Verses 23–30
33. Al-Ahzaab · The Clans
Madinan73 verses
مِّنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌۭ صَدَقُوا۟ مَا عَٰهَدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ ۖ فَمِنْهُم مَّن قَضَىٰ نَحْبَهُۥ وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَنتَظِرُ ۖ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا۟ تَبْدِيلًۭا
33:23Among the faithful are men who fulfill what they have pledged to Allah: there are some among them who have fulfilled their pledge, and some of them who still wait, and they have not changed in the least,1
لِّيَجْزِىَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّٰدِقِينَ بِصِدْقِهِمْ وَيُعَذِّبَ ٱلْمُنَٰفِقِينَ إِن شَآءَ أَوْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا
33:24that Allah may reward the true for their truthfulness, and punish the hypocrites, if He wishes, or accept their repentance. Indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.
وَرَدَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِغَيْظِهِمْ لَمْ يَنَالُوا۟ خَيْرًۭا ۚ وَكَفَى ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٱلْقِتَالَ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ قَوِيًّا عَزِيزًۭا
33:25Allah sent back the faithless in their rage, without their attaining any advantage, and Allah spared the faithful of fighting, and Allah is all-strong, all-mighty.
وَأَنزَلَ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَٰهَرُوهُم مِّنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ مِن صَيَاصِيهِمْ وَقَذَفَ فِى قُلُوبِهِمُ ٱلرُّعْبَ فَرِيقًۭا تَقْتُلُونَ وَتَأْسِرُونَ فَرِيقًۭا
33:26And He dragged down from their strongholds those who had backed them from among the People of the Book, and He cast terror into their hearts, [so that] you killed a part of them, and took captive [another] part.2
وَأَوْرَثَكُمْ أَرْضَهُمْ وَدِيَٰرَهُمْ وَأَمْوَٰلَهُمْ وَأَرْضًۭا لَّمْ تَطَـُٔوهَا ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرًۭا
33:27He bequeathed you their land, their houses and their possessions, and a territory you had not trodden, and Allah has power over all things.
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ قُل لِّأَزْوَٰجِكَ إِن كُنتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةَ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا فَتَعَالَيْنَ أُمَتِّعْكُنَّ وَأُسَرِّحْكُنَّ سَرَاحًۭا جَمِيلًۭا
33:28O Prophet! Say to your wives, ‘If you desire the life of the world and its glitter, come, I will provide for you and release you in a graceful manner.
وَإِن كُنتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَٱلدَّارَ ٱلْءَاخِرَةَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ أَعَدَّ لِلْمُحْسِنَٰتِ مِنكُنَّ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًۭا
33:29But if you desire Allah and His Apostle and the abode of the Hereafter, then Allah has indeed prepared a great reward for the virtuous among you.’
يَٰنِسَآءَ ٱلنَّبِىِّ مَن يَأْتِ مِنكُنَّ بِفَٰحِشَةٍۢ مُّبَيِّنَةٍۢ يُضَٰعَفْ لَهَا ٱلْعَذَابُ ضِعْفَيْنِ ۚ وَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ يَسِيرًۭا
33:30O wives of the Prophet! Whoever of you commits a gross indecency, her punishment shall be doubled, and that is easy for Allah.
Tafsir
Commentary on this passage
Verse 25
1.A tradition is present in Mustadrak of Hakim that Allah saved His believers from the battle by means of Ali (a.s.) and a single strike of Ali (a.s.) is superior to the worship of the two worlds.
A question arises here that the Prophet of Islam’s (s.a.w.s.) behaviour with Jews is strange and not suitable of his honour but its clear answer is that this is the punishment of breach of trust. First of all they abandoned the Prophet at time of need and a hypocrite is not worthy of kindness. Secondly if they had remained on mercy and kindness of the Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.s.), he would have not dealt in this manner but this was their misfortune that they could not tolerate the decision of the Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.s.) and believed in Saad Bin Maaz then it is clear that whatever will be decided will be their own decision and this responsibility will not be on Islam. Thirdly the decision of Sa’ad was according to the tradition of Taurat and the mention of severe punishment for these people is present in the Holy Quran and this is clarified that all enemies should be killed whether it be a male or female, an elder or a child and then the habitation should be burnt. This was the sincerity of Sa’ad that he decreased the punishment of Taurat and after this there is no scope of objecting on Islam.
Footnotes
Explanations of words and phrases in these verses
Benefit
The ayat is about sincere warriors and martyrs. That is why in the traditions there is mention of Hamza, the martyrs of Badr, Anas bin Nuzayr etc. Imam Husain (a.s.) recited this ayat on the martyrdom of Abdullah bin Yaqtar and then time and again at Kerbala.
- 1
Qaza Nahba - To complete ones life span whether to die naturally or be killed.
- 2
Siyasi - is the plural of Seesa. Means of defence, forts etc. Probably that is why the horns of deer and cows are known as siyasi. The incident was that after the rout of the infidels and their flight, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) told the Bani Qurayza to come out of the fort and to repent for the non-performance of their pledge and accept Islam. But they refused and remained prisoners in siege of the Muslims for twenty five days. So much so that at last they gave up and came out of the fort. They demanded that Sa’ad bin Maaz should be appointed as the arbitrator. Sa’ad ruled that the fighting men should be killed and the women and children be taken as prisoners. While their property should be regarded as booty. This is what happened. They regretted making Sa’ad the judge and wished they had entrusted their fate to the ‘Mercy for the Universe’ (Rahmatlil Aalameen).
Benefit
More punishment for the wives of the Prophet (s.a.) indicates that punishment depends upon the status of the person and that it has social effect also.