥ.
Majmaʿ al-Bayān continues:
When the Messenger of God had finished the trench, the Quraysh came and encamped between al-Juruf and al-Ghābah. They had ten thousand forces, of varying tribes, including the Banū Kinānah and the people of Tihāmah. Then the Ghaṭfān tribe came with followers from Najd, and they all camped near Mound Uḥud.
Then the Messenger of God and three thousand Muslims came out. With their backs to Salʿ, they pitched camp, with the trench between it and the people [the enemy]. He then ordered that the women and children be taken to fortifications.
The enemy of God, Ḥuyay ibn Akhṭab al-Naḍīrī, came forth and went to Kaʿb ibn Asad al-Qaraẓī, a representative of the Banū Qurayẓah. On behalf of his people, Kaʿb had made a pact with the Messenger of God. When Kaʿb heard Ḥuyay ibn Akhṭab’s voice, he locked him out of the fortress. Ḥuyay asked to be let in, but Kaʿb refused. Ḥuyay shouted, “Kaʿb, open up!”
Kaʿb said, “Woe be upon you, Ḥuyay! You are a man who brings ill fate! I have sworn to Muḥammad [that I will not do this], and I am not going to break the agreement between me and him, while I have never seen anything but loyalty and honesty on his side.”
Ḥuyay said, “Woe be upon you; open up so that I can speak to you!”
Kaʿb said, “I am not going to do that.”
Ḥuyay said, “You have only shut me out because of your date-and-barley stew; you don’t want me to eat any with you!”
Irritated, Kaʿb let Ḥuyay in. Ḥuyay said, “Woe be upon you, Kaʿb! I have brought you everlasting might and an overflowing sea. I have brought you the Quraysh with their chiefs and leaders, and the Ghaṭfān with their chiefs and leaders. They have sworn to me that they shall not leave until they have rooted out Muḥammad and everyone with him.”
Kaʿb said, “By God, you have brought me everlasting humiliation—a cloud that has already shed its rain and let loose its lightning bolts, and has nothing left. Leave me and Muḥammad to continue as we are, for I have always known Muḥammad to be loyal and truthful.”
Ḥuyay ibn Kaʿb kept twisting his arm until Kaʿb yielded to him. Ḥuyay swore to Kaʿb that if the Quraysh and Ghaṭfān retreated, and they had not yet struck Muḥammad, that he would stand with Kaʿb in his fortress until whatever befell Kaʿb befell him. So Kaʿb broke his agreement with the Prophet.
When news of this reached the Messenger of God, he sent Saʿd ibn Muʿādh ibn al-Nuʿman ibn Imruʾ al-Qays (one of Banū ʿAbd al-Ashhal, who was, at that time, the chief of the Aws) and Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah (one of the [Banū] Sāʿadah ibn Kaʿb ibn al-Khazraj, who was, at that time, the chief of the Khazraj). With them was ʿAbd Allāh ibn Rawāḥah and Khawwāt ibn Jubayr. He said, “Go and see whether or not this news is true. If it is true, convey it to us in an oblique way that we will understand but that other people will not. And if Kaʿb remains loyal, then announce it to the people.”
So they went there and found that things were even worse than what they had heard. They claimed there was no treaty between themselves and the Prophet. Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah reviled them, and they reviled him; then Saʿd ibn Maʿadh said, “Cut it out, for what has transpired between us and them is too serious for flinging insults.” Then they went to the Messenger of God and told him, “ʿAḍal and al-Qārah!” This alluded to how ʿAḍal and al-Qārah had betrayed the companions of the Messenger of God (namely, Khubayb ibn ʿAdī and his men, who were killed during the Expedition of al-Rajīʿ).
The Messenger of God replied, “God is great! Rejoice, O Muslims!”
Their difficulties intensified. Fear struck, and their enemies came at them from above and below, until the believers lost hope, and hypocrisy broke out among some of the hypocrites. So the Messenger of God stood firm, and some of the polytheists stood firm against him. Twenty nights passed without any fighting apart from some arrows that were shot—except that some horsemen from the Quraysh—including ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd Wadd (a member of Banū ʿĀmir ibn Luway), ʿIkrimah ibn Abī Jahl, Ḍirār ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, Hubayrah ibn Abī Wahab, and Nawfal ibn ʿAbd Allah—had readied themselves for battle and rode out on their horses until they reached the camps of the Banū Kinānah and said, “Prepare to fight, O Banū Kinānah! Today, you shall learn who the true horsemen are!” Then they surrounded them on their horses and pressed forward until they halted at the trench, and said, “By God, the Arabs have never used such a stratagem before.” Then they headed for a narrow section of the trench and struck their horses, so that they rushed towards it and landed on the marshy ground between the trench and Salʿ.
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib came forth with some Muslims and blocked the gap that they had broken through, and the horsemen approached them. ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd Wadd was one of the horsemen of the Quraysh, and he had fought at the Battle of Badr until he was stricken by wounds, and had therefore been absent from the Battle of Uhud. Therefore, at the Battle of the Trench, he went out bearing a mark so that he would be seen. He was seen as the equivalent to a thousand horsemen and was known as the “Horseman of Yalayl” (Yalayl being the name of a wadi near Badr), because he had ridden forth with the Quraysh towards Yalayl, where they had found the Banū Bakr en masse. He had told his men, “Turn back,” and they turned back, while he stood face-to-face against Banū Bakr and stopped them from reaching their goal. So he became famous for that. The area where the trench had been dug was called al-Madhād. ʿAmr was the first of his men to jump across it, followed by the others. Thus it is said that ʿAmr was the first horseman to cross al-Madhād, and that he was the Horseman of Yalayl.
Majmaʿ al-Bayān continues that Ibn Isḥāq says:
ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd Wadd was shouting, “Who will come out to fight?”
ʿAlī stood, his face hidden by his armor, and said, “I will, O Prophet of God.”
The Prophet told him, “It is ʿAmr; sit down.”
ʿAmr yelled, “Do you have no men?” He kept goading them, booming out, “Where is your paradise that you swear that the slain will enter?”
ʿAlī stood again and said, “I will fight him, O Messenger of God.”
ʿAmr called out to them a third time—and this time, he shouted some poetry composed on the spur of the moment:
My voice has grown hoarse from shouting. Do you have none who will fight?
I wait while the brave tremble! I am ready to be a brave warrior;
Nobility and courage are the best traits of a warrior.
ʿAlī stood and said, “O Messenger of God, I will fight him!”
The Prophet said, “It is ʿAmr.”
ʿAli said, “Even if it is ʿAmr.”
So the Messenger of God gave him permission to fight.
Ibn Isḥāq says:
ʿAlī approached ʿAmr, reciting his own battle-poems:
Don’t rush—no weakling has come to answer you.
Your challenger is firm in intent and insight. Truth is ever-victorious!
I hope to strike you with a blow that shall make the mourners lament
And that shall be ever-remembered.
ʿAmr asked him, “Who are you?”
He said, “I am ʿAlī.”
ʿAmr asked, “The son of ʿAbd Manāf?”
He said, “I am ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim ibn ʿAbd Manāf.”
He said, “Anyone beside you O son of my brother, who was one of your paternal uncles and who is elder than you ! Let me fight someone else, for I dislike shedding your blood.”
ʿAlī said, “But, by God, I do not dislike shedding your blood.”
Angered, ʿAmr dismounted and drew his sword, as if it were a firebrand. Then he stormed towards ʿAlī, and ʿAlī blocked him with his shield. ʿAmr struck the shield and split it down the front. His sword lodged into it and his head was struck. So ʿAli struck his neck, and he fell.
The narration of Ḥudhayfah says:
ʿAlī struck ʿAmr’s legs with his sword. ʿAmr fell onto his back, and dust billowed around them [so no one could see who was victorious]. Then ʿAlī’s voice rang out. “God is great!”
The Messenger of God said, “By the One in whose hand is my soul, he has slain him.”
The first person to rush into the dust-cloud was ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb. He said, “O Messenger of God, he killed him and struck his head!”
ʿAlī came to the Messenger of God jubilantly.
Ḥudhayfah continues:
The Prophet said, “Rejoice, O ʿAlī! Were this deed of yours today weighed against all the deeds of the ummah of Muḥammad, yours would outweigh them! For all the houses of the polytheists shall be filled with weakness and lament, and all the houses of the Muslims shall be filled with honour due to your killing of ʿAmr.”
Majmaʿ al-Bayān continues that it is related from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd:
He used to recite: “Allah spared the faithful of fighting through ʿAlī ().”
Retreating, ʿAmr’s men spurred their horses over the trench, and the Muslims followed suit. They found Nawfal ibn ʿAbd al-ʿUzzah inside the trench and began pelting him with stones.
He told them, “Fighting is better than this. Someone come down for me to fight!” So al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām killed him.
Ibn Isḥāq reports:
ʿAlī had stabbed him in the collarbone so hard that the spear went straight through, and he died in the trench.
The polytheists sent a message to the Prophet offering to pay ten thousand for the body.
The Prophet replied, “You can have him; we do not profit off the dead.”
ʿAli then recited some verses, including:
He foolishly fought for what is hewn of stone, but I rightly fought for the Lord of Muḥammad.
So I struck him and left him like a dried date-stump.
I stayed my hand from the spoils of war and closed my eyes to that,
Though I knew that if he had struck me, he would have taken all that I had.
Ibn Isḥāq says:
Ḥanān ibn Qays ibn al-ʿArafah shot arrows at Saʿd ibn Muʿādh, calling out, “Take this, for I am Ibn al-ʿArafah!”
He struck Saʿd in his heels. Saʿd said, “May God make your face known in the Fire! O God, if You let anyone survive this war with the Quraysh, let me live, for there is no one else I would rather fight than these people who distressed the Messenger of God, and denied him, and expelled him. And if You spark war between us and them, then make me a martyr, and do not take my life until my eyes find comfort in what happens to the Banū Qurayẓah.”
He continues:
Nuʿaym ibn Masʿūd al-Ashjaʿī came to the Prophet and said, “O Messenger of God! I have accepted Islam, but none of my tribespeople know this. Command me as you wish.”
The Prophet told him, “You are only one man among us. Make them abandon [each other] so that they leave us, as much as you can, for war is deception.”
So Nuʿaym ibn Masʿūd went to the Banū Qurayẓah and told them, “I am your friend. By God, you are not in the same position as the Quraysh and the Ghaṭfān, since this land is your land, and upon it are your property, your children, and your women. The Quraysh and Ghaṭfān live elsewhere and came to settle with you. If they see an opportunity, they will take it; if not, they will go back from whence they came. They will leave you on your own, and you will be too weak [to defend yourselves]. So do not fight until you take some of their noblemen as hostages as a guarantee that they will not desert you until they have executed Muḥammad.”
They replied, “You said what we were thinking.”
Then he left and went to Abū Sufyān and the chieftains of the Quraysh. He said, “O Quraysh! You know my love for you and how I have distanced myself from Muḥammad and his religion. I have come to you with counsel, so keep it secret.”
They said, “We shall do that; we have no suspicion of you.”
He said, “You know that the Banū Qurayẓah regret what they did to Muḥammad. They sent him a message saying, ‘You shall not be pleased with us unless we take a group of their noblemen from their tribes as hostages and hand them over to you. You can slit their throats, and then we will stand with you until we expel them from your land.’ He said yes, so do not hand over to them a single one of your men, and watch out.”
Then he went to the Ghaṭfān and said, “O Ghaṭfān! I am one of you.” Then he told them the same thing he had told the Quraysh.
This was the night of the Sabbath in the month of Shawwāl in the fifth year after the hijrah. The next morning, when Abū Sufyān rose, he sent them ʿIkrimah ibn Abī Jahl along with a contingent of the Quraysh to tell them, “O Jews! Abū Sufyān wishes to tell you that our camels and sheep have perished. We cannot stay where we are. Come out to fight Muḥammad so we can finish him off!”
They replied, “Today is the Sabbath, and we do not do any work on the Sabbath. Furthermore, we will not fight with you unless you hand over to us some of your men as a guarantee that you will not abandon us until we have finished of Muḥammad.”
Abū Sufyān said, “By God! Nuʿaym warned us about that.” So Abū Sufyān sent them another message: “We will not give you a single men. If you want, come out and fight; and if you want, stay away.”
The Jews said, “By God, this is what Nuʿaym told us.” Then they sent in reply: “By God, we shall not fight until you give us some hostages as a guarantee.”
Thus God sowed division between them. Then, at night, God beset them with freezing, wintry winds that were so bitterly cold that they turned back.
Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb says that Ḥudhayfah ibn al-Yamān recalled:
By God, on the Day of the Trench, you would have seen how we suffered from exhaustion and hunger and fear. No one knows how intense it was save God.
One night, the Messenger of God stood and prayed, as much as God willed, then asked us, “Is there any man who will go and bring us news of the enemy? God will make such a man my neighbor in paradise.”
By God, not a single one of us stood up—we were so terrified and exhausted and hungry.
When no one came forward, he called me, and I could not find any way out, so I said, “At your service.”
He said, “Go, and bring news of the enemy, and don’t let anything happen until you come back.”
So I went to the enemy. The wind and God’s hosts had done what they had done—neither a tent nor a fire nor a cooking-pot had stayed put.
All of a sudden, Abū Sufyān came out of his tent and said, “O Quraysh! All of you, check the person you are sitting next to.”
I turned to the person on my right and asked, “Who are you?”
He said, “I am so-and-so.”
Then Abū Sufyān went back to his campsite and said, “O Quraysh! By God, you cannot stay here. The camels and sheep have died, and Banū Qurayẓah have broken their vow, and this wind does not leave anything standing.” Then he leaped onto his riding-animal before he had even untied it.
I thought, “I can shoot an arrow at this enemy of God and kill him now.” I strung my bow and placed an arrow in it and was about to fire it, when I remembered that the Messenger of God had told me not to let anything happen until I came back.
So I lowered the bow and then returned to the Messenger of God. He was praying; when he heard me, he sat me at his feet and covered me with his woolen wrapper while he was bowing and prostrating. Then he asked, “What news do you bring?”
So I told him.
It is related from Sulaymān ibn Ṣard:
After the Messenger of God ousted the confederates (aḥzāb), he said, “Now we will attack them, but they will not attack us.” It was as he said. The Quraysh never attacked after that, but he continued skirmishes with them until God made him victorious over Mecca.
Author’s comments: This is what al-Ṭabrisī related in Majmaʿ al-Bayān. We have mentioned but an abridged version of it. Tafsīr al-Qummī says something similar, as does al-Durr al-Manthūr and other assorted narrations.
- Majmaʿ al-Bayān also relates from al-Zuhrī from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Kaʿb ibn Mālik that his father said:
When the Prophet returned from the Battle of the Trench, he shed his battle-gear and was bathing when Jibrīl came to him and said, “You have excused yourself from fighting. Do I not see that you have set aside your battle-gear, but we have not set aside ours?”
The Messenger of God leapt up in surprise and swore to the people that they would not pray the afternoon prayer until they reached the Banū Qurayẓah. So the people armed themselves, but they did not reach the Banū Qurayẓah until the sun had set. The people disagreed. Some said that the Messenger of God had sworn that they would not pray the afternoon prayer until they had reached the Banū Qurayẓah and held fast to that vow, on the grounds that they would bear no sin. So some prayed the afternoon prayer, and others did not until the sun had set; then, they prayed it when they had reached Banū Qurayẓah. The Messenger of God did not criticize either side.
ʿUrwah recalls:
The Messenger of God sent ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ahead and gave him the banner. He ordered him to march forward until he had brought the army to the fortress of the Banū Qurayẓah.
He did that, and the Messenger of God followed them. On his way, he came across some of the Helpers (Anṣār) who were from the Banū Ghanam tribe. They were waiting for the Messenger of God and thought that a horseman had gone by. They said, “Daḥiya al-Kalbī passed us atop a white mule with marigold brocade.”
The Messenger of God said, “That was not Daḥiya. That was Jibrāʾīl, sent to shake the Banū Qurayẓah and strike fear into their hearts.”
ʿAlī went on until he neared the fortress and heard some foul words being said about the Messenger of God. So he went back to the Messenger of God and said, “O Messenger of God, it is better if you do not come near these wicked people.”
He said, “I think that perhaps they said something insulting about me?”
ʿAlī said, “Yes, O Messenger of God.”
He said, “If they had seen me, they would not have said anything like that.”
When the Messenger of God approached their fortresses, he called out, “O brethren of apes and swine! Did not God humiliate you and send down His retribution upon you?”
They said, “O Abū al-Qāsim, you have never been ignorant or impetuous.”
So the Messenger of God besieged them for 25 nights until they wearied under the siege, and God struck fear into their hearts. Ḥuyay ibn Akhṭab had entered the fortress of the Banū Qurayẓah when the Quraysh and Ghaṭfān had withdrawn. When they were certain that the Messenger of God would not back down until he had obliterated them, Kaʿb ibn Asad said, “O Jews! You see what has befallen you. I will propose three options, so choose whatever you wish.”
They said, “What are they?”
He said, “You can pay allegiance to this man and believe in him. For, by God, it has become clear to you that he is a prophet sent by God, and that he is the one you find mentioned in your Book. So save your lives and your property and your children.”
They said, “We will never abandon the law of the Torah or exchange it for anything else.”
He said, “If you refuse this, then let us kill our children and women, then go out to fight Muḥammad as men with swords, not leaving behind any burden to weigh on our minds, until God judges between us and Muḥammad. If we perish, we perish, and we will not have left behind any of our descendants to worry us. And if we are victorious, then we will find other women and children.”
They said, “We should kill these poor people? There would be no good in living after them!”
He said, “If you refuse this, then tonight is the night of the Sabbath. Perhaps Muḥammad and his men feel secure. So head down to them; perhaps we may take them by surprise.”
They said, “We should violate our Sabbath? And we should do what those who came before us did? You know what they were turned into! [That is, they were turned into apes and swine.]”
He said, “From the day his mother bore him, not a single man among you has shown good judgment.”
Al-Zuhrī says:
When they asked the Messenger of God to appoint a man to pass judgment over them, he said “Choose whichever of my companions that you will.” They selected Saʿd ibn Muʿādh, and the Prophet was pleased with that. Thus they fell under the jurisdiction of Saʿd ibn Muʿādh.
The Prophet confiscated their weapons and put them in his tent, then ordered that they be tied and kept in the house of Usāmah. After that, the Messenger of God sent for Saʿd ibn Muʿādh. He was brought to him, and he decreed that those who had fought them should be killed, their women and children should be taken captive, their wealth should be divided as booty, and that their dwellings should pass into the hands of the Emigrants, not the Helpers. He told the Helpers, “You have homes, but they do not.”
The Messenger of God said, “God is great!” Then he told Saʿd, “You have judged between them according to the rule of God, the Mighty and Glorious.”
[Al-Zuhrī notes]:
In some narrations, it says, “You have judged between them according to the rule of God, from above the seven heavens (arqiʿah),” and arqiʿah is the plural of raqīʿ, meaning the sky of this world.
The narration resumes:
So the Messenger of God killed the fighters. Some say there were 600 fighters. Some say that 450 men were executed and 750 were taken captive.
It is also narrated that when they were being brought to the Messenger of God, they said to Kaʿb ibn Asad, “O Kaʿb! What do you think he will do with us?”
Kaʿb said, “Do you ask this everywhere? Do you not see that the summoner never discharges anyone, and that those of you who are taken away do not come back? By God, you will be killed.”
Ḥuyay ibn Akhṭab, the enemy of God, was brought. He was wearing a garment with little holes in it: he had poked his garment with his fingertips everywhere so that it would not be taken from him, and his hands were bound to his neck with a rope. When the Messenger of God saw him, he said, “By God, I do not blame myself for being hostile to you; however, whomever God forsakes is forsaken.”
Then he said, “O people! There is no ill in God’s command. It was the decree of God; it was decreed that the Israelites be slain.” Then he was seated and beheaded.
Then the Messenger of God divided up his women, children, and property among the Muslims. He sent some of the captives to Najd with Saʿd ibn Zayd al-Anṣārī, who traded them for horses and weapons.
It is related:
When the matter with Banū Qurayẓah finished, a wound that Saʿd ibn Muʿādh had gushed forth, and so the Messenger of God sent him back to a tent that he had pitched for him in the mosque.
It is related from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh:
Jibrāʾīl came to the Messenger of God and said, “Because of this righteous servant who has died, the gates of the heavens have been opened for him, and the Throne has trembled on his account.” So the Messenger of God went out and saw that Saʿd ibn Muʿādh had died.
Author’s comments: This story has also been narrated in Tafsīr al-Qummī in a more detailed form. For instance, it says that Kaʿb ibn Asad came out with his hands bound to his neck, and when the Messenger of God saw him, he said, “O Kaʿb! Did you not benefit from the advice of Ibn al-Hawās, the wise rabbi who came to you in Syria? The one who said, ‘I abandoned wine and the intoxicants in exchange for poverty and dates for the sake of a prophet who will arise in Mecca and who will come to this sea. He will suffice with some grain and dates and ride a bare donkey. There will be a redness in his eyes, and between his shoulders will be the mark of prophethood. He will place his sword upon his neck, and will not care which of you he meets. His rule shall extend to [muqati’ al-khaff wa al-hafir.]’”
Kaʿb said, “And that was what happened, O Muḥammad. Were it not for the blame of the Jews, I would have granted you safety and believed in you. However, I shall live and die upon the Jewish religion.”
The Messenger of God said “Bring him forward and strike his neck.” This was done.
It also says that the Messenger of God fought them night and day during both battles at Badr night and day for three days. He used to say, “Give them clean water, and feed them well, and be good to their captives,” until all of them were killed. So God, the Might and Glorious, revealed to him: And He dragged down those who had backed them from among the People of the Book from their strongholds, and He cast terror into their hearts, you killed a part of them, and took captive part of them. And He bequeathed you their land, their houses and their possessions, and a territory you had not trodden, and Allah has power over all things ().
- In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, it is related from Abū al-Qāsim al-Ḥaskāni from ʿAmr ibn Thābit from Abū Isḥāq that ʿAlī said:
Men who fulfil what they have pledged to Allah () was revealed about us. We, by God, are waiting and have not changed in the least ().
See the author’s discourse on the “disease of the heart” in English volume 10 under verses . (Pub.) ↩︎
The comment about Bukhārī is part of the text of Majmaʿ al-Bayān. There are some slight variations in the narration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (vol. 64, ch. 29), but the overall content is the same. (Trans.) ↩︎
This is related from al-Ḥākim from Abū al-Qāsim (also with a chain of narration from Sufyān al-Thawrī) from Zubayd al-Thāni from Murrah from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd. ↩︎
This is a play on words, since ʿarafa means “to know”. (Trans.) ↩︎
Probably the angels; a reference to, and We sent against them a gale and hosts whom you did not see (). (Trans.) ↩︎