Al-Hashr

Every creation in the heavens and the earth proclaims the purity and sanctity of Allah from everything that does not befit Him. He is the Almighty whom no one can overcome, the Wise in His creation, legislation and decree.

He is the one who exiled the Banū an-Naḍīr who had disbelieved in Allah and rejected His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him), from their houses in Al-Madīnah the first time towards the Levant region. They were from the Jews: the people of the Torah. After they had broken their treaty and sided with the idolaters against the Messenger, He exiled them towards the Levant. O believers! You did not think they would leave their homes because of the might and strength they possessed, and they themselves thought that their fortresses they had fortified would protect them from the might of Allah and His punishment. Then, the might of Allah came upon them in a manner they did not anticipate, when He commanded His Messenger to fight them and exile them from their homes. Allah also put extreme fear into their hearts, and they began demolishing their homes with their own hands from the inside so that the believers could not take advantage of them, while the Muslims demolished them from the outside. O people of insight! So take heed of what befell them due to their disbelief and do not be like them, in case you get the same requital as they did, and face the same punishment they faced.

Had it not been that Allah had decreed exile for them, He would have punished them in the world with execution and captivity, like He did with their brothers from the Banū Qurayḍah. And for them in the afterlife is the punishment of the hellfire that awaits them, wherein they shall live forever.

Whatever happened to them happened because they took Allah and His Messenger as enemies through their disbelief and breaking of the treaties. And whoever takes Allah as his enemy, Allah is severe in punishment, so he will soon suffer His sever punishment.

O believers! Whatever date palm you cut down to infuriate the enemies of Allah in the battle of the Banū an-Naḍīr, or you left it standing with its trunk to make use of it, was done with the command of Allah; it was not done to cause destruction on earth like they claimed. It was also done so that Allah could humiliate through it those who left the obedience of Allah from the Jews: those that broke the treaties and chose the path of treason over the path of loyalty.

And whatever wealth of the Banū an-Naḍīr Allah returned to His Messenger, you did not haste in seeking it through riding on horses or camels, nor did you face any difficulty in acquiring it. Rather, Allah gives power to His Messenger over whatever He wishes, and He has given power to His Messenger over the Banū an-Naḍīr such that he conquered their communities without any fighting. And Allah is capable of everything, Nothing is outside His ability.

Whatever wealth of the people of the villages Allah favoured His Messenger with without a fight, is for Allah: He can give it to whoever He wishes; it is also for the Messenger to own; for his relatives from the Banū Hāshim and the Banū Al-Muṭṭalib in compensation for the charity they have been prevented from accepting; for the orphans; the needy and the foreigner whose ration has run out. This distribution is so that the wealth is not only confined to the rich rather than the poor. O believers! Whatever wealth of the Fay’ the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever he does not allow you to take, then refrain from it. And be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His commands and refraining from the things He has not allowed. Indeed, Allah is severe in punishment, so fear His punishment.

A part of this wealth will be spent on the needy who migrated in the path of Allah and were forced to leave their wealth and offspring, hoping that Allah will confer His grace upon them by providing for them in the world and by becoming pleased with them in the afterlife. They also help Allah and His Messenger by striving in the path of Allah. they are the ones who are truly firmly grounded in faith.

After Allah mentioned the migrants and praised them, He mentions the Helpers and praises them also, saying may He be glorified: And those Helpers who inhabited Al-Madīnah before the Migrants and chose to bring faith in Allah and His Messenger, they love those who migrated to them from Makkah and do not feel any anger or jealousy towards those who migrated in the path of Allah when they are given any of the Fay’ whilst not being given anything themselves. They give priority to the Migrants over themselves in worldly shares, even though they themselves are needy and poor. Whoever Allah saves from the greed of his own self for wealth, and he spends it in His path, they are the ones who are successful by achieving whatever they hope for and gaining salvation from whatever they fear.

And those who came after these people and followed them with righteousness until the Day of Judgement, say: “O our Lord forgive us and our brothers in religion who preceded us in bringing faith in Allah and His Messenger, and do not place any grudge or resentment in our hearts for any of the believers. Our Lord! Indeed, You are kind to Your servants and merciful towards them.”

O Messenger! Do you not see those that have concealed disbelief and outwardly shown faith, saying to their brothers in disbelief from the Jews: the followers of the distorted Torah: “Remain in your homes because we will never abandon you and never give you up. If the Muslims exile you from your homes, we will also leave in solidarity with you, and we will never obey anyone who prevents us from leaving with you. And if they were to fight you, we will definitely help you against them.” Allah testifies that indeed, the hypocrites are liars in their claims that they will leave with the Jews if they were to be exiled, and that they would fight with them if they were fought against.

If the Muslims exile the Jews, they will not leave with them, and if they fight them, they will neither support nor help them. Even if they go to help or support them against the Muslims, they will flee from the battlefield, after which the hypocrites will never be helped; rather, Allah will humiliate and shame them.

O believers! You are more fearful within the hearts of the Jews and hypocrites than Allah. Their extreme fear of you and feeble fear of Allah is because they are a people who have no understanding. If they had understanding, they would know that Allah is more deserving of being feared, because He is the one who gave you power over them.

O believers! The Jews will not fight you united except in dwellings fortified with walls, or from behind walls, because they cannot face you due to their cowardice. Their internal might is severe due to their enmity to one another. You think of them to be one force and that their pedestal is one, but the reality is that their hearts are divided and conflicting. This conflict and enmity is because they do not understand; if they were to understand they would recognise the truth and follow it, not dispute in it.

The analogy of these Jews in their disbelief and the punishment that afflicted them, is like that of the idolaters of Makkah not so long before them. They tasted the evil consequences of their disbelief, and on the day of Badr many were killed and others taken captive. They will also face a painful punishment in the afterlife.

Their analogy in their listening to the hypocrites is like that of Satan when he beautifies disbelief for the human, then, when he disbelieves because of his beautification of it, he says: “I have nothing to do with you after you have disbelieved; I fear Allah the Lord of the creations.”

So the ultimate outcome of Satan and whoever followed him will be that they (meaning the followed Satan and the human followers of his) will be in the hellfire on the Day of Judgement, wherein they shall have to remain forever. That requital that awaits them is the requital of those who oppress themselves by trespassing the limits of Allah.

O those who have faith in Allah and act upon whatever He has legislated for them! Be mindful of Allah by fulfilling His commands and refraining from the things he has not allowed. Each soul should ponder over what good deeds it has send forth for the Day of Judgement. So be mindful of Allah; indeed, Allah is aware of your actions, none of them are hidden from Him, and He will soon requite you for them.

Do not become like those who forgot Allah by not fulfilling His commands nor refraining from the things He did not allow, so Allah made them forget themselves and they did not act upon that which would save them from the wrath and punishment of Allah. Those who forgot Allah and did not fulfil His commands or refrain from the things He did not allow are the ones who left the obedience of Allah.

The people of the hellfire and the people of Paradise are not equal. Rather, they are different in their requital just like they differed in their actions in the world. The people of Paradise are the ones who are successful by having achieved whatever they sought and gaining safety from whatever they feared.

If I had revealed this Qur’ān onto a mountain, you would have seen, O Messenger, that mountain, despite its solidity, humbled and fearful due to the extreme fear of Allah. This is because of the scolding admonitions and severe warnings it contains. These analogies that I draw for the people are so that perhaps they use their intelligence and take heed of the lessons and advices its verses contain.

He is Allāh, the one whom there is no true deity except Him; He is the Knower of the absent and the present: nothing is hidden from Him; the Benevolent of the world and the afterlife and their Merciful: His mercy encompasses the worlds; the Master; the Pure and Sacred from every deficiency; the Faultless from every defect; The Corroborator of His messengers with manifest signs; the Observer of the actions of His servants; the Almighty whom no one can overpower; the Omnipotent who controls everything through His power, the Imperious. Pure and glorified is He from the idols and other things the idolaters ascribe to Him.

He is the Creator who created everything; the Originator of things; the Fashioner of His creations according to His wishes. For Him may He be glorified are the most beautiful names which contain His lofty attributes. Everything in the heavens and on earth glorifies Him from every deficiency. He is the Almighty whom no one can overpower; the Wise in His creation, legislation and decree.