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In the name
of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful |
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SECTION: 1
All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Allah, and He
is the Almighty, the All-Wise.[1] It is He Who drove the
disbelievers from among the People of the Book (reference is
to the Jewish tribe of Banu Al-Nadir) out of their homes at
the first banishment. You did not think that they would ever go
out; and they thought that their fortresses would defend them
from Allah, but the wrath of Allah came to them from where they
never expected - which cast such terror into their hearts - that
they destroyed their homes by their own hands as well as by the
hands of the believers. So learn a lesson from this example!
O people of insight.[2] Had Allah not decreed exile for
them, He would certainly have punished them in this world, and
in the hereafter there shall be the punishment of the fire for
them,[3] because they set themselves up against Allah and His
Rasool; and he that sets himself up against Allah should know
that Allah is stern in retribution.[4] Whatever palm-trees you
cut down or left them standing on their roots, was by the leave
of Allah, so that He might humiliate the transgressors.[5]
59:[1-5] |
Jewish tribe of Banu Al-Nadir is given the order of exile for
their mutiny against the Islamic State |
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As for those spoils of theirs which Allah has
bestowed on His Rasool, you spurred neither cavalry nor camelry
to capture them: but Allah gives authority to His Rasools over
whom He pleases, for Allah has power over all things.[6]
Whatever spoils from the dwellers of the township Allah has
bestowed on His Rasool, shall belong to Allah, His Rasool,
Rasool's relatives, and to the orphans, the needy and the
travellers in need; so that it may not become the property of
the rich among you. Whatever the Rasool gives you, take it and
from whatever he forbids you, refrain from it. Fear Allah; for
Allah is stern in retribution.[7] A share of the spoils shall
be given to the indigent Muhăjirin (immigrants) who
were driven out of their homes and their possessions, and are
seeking Allah’s grace and His good pleasure and who want to
help Allah and His Rasool: such are indeed the true
believers.[8] A share of the spoils shall also be given
to those who made their abode in Madinah (the Ansăr)
and believed even before the arrivals of the Muhăjirin and love
those who migrated to them and entertain no desire in their
hearts for things given to them, and prefer those Muhăjirin
over themselves, even though they themselves are poor. In
fact those who are saved from the greediness of hearts, are
the ones who will achieve true success.[9] And it is also for
those who came after them and say: “Our Rabb! Forgive us and our
brothers who embraced the faith before us and do not leave any
malice in our hearts towards the believers. Our Rabb! Surely You
are the Kind, the Merciful."[10]
59:[6-10] |
Distribution of the belongings of Banu Al-Nadir
Good qualities of true immigrants and good qualities of true
Ansăr (the residents of Madinah) |
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SECTION: 2
Have you not observed the hypocrites? They say to their fellow
unbelievers among the people of the Book: “If they drive you
out, we will go with you. We will never obey anyone who seeks to
harm you. If you are attacked we will certainly help you." Allah
bears witness that they are lying.[11] If the People of the
Book are driven out, they will never go with them, nor, if
the people of the Book are attacked, will they help them,
and even if they help them, they will turn their backs; leaving
them with no help at all.[12] In their hearts there is greater
dread of you than of Allah, because they are a people devoid of
understanding.[13] They will never fight against you together
except in fortified townships and from behind walls. Strong is
their valor amongst themselves; you think of them united whereas
their hearts are divided. This is because they are a people
devoid of wisdom.[14] Their example is like those who have
tasted, a short while before them, the evil consequences of
their deeds. They shall have a painful punishment.[15] Their
parable is like the Shaităn who says to man disbelieve, but when
man becomes a disbeliever, he says: “I have nothing to do with
you; I fear Allah, the Rabb of the worlds."[16] The end of both
will be that they will be tossed in hell and remain there
forever. Thus shall be the reward of the wrongdoers.[17]
59:[11-17] |
Hypocrites' conspiracy with the people of the Book
Parable of a shaităn vs. a disbeliever |
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SECTION: 3
O believers! Fear Allah and let every soul see what it is
sending for the morrow (Hereafter). Fear Allah, surely
Allah is aware of all your actions.[18] Be not like those who
forgot Allah, as a result Allah caused them to forget
themselves, it is they who are the transgressors.[19] The
companions of hell and the companions of paradise are not
equals, of course the companions of paradise are far
superior.[20]
59:[18-20] |
Let each soul see what it is sending for the Hereafter
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If We had sent down this Qur’an on a
mountain, you would have seen it humble itself and split asunder
from the fear of Allah, We are citing this example for mankind,
so that they may take heed.[21]
59:[21] |
The
Qur'an could even affect a mountain |
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Allah is He, besides Whom there is no god,
the Knower of the unseen and the seen. He is the Compassionate,
the Merciful.[22] Allah is He, besides Whom there is no god, the
King, the Holy, the Giver of peace, the Granter of security, the
Guardian, the Almighty, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory be
to Allah! He is far above the shirk they commit (by
associating other gods with Him).[23] He is Allah, the
Creator, the Evolver, the Modeler. His are the most beautiful
names. All that is in the heavens and the earth declares His
glory, and He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.[24]
59:[22-24] |
Fifteen exclusive attributes of Allah |
Major Issues, Divine
Law and Guidance:
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* The Jewish tribe of Banu Al-Nadhďr is
given the order of exile for their mutiny against the Islamic
State.
* Distribution of the belongings of Banu Al-Nadhďr.
* Historical background of the Jews (See commentary in following
pages).
* Good qualities of true immigrants and good qualities of true
Ansăr (the residents of Yathrib (Madinah).
* Hypocrites' conspiracy with the people of the Book (Jews).
* The parable of a Shaităn vs. a disbeliever.
* Let each soul see what it is sending for the Hereafter.
* If the Qur’an was sent down upon a mountain it would have
crumbled into pieces from the fear of Allah's disobedience.
* Fifteen attributes of Allah in three verses: the God, the
Knower of the Seen and the Unseen, the Compassionate, the
Merciful, the King, the Holy, the Giver of peace, the Grantor of
security, the Guardian, the Almighty, the Irresistible, the
Supreme, the Creator, the Evolver and the Modeler.
The theme of this Sürah is an appraisal of
the battle against the Bani An-Nadhďr which can be summarized as
follows:
- There is an admonition to take heed of the fate that had
just befallen the Bani an-Nadhďr. A major tribe which was as
strong in numbers as the Muslims, whose people boasted of far
more wealth and posses- sions, who were by no means ill
equipped militarily and whose forts were well fortified but
could not stand siege even for a few days. They expressed
their readiness to accept banishment from their centuries old,
well established settlement even though not a single man from
among them was killed. Allah says that this happened not
because of any power possessed by the Muslims but because the
Jews had tried to resist and fight Allah and His Messenger.
Those who dare to resist the power of Allah always meet with
the same fate.
- An exception to the law relating to war is enunciated:
"The destruction caused in the enemy territory for military
purposes does not come under spreading mischief in the earth.”
- Guidance is provided as to how the lands and properties
which came under the control of the Islamic State as a result
of war or peace terms, are to be managed. It was the first
ever occasion that the Muslims took control of a conquered
territory, the law concerning it was laid down for their
guidance.
- The attitude of the hypocrites on the occasion of this
battle is reviewed and the causes underlying it are pointed
out.
- The last section is an admonition for all those people who
had professed to have affirmed the faith and joined the Muslim
community, but were devoid of the true spirit of the Faith. In
it they have been told what the real demand of the Faith is,
what the real difference between piety and wickedness is, what
the place and importance of the Qur'an, which they professed
to believe in, is and what the attributes of God, in Whom they
claimed to have believed, are.
Historical Background of Jews in Madinah
In order to understand the subject matter of this Sürah, it is
necessary to know the history of the Jews residing in Madinah
and Hijăz, for without it, one cannot understand the real causes
behind the way the Prophets dealt with their different tribes.
According to Abul A'lă Maudüdi, no authentic history of the
Arabian Jews exists in the world. They have not left any
writings of their own in the form of a book or a tablet which
might shed light on their past, nor have the Jewish historians
and writers of the non-Arab world made any mention of them. The
reason being that after their settlement in the Arabian
peninsula, they had detached themselves from the main body of
the Jewish nation, and the Jews of the world did not count them
among themselves. They had given up the Hebrew culture and
language, even the names, and adopted Arabism instead. In
tablets that have been unearthed in archaeological research in
the Hijăz, no trace of the Jews is found before the first
century of the Christian era, except for a few Jewish names.
Therefore, the history of the Arabian Jews is based mostly on
the verbal traditions prevalent among the Arabs most of which
had been spread by the Jews themselves.
The Jews of the Hijăz claimed that they had come to settle in
Arabia during the last stage of the life of the Prophet Moses
(peace be upon him). They said that the Prophet Moses had
despatched an army to expel the Amalekites from the land of
Yathrib (Madinah) and had commanded it not to spare even a
single soul of that tribe. The Israelite army carried out the
Prophet’s command, but spared the life of a handsome prince of
the Amalekite king and returned with him to Palestine. By that
time the Prophet Moses had passed away. His successors took
great exception to what the army had done, for by sparing the
life of an Amalekite, it had clearly disobeyed the Prophet and
violated the Mosaic law. Consequently, they excluded the army
from their community, and it had to return to Yathrib and settle
there forever. (Kitab al-Aghani, vol. xix, p. 94). Thus the Jews
claimed that they had been living in Yathrib since about 1200
B.C. But, this had in fact no historical basis. The Jews
probably had invented this story in order to overawe the Arabs
into believing that they were of noble lineage and the original
inhabitants of the land.
The second Jewish immigration, according to the Jews, took,
place in 587 BCE. when Nebuchadnezzer, the King of Babylon,
destroyed Jerusalem and dispersed the Jews throughout the world.
The Arab Jews said that several of their tribes at that time had
come to settle in Wadi al-Qura, Taima, and Yathrib. (Al-Baladhuri,
Futuh al-Buldan). But this too has no historical basis. By this
they also might have wanted to prove that they were the original
settlers of the area.
As a matter of fact, in CE 70 the Romans massacred the Jews in
Palestine, and then in CE 132 expelled them from that land, many
of the Jewish tribes fled to find an asylum in the Hijăz, a
territory that was contiguous to Palestine in the south. There
they settled wherever they found water springs and greenery, and
then by intrigue and through money lending business gradually
occupied the fertile lands. Ailah, Maqna, Tabük, Taima, Wadi al
Qura, Fadak and Khayber came under their control in that very
period, and Bani Quraizah, Bani al-Nadhďr, Bani Bahdal and Bani
Qainuqa also came in the same period and occupied Yathrib .
Among the tribes that settled in Yathrib (Madinah) the Bani An-Nadhďr
and the Bani Quraizah were more prominent for they belonged to
the Cohen or priest class. They were looked upon as of noble
descent and enjoyed religious leadership among their
co-religionists. When they came to settle in Yathrib there were
some other tribes already living there. They subdued them and
became the owners of this green and fertile land. About three
centuries later, in CE 450 or 451, the great flood of Yemen
occurred which has been mentioned in vv. 16-17 of Sürah Sabă. As
a result of this, different tribes of the people of Sabă were
compelled to leave Yemen and disperse to different parts of
Arabia. Thus, the Bani Ghassăn went to settle in Syria, Bani
Lakhm in Hirah (Iraq), Bani Khuza‘ah between Jeddah and Makkah
and the Aus and the Khazraj went to settle in Yathrib . As
Yathrib was under Jewish domination, they at first did not allow
the Aus and the Khazraj to gain a footing and the two Arab
tribes had to settle on lands that had not yet been brought
under cultivation. There they could hardly produce enough to
enable them to survive. At last, one of their chiefs went to
Syria to ask for the assistance of their Ghassanide brothers; he
brought an army from there and broke the power of the Jews.
Thus, the Aus and the Khazraj were able to gain complete
dominance over Yathrib, with the result that two of the major
Jewish tribes, Bani an-Nadhďr and Bani Quraiza were forced to
take quarters outside the city. Since the third tribe, Bani
Qainuqa, was not on friendly terms with the other two tribes, it
stayed inside the city as usual, but had to seek protection of
the Khazraj tribe. As a counter measure to this, Bani an-Nadhďr
and Bani Quraizah took protection of the Aus tribe so that they
could live in peace in the suburbs of Yathrib.
Before the Prophet’s arrival at Madinah and until his
emigration, the following were the main features of the Jews'
position in Hijăz in general and in Yathrib in particular:
- In the matter of language, dress, civilization and way of
life they had completely adopted Arabism, even their names had
become Arabian. Of the 12 Jewish tribes that had settled in
Hijăz, none except the Bani Zaura retained its Hebrew name.
- Because of this Arabism, the western orientalists have
been misled into thinking that perhaps they were not really
Israelites but Arabs who had embraced Judaism, or that at
least a majority of them were Arab Jews. But there is no
historical proof to show that the Jews ever engaged in the
propagation of Judaism in Hijăz, or that their rabbis invited
the Arabs to embrace Judaism like the Christian priests and
missionaries. On the contrary, they prided themselves upon
their Israelite descent and racial prejudices. They called the
Arabs Gentiles, which did not mean illiterate or uneducated,
but savage and uncivilized people. They believed that the
Gentiles were not entitled to any human rights, these were
reserved only for the Israelites, and therefore, it was lawful
and right for the Israelites to defraud them of their
properties by every means.
- Economically they were much stronger than the Arabs. Since
they had emigrated from the more civilized and culturally
advanced countries of Palestine and Syria, they knew many such
arts that were unknown to the Arabs; they also enjoyed trade
relations with the outside world. Hence, they had captured the
business of importing grain in Yathrib and the upper Hijăz and
exporting dried dates to other countries. Poultry farming and
fishing also were mostly under their controls. They excelled
at cloth weaving as well. The Jews had also set up wine shops
in different areas, where they sold wine which was imported
from Syria.
- They would not allow the Arabs to be united and,
therefore, kept them fighting and entrenched against each
other. They knew that whenever the Arab tribes united, they
would not allow the Jews to remain in possession of their
large properties, gardens and fertile lands, which they had
come to own through their profiteering and money lending
businesses.
Such were the conditions when Islam came to Madinah, and
ultimately an Islamic State came into existence after the
Prophet’s (upon whom be Allah’s peace) arrival there. One of the
first things that he accomplished was unification of the Aus,
the Khazraj and the Emigrants into a brotherhood. The second was
that he concluded a treaty between the Muslims and the Jews on
definite conditions, in which it was pledged that neither party
would encroach on the rights of the other, and both would unite
in a joint defense against the external enemies. Some important
clauses of this treaty are as follows. They clearly show what
the Jews and the Muslims had pledged to adhere to in their
mutual relationship:
“The Jews must bear their expenses and the Muslims their
expenses. Each must help the other against anyone who attacks
the people of this document. They must seek mutual advice and
consultation, and loyalty is a protection against treachery.
They shall sincerely wish one another well. Their relations will
be governed by piety and recognition of the rights of others,
and not by sin and wrongdoing. The wronged must be helped. The
Jews must pay with the believers so long as the war lasts.
Yathrib shall be a sanctuary for the people of this document. If
any dispute or controversy likely to cause trouble should arise,
it must be referred to God and to Muhammad the Apostle of God;
the Qureysh and their helpers shall not be given protection. The
contracting parties are bound to help one another against any
attack on Yathrib. Every one shall be responsible for the
defense of the portion to which he belongs.” (Ibn Hisham, vol.
ii, pp. 147 to 150) This was an absolute and definitive covenant
to the conditions of which the Jews themselves had agreed. But
not very long after this they began to show hostility towards
the Prophet of Allah (upon whom be Allah’s peace): Islam and the
Muslims, and their hostility and perverseness continued
increasing day by day. Its main causes were the following three:
First, they envisaged the Prophet (upon whom be Allah’s peace)
merely as a chief of his people, who should be content to have
con- cluded a political agreement with them and should only
concern him self with the worldly interests of his group. But
they found that he was extending an invitation to believe in
Allah, His Rasool and the Book (which also included belief in
their own Prophets and scriptures).
He was urging the people to give up disobedience of Allah and
adopt obedience to the Divine Commands and abide by the moral
laws of their own prophets. This they could not agree with. They
feared that if this universal ideological movement gained
momentum, it would destroy their rigid religiosity and wipe out
their racial nationhood.
Second, when they saw that Aus, Khazraj and the Emigrants were
uniting into a brotherhood and the people from the Arab tribes
of the surrounding areas, who entered Islam, were also joining
this Islamic Brotherhood of Madinah and forming a religious
community, they feared that the selfish policy that they had
been so far following of sowing discord between the Arab tribes
for the promotion of their own well being and interests for
centuries, would not work in the new system. They knew that they
would inevitably face a united front of the Arabs against which
their intrigues would not succeed.
Third, the work that the Messenger of Allah (upon whom be
Allah’s peace) was carrying out of reforming the society and
civilization included putting an end to all unlawful methods in
business and mutual dealings. Moreover, he had declared the
taking and giving of usury as impure and unlawful earning. This
caused them the fear that, if his rule became established in
Arabia, he would declare interest legally forbidden. In this
they saw their own economic disaster and death.
For these reasons they made resistance and opposition to the
Prophet their national ideal. They would not hesitate to employ
any trick, any device and cunning, to harm him. They spread
every kind of falsehood so as to cause distrust against him in
the people’s minds. They created every kind of doubt, suspicion
and misgiving in the hearts of the new converts so as to turn
them back from Islam. They would resort to every kind of deceit
and fraud in order to harm the Muslims economically. Whenever
one with whom they had business dealings would accept Islam,
they would do whatever they could to cause him financial loss.
If he owed them something, they would fret and harass him by
making repeated demands, and if they owed him something, they
would withhold the payment and would publicly say that, at the
time the bargain was made, he professed a different religion,
and since he had changed his religion, they were no longer under
any obligation to repay him. Several instances of this nature
are cited in the commentaries by Tabari, Nisaburi, Tabrizi and
in Rüh al Ma‘ani relating to verse 75 of Sürah Al-Imrăn.
They had adopted this hostile attitude against the covenant even
before the Battle of Badr. But when the Prophet (upon whom be
Allah’s peace) and the Muslims won a decisive victory over the
Qureysh at Badr, they were filled with grief, anguish, malice
and anger. Ka’b bin Ashraf, the chief of the Bani an-Nadhďr,
cried out: ”By God, if Muhammad has actually killed these nobles
of Arabia, the earth’s belly would be better for us than its
back.” Then he went to Makkah and incited the people to
vengeance by writing and reciting provocative elegies for the
Qureysh chiefs killed at Badr. Then he returned to Madinah and
composed lyrical verses of an insulting nature about Muslim
women. At last, enraged with Ka'b Bin Ashraf's mischief, the
Prophet (pbuh) sentenced him to death. (Ibn Sad, Ibn Hisham,
Tabari).
The first Jewish tribe which, after the Battle of Badr, openly
and collectively broke their covenant were the Bani Qainuqa.
They lived in a locality inside the city of Madinah. As they
practised the crafts of goldsmith, blacksmith and vessel maker,
the people of Madinah visited their shops quite frequently. They
were proud of their bravery and valor. Being blacksmiths by
profession, even their children were well armed. They could
instantly muster 700 fighting men from among themselves. They
were also arrogantly aware that they enjoyed relations of
confederacy with the Khazraj and Abdullah bin Ubayy, the chief
of the Khazraj, was their chief supporter. At the victory at
Badr, they became so provoked that they began to trouble and
harass the Muslims, particularly the Muslim women, who visited
their shops. By and by things came to such a pass that one day a
Muslim woman was stripped naked publicly in their bazaar. This
led to a brawl in which a Muslim and a Jew were killed. The
Prophet (upon whom be Allah’s peace) himself visited the local
Jewish tribe, got them together and counselled them on decent
conduct. But the reply that they gave was; “O Muhammad, you
perhaps think we are like the Qureysh; they did not know
fighting; therefore, you overpowered them. But, when you come in
contact with us, you will see how men fight.” This was in clear
words a declaration of war. Consequently, the Prophet (upon whom
be Allah’s peace) laid siege to their quarters in A. H. 2. The
siege had hardly lasted for a fortnight when they surrendered
and all their fighting men were bound and taken prisoners.
Abdullah bin Ubayy came up in support of them and requested that
they should be pardoned. The Holy Prophet conceded his request
and decided that the Bani Qainuqa would be exiled from Madinah
leaving their properties, armor and tools of trade behind. (Ibn
Sa‘d, Ibn Hisham, Tărikh Tabari).
For some time after these punitive measures (i. e. the
banishment of the Qainuqa and killing of Ka’b bin Ashraf ) the
Jews remained so terror stricken that they did not dare commit
any further mischief. But later in Shawwăl, A. H. 3 the Qureysh,
in order to avenge themselves for the defeat at Badr, marched
against Madinah with great preparations. The Jews saw that only
one thousand men had marched out with the Prophet (upon whom be
Allah’s peace) in comparison to three thousand men of the
Qureysh. To make matter worse 300 hypocrites initially joined
the Prophet, deserted and returned to Madinah. At this point,
they committed the first and open breach of the treaty by
refusing to join the Prophet in the defense of the city even
though they were bound to it by the agreement. Then, when in the
Battle of Uhud the Muslims suffered a set back, they were
further emboldened. So much so that the Bani an-Nadhďr made a
secret plan to kill the Prophet (pbuh). The plan, however,
failed before it could be executed.
As a result, there was no question of showing them any further
concession. The Holy Prophet at once sent to them the ultimatum
that the treachery they had meditated against him had come to
his knowledge. Therefore, they were to leave Madinah within ten
days. If anyone of them was found staying behind in their
quarters, he would be put to the sword. Meanwhile, Abdullah bin
Ubayy sent them the message that he would help them with two
thousand men and that the Bani Quraizah and Bani Ghatfăn would
also come to their aid. Therefore, they were to stand firm and
not leave. On this false assurance, they responded to the
Prophet’s ultimatum saying that they would not leave Madinah and
that he could do whatever was in his power. Consequently, in
Rabi-al-Awwal, A. H. 4, the Prophet (pbuh) laid siege to them,
and after a few days of the siege they surrendered on the
condition that they could take their personal property, except
the armor, which could be carried on three camels. Thus, Madinah
was rid of this second mischievous tribe of Jews. Only two of
the Bani an-Nadhďr embraced Islam and stayed behind. All of the
others went to Syria and Khayber.
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