CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

BATTLES AGAINST PAGANS AND JEWS OF ARABIA

WHY WARS AGAINST MECCANS WERE INEVITABLE?
The hijrah was no mere change in address because in pre-Islamic Arabia the tribe was a sacred value. To turn your back on your
blood-group and join another was unheard of; it was essentially blasphemous and the Quraysh could not condone this defection.
They vowed to exterminate the Muslims in Yathrib. Muhammad had become the head of a collection of tribal groups that were
not bound together by blood but by a shared ideology, an astonishing innovation in Arabian society.
ECONOMIC REASONS
The economy of the oasis of Medina was based mainly on agriculture. The emigrants from Mecca had skills chiefly in commerce
and transforming a merchant into an agriculturist would have been a daunting task. The emigrants could not be permanently
dependent on the hospitality of the Muslims of Medina. If they organize long-distance caravans to Syria, they were bound to
come into conflict with the Meccans.
FIGHT IN SELF-DEFENSE
During their exile in Medina, the Muslims were moved by many personal considerations. Too many of their friends, relatives, and
loved ones were left behind in Mecca and now they were cut off from them completely. They lost all their wealth, worldly goods,
and trade. It was not in their nature to suffer such injustices or to submit to such tyranny for long without thinking of avenging
themselves. After turning their other cheek for thirteen years it was time to stand up to the tyranny of the Quraysh. Perhaps, even
before the Hijra, Muhammad realized that fighting against Meccan was inevitable, although he may not have said much about this
in public. The spirit of passive sacrifice, so characteristic of their earlier days, received its complement in the idea of sacrifice
through action. The doctrine of action as the most fundamental, creative element of life was, perhaps for the first time in the
history of man, consciously realized not only by a few select individuals but by a whole community; and the intense activism
which was to distinguish Muslim history in the coming decades and centuries. Muhammad Abduh, a great Islamic thinker once
declared: “Fighting has been made obligatory in Islam only for the sake of defending the truth and its followers. All the
campaigns of the Prophet were defensive in character; and so were the wars undertaken by the Companions in the earliest period
of Islam.”
PREVENTING PRACTICE OF RELIGION IN KABAH
(22:25) Behold, as for those who are bent on denying the truth and bar [others] from the path of God and from the
Inviolable House of Worship which We have set up for all people alike - [both] those who dwell there and those who come
from abroad - and all who seek to profane it [A deviation from the right course - a term which circumscribes every perversion
of religious tenets.] by [deliberate] evildoing: [all] such shall We cause to taste grievous suffering in the life to come.]
[According to Ibn Abbas, as quoted by Ibn Hisham, this verse was revealed towards the end of the year 6 H., when the pagan
Quraysh refused the Prophet and his followers, who had come on pilgrimage from Medina, the right of entry into Mecca, and thus
into the sanctuary of the Kabah (See below under Treaty of Hudaybiyyah). But whether or not this claim is correct - and we have
no definite historical evidence in either sense - the purport of the above verse is not restricted to any historical situation but relates
to every attempt at preventing believers, be it physically or through intellectual seduction, from going on pilgrimage to this
symbolic center of their faith, or at destroying its sanctity in their eyes.]
DEFENSE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
(22:39-41) Permission [to fight] is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged- and, verily, God has indeed
the power to succor them - : those who have been driven from their homelands against all right for no other reason than
their saying. “Our Sustainer is God!” [The present verse enunciates the permission to fight physically in self-defense. All
relevant Traditions show that this is the earliest Quranic reference to the problem of war as such. This verse was revealed
immediately after the Prophet left Mecca for Medina, i.e., at the beginning of the year 1 H. The principle of war in self-defense -
and only in self-defense - has been further elaborated in Al-Baqarah, which was revealed about a year later (see 2:190-193).] For,
if God had not enabled people to defend themselves against one another, [all] monasteries and churches and synagogues
and mosques - in [all of] which Gods name is abundantly extolled - would surely have been destroyed [before now]. [The
implication is that the defense of religious freedom is the foremost cause for which arms may - and, indeed, must - be taken up
(see 2:193), or else, as stressed in the concluding clause of 2:251, corruption would surely overwhelm the earth”.] And God will
most certainly succor him who succors His cause: for, verily, God is most powerful, almighty, [well aware of] those who,
[even] if We firmly establish them on earth, remain constant in prayer, and give in charity, and enjoin the doing of what is
right and forbid the doing of what is wrong; but with God rests the final outcome of all events.
LIBERATION OF KABAH
(8:34-35) But what have they [now] in their favor that God should not chastise them - seeing that they bar [the believers]
from the Inviolable House of Worship, although they are not its [rightful] guardians? None but the God-conscious can be
its guardians: but of this most of these [evildoers] are unaware. [At the time of the revelation of this surah (the year 2 H.),
Mecca was still in the possession of the hostile Quraysh, and no Muslim was allowed to enter it. Owing to their descent from
Abraham, the Quraysh considered themselves entitled to the guardianship of the Kabah (the Inviolable House of Worship), which
had been built by Abraham as the first temple ever dedicated to the One God. The Quran refutes this contention, just as it refutes
the claim of the children of Israel to being “the chosen people” by virtue of their descent from Abraham. In this connection, see
2:124, and especially the last sentence, “My covenant does not embrace the wrongdoers.” The Quraysh had entirely forsaken the
Unitarian faith of Abraham, thus forfeiting any moral claim to the guardianship of the Temple (al-bayt) built by him. Kabah was
illegitimately occupied by idol worshippers of Mecca; they had defiled it sacredness by placing idols and offering human
sacrifices, just to mention a few sacrilegious acts. Kabah had to be liberated from the yoke of pagans of Mecca and rededicated to
the one God of Abraham again. Even Jesus used force in an attempt to evict money changers from the temple of Jerusalem: “And
they came to Jerusalem and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and
overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and seats of them that sold doves. And he taught, saying unto them, is it not written,
my house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? But ye have made it a den of thieves.” (Mark 11, verses 15 and 17.)]
and their prayers before the Temple are nothing but whistling and clapping of hands. [I.e., devoid of all spiritual contents.
Some of the early authorities maintain that dancing around the Kabah, accompanied by whistling and hand-clapping, was actually
a ritual practiced by the pre-Islamic Arabs. Although this explanation is quite plausible, it would appear from the context that the
expression “whistling and clapping of hands” is used here metaphorically, to denote the spiritual emptiness of the religious rituals
of people who are wont to attribute a quasi-divine efficacy to all manner of circumstantial forces- like wealth, power, social status,
luck, etc.]
RECONNOITERING EXPEDITIONS
The leaders of Quraysh wrote to Abd Allah B. Ubayy as follows: “You have allowed this person (Muhammad) to stay at your
place. It is now incumbent upon you to fight him and banish him from your place. Otherwise we have sworn to attack you
suddenly, all together. We will kill your young men and take possession of your women.” The Meccans had clearly declared war
on Muhammad and fixed a prize of hundred camels for his capture. Muhammad knew that the Quraysh would fight him but when
and where he did not knew.
After six months in Medina, Muhammad began sending out reconnoitering parties to gather intelligence and to keep an eye on the
movements of the Meccans. Thirty riders under the leadership of Muhammad’s uncle Hamza were sent towards the red sea, the
route Meccan used for caravan trade to Syria. Hamza found a caravan of three hundred riders under Abu Jahl. Contact was made
with the enemy but no fighting occurred. The second party of sixty riders was sent towards Rabigh in Hijaz. They met with a
caravan of two hundred riders under Abu Sufyan and again no fighting took place and each party went its way. It is said that the
Prophet himself led many parties at different occasion but no contact was made with the enemy. Twenty days after the last such
mission, a raiding party of Meccans attacked near Medina and took away a large number of camels and sheep.
It is quite apparent by the small number of men sent out on these missions that they were not meant to fight the Meccans or loot
their caravan. Even if disruption of the Meccan’s caravan trade was the objective, it was completely justified under the
circumstances. The two major sources of Meccan wealth were the caravan trade and the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. By
capturing the Meccan trade caravans would cut one of the lifelines to Mecca. Perhaps, the emigrants also felt justified in seizing
the property of the Quraysh in retaliation for the latter’s confiscation of their property when they were forced out of Mecca.
RAID OF NAKLA
In January 624 Muhammad sent out an expedition of a dozen men with sealed orders; in this way their destination would not be
betrayed to the enemy. They set off eastwards and only opened orders after a day’s march. They were instructed to: “When you
see what is in this letter then go on to Nakhla between Mecca and Taif and observe the Quraysh and let us know the news”. At
Nakhla, they saw donkey caravan approaching Mecca from the Yemen carrying trade goods for the Quraysh. This was the last day
of Rajab, one of the holy months when fighting was not allowed. The leader of the party of Muslims decided to act on his own
and quickly overpowered the guards, killing one and taking two prisoners and reached Medina with the captured goods and the
prisoners. But when the prophet saw them, he said “I have not instructed you to fight during the holy months.” He castigated the
leader of expedition and his companions. In this case, the Muslims were apparently in the wrong, which was also confirmed by
the Quranic verse 2:217 revealed at that time. (2:217)They will ask you about fighting in the sacred month. Say: “Fighting in
it is an awesome thing; but turning men away from the path of God and denying Him, and [turning them away from] the
Inviolable House of Worship and expelling its people there from -[all this] is yet more awesome in the sight of God, since
oppression is more awesome than killing.”[Your enemies] will not cease to fight against you till they have turned you away
from your faith, if they can. But if any of you should turn away from his faith and die as a denier of the truth - these it is
whose works will go for nought in this world and in the life to come; and these it is who are destined for the fire, therein to
abide. (The four sacred months during which warfare was considered blasphemous in pre Islamic Arabia - a view which was later
confirmed by Islam are Muharram, Rajab, Dhu l-Qadah and Dhu l-Hijjah.)
THE BATTLE OF BADR (2H OR 624 CE)
PROPHECIES REGARDING BATTLE OF BADR
The victory in the battle of Badr was predicted in verses 17:76, 30:5 (victory for Byzantines and Muslims) and then in the
following verses: (54:43-48) Are, then, those of you who [now] deny the truth better than those others - or have you, per-
chance, [been promised] immunity in the [ancient] books of [divine] wisdom? [It is a generic term denoting any book of
wisdom: hence, any and all of the divine scriptures revealed by God to the prophets.] Or do they say, “We are a group united,
[and therefore] bound to prevail”? [The reasoning which underlies this thought may be summed up thus: We who reject these
so-called divine revelations represent a very large body of opinion; and because our views are held by so many, they are obviously
right and, therefore, bound to triumph in the end. In other words, the people characterized as “deniers of the truth” draw their
assurance from the mere fact of their being representative of the majority opinion - a self-delusion based on a purely materialistic
outlook on life.] [Yet] the hosts [of those who deny the truth] shall be routed, and they shall turn their backs [in flight]!
[The fact that the Prophet recited this verse just before the battle of Badr (see 8:10) has caused most of the commentators to
assume that it had been revealed as a specific prophecy of the future victory of the Muslims over the pagan Quraysh. While this is
possible, nevertheless, that the above passage has the much wider, timeless meaning. This view finds strong support in the
subsequent verses, which speak of the evil otherworldly consequences of deliberate sinning, quite apart from the social and moral
defeat, in this world, of the sinful community as a whole.] But nay - the Last Hour is the time when they shall truly meet their
fate; and that Last Hour will be most calamitous, and most bitter: for, behold, those who are lost in sin [will at that time
come to know that it is they who] were sunk in error and folly! On the Day when they shall be dragged into the fire on
their faces, [they will be told:] “Taste now the touch of hell-fire!”
INTRODUCTION
In the month of Shaban, 2 H. (624), the Muslims of Medina learned that a great Meccan trade caravan, which had gone to Syria
some months earlier under the leadership of Umayyad chief, Abu Sufyan, had started on its return journey southwards and would
be passing Medina a few weeks later. In view of the fact that ever since the exodus of the Muslims from Mecca to Medina a state
of open war had existed between them and the Meccan Quraysh, the Prophet informed his followers that he intended to attack the
caravan as soon as it approached Medina; and rumors of this plan reached Abu Sufyan while he and the caravan were still in
Syria. The weeks that must elapse before they would reach the area of danger gave Abu Sufyan an opportunity to send a fast-
riding courier to Mecca with an urgent request for help (the caravan itself, consisting of about one thousand camels laden with
valuable merchandise, was accompanied by only about forty armed men). On receipt of Abu Sufyan’s message, the Quraysh
assembled a powerful army under the leadership of the Prophet’s most bitter opponent, Abu Jahl, and set out northwards to the
rescue of the caravan. The latter had, in the meantime, changed its traditional route and veered towards the coastal lowlands in
order to put as much distance as possible between itself and Medina.
The fact that the Prophet, contrary to his custom, had on this occasion made his plans known so long in advance suggests that the
purported attack on the caravan was no more than a feint, and that from the very outset his real objective had been an encounter
with the Quraysh army. As already mentioned, a state of war already existed between the Quraysh of Mecca and the Muslim
community at Medina. So far, however, no decisive encounter had taken place, and the Muslims were living under the constant
threat of a Quraysh invasion. It is probable that the Prophet wished to put an end to this state of affairs and to inflict, if possible, a
decisive defeat on the Quraysh, thus securing a measure of safety for his, as yet weak, community. Had he really intended no
more than to attack and plunder Abu Sufyan’s caravan, he could have done so by simply waiting until it reached the vicinity of
Medina and then swooping down on it; and in that event Abu Sufyan would have had no time to obtain further armed help from
Mecca. As it was, the Prophet’s announcement, weeks ahead, of the impending attack gave Abu Sufyan time to alert his
compatriots in Mecca, and induced the latter to dispatch a considerable force towards Medina.
While Abu Sufyan’s caravan was proceeding southwards along the coast, and thus out of reach of the Muslims, the Quraysh army
- consisting of about one thousand warriors clad in chain mail, seven hundred camels and over one hundred horses - arrived at the
valley of Badr, one hundred miles west-southwest of Medina, expecting to meet Abu Sufyan there, in the meantime he had taken
the coastal route. At the same time the Prophet marched out of Medina at the head of three hundred and odd Muslims, all of them
very poorly armed, with seventy camels and two horses between them. Just over quarter were Emigrants and nearly three-quarters
were Muslims of Medina.
The Prophet’s followers had been under the impression that they were going to attack the trade caravan and its weak escort; and
when, on the 17th (or, according to some authorities, on the 19th or 21st) of Ramadan, they came face to face with a powerful
Quraysh force more than thrice their number, they held a council of war. A few of the Muslims were of the opinion that the enemy
was too strong for them, and that they withdraw to Medina. But the overwhelming majority, led by Abu Bakr and Umar, were in
favor of an immediate advance, and their enthusiasm carried the others along with them. The Meccan commander, Abu Jahl was
also bent on teaching a lesson to the impudent upstarts in Medina and did not immediately return home on hearing that the
caravan was safe. Both forces found themselves in a position from which honor made it impossible to withdraw without fighting.
After a few single combats - held in accordance with honored Arabian custom - the fighting became general and the Meccan
forces were completely routed. Some fifty or more Meccan were killed; the dead included Abu Jahl and at several of most the
prominent chieftains of Mecca, whose administrative and commercial skills could hardly be replaced. Nearly seventy of Meccans
were taken prisoner. The Muslims, on the other hand, had only fourteen martyred. The first encounter between monotheism and
poly theism ended in victory, a divine sanction of a new faith. The Meccans fought in old Arab style with careless bravado, each
chief leading his own men. Muhammad’s troops, however were disciplined and fought under his unified command.
The outcome of battle of Badr made the Quraysh realize that the movement inaugurated by Muhammad was not an ephemeral
dream but the beginning of a new political power and a new era different from anything that the Arabian past had known. The
Meccans, apprehensions, which had already been aroused by the exodus of the Prophet and his companions to Medina, found a
shattering confirmation on the day of Badr. Although the power of Arabian paganism was not finally broken until some years
later, its decay became apparent from that historic moment. For the Muslims, too, Badr proved to be a turning point. It may safely
be assumed that until then only a very few of the Prophet’s Companions had fully understood the political implications of the new
order of Islam. To most of them, their exodus to Medina had meant, in those early days, no more than a refuge from the
persecutions which they had had to endure in Mecca. After the battle of Badr, however, even the most simple-minded among them
became aware that they were on their way towards a new social order.
AL-ANFAL (SPOILS OF WAR, SURAH 8)
Most of the eighth surah AL-ANFAL (spoils of war) was revealed during or immediately after the battle of Badr. It deals almost
entirely with the battle of Badr and lessons to be derived from it. The first encounter between monotheism and polytheism ended
in victory, a divine sanction of the new faith. The chief reason for the victory was doubtless the greater confidence of the Muslims
as a result of their religious faith and was God’s vindication of Muslim cause and as a proof of truth of Muhammad’s mission.
WHO ARE TRUE BELIEVERS
(8:2-4) Believers are only they whose hearts tremble with awe whenever God is mentioned, and whose faith is strengthened
whenever His messages are conveyed unto them, and who in their Sustainer place their trust - those who are constant in
prayer and spend on others out of what We provide for them as sustenance: it is they, they who are truly believers! Theirs
shall be great dignity in their Sustainer’s sight, and forgiveness of sins, and a most excellent sustenance. [I.e., in paradise.
Alternatively, the most excellent sustenance can also be a metonym for the spiritual raptures arising from the knowledge of God,
the love of Him, and the self-immersion in worshipping Him and this expression refers to the spiritual reward of faith in this
world. Some commentators regard the above definition of true believers as the most important passage of this surah. The phrase
“theirs shall be great dignity” reads, literally, “they shall have degrees”, namely, of excellence and dignity.]
FIGHT FOR TRUTH RATHER THAN FOR MATERIAL GAINS
(8:5-8) Even as your Sustainer brought you forth from your home [to fight] in the cause of the truth, although some of the
believers were averse to it, [so, too,] they would argue with you about the truth [itself] after it had become manifest [After
it had become clear that it was indeed God’s will that the Muslims should give battle to the Quraysh army.] - just as if they were
being driven towards death and beheld it with their very eyes. [Just as some of the believers were averse to going forth from
Medina to give battle to the Quraysh, so, too, they would argue with you as to whether it was really willed by God. A few of the
followers of the Prophet disliked the idea of giving battle to the main army of the Quraysh, instead of attacking the Meccan
caravan returning from Syria and thus of acquiring easy booty; but the majority of them immediately declared that they would
follow God’s Apostle wherever he might lead them.] And, lo, God gave you the promise that one of the two [enemy] hosts
would fall to you: and you would have liked to seize the less powerful one, [I.e., the caravan coming from Syria, which was
accompanied by only forty armed men and could, therefore, be attacked without great danger.] whereas it was God’s will to
prove the truth to be true in accordance with His words, and to wipe out the last remnant of those who denied the truths -
[The destruction of the Meccan army at Badr was the prelude to the elimination, in the course of the next few years, of all armed
opposition to Islam in its homeland: and it is to this future fulfillment of God’s promise that the above words refer.] so that He
might prove the truth to be true and the false to be false; however hateful this might be to those who were lost in sin. [The
implication is that the truth of the Prophet’s cause could not have been vindicated by the Muslims’ overcoming and plundering the
rich caravan, which was approaching from the north. Although such an action would have benefited the Muslims materially, it
would not have lessened the strength of the pagan Quraysh: while, on the other hand, the encounter at Badr with the main,
heavily-armed Quraysh force, resulting as it did in a decisive victory of the Muslims, was destined to shatter the self-confidence
of the enemy and thus to pave the way for the ultimate triumph of Islam in Arabia.]
GOD’S ANSWER TO PROPHET’S PRAYER
(8:9-14) Lo! You were praying unto your Sustainer for aid, whereupon He thus responded to you: “I shall, verily, aid you
with a thousand angels following one upon another!” And God ordained this only as a glad tiding, and that your hearts
should thereby be set at rest - since no succor can come from any save God: verily, God is almighty, wise! [On the day of the
battle of Badr, the Prophet looked at his followers, who were three hundred and odd men, and he looked at those who were
ascribing divinity to beings other than God: and lo, they were more than one thousand. Thereupon God’s Prophet turned towards
the qiblah, raised his hands and thus implored his Sustainer: ‘O God! Fulfill what Thou hast promised me! O God! If this little
band of those who have surrendered themselves unto Thee is destroyed, Thou wilt not be worshipped on earth’. It is said that the
above Quran-verse was revealed in response to the Prophet’s prayer - whereupon he recited another, much earlier verse (54:45) as
described above under prophesies of battle of Badr. As regards the promise of aid through thousands of angels, is said to have
been uttered by the Prophet and thus, by implication, confirmed by God. The spiritual nature of this angelic aid is clearly
expressed by the words, “and God ordained this only as a glad tiding.”] [Remember how it was] when He caused inner calm to
enfold you, [Inner calm refers to the spiritual quiet and self-confidence of the believers in the face of overwhelming odds before
the battle of Badr.] as an assurance from Him, and sent down upon you water from the skies, so that He might purify you
thereby and free you from Satan’s unclean whisperings and strengthen your hearts and thus make firm your steps.
[Immediately before the beginning of the battle, the Meccan army invested the wells of Badr, thus depriving the Muslims of
water; and, under the influence of thirst, some of the latter fell prey to utter despair here symbolized by “Satan's unclean
whisperings” - when, suddenly, abundant rain fell and enabled them to satisfy their thirst.] Lo! Thy Sustainer inspired the
angels [to convey this His message to the believers]: “I am with you!” [The phrase “I am with you” is addressed through the
angels to the believers - for, the purport of these words was the removal of fear, since it was the Muslims, who feared the deniers
of the truth.] [And He commanded the angels:] “And give firmness unto those who have attained to faith [with these words
from Me]: [Verse 10 of this surah makes it clear that the aid of the angels was purely spiritual in nature; and there is no evidence
anywhere in the Quran that they did, or were meant to participate in the battle in a physical sense. Most modern commentators
emphatically reject the legendary notion that angels actually fought in this or any other of the Prophet’s battles.] ‘I shall cast
terror into the hearts of those who are bent on denying the truth; strike, then, their necks, [O believers,] and strike off
every one of their finger-tips!’” [I.e., destroy them utterly] This, because they have cut themselves off from God and His
Apostle: and as for him who cuts himself off from God and His Apostle - verily, God is severe in retribution. This [for you,
O enemies of God]! Taste it, then, [and know] that suffering through fire awaits those who deny the truth!
NO RETREAT PERMISSIBLE
(8:15-16) O you who have attained to faith! When you meet in battle those who are bent on denying the truth, advancing
in great force, do not turn your backs on them: [The implication being that in view of God’s promise of victory no retreat is
permissible. Since this verse, like the whole of this surah, relates predominantly to the battle of Badr, it may well be presumed
that the above admonition forms part of the message of encouragement beginning with the words, “I am with you” (verse 12),
which God commanded the angels to convey to the believers before the battle. In accordance with the didactic method of the
Quran, however, the moral lesson contained in this verse is not confined to the historical occasion to which it refers, but has the
validity of a permanent law.] for, whoever on that day turns his back on them - unless it be in a battle maneuver or in an
endeavor to join another troop [of the believers] - shall indeed have earned the burden of God’s condemnation, and his
goal shall be hell: and how vile a journey’s end!
VICTORY BELONGS TO GOD ALONE
(8:17) And yet, [O believers,] it was not you who slew the enemy, but it was God who slew them; [I.e., in the battle of Badr,
which ended with a complete victory of the Muslims.] and it was not you who cast [terror into them, O Prophet], when you
did cast it, but it was God who cast it: and [He did all this] in order that He might test the believers by a goodly test of His
Own ordaining. Verily, God is all-hearing, all-knowing! [According to several Traditions, the Prophet cast, at the beginning of
the battle, a handful of pebbles or dust in the direction of the enemy, thus symbolically indicating their approaching defeat. Since
“he cast” or “flung” applies also to the act of shooting an arrow or flinging a spear, it might be explained here as a reference to the
Prophet’s active participation in the battle. Alternatively, it may denote his “casting terror”, i.e., into the hearts of his enemies, by
his and his followers’ extreme valor. Whichever explanation is adopted, the above verse implies that the victory of the Muslims
over the much more numerous and much better equipped army of the Quraysh was due to God’s grace alone: and, thus, it is a
reminder to the faithful, of all times, not to indulge in undue pride in any of their achievements (which is the meaning of the
“test”).]
DIVINE AID IS CONTINGENT UPON TRUE FAITH AND RIGHTEOUS DEEDS
(8:18-24)This [was God’s purpose] - and also [to show] that God renders vain the artful schemes of those who deny the
truth. If you have been praying for victory, [O believers] - victory has now indeed come unto you. And if you abstain [from
sinning], it will be for your own good; but if you revert to it, We shall revoke [Our promise of aid] - and never will your
community be of any avail to you, however great its numbers: for, behold, God is [only] with those who believe! [Thus, the
verse must be understood as an admonition to the believers that God will be with them only so long as they remain firm in faith
and righteous in action, and that, however large their community may be in the future, they will be powerless unless they are true
believers.] [Hence,] O you who have attained to faith, pay heed unto God and His Apostle, and do not turn away from Him
now that you hear [His message]; and be not like those who say, “We have heard”, the while they do not hearken. [This is a
general allusion and relates to all people who have come to know and understand the message of the Quran, but pay no heed to it.]
Verily, the vilest of all creatures: [Lit., “animals that walk or crawl”, including man as well.] in the sight of God are those
deaf, those dumb ones who do not use their reason. For, if God had seen any good in them, He would certainly have made
them hear: but [as it is,] even if He had made them hear, they would surely have turned away in their obstinacy. O you
who have attained to faith! Respond to the call of God and the Apostle whenever he calls you unto that which will give you
life; and know that God intervenes between man and [the desires of] his heart, and that unto Him you shall be gathered.
[I.e., between a man’s desires and the outward action that may result from those desires: indicating that God can turn man away
from what his heart urges him to do. In other words, it is God-consciousness alone that can prevent man from being misled by
wrong desires and, thus, from becoming like “those deaf, those dumb ones who do not use their reason” (verse 22 above); and it is
God-consciousness alone that can enable man to follow the call “unto that which gives life” - that is, spiritual awareness of right
and wrong and the will to act accordingly.]
TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS
(8:25-28) And beware of that temptation to evil which does not befall only those among you who are bent on denying the
truth, to the exclusion of others; and know that God is severe in retribution. [The idea being that it is not merely the
deliberate deniers of spiritual truths who are exposed to such temptations to evil but that also people who are otherwise righteous
may fall prey to it unless they remain always, and consciously, on their guard against anything that might lead them astray from
the right course.] And remember the time when you were few [and] helpless on earth, fearful lest people do away with you -
[A reference to the weakness of the believers in the early days of Islam, before their exodus from Mecca to Medina. In its wider
meaning, it is a reminder to every community of true believers, at all times, of their initial weakness and numerical insignificance
and their subsequent growth in numbers and influence.] whereupon He sheltered you, and strengthened you with His succor,
and provided for you sustenance out of the good things of life, so that you might have cause to be grateful. [Hence,] O you
who have attained to faith, do not be false to God and the Apostle, and do not knowingly be false to the trust that has been
reposed in you; and know that your worldly goods and your children are but a trial and a temptation, and that with God
there is a tremendous reward. [This reminder connects with verse 25 above, “beware of that temptation to evil which does not
befall only those who are bent on denying the truth,” since it is acquisitiveness and a desire to confer benefits on one's own family
which often tempt an otherwise good person to offend against the rights of his fellow-men. In other words, he should not allow
worldly attachments to deflect him from the pursuit of moral verities.]
PUNISHMENT FOR NONBELIEVERS
(8:35-38) Taste then, [O unbelievers,] this chastisement as an outcome of your persistent denial of the truth! [The
chastisement or suffering referred to here was their crushing defeat at Badr.] Behold, those who are bent on denying the truth
are spending their riches in order to turn others away from the path of God; and they will go on spending them until they
become [a source of] intense regret for them; and then they will be overcome! And those who [until their death] have
denied the truth shall be gathered unto hell, so that God might separate the bad from the good, and join the bad with one
another, and link them all together [within His condemnation], and then place them in hell. They, they are the lost! Tell
those who are bent on denying the truth that if they desist, all that is past shall be forgiven them; [I.e., from their endeavor
to turn others way from the path of God and from waging war against the believers.] but if they revert [to their wrongdoing], let
them remember what happened to the like of them in times gone by. [An allusion to the disasters that have overtaken, and are
bound to overtake, those who persistently deny moral truths.]
FIGHT FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
(8:39-40) And fight against them until there is no more oppression and all worship is devoted to God alone. [I.e., until man
is free to worship God. See the identical phrase in 2:193. Both these passages stress self-defense - in the widest sense of this word
- as the only justification of war.] And if they desist - behold, God sees all that they do; [I.e., He knows their motives, and will
requite them according to their merits.] and if they turn away [from righteousness], know that God is your Lord Supreme:
[and] how excellent is this Lord Supreme, and how excellent this Giver of Succor!
CONFRONTING NUMERICALLY SUPERIOR ENEMY
(8:42) [Remember that day] when you were at the near end of the valley [of Badr], and they were at its farthest end, while
the caravan was below you. [Before the beginning of the battle, the Prophet and his followers were encamped in the northern
part of the valley of Badr, nearest to Medina, while their enemies, having come from Mecca, occupied its southern part. The
Meccan trade caravan, coming from Syria under the leadership of Abu Sufyan, was in the meantime proceeding southwards
through the coastal lowlands.] And if you had known that a battle was to take place, you would indeed have refused to
accept the challenge: [As mentioned earlier, many of the Prophet’s followers had been under the impression that their objective
was the relatively weak trade caravan, and some of them were dismayed at finding themselves face to face with the powerful
Quraysh army advancing from the south.] but [the battle was brought about none the less,] so that God might accomplish a
thing [which He willed] to be done, [Meaning that if God decrees a thing, it must inevitably come about, and may therefore be
described as already done.] [and] that he who would perish might perish in clear evidence of the truth, and that he who
would remain alive might live in clear evidence of the truth. And, behold, God is indeed all-hearing, all-knowing. [The
believers who fell in that battle died conscious of being martyrs in God’s cause, and those who survived could now clearly discern
God’s hand in their victory; while the dead among the deniers of the truth had clearly given their lives for nothing, and those of
them who survived must now realize that their crushing defeat was due, in the last resort, to something infinitely greater than the
valor of the Muslims.]
PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL AID
(8:43-46) Lo! God showed them to you in a dream as few: [This relates to a dream which the Prophet had just before the
encounter at Badr. God had shown the enemies to the Prophet, in a dream, as few; he informed his companions accordingly, and
this encouraged them greatly.] for, had He shown them to you as many, you would surely have lost heart, and would surely
have disagreed with one another about what to do. [About the advisability of giving battle or retreating] But God saved [you
from this]: verily, He has full knowledge of what is the hearts [of men]. And so, when you met in battle, He made them
appear as few in your eyes - just as He made you appear as of little account in their eyes - so that God might accomplish a
thing [which He willed] to be done: for all things go back to God [as their source]. [Since at the time of the actual encounter
the Muslims could no longer be in doubt as to the great number of the enemy force, the phrase “He made them appear as few in
your eyes” has obviously a metaphorical meaning: it implies that, by that time, the Prophet’s followers were so full of courage
that the enemy appeared insignificant to them. The Quraysh, on the other hand, were so conscious of their own power and
numerical superiority that the Muslims appeared but of little account to them - a mistake which ultimately cost them the battle and
a great number of lives.] [Hence,] O you who have attained to faith, when you meet a host in battle, be firm, and remember
God often, so that you might attain to a happy state! And pay heed unto God and His Apostle, and do not [allow yourselves
to] be at variance with one another, lest you lose heart and your moral strength desert you. And be patient in adversity:
for, verily, God is with those who are patient in adversity.
WAR IS NOT FOR SELF-GLORY
(8:47) And be not like those [unbelievers] who went forth from their homelands full of self-conceit and a desire to be seen
and praised by men: [A reference to the Quraysh army which set forth from Mecca under the leadership of Abu Jahl in the
conviction that they would destroy the Prophet and his followers. These words imply a warning to the believers, of all times,
never to go to war boastfully and for the sake of empty glory.] for they were trying to turn others away from the path of God
- the while God encompassed all their doings [with His might].
SATAN’S DECEPTIONS
(8:48-49) And, lo, Satan made all their doings seem goodly to them, and said, “No one can overcome you this day, for,
behold, I shall be your protector!” [I shall be “your neighbor” is an expression derived from the ancient Arabian principle that a
man is honor-bound to aid and protect his neighbors.] - but as soon as the two hosts came within sight of one another, he
turned on his heels and said, “Behold, I am not responsible for you: behold, I see something that you do not see: behold, I
fear God - for God is severe in retribution!” [This is an allegory of Satan’s blandishments and of his subsequent abandonment
of the sinner.] At the same time, the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was disease were saying, “Their faith has deluded
these [believers]!” But he who places his trust in God [knows that], verily, God is almighty, wise. [Thinking that in spite of
their numerical weakness and lack of arms, they could withstand the powerful Meccan army. The term din, often denoting
religion, obviously stands here for the attitude one has towards his religion: in another word, one’s faith. “Those in whose hearts
was disease” is a reference to the vacillating and faint-hearted among the Prophet’s followers, who were afraid of meeting the
Quraysh in battle.]
PUNISHMENT FOR UNBELIEVERS AFTER DEATH
(8:50-55) And if you could but see [how it will be] when He causes those who are bent on denying the truth to die: the
angels will strike their faces and their backs, and [will say]: “Taste suffering through fire in return for what your own
hands have wrought - for, never does God do the least wrong to His creatures!” [The beating of the sinners’ faces and backs
is an allegory of their suffering in the life to come in consequence of their having denied the truth while alive in this world: They
have utter darkness behind them and utter darkness before them - and this is the meaning of the words, “the angels strike their
faces and their backs”. Most of the commentators assume that this passage refers specifically to the pagan Quraysh who fell in the
battle of Badr; but while it undoubtedly does apply to them, there is no reason to restrict its import to this particular historical
event - especially in view of the subsequent passages (up to and including verse 55), which obviously refer to all who are “bent on
denying the truth”.] [To them shall happen.] the like of what happened to Pharaoh’s people and those who lived before
them: they denied the truth of God’s messages - and so God took them to task for their sins. Verily, God is powerful, severe
in retribution! This, because God would never change the blessings with which He has graced a people unless they change
their inner selves: and [know] that God is all-hearing, all-seeing. [This statement in the context of the law of cause and effect
which God has decreed on His creation and which is described elsewhere in the Quran as sunnat Allah, “the way of God”.] [To
those sinners shall happen] the like of what happened to Pharaoh’s people and those who lived before them: they gave the
lie to their Sustainer’s messages - and so We destroyed them in return for their sins, and caused Pharaoh’s people to
drown: for they were evildoers all. Verily, the vilest creatures in the sight of God are those who are bent on denying the
truth and therefore do not believe. [Thus showing that lack of belief in spiritual verities is a consequence of one’s being “bent
on denying the truth”. Expressed in positive terms, this amounts to the statement that belief in any ethical proposition depends on
one’s readiness to consider it on its merits and to admit the truth of whatever one’s mind judges to be in conformity with other -
empirically or intuitively established - truths.]
CONQUERING FEAR OF DEATH
(8:65-66) O Prophet! Inspire the believers to conquer all fear of death when fighting, [so that,] if there be twenty of you
who are patient in adversity, they might overcome two hundred; and [that,] if there be one hundred of you, they might
overcome one thousand of those who are bent on denying the truth, because they are people who cannot grasp it. [This is
an exhortation to the believers to conquer all fear of death and to be so patient in adversity that they might be able to overcome an
enemy many times their number. The concluding words of this verse – “because they are people who cannot grasp it (i.e., the
truth)” - can be understood in either of two ways: (1) as giving an additional reason of the true believers’ superiority over “those
who are bent on denying the truth”, as the latter, not believing in the eternal verities and in life after death, cannot rise to that
enthusiasm and readiness for self-sacrifice which distinguishes the true believers; or (2) as explaining that “those who are bent on
denying the truth” deny it simply because their spiritual deafness and blindness prevents them from grasping it. The second of
these two interpretations is preferable, and particularly so in view of the fact that the Quran often explains in these terms the
attitude of “those who deny the truth” (e.g., in 6:25, 7:179, 9:87, etc.).] For the time being, [however,] God has lightened your
burden, for He knows that you are weak: and so, if there be one hundred of you who are patient in adversity, they should
[be able to] overcome two hundred; and if there be one thousand of you, they should [be able to] overcome two thousand
by God’s leave: for God is with those who are patient in adversity. [Immediately after the battle of Badr, the Muslims were
extremely weak both in numbers and in equipment, and their community had not yet attained to any significant degree of political
organization. Under those circumstances, the Quran says, they could not - nor could any Muslim community of later times, in
similar circumstances - be expected to bring forth the effort and the efficiency required of a fully developed community of
believers; but even so they should be able to stand up to an enemy twice their number. The proportions one to two, or - as in the
preceding verse, one to ten - are not, of course, to be taken literally; as a matter of fact, the Muslims defeated at Badr a much
better-armed force more than thrice their own number. The reference to God’s having “lightened the burden” imposed on the
believers in this respect makes it clear that both this and the preceding verse imply a divine command couched in terms of
exhortation, and not a prediction of events to come.]
PROVIDING SHELTER TO THOSE FLEEING RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
(8:72-74) Behold, as for those who have attained to faith, and who have forsaken the domain of evil [Historically, this
expression relates to the Meccan Muslims who migrated with the Prophet to Medina; but the sequence makes it clear that the
definitions and injunctions provided by this verse are in the nature of a general law, valid for all times. With all this, it should be
noted that the hijrah referred to here has a preponderantly physical connotation, implying an emigration from a non-Muslim
country to a country ruled by the Law of Islam.] and are striving hard, with their possessions and their lives, in God’s cause,
as well as those who shelter and succor [them] - these are [truly] the friends and protectors of one another. [This refers to
the ansar at Medina - that is, to the newly-converted Muslims of that town, who gave shelter and whole-hearted aid to the
muhajirin (emigrants) from Mecca before and after the Prophet’s own migration thither: but, similar to the spiritual meaning
attaching to the terms hijrah and muhajir, the expression ansar transcends its purely historical connotation and applies to all
believers who aid and give comfort to those who flee from evil unto God.] But as for those who have come to believe without
having migrated [to your country] [I.e., those Muslims who, for some reason or other, remain outside the political jurisdiction
of the Islamic state.] - you are in no wise responsible for their protection until such a time as they migrate [to you]. Yet, if
they ask you for succor against religious persecution, [Implying that they are exposed to persecution on account of their
religious beliefs.] so it is your duty to give [them] this succor - except against a people between whom and yourselves there
is a covenant: for God sees all that you do. [I.e., a treaty of alliance or of non-interference in each other's internal affairs. Since
in such cases an armed intervention of the Islamic state in behalf of the Muslim citizens of a non-Muslim state would constitute a
breach of treaty obligations, the Islamic state is not allowed to seek redress by force. A solution of the problem could conceivably
be brought about by negotiations between the two states or, alternatively, by an emigration of the persecuted Muslims.] With all
this, [remember that] those who are bent on denying the truth are allies of one another; [The fact of their being bent on
denying the truth of the divine message constitutes a common denominator between them, and precludes the possibility of their
ever being real friends to the believers. This refers, of course, to relations between communities, and not necessarily between
individuals.] and unless you act likewise [among yourselves], oppression will reign on earth, and great corruption. And they
who have attained to faith, and who have forsaken the domain of evil and are striving hard in God’s cause, as well as those
who shelter and succor [them] - it is they, they who are truly believers! Forgiveness of sins awaits them, and a most
excellent sustenance.
VICTORY AT BATTLE OF BADR AND POWER OF FAITH
(3:13) You have already had a sign in the two hosts that met in battle, one host fighting in God's cause and the other
denying Him; with their own eyes they saw the others as twice their own number: but God strengthens with His succour
whom He wills. In this, behold, there is indeed a lesson for all who have eyes to see. [This is an allusion to the battle of Badr.
The above Quranic passage has a general import and alludes to an occurrence often witnessed in history - namely, the victory of a
numerically weak and ill-equipped group of people, filled with a burning belief in the righteousness of their cause, over a
materially and numerically superior enemy lacking a similar conviction. The fact that in this Quran-verse the believers are spoken
of as being faced by an enemy "twice their number" (while at the battle of Badr the pagan Quraysh were more than three times the
number of the Muslims) lends great plausibility to this explanation. The other explanation of this verse may be that the enemy
prisoners later described the Muslim force to be many times larger than it was.]
The political significance of battle of Badr was that Muhammad was a serious threat to Mecca. Meccan prestige was greatly
diminished by the defeat even though the number of their dead was relatively small. The potential threat to Meccan commerce
was also considerable. Thus the Meccans were bound to exert all their strength to destroy Muhammad, or at the very least to drive
him out of Medina. The events of next few years may be understood as Meccan efforts to meet the challenge from Muhammad to
their very existence as a commercial state. From now on, all the battles were initiated by the Quraysh in an attempt to kill
Muhammad and decimate nascent Islamic state.
EXPULSION OF TRIBE OF QAYNUQA
A few weeks after the battle of Badr, a desert woman came to the market in the Jewish quarter of Banu Qaynuqa to remodel some
of her jewelry. Without her knowledge, one of the Jewish shopkeepers tacked her robe with a pin to the wall. When the women
got up to leave, the robe was pulled down and she became naked. This incident lead to general hostilities and the tribe of Banu
Qaynuqa challenged Mohammad: “O Muhammad! Fall not under the illusion that you are invincible. The people you just fought
with were inexperienced and if you turn your arms against us, you will find us adept in the arts of war.” Muslims laid siege of the
clan of Qaynuqa and after fifteen days, when their ally Abd Allah b. Ubayy had proved unable to help them, they surrendered and
were expelled from Medina.
THE BATTLE OF UHUD (3H or 625CE)
In order to avenge their defeat at Badr, the pagan Meccans - supported by several tribes hostile to the Muslims - mustered in the
following year an army comprising three thousand men under the command of Abu Sufyan and marched against Medina. On
hearing of their approach, in the month of Shawwal 3 H., the Prophet held a council of war at which the tactics to be adopted were
discussed. In view of the overwhelming cavalry forces at the disposal of the enemy, the Prophet himself was of the opinion that
the Muslims should give battle from behind the fortifications of Medina and, if need be, fight in its narrow streets and lanes; and
his plan was supported by some of the most outstanding among his Companions. However, the majority of the Muslim leaders
who participated in the council strongly insisted on going forth and meeting the enemy in the open field. In obedience to the
Quranic principle that all communal affairs must be transacted on the basis of mutually-agreed decisions, the Prophet sorrowfully
gave way to the will of the majority and set out with his followers towards the plain below the mountain of Uhud, a little over
three miles from Medina. His army consisted of less than one thousand men; but on the way to Mount Uhud this number was still
further reduced by the defection of some three hundred men led by the hypocritical Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, who pretended to be
convinced that the Muslims did not really intend to fight. The battle began on the morning of 7 Shawwal 3/23 March 625.
NEAR-DEFECTION OF TWO TRIBES
(3:121-123) And [remember, O Prophet, the day] when you did set out from your home at early morn to place the believers
in battle array, and God was all-hearing, all-knowing [This is a reference to the battle of Uhud, to which many verses of this
surah are devoted.] when two groups from among you were about to lose heart, although God was near unto them and it is
in God that the believers must place their trust: for, indeed, God did succor you at Badr, when you were utterly weak.
Remain, then, conscious of God, so that you might have cause to be grateful. [Shortly before the battle, the clans of Banu
Salamah (of the tribe of Al-Aws) and Banu Harithah (of the tribe of Khazraj) almost lost heart and were about to join the defectors
on the plea that because of their numerical weakness the Muslims must now avoid giving battle; but at the last moment they
decided to follow the Prophet. Having less than seven hundred men with him, the Prophet arrayed the bulk of his forces with their
backs to the mountain and posted all his archers - numbering fifty - on a nearby hill in order to provide cover against an
outflanking maneuver by the enemy cavalry; these archers were ordered not to leave their post under any circumstances. In their
subsequent, death-defying assault upon the greatly superior forces of the pagan Quraysh, the Muslims gained a decisive advantage
over the former and almost routed them. At that moment, however, most of the archers, believing that the battle had been won and
fearing lest they lose their share of the spoils, abandoned their covering position and joined the melee around the encampment of
the Quraysh. Seizing this opportunity, the bulk of the Meccan cavalry under the command of Khalid ibn al-Walid (who shortly
after this battle embraced Islam and later became one of the greatest Muslim generals of all times) veered round in a wide arc and
attacked the Muslim forces from the rear. Deprived of the cover of the archers, and caught between two fires, the Muslims
retreated in disorder, with the loss of many lives. The Prophet himself and a handful of his most stalwart companions defended
themselves desperately; and the Prophet was seriously injured and fell to the ground. The cry immediately arose, “The Apostle of
God has been killed!” Many of the Muslims began to flee; some among them were even prepared to throw themselves upon the
mercy of the enemy. But a few of the Companions - among them Umar ibn al-Khattab and Talhah - called out, “What good are
your lives without him, O believers? Let us die as he has died!”- and threw themselves with the strength of despair against the
Meccans. Their example at once found an echo among the rest of the Muslims, who in the meantime had learnt that the Prophet
was alive: they rallied and counter-attacked the enemy, and thus saved the day. But the Muslims were now too exhausted to
exploit their chances of victory, and the battle ended in a draw, with the enemy retreating in the direction of Mecca. On the next
day the Prophet started in pursuit of them at the head of seventy of his Companions. But when the Muslims reached the place
called Hamra al-Asad, about eight miles south of Medina, it became obvious that the Meccans were in no mood to risk another
encounter and were rapidly marching home; and thereupon the tiny Muslim army returned to Medina.]
DIVINE AID AND INSPIRATION
(3:124-127) [And remember] when you did say unto the believers: “Is it not enough for you [to know] that your Sustainer
will aid you with three thousand angels sent down [from on high]? Nay, but if you are patient in adversity and conscious of
Him, and the enemy should fall upon you of a sudden, your Sustainer will aid you with five thousand angels swooping
down!” [As is evident from the next verse, the Prophet’s allusion to God’s aiding the believers with thousands of angels signifies,
metaphorically, a strengthening of the believers’ hearts through spiritual forces coming from God. A very similar announcement -
relating to the battle of Badr - occurs in 8:9-10, where “one thousand” angels are mentioned. As regards these varying numbers
(one, three and five thousand); they would seem to indicate the unlimited nature of God’s aid to those who are “patient in
adversity and conscious of Him”. It is reasonable to assume that the Prophet thus exhorted his followers immediately before the
battle of Uhud, that is, after three hundred men under the leadership of Abd Allah ibn Ubayy had deserted him and some of the
others “almost lost heart” in the face of the greatly superior enemy forces] And God ordained this [to be said by His Apostle]
only as a glad tiding for you, and that your hearts should thereby be set at rest - since no succor can come from any save
God, the Almighty, the Truly Wise - [This refers to the preceding two verses, which show that it was the Prophet who, under
divine inspiration, made this promise to his followers.] [and] that [through you] He might destroy some of those who were
bent on denying the truth and so abase the others that they would withdraw in utter hopelessness.
ADMONITION TO THE PROPHET
(3:128-129) [And] it is in no wise for you [O Prophet] to decide whether He shall accept their repentance or chastise them -
for, behold, they are but wrongdoers, whereas unto God belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth: He
forgives whom He wills, and He chastises whom He wills; and God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace. [As recorded in
several authentic Traditions, the Prophet invoked, during the battle of Uhud, God’s curse upon the leaders of the pagan Quraysh;
and when he lay on the ground severely injured, he exclaimed, “How could those people prosper after having done this to their
prophet, who but invites them to acknowledge their Sustainer?”- whereupon the above two verses were revealed.]
MARTYRDOM IN GOD’S CAUSE
(3:140-143) If misfortune touches you, [know that] similar misfortune has touched [other] people as well; for it is by turns
that We apportion unto men such days [of fortune and misfortune]: and [this] to the end that God might mark out those
who have attained to faith, and choose from among you such as [with their lives] bear witness to the truth - since God
does not love evildoers - [His decision to let some of you die as martyrs in His cause is not due to love of the sinful enemies who
oppose you, but to His love for you. The term shuhada (pl. of shahid) denotes “witnesses” as well as “martyrs”. The above
rendering comprises both the concepts of “bearing witness to the truth” and of “martyrdom” in God’s cause.] and that God
might render pure of all dross those who have attained to faith, and bring to nought those who deny the truth. Do you
think that you could enter paradise unless God takes cognizance of your having striven hard [in His cause], and takes
cognizance of your having been patient in adversity? [Since God is all-knowing, His “not taking cognizance” implies that the
thing or happening referred to has not come about or is non-existent.] For, indeed, you did long for death [in God’s cause]
before you came face to face with it; and now you have seen it with your own eyes! [This is a twofold reproach addressed to
the majority of the Companions who took part in the battle of Uhud: firstly, on account of their insistence, against the Prophet’s
advice, on giving battle to the enemy in the open field and thereby unnecessarily courting a deadly danger; and, secondly, on
account of their failure to live up to their faith during the earlier part of the battle (see 3:121 above). This passage may have yet
another, more positive implication: namely, a reference to the lesson which the believers should draw from their near-defeat, and a
reminder of the fact that their future depends on the strength of their faith in God (see verse 139 above) and not on a fleeting
desire for self-sacrifice.]
MUHAMMAD A MORTAL HUMAN BEING
(3:144-151) And Muhammad is only an apostle; all the [other] apostles have passed away before him: if, then, he dies or is
slain, will you turn about on your heels? [This stress on the mortality of the Prophet - and that of all the other prophets who
preceded him in time - connects with the rumor of his death, which caused many Muslims to abandon the fight and even brought
some of them close to apostasy. The above verse re-states the fundamental Islamic doctrine that adoration is due to God alone,
and that no human being - not even a prophet - may have any share in it. It was this very passage of the Quran which Abu Bakr,
the first Caliph, recited immediately after the Prophet’s death, when many faint-hearted Muslims thought that Islam itself had
come to an end; but as soon as Abu Bakr added, “Behold, whoever has worshipped Muhammad may know that Muhammad has
died; but whoever worships God may know that God is ever-living, and never dies”, all confusion was stilled. - The expression
“turning about on one’s heels” denotes - according to circumstances - either actual apostasy or a deliberate withdrawal from
efforts in the cause of God.] But he that turns about on his heels can in no wise harm God - whereas God will requite all
who are grateful [to Him]. And no human being can die save by God’s leave, at a term pre-ordained. And if one desires the
rewards of this world, We shall grant him thereof; and if one desires the rewards of the life to come, We shall grant him
thereof; and We shall requite those who are grateful [to Us]. And how many a prophet has had to fight [in God’s cause],
followed by many God-devoted men: and they did not become faint of heart for all that they had to suffer in God’s cause,
and neither did they weaken, nor did they abase themselves [before the enemy], since God loves those who are patient in
adversity; and all that they said was this: “O our Sustainer! Forgive us our sins and the lack of moderation in our doings!
And make firm our steps, and succor us against people who deny the truth!” - whereupon God granted them the rewards
of this world, as well as the goodliest rewards of the life to come: for God loves the doers of good. O you who have attained
to faith! If you pay heed to those who are bent on denying the truth, they will cause you to turn back on your heels, and
you will be the losers. Nay, but God alone is your Lord Supreme, and His is the best succor. Into the hearts of those who
are bent on denying the truth We shall cast dread in return for their ascribing divinity, side by side with God, to other
beings – [something] for which He has never bestowed any warrant from on high; and their goal is the fire - and how evil
that abode of evildoers!
DISOBEYING PROPHET’S COMMAND
(3:152-154) And, indeed, God made good His promise unto you when, by His leave, you were about to destroy your foes [A
reference to the opening stages of the battle of Uhud. Regarding the promise alluded to; see verses 124-125 of this surah.] - until
the moment when you lost heart and acted contrary to the [Prophet’s] command, and disobeyed after He had brought you
within view of that [victory] for which you were longing. [An allusion to the abandonment of their post by most of the archers
at the moment when it seemed that victory had been won (see 3:121 above).] There were among you such as cared for this
world [alone], just as there were among you such as cared for the life to come: [Out of the fifty Muslim archers less than ten
remained at their post, and were killed by Khalid’s cavalry. It is to them, as well as the few Companions who went on fighting
after the bulk of the Muslims had fled, that the second part of the above sentence refers.] whereupon, in order that He might
put you to a test, He prevented you from defeating your foes. But now He has effaced your sin: for God is limitless in His
bounty unto the believers. [Remember the time] when you fled, paying no heed to anyone, while at your rear the Apostle
was calling out to you - wherefore He requited you with woe in return for [the Apostle’s] woe, so that you should not grieve
[merely] over what had escaped you, nor over what had befallen you: for God is aware of all that you do. [I.e., the
realization of how shamefully they had behaved at Uhud (see 3:121 above) would be, in the end, more painful to them than the
loss of victory and the death of so many of their comrades: and this is the meaning of the “test” mentioned in the preceding verse.]
Then, after this woe, He sent down upon you a sense of security, an inner calm which enfolded some of you, [I.e., those who
had remained steadfast throughout the battle. “The drowsiness which precedes sleep” is used here metaphorically, and denotes
inner calm.] whereas the others, who cared mainly for themselves, entertained wrong thoughts about God - thoughts of
pagan ignorance - saying, “Did we, then, have any power of decision [in this matter]?” [I.e., in the matter of victory or
defeat. The thoughts of pagan ignorance is an allusion to the initial reluctance of those faint-hearted people to admit their moral
responsibility for what had happened, and to their excusing themselves by saying that their failure to live up to their faith had
been predestined.] Say: “Verily, all power of decision does rest with God” - [I.e., while it is for God alone to apportion actual
success or failure to whomever He wills, “nought shall be accounted unto man but what he is [or was] striving for” (53:39).] [but
as for them,] they are trying to conceal within themselves that [weakness of faith] which they would not reveal unto you,
[O Prophet, by] saying, “If we had any power of decision, we would not have left so many dead behind.”
DEATH IS PREORDAINED
(3:154) Say [unto them]: “Even if you had remained in your homes, those [of you] whose death had been ordained would
indeed have gone forth to the places where they were destined to lie down.” And [all this befell you] so that God might put
to a test all that you harbor in your bosoms, and render your innermost hearts pure of all dross: for God is aware of what
is in the hearts [of men].
SATAN NOT PRIMARY CAUSE OF SIN
(3:155) Behold, as for those of you who turned away [from their duty] on the day when the two hosts met in battle - Satan
caused them to stumble only by means of something that they [themselves] had done. But now God has effaced this sin of
theirs: verily, God is much -forgiving, forbearing. [Above verse is in reference to battle of Uhud but this is an illustration of a
significant Quranic doctrine, which can be thus summarized: Satan’s influence on man is not the primary cause of sin but its first
consequence: that is to say, a consequence of a person’s own attitude of mind which in moments of moral crisis induces him to
choose the easier, and seemingly more pleasant, of the alternatives open to him, and thus to become guilty of a sin, whether by
commission or omission. Thus, God’s “causing” a person to commit a sin is conditional upon the existence, in the individual
concerned, of an attitude of mind which makes him prone to commit such a sin: which, in its turn, presupposes man’s free will -
that is, the ability to make, within certain limitations, a conscious choice between two or more possible courses of action.] (3:159-
160) And it was by God’s grace that you [O Prophet] did deal gently with your followers: [I.e., with those of his followers
who had failed in their duty before and during the disaster at Uhud. According to all available accounts, the Prophet did not even
reproach any of them for what they had done.] for if you had been harsh and hard of heart, they would indeed have broken
away from you. Pardon them, then, and pray that they be forgiven. And take counsel with them in all matters of public
concern; then, when you have decided upon a course of action, place your trust in God: for, verily, God loves those who
place their trust in Him. [This injunction, implying government by consent and council, must be regarded as one of the
fundamental clauses of all Quranic legislation relating to statecraft.] If God succors you, none can ever overcome you; but if
He should forsake you, who could succor you thereafter? In God, then, let the believers place their trust!
SELF-RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SET BACK
(3:165-167) And do you, now that a calamity has befallen you after you had inflicted twice as much [on your foes], [I.e., at
the battle of Badr, in the year 2 H.] ask yourselves, “How has this come about?” Say: “It has come from your own selves.”
[Many of the followers of the Prophet had been convinced that, whatever the circumstances, God would grant them victory on
account of their faith alone. The bitter experience at Uhud came as a shock to them; and so the Quran reminds them that this
calamity was a consequence of their own doings.] Verily, God has the power to will anything: and all that befell you on the
day when the two hosts met in battle happened by God’s leave, so that He might mark out the [true] believers, and mark
out those who were tainted with hypocrisy and, when they were told, “Come, fight in God’s cause” - or, “Defend
yourselves” - answered, “If we but knew [that it would come to a] fight, we would indeed follow you.” [Only a fight in self-
defense - in the widest meaning of this term - can be considered a “fight in God’s cause” (see 2:190-194); and, thus, the particle
“or” between these two phrases is almost synonymous with the expression “in other words”.] Unto apostasy were they nearer
on that day than unto faith, uttering with their mouths something which was not in their hearts, the while God knew fully
well what they were trying to conceal: [This is an allusion to the three hundred men who, on the way from Medina to Mount
Uhud, forsook the Prophet on the specious plea that he did not really intend to give battle (see 3:121 above). But since they knew
in their hearts that it would come to a fight, their defection from God’s cause almost amounted to a denial of Him (kufr, here
rendered as “apostasy”).]
MARTYRS ARE ALIVE AND GLAD TIDINGS FOR SURVIVORS
(3:168-174) they who, having themselves held back [from fighting, later] said of their [slain] brethren, “Had they but paid
heed to us, they would not have been slain.” Say: “Avert, then, death from yourselves, if what you say is true!” But do not
think of those that have been slain in God’s cause as dead. Nay, they are alive! With their Sustainer have they their
sustenance, exulting in that [martyrdom] which God has bestowed upon them out of His bounty. And they rejoice in the
glad tiding given to those [of their brethren] who have been left behind and have not yet joined them, that no fear need
they have, and neither shall they grieve: they rejoice in the glad tiding of God’s blessings and bounty, and [in the promise]
that God will not fail to requite the believers who responded to the call of God and the Apostle after misfortune had
befallen them. A magnificent requital awaits those of them who have persevered in doing good and remained conscious of
God: [This refers to the losses sustained by the Muslims at the battle of Uhud and connects directly with the preceding verses
which speak, in general terms, of the martyrs who die in God’s cause. Above verse also expresses a general moral, rounding off,
as it were, the historical references to the battle of Uhud and the lessons to be drawn from it.] those who have been warned by
other people, “Behold, a host has gathered against you; so beware of them!” -Whereupon this only increased their faith, so
that they answered, “God is enough for us; and how excellent a guardian is He!” And returned [from the battle] with
God’s blessings and bounty, without having been touched by evil: for they had been striving after God’s goodly acceptance
- and God is limitless in His great bounty. [I.e., the moral evil arising out of weakness of faith and loss of courage: an allusion
to what happened to many Muslims at Uhud.]
WHY DO YOU SAY WHAT YOU DO NOT DO?
(61:1-5) All that is in the heavens and all that is on earth extols God’s limitless glory: for He alone is almighty, truly wise!
O you who have attained to faith! Why do you say one thing and do another? [This may be an allusion to such of the
Prophet’s Companions as had retreated in disorder from their battle stations at Uhud (see 3:121 above) despite their previous
assertions that they were ready to lay down their lives in the cause of God and His Apostle. In a wider sense, the passage is
addressed to all those who claim that they are willing to live up to anything that the divine writ declares to be desirable, and then
fall short of this determination.] Most loathsome is it in the sight of God that you say what you do not do! Verily, God loves
[only] those who fight in His cause in [solid] ranks, as though they were a building firm and compact. [Their deeds
correspond to their assertions of faith. This moral necessity is further illustrated - by its opposite - in the subsequent reference to
Moses and the recalcitrant among his followers.] Now when Moses spoke to his people, [it was this same truth that he had in
mind:] “O my people! Why do you cause me grief, [By admitting that I speak in the name of God, and acting contrary to this
your assertion: an allusion to the many instances of the contrariness and rebelliousness of the children of Israel evident from their
own scriptures.] the while you know that I am an apostle of God sent unto you?” And so, when they swerved from the right
way, God let their hearts swerve from the truth: for God, does not bestow His guidance upon iniquitous folk. [Thus,
persistence in wrong actions is bound to react on man’s beliefs as well. As regards God’s “letting their hearts swerve from the
truth”, see 14:4 and also the oft-recurring reference to God’s “sealing” a sinner’s heart explained in 2:7.]
PROBLEM OF HYPOCRISY
The main part of the sixty-third surah, Al-munafiqun (The Hypocrites) was revealed shortly after the battle of Uhud and is
devoted to the problem of hypocrisy as it faced the Prophet and his followers during the early years after their exodus from Mecca
to Medina. Nevertheless, the Quranic treatment of this problem renders its lessons applicable to all times and circumstances.
(63:1-8) When the hypocrites come unto you, they say, “We bear witness that you are indeed God’s Apostle!” But God
knows that you are truly His Apostle; and He bears witness that the hypocrites are indeed false [in their declaration of
faith]. They have made their oaths a cover [for their falseness], and thus they turn others away from the path of God. Evil,
indeed, is all that they are wont to do: this, because [they profess that] they have attained to faith, whereas [inwardly] they
deny the truth - and so, a seal has been set on their hearts, so that they can no longer understand [what is true and what
false]. Now when you see them, their outward appearance may please you; and when they speak, you are inclined to lend
ear to what they say. [Hypocrisy has usually a plausible outward aspect as it is meant to deceive.] [But though they may seem
as sure of themselves] as if they were timbers [firmly] propped up, they think that every shout is [directed] against them.
They are the [real] enemies [of all faith], so beware of them. [They deserve the imprecation,] “May God destroy them!”
How perverted are their minds! - for, when they are told, “Come, the Apostle of God will pray [unto God] that you be
forgiven”, they turn their heads away, and you can see how they draw back in their false pride. As for them, it is all the
same whether you pray that they be forgiven or not pray for them: God will not forgive them - for, behold, God does not
bestow His guidance upon such iniquitous folk. It is they who say [to their compatriots], [I.e., to the people of Medina in
general, and to the ansar in particular.] “Do not spend anything on those who are with God’s Apostle, so that they [may be
forced to] leave.” However, unto God belong the treasures of the heavens and the earth: but this truth the hypocrites
cannot grasp. [The leader of the hypocrites of Medina, Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, never forgave the Prophet for having overshadowed
him who previously had been unquestioningly recognized by the people of Medina as their most outstanding leader. Since the
Prophet’s political strength depended mainly on the Meccan Muslims who followed him in his hijrah to Medina, Ibn Ubayy tried
to persuade his compatriots - many of whom were supporting the newcomers with all the means at their disposal - to withdraw
this material support and thereby force the muhajirun, most of whom were very poor, to leave Medina: a stratagem which, if
successful, would have greatly weakened the Prophet’s position. This suggestion of the leader of the hypocrites was, of course,
rejected by the ansar.] [And] they say, “Indeed, when we return to the City, [I.e., Medina, the “City of the Prophet” (Medinat
an-Nabi), as the town previously called Yathrib began to be known after the hijrah. Since - as is established through several
ahadith - the subsequent saying was uttered by Abd Allah ibn Ubayy during the campaign against the tribe of Banu Mustaliq in 5
H., it is obvious that verses 7 and 8 were revealed at the same date or a little later.] [we,] the ones most worthy of honor, will
surely drive out there from those most contemptible ones!” However, all honor belongs to God, and [thus] to His Apostle
and those who believe [in God]: but of this the hypocrites are not aware. [It is in these two Quranic statements - “unto God
belong the treasures, etc., and “all honor belongs to God, etc. - that the real, lasting purport of the above historical allusions is to
be found.]
The battle of Uhud should not be considered as a serious defeat for the Muslims. It is true that that seventy-five Muslims had been
killed as against twenty-seven Meccans, but the Meccan army had failed in their strategic aim of destroying Muhammad.
BETWEEN UHUD AND TRENCH
After the set back at Uhud, many hostile tribes were emboldened to attack Muslims as they were now perceived weak. On
receiving the information that the Banu Asad were preparing for war, Muhammad sent an expeditionary force of hundred and fifty
men, which quickly overcame the enemy. In 625, six Muslims missionaries were treacherously ambushed by the tribe of Hudhayl.
Four of them were killed in the struggle to capture them; the other two were brought to Mecca and were executed. Similar fate
was met by another group of Muslim missionaries in the hands of Banu Amir.
REVOLT BY THE JEWISH TRIBE OF BANU AL-NADIR (August 625)
Most of the fifty-ninth surah, Al-Hashr (The Gathering) refers, directly or indirectly, to the conflict between the Muslim
community and the Jewish tribe of Banu al-Nadir of Medina, and to the subsequent banishment of the latter. Shortly after his
followers’ exodus from Mecca to Medina, the Prophet concluded a treaty with the Banu al-Nadir, according to which they pledged
themselves to neutrality in the hostilities between the Muslims and the pagan Quraysh. After the Muslim victory in the battle of
Badr, in the year 2 H., the leaders of that Jewish tribe spontaneously declared that Muhammad was indeed the prophet whose
coming had been predicted in the Torah; but one year later, after the set-back of the Muslims at Uhud, the Banu al-Nadir
treacherously broke their compact with the Prophet Muhammad and entered into an alliance with the Meccan Quraysh with a
view to destroying the Muslim community once and for all. They also conspired to murder Muhammad. Thereupon the Prophet
placed before them an alternative: either war or departure from Medina with all their possessions. If they accepted this latter
proposition, they would be allowed to return every year to gather the produce of their date groves, which would thus remain their
property. Ostensibly agreeing to the second alternative, the Banu al-Nadir asked for - and was granted - ten days of respite. In the
meantime they secretly conspired with the hypocrites among the Arabs of Medina, led by Abd Allah ibn Ubayy, who promised
them armed support by two thousand warriors in case they decided to remain in their fortified settlements on the outskirts of the
town: “Hence, do not leave your homes; if the Muslims fight against you, we shall fight side by side with you; and if they should
succeed in driving you away, we shall leave Medina together with you.” The Banu al-Nadir followed this advice, defied the
Prophet and took up arms. In the ensuing conflict, their forts were besieged by the Muslims - though without actual fighting - for
twenty-one days; but when the promised help of Abd Allah ibn Ubayy’s followers did not materialize, the Nadir surrendered in
the month of Rabi al-Awwal, 4 H., and sued for peace. This they were granted on condition that they would leave Medina, taking
with them all their movable properties, but not their arms. Most of them immigrated to Syria in a caravan of about six hundred
camels; only two families chose to settle in the oasis of Khaybar, while a few individuals went as far as Al-Hirah in lower
Mesopotamia. As shown in verses 7-8 of this surah, their fields and plantations were forfeited; most of them were divided among
needy Muslims, and the remainder was reserved for the requirements of the Islamic community as a whole. As always in the
Quran, these historical references serve to illustrate a spiritual truth: in this case, the lesson that believers - even if they are
inferior in numbers, wealth and equipment - are bound to triumph over their opponents so long as they remain truly conscious of
God: for, as the opening and closing verses of this surah declare, “He alone is almighty, truly wise”. The date of revelation is the
year 4 H. The conventional title of the surah echoes the mention of the “gathering (for war)” in verse 2, although some of the
Prophet’s Companions - e.g., Ibn Abbas - used to refer to it as Surat Bani al-Nadir.
TREASON
(59:1-5) All that is in the heavens and all that are on earth extols God’s limitless glory: for He alone is almighty, truly wise.
He it is who turned out of their homes, at the time of [their] first gathering [for war], such of the followers of earlier
revelation as were bent on denying the truth. [The tribe of Banu al-Nadir - who, as Jews, are naturally termed ahl al-kitab
(followers of earlier revelation) - are characterized as “such as were bent on denying the truth” because they treacherously turned
against the Prophet despite their earlier admission that he was truly the bearer of God’s message announced in their own holy
scriptures (Deuteronomy xviii, 15 and 18).] You did not think [O believers] that they would depart [without resistance] - just
as they thought that their strongholds would protect them against God: but God came upon them in a manner which they
had not expected, and cast terror into their hearts; [Reference to the last-minute, unexpected failure of Abd Allah ibn Ubayy
to come to their aid.] [and thus] they destroyed their homes by their own hands as well as the hands of the believers. [As
mentioned in the introductory note, the Banu al-Nadir had originally concluded a treaty of mutual non-interference with the
Muslim community, and was to live at Medina as its friendly neighbors; and even later, when their hostility to the Muslims had
become apparent and they were ordered to emigrate, they were to be allowed to retain ownership of their plantations.
Subsequently, however, they forfeited by their treachery both their citizenship and the rights to their landed property, and thus
“destroyed their homes by their own hands”.] Learn a lesson, then, O you who are endowed with insight! And had it not been
for God’s having ordained banishment for them, He would indeed have imposed [yet greater] suffering on them in this
world: still, in the life to come there awaits them suffering through fire: this, because they cut themselves off from God
and His Apostle: and as for him who cuts himself off from God and His Apostle - verily, God is severe in retribution!
Whatever [of their] palm trees you may have cut down, [O believers,] or left standing on their roots, was [done] by God’s
leave, and in order that He might confound the iniquitous. [The cutting of the trees was allowed only to facilitate the military
operations against the strongholds of the Banu al-Nadir. It should, however, be noted that apart from such stringent military
exigencies, all destruction of enemy property - and, in particular, of trees and crops - had been and continued to be prohibited by
the Prophet, and has thus become an integral part of Islamic Law.]
FUTILITY OF ALLIANCE BETWEEN NONBELIEVERS AND HYPOCRITES
(59:11-17) Are you not aware of how those who would always dissemble [their real feelings] [I.e., the hypocrites of Medina]
speak to their truth-denying brethren from among the followers of earlier revelation: [Or the Banu al-Nadir. From the
construction of the next verse it appears that the whole of this passage (verses 11-14) was revealed before the actual advance of
the Muslims against the Nadir strongholds: verses 12-14 might be of a prophetic nature, predicting what was yet to happen.
Alternatively, the passage may be understood in a wider, timeless sense, applying to the falsity and futility inherent in all
“alliances” between, on the one hand, people who openly deny the truth and, on the other, half-hearted believers who have neither
the will to commit themselves to a spiritual proposition nor the moral courage to declare openly their lack of belief.] “If you are
driven away, we shall most certainly go forth with you, and shall never pay heed to anyone against you; and if war is
waged against you, we shall most certainly come to your succor.” But God bears witness that they are most flagrantly
lying: [for] if those [to whom they have pledged themselves] are indeed driven away, they will not go forth with them; and
if war is waged against them, they will not come to their succor; and even if they [try to] succor them, they will most
certainly turn their backs [in flight], and in the end will [themselves] find no succor. Nay, [O believers,] you arouse in their
bosoms a fear more intense than [even their fear of] God: this, because they are people who fail to grasp the truth. [As they
do not - or, at best, only half-heartedly believe in God, the tangible, material dangers facing them in this world arouse in them a
far greater fear than the thought of His ultimate judgment.] Never will they fight you, [even] in unison, otherwise than from
within fortified strongholds or from behind walls. [The meaning is: even if they were able - which they are not - to put forth
against you a truly unified front, they will always fight you only from what they regard as well-established positions of strength.]
Severe is their warlike discord among themselves: you would think that they are united, whereas [in fact] their hearts are
at odds [with one another]: this, because they are people who will not use their reason. [Implying that people who have no
real faith and no definite moral convictions can never attain to true unity among themselves, but are always impelled to commit
acts of aggression against one another.] [To both kinds of your enemies, O believers, is bound to happen] [Both the outright
deniers of the truth and the hypocrites.] the like of [what happened to] those who, a short while before them, had to taste the
evil that came from their own doings, with [yet more] grievous suffering awaiting them [in the life to come]: [This refers to
the fate of the pagan Quraysh at the battle of Badr or to the treachery and subsequent expulsion from Medina, in the month of
Shawwal, 2 H., of the Jewish tribe of Banu Qaynuqa. But in a wider perspective - strongly suggested by the next two verses - the
meaning is general and not restricted to any particular time or historical occurrence.] the like of [what happens] when Satan
says unto man, “Deny the truth!” - but as soon as [man] has denied the truth, [Satan] says, “Behold, I am not responsible
for you: behold, I fear God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!” [See 8:48 and 14:22.] Thus, in the end, both [the deniers of the
truth and the hypocrites] will find themselves in the fire, therein to abide: for such is the recompense of evildoers.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST GHATAFAN
After receiving the news that the tribe of Ghatafan in Najd was rallying an army to fight Muslims, Muhammad planned to surprise
them before they could complete their preparations. He led a force of four hundred men in a surprise attack and defeated the
enemy.
THE BATTLE OF TRENCH (5H or 627)
MOBILIZATION OF THE WHOLE ARABIA AGAINST MUSLIMS
These two years had been spent by Meccans in preparation for a supreme effort to destroy the Muslims. At the instigation of the
leaders of Jewish tribe of Banu al-Nadir, who had been expelled from Yathrib (Medina) after they had broken the treaty binding
them to the Muslims, several of the most powerful Arabian tribes formed a confederacy with a view to overcoming, once and for
all, the threat posed by Islam to the beliefs and many of the customs of pagan Arabia. The leaders of Banu al-Nadir went to Mecca
for consultation. After securing a definite date from Meccans for the attack against Muhammad, the same leaders went to all those
tribes who fought against Muslims for general mobilization in a war of revenge. In case of victory, the Jewish leaders promised a
whole year’s crop of the orchard of Khaybar as a prize for the fighters from the tribe of Ghatafan.
In the month of Shawwal, 5 H., a force of well over 10,000 men, composed of Meccan, allied Jews, pagan Arabs of the Banu
Kinanah, Banu Asad and the people of the coastlands (the Tihamah), as well as the great Najdi tribe of Ghatafan and its allies, the
Hawazin (or Banu Amir) Banu Sulaym, mercenary Bedouins and black slaves - converged upon Medina. The mobilization of the
whole Arabia against Muslims instilled a fear and panic as they faced the prospect of not only being defeated but wiped out. The
encounter was a match between numbers and wits. Muslim leadership was not only more intelligent; it also had a better
intelligence agency.
DIGGING OF THE TRENCH
Forewarned of invasion, the Prophet accepted the advice of Salman al Farsi, a Persian convert, to dig a trench across the open part
of the north side of the oasis – the other sides were protected by lava flows. The trench was completed in six days and the holy
Prophet worked with his own hands, along side his companions. The women and children were moved to the interior and placed
within fortified walls. Muhammad amassed three thousand men to defend the city.
The Quraysh and their allies arrived at Medina and found an impassable ditch surrounding the city - a defensive measure
unknown in pre-Islamic Arabia. This thus brought the assault of the Confederates to a halt and Abu Sufyan was forced to lay siege
to the city. Nevertheless, during a siege lasting two weeks, all the attempts to cross the trench - manned by the numerically much
weaker and less well-armed Muslims - were repulsed with heavy losses to the attackers. The season was winter, the cold
unbearable, and wind and storm continually threatened rain. The army of confederates was not prepared for a long siege and was
expecting an easy victory, the whole affair to last a day or two, as did in the battle of Uhud. It was amply clear that the victory will
be extremely difficult as long as there was a ditch defended fiercely by Muslims, while the Banu Qurayzah supplied Medina with
enough food to last many months.
TREASON BY THE JEWISH TRIBE OF QURAYZAH
Huyayy ibn Akhtab, the Jewish leader of Banu al-Nadir approached Banu Qurayzah and convinced them to violate their covenant
with the Muslims. Then the food supplies to the Muslims would be cut and the road to Medina would lie open. At that point, the
Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayzah, who lived in the outskirts of Medina and until then had been allied with the Muslims, broke the
treaty of alliance and openly joined the Confederates.
COUNTER INTELLIGENCE
The news of betrayal by the Banu Qurayzah shook the Muslims greatly. They wondered, would it not have been better, had the
Muslims utterly destroyed the Banu al-Nadir rather than allowed them to emigrate. Muhammad sent a messenger to Ghatafan
with the promise of one-third of the total crop of Medina if they withdraw and went home. At this point, Nuayam ibn Masud, a
convert to Islam played a major role in sowing discord among enemy force. His conversion to Islam was not yet openly known,
Nuayam ibn Masud approached Banu Qurayzah and counseled them not to join the ranks of Meccan unless the latter would give
them a guarantee that they would not be left at the mercy of Muhammad should the tide of battle turned against them. Nuayam
then proceeded to the Quraysh camp and intimated to their leaders that the Banu Qurayzah had repented their violation of the
covenant with Muhammad and were seeking to befriend him. He also counseled them not to send their leaders to the Banu
Qurayzah for fear that latter might seize them and give them up to Muhammad. Nuayam then proceeded to Ghatafan and repeated
the same warning. This planting of the false information created doubts in the minds of the leaders of the Quraysh. Abu Sufyan
sent a message to the leaders of the Banu Qurayzah, asking them to attack Muslims the next morning and promising to follow up
with their own attack. His messenger was turned back with the reply that since tomorrow was a Saturday and the Jews will not
fight on the Sabbath day. Angry at their refusal, Abu Sufyan believed the words of Nuaym. In the end, the dissensions, based on
mutual distrust, gradually undermined the much-vaunted alliance between the Jewish and the pagan Arab tribes; in the month of
Dhu l-Qadah their frustration became complete when a bitterly-cold storm wind raged for several days, making life unbearable
even for hardened warriors. And so, finally, the siege was raised and the Confederates dispersed, thus ending the last attempt of
the pagans and the Jews to destroy the Prophet and his community. The Confederates left behind twenty dead and never again
challenged Islam. The battle of trench is commemorated in the Quran by surah 33. The verses 9-27 relates to the War of the
Confederates (al -ahzab) - also called the War of the Trench (al -khandaq).]
GOD’S BLESSING FOR BELIEVERS
(33:9-11) O you who have attained to faith! Call to mind the blessings which God bestowed on you [at the time] when
[enemy] hosts came down upon you, whereupon We let loose against them a storm wind and [heavenly] hosts that you
could not see: yet God saw all that you did. [Remember what you felt] when they came upon you from above you and from
below you, [The Ghatafan group tried to take the trench by assault from the upper, eastern part of the Medina plain, while the
Quraysh and their allies launched an attack from its lower, i.e., western part, and this obviously in consonance with their original
lines of approach - the Ghatafan having come from the highlands (Najd), and the Quraysh from the coastal lowlands (the
Tihamah).] and when [your] eyes became dim and [your] hearts came up to [your] throats, and [when] most conflicting
thoughts about God passed through your minds: [When you thought all manner of thoughts about God: i.e., whether He would
save you or allow your enemies to triumph.] [for] there and then were the believers tried, and shaken with a shock severe.
PROPHETIC VISION OF CONQUEST OF PERSIAN AND BYZANTINE EMPIRES
(33:12) And [remember how it was] when the hypocrites and those with hearts diseased [This phrase denotes here the weak
of faith among the believers.] said [to one another], “God and His Apostle have promised us nothing but delusions!” [This is
a reference to Muhammad’s prophetic vision, at the time of digging the trench, of the future Muslim conquest of the whole
Arabian Peninsula as well as of the Persian and Byzantine Empires. Several authentic Traditions testify to the Prophet’s
announcement of this vision at the time in question.]
COWARDICE OF HYPOCRITES
(33:13-20) and when some of them said, “O you people of Yathrib! You cannot withstand [the enemy] here: [I.e., outside the
city, defending the trench.] hence, go back [to your homes]!” - Whereupon a party from among them asked leave of the
Prophet, saying, “Behold, our houses are exposed [to attack]!” - The while they were not [really] exposed: they wanted
nothing but to flee. Now if their town had been stormed, and they had been asked [by the enemy] to commit apostasy, [the
hypocrites] would have done so without much delay - although before that they had vowed before God that they would
never turn their backs [on His message]: and a vow made to God must surely be answered for! Say: “Whether you flee
from [natural] death or from being slain [in battle], flight will not profit you - for, however you fare, you are not [allowed]
to enjoy life for more than a little while!” Say: “Who is there that could keep you away from God if it be His will to harm
you, or if it be His will to show you mercy?” For, [do they not know that] besides God they can find none to protect them,
and none to bring them succor? God is indeed aware of those of you who would divert others [from fighting in His cause],
as well as of those who say to their brethren, “Come hither to us [and face the enemy]!” - The while they [themselves] join
battle but seldom, begrudging you all help. But then, when danger threatens, you can see them looking to you [for help, O
Prophet], their eyes rolling [in terror] like [the eyes of] one who is overshadowed by death: yet as soon as the danger has
passed, they will assail you [believers] with sharp tongues, begrudging you all that is good! [People like] these have never
known faith - and therefore God will cause all their works to come to nought: for this is indeed easy for God. They think
that the Confederates have not [really] withdrawn; [Or but would come back in force and resume the siege.] and should the
Confederates return, these [hypocrites] would prefer to be in the desert, among the bedouin, asking for news about you,
[O believers, from far away;] and even were they to find themselves in your midst, they would but make a pretence at
fighting [by your side]. [They would not fight except a little.]
SUPREME SACRIFICE IN GOD’S CAUSE BY THE BELIEVERS
(33:21-25) Verily, in the Apostle of God you have a good example for everyone who looks forward [with hope and awe] to
God and the Last Day, and remember God unceasingly. [This verse and the passage that follows connects with verses 9-11
above, and especially with verse 11 - “there and then were the believers tried, and shaken with a shock severe” - which
summarizes their experiences during the critical days and weeks of the War of the Trench. Although it is addressed to those early
defenders of Medina who were thus exhorted to emulate the Prophet’s faith, courage and steadfastness, the above verse is timeless
in its import and its validity for all situations and conditions.] And [so,] when the believers saw the Confederates [advancing
against them], they said, “This is what God and His Apostle have promised us!”- and, “Truly spoke God and His Apostle!”
[These seem to be allusions to 29:2 (which may have been one of the last Meccan revelations) as well as to 2:155 and 214 (i.e.,
verses of the first surah of the Medina period).] - and all this but increased their faith and their readiness to surrender
themselves unto God. Among the believers are men who have [always] been true to what they have vowed before God;
[Specifically, this verse is said to apply to certain of the Companions who vowed, at the time of the early campaigns, that they
would fight until death at the Prophet’s side; in its wider sense, however, it relates to all efforts involving a supreme sacrifice in
God’s cause.] and among them are such as have [already] redeemed their pledge by death, and such as yet await [its
fulfillment] without having changed [their resolve] in the least. [Such trials are imposed upon man] so that God may
reward the truthful for having been true to their word, and cause the hypocrites to suffer - if that be His will - or [if they
repent,] accept their repentance: [See 6:12: “God, who has willed upon Himself the law of grace and mercy”.] for, verily, God
is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace! Thus, for all their fury, God repulsed those who were bent on denying the
truth; [I.e., the pagans among the Confederates; their Jewish allies are mentioned separately in the next verse.] no advantage did
they gain, since God was enough to [protect] the believers in battle - seeing that God is most powerful, almighty;
The Meccans had committed all their resources to destroy Muhammad and there was no more they could do. Their prestige was
gone and their trade with Syria virtually ruined. The failure of siege and with it resultant destruction of the Banu Qurayzah,
enabled the Muslims to establish themselves as Medina’s absolute masters and the power of the hypocrites was finally broken.
The battle of Trench was a turning point and it convinced the nomadic tribes that Muhammad was the coming man. Many of these
tribes wanted to be allies of ummah and Muhammad began to build a powerful tribal confederacy, whose members swore not to
attack one another and to fight each other’s enemy. Thus Muslims now have great political power and Muhammad was head of
what was in some sense a state.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST BANU QURAYZAH
Soon after the confederate army left, Muslim army laid siege of Banu Qurayzah’s quarters, which lasted twenty-five days.
Leaders of Banu Qurayzah nominated Sad ibn Muadh, from the tribe of al Aws, to render judgment. Sad who was respected for
his sound judgment, pronounced his verdict for treason that the fighting men be put the sword that their wealth be confiscated as
war booty and their women and children be held as captives. Sad ibn Muadh believed that even if Banu Qurayzah were forgiven,
they would soon rally the tribes again to fight Muslims, just as Banu al-Nadir did after their expulsion. Hundreds of men from the
Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayzah were executed.
The massacre of the Qurayzah was a horrible incident, but it would be a mistake to judge it by the standards of our own times.
The Muslims themselves had just narrowly escaped extermination, and had Muhammad simply exiled the Qurayzah they would
have swelled the Jewish opposition in Khaybar and brought another war upon Muslims. In seventh-century Arabia an Arab chief
was not expected to show mercy to traitors like the Qurayzah. The executions sent a grim message to Khaybar and helped to quell
the pagan opposition in Medina, since the pagan leaders had been allies of the rebellious Jews. This was a fight to the death and
everybody had always known that the stakes were high. The struggle did not indicate any hostilities towards Jews in general, but
only towards the three rebel tribes. The Quran continues to revere Jewish Prophets and to urge Muslims to respect the People of
the Book. Smaller Jewish groups continued to live in Medina, and later Jews, like Christians, enjoyed full religious liberty in the
Islamic empires.
(33:26-27) and He brought down from their strongholds those of the followers of earlier revelation who had aided the
aggressors, and cast terror into their hearts: some you slew, and some you made captive; [The “followers of earlier
revelation” referred to here were the Jews of the tribe of Banu Qurayzah, who despite their monotheistic faith had betrayed the
Muslims and made common cause with the pagan Confederates. After the dismal rout of the latter, the Banu Qurayzah,
anticipating the vengeance of the community which they had betrayed, withdrew to their fortresses in the vicinity of Medina.
They surrendered to the Muslims, forfeiting all that they possessed.] and He made you heirs to their lands, and their houses,
and their goods - and [promised you] lands on which you had never yet set foot: for God has indeed the power to will
anything. [I.e., lands which the Muslims were to conquer and hold in the future with yet more prosperous times to come.]
PREDICTION OF DEFEAT OF HYPOCRITES
(33:60-62) Thus it is: if the hypocrites, and they in whose hearts is disease, and they who, by spreading false rumors, would
cause disturbances in the City [of the Prophet] desist not [from their hostile doings]. We shall indeed give you mastery
over them, [O Muhammad] - and then they will not remain your neighbors in this [city] for more than a little while: [I.e.,
“there will be open warfare between you and them”, which will result in their expulsion from Medina: a prediction which was
fulfilled in the course of time.] bereft of God’s grace, they shall be seized wherever they may be found, and slain one and all.
Such has been God’s way with those who [sinned in like manner and] passed away aforetime - and never will you find any
change in God’s way!