Darul Uloom Trinidad & Tobago

Within Madinah (where the Muslims lived), the Jews of Banu Quraiza broke the peace treaty which they had formerly made with the Muslims, and started to launch war operations against the Muslims from within Madinah. The Muslims found themselves in a critical position with horrible dangers ahead. Their backs were vulnerable to the attacks of Banu Quraiza (the Jewish tribe), and a huge army of the unbelievers stood in front of them.  Between both dangers, existed their unprotected women and children. It was about this, Allah said, ‘and when eyes were bewildered and hearts reached the throats and you assumed various thoughts about Allah. There, the believers were tried and shaken with a violent shaking’. (33:10, 11)

In this state, the Muslims turned to Allah and became absorbed in supplication, praying to Allah for His help. The Messenger of Allah himself supplicated to Allah in the following words, ‘Oh Allah! Sender of the Book and quick in account, we beseech You to defeat the confederates’. Allah immediately answered their supplications and sent heavy winds and dust upon the unbelievers. Their tents were blown away, ropes burst apart, cooking utensils were overturned, and their eyes were filled with dust and sand. Allah instilled fear in their hearts and caused them to leave in a state of frustration. The siege thus came to an end, and the Messenger of Allah (S.A) along with his companions returned to Madinah. While returning he recited, ‘There is no God but Allah. There is no partner for Allah. To Him belongs authority and to Him belong all praises, and He is all powerful over everything. We are returning, repenting, worshipping, prostrating to our Lord and praising Him. Allah has indeed fulfilled His promise and helped His servant and has defeated the confederates alone’.

It is about this victory which came to the Muslims that Allah revealed:

9. O you who believe! Remember Allah’s Favor to you, when there came against you hosts, and We sent against them a wind and forces that you saw not. And Allah is Ever All-Seer of what you do.

This great favor referred to in the above verse is the victory that came to the Muslims at ‘the battle of Ahzab’. The ‘hosts’ that came against the Muslims were the confederates (Ahzab) that joined forces together to attack the Muslims. They were mainly the Quraish, Ghatfan and the Jews of Banu Quraiza and Banu Nadheer. They all marched towards Madinah in Shawwal of  5A.H in an effort to attack the Muslims. The Muslims protected themselves by digging a long and wide trench around the city and remained inside Madinah. On account of this, the unbelievers laid siege to Madinah for two weeks, but then returned home in frustration when Allah’s help came to the Muslims.

Regarding the manner in which the help of Allah came, verse 9 states, ‘and We sent against them a wind and forces you could not see. And Allah is All-Seer of what you do’. The verse mentions that Allah sent a violent wind upon them on a severely cold and dark night. This brought about such ruin and devastation that they had no choice except to immediately flee the site in haste, on account of the fear that was instilled in their hearts.

Along with the chaos and confusion which the strong winds caused, a party of angels was sent against them. These angels uprooted the pegs of the tents and burst the ropes. They extinguished the fire that provided light and warmth to them and overturned their cooking utensils. Their animals started to roam and wander about freely. Besides this, Allah instilled terror and fright in their hearts to the extent that they begged each other for help, fearing for their lives. (Tafseer Al Qurtubi vol.14 pg. 129).

The verse states that Allah is All Seer of what you do. It means that Allah is well aware and has seen what they did by digging the trench and their help to the Prophet (S.A) at that time.

Sura Ahzab continues in verses 10 and 11 to mention the state of the believers at that time of the siege (around Madinah). The verses state:

10. When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the throats, and you were harboring doubts about Allah.

11. There, the believers were tried and shaken with a mighty shaking.

The verses reminded the Muslims of the fearful sight that came to them. Tribes from Asad and Ghatfan came from above (the eastern direction), and tribes like the Quraish, Kinanah and other Arab tribes came from below (that is, the westerly direction). The unbelievers came from the east and west and surrounded the Muslims. They were further assisted by the Jews of Banu Quraiza and Banu Nadheer, and altogether, they encircled the Muslims. At this time, the Muslims were struck with terror to the extent that their eyes were bewildered and it seemed that the hearts were coming out from its place and had reached the throats. In this state, various thoughts were held by those with the Prophet (S.A). Hasan Basri (A.R) says, ‘At this time, the hypocrites thought that the Muslims would be attacked, while the Muslims thought that they would be helped by Allah’. (Tafseer Al Qurtubi vol.14 pg. 130)

The Muslims therefore, were having good thoughts about Allah, and the hypocrites were having bad thoughts. While commenting on the fact that ‘the believers had various thoughts about Allah (at that time)’, the great scholar Ibn Atiya said, ‘It means that the Muslims were on the verge of becoming troubled and restless. They were almost confused and were about to say, ‘What is this contradiction of the Promise?’

This thought was one which would normally occur in the heart of anyone who is confronted with such situations. As for the hypocrites, they were hasty and said, ‘Allah and His Messenger did not promise us anything except deception’. (This is what is meant in verse 10 when it said, ‘and you were harboring various thoughts about Allah’). (Tafseer Al Bahrul Muheet vol.8 pg. 458)

This thought was one which would normally occur in the heart of anyone who is confronted with such situations. As for the hypocrites, they were hasty and said, ‘Allah and His Messenger did not promise us anything except deception’. (This is what is meant in verse 10 when it said, ‘and you were harboring various thoughts about Allah’). (Tafseer Al Bahrul Muheet vol.8 pg. 458)

Verse 11 further states that, ‘There, the believers were tried and shaken with a mighty shaking’. It means that at that time and place (on the occasion of the battle of Ahzab), the believers were tested and tried with a great trial. This was done to distinguish between the true believers and the hypocrites. Imam Qurtubi says, ‘this was a trial that included the test of fear, war, starvation, of being surrounded and encircled by the enemies and lining up for battle’. (Tafseer Al Qurtubi vol.14 pg. 130)

The trial was such a severe one that the believers were shaken with a violent shaking. The fright and terror was so much that it seemed that the earth was shaking and moving beneath their feet. Their eyes were bewildered and their hearts had reached the throats.

Sura Al Ahzab continues in verse 12 and states:

12. And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said: “Allah and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusions!”

This verse was revealed regarding an incident which took place while the trench was being dug in the battle of Ahzab.

According to a narration recorded by Imam Nasai, it is stated that while digging the trench on the day of Ahzab, a huge, hard and glossy rock showed up which the Sahabahs could not break through. After being informed about this, the Prophet (S.A) decided that he would go himself to break the huge rock. With this in mind, the Prophet (S.A) took a pickaxe and went into the trench. With the pickaxe in his blessed hands, he struck the rock with one blow while reciting the verse, ‘wa tammat kalimatu rabbika sidqaa’ – ‘And the word of your Lord has been completed in truth’ (Sura An’am (6) v. 115). On account of this first blow, one third of the rock was cut off and a streak of light emanated from the rock. The Prophet (S.A) then struck the rock with a second blow while reciting the same verse. With this, another portion of the rock (one third) was cut off and a streak of light emanated from the rock. For the third time, the Prophet (S.A) struck the rock while reciting the same verse of Sura An’am. With this, the last third of the rock was cut off and a streak of light emanated for a third time from the rock.

After this, the Prophet (S.A) came out of the trench, took his sheet (with which he wrapped himself) and sat (on one side of the trench). At that time, Salman Farsi (R.A) came to the Prophet (S.A) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! I have looked at you when you were hitting the rock, and I saw that every time you struck it, there was a streak of light that emanated from it’. The Prophet (S.A) said, ‘did you see that O Salman?’ Salman (R.A) said, ‘Yes, by the One who has sent you with the truth, O Messenger of Allah!’ The Prophet (S.A) then said, ‘When I struck the first blow the cities of Kisra (Iran) and all around it and many other cities were lifted (shown) to me until I saw these with my eyes’. Those of the companions around him said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, supplicate to Allah that He will grant us victory over these cities and their wealth (or children) be given to us as the booty and that their cities be destroyed through our hands’. The Prophet (S.A) made dua for this.

The Prophet (S.A) continued and said, ‘When I struck the stone for the second time, the cities of the Kaiser (Byzantine) and all around these were shown to me until I saw these with my eyes’. Upon this, the companions said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, supplicate to Allah that He grants victory of these to us and their children be given to us in booty and that their lands are destroyed through our hands’. The Prophet (S.A) made dua for this. The Prophet (S.A) then explained that with the third streak of light, he saw the city of Abyssinia and all the other cities around it and he was promised victory over these. Other narrations also give the same details that through the streaks of light that emanated from the rock, the Prophet (S.A) saw many cities and he was given the glad tidings by Allah that the believers will gain victory over the cities of Iran, Rome, Yemen and Abyssinia. (Tafseer Al Qurtubi vol.14 pg. 118, 119; Tafseer Al Bahrul Muheet vol.8 pg. 459)

This explanation of the Prophet (S.A) made the Muslims happy and they became assured of their victories and the victory of Islam in the future. This however, did not please the hypocrites. Instead, they used the glad tidings given to the Prophet (S.A) as a mockery against the true Muslims. It is regarding this, Tu’ma bin Ubairiq, Mu’atib bin Qushair and a group of about seventy people started to say, ‘Muhammad has promised that we will gain victory over the treasures of Iran, Rome and Makka, and at present, we do not even have the ability and power to go to answer the call of nature’. Upon this statement of the hypocrites, verse 12 was revealed which stated, ‘And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said: “Allah and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusions!” (Tafseer Al Qurtubi vol.14 pg. 132; Tafseer Al Bahrul Muheet vol.8 pg. 459, 460)

Here, Allah informed the Prophet (S.A) and the true believers that those who uttered the above mentioned statement were open hypocrites who had the disease of hypocrisy in their hearts. On account of this malady, their Imaan (faith) has been impaired to the extent that they have no belief in the words of Allah and His Messenger (S.A). As such, they would always be doubtful about what the Prophet (S.A) says and will deny the promises made by Allah to the believers.

Verse 13 (of Sura Ahzab) continues to highlight the treachery and mischief of the hypocrites on the day of Ahzab. The verse states:

13. And when a party of them said: “O people of Yathrib (Al-Madinah)! There is no stand for you (against the enemy attack!) Therefore go back!” And a band of them ask for permission of the Prophet (S.A) saying: “Truly, our homes lie open (to the enemy).” And they lay not open. They but wished to flee.

The above verse highlights another ploy of the hypocrites to weaken the strength of the Muslims on the day of Ahzab. It is narrated that on that day, Aus bin Qaizi and his followers, along with Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salool and his friends came to the Muslims of Madina (while they were busy digging the trench) and said to them, ‘O people of Yathrib (Madina), you have no stand or place here, so leave and return to your homes in Madina. Leave Muhammad and his companions and go back to your places in Madina’. Here, some of the hypocrites were inciting others as well as the true Muslims to leave the battlefield and run back to their homes.