In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
A summary of the Tafsir of al-Tabari.
Abridged by Dr. 'Aqil ibn Salim al-Shammar.
Surah al-Hashr.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
“Hast thou not observed those who are hypocrites, (how) they tell their brethren who disbelieve among the People of the Scripture: If ye are driven out, we surely will go out with you, and we will never obey anyone against you, and if ye are attacked we verily will help you. And Allah beareth witness that they verily are liars.” (59:11)
“Hast thou not observed those who are hypocrites, (how) they tell their brethren who disbelieve among the People of the Scripture: If ye are driven out, we surely will go out with you, and we will never obey anyone against you, and if ye are attacked we verily will help you. And Allah beareth witness that they verily are liars.” (59:11)
Have you not considered with the eye of your heart, O Muhammad?
“Hast thou not observed those who are hypocrites, (how) they tell their brethren who disbelieve among the People of the Scripture: If ye are driven out, we surely will go out with you, and we will never obey anyone against you, and if ye are attacked we verily will help you. And Allah beareth witness that they verily are liars.” (59:11)
"If you are expelled from your homes and dwellings, we will surely leave with you and depart from our own homes and dwellings alongside you."
"We will not obey anyone who asks us to abandon you or cease supporting you; rather, we shall remain with you."
"And if Muhammad and those with him fight you, we will surely support you, O people of Banu al-Nadir, against them."
And Allah bears witness that these hypocrites, who promised the Banu al-Nadir support against Muhammad, peace be upon him,
are liars in the promises they made to them.
If they are expelled, they will not leave with them; if they are fought, they will not support them; and if they were to support them, they would surely turn their backs and flee, and then they would not be helped.
If the Banu al-Nadir are expelled from their homes and driven out, the hypocrites who promised them they would leave their homes will not leave with them.
And if Muhammad, peace be upon him, fights them, the hypocrites who promised them support will not aid them.
And if the hypocrites were to support the Banu al-Nadir,
they would surely turn their backs in flight from Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his Companions,
fleeing from them, having abandoned them.
Then Allah will not grant the Banu al-Nadir victory over Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his Companions;
rather, He will abandon them.
“Ye are more awful as a fear in their bosoms than Allah. That is because they are a folk who understand not.” (59:13)
You, O believers, are more terrifying in the hearts of the Jews of Banu al-Nadir than Allah is.
They fear you more than they fear Allah.
This fear you inspire in the hearts of these Jews exists because they are a people who do not comprehend the magnitude of Allah’s greatness.
Consequently, they treat His disobedience lightly.
And they do not fear His punishment as much as they fear you.
“They will not fight against you in a body save in fortified villages or from behind walls. Their adversity among themselves is very great. Ye think of them as a whole whereas their hearts are divers. That is because they are a folk who have no sense.” (59:14)
“They will not fight against you in a body save in fortified villages or from behind walls. Their adversity among themselves is very great. Ye think of them as a whole whereas their hearts are divers. That is because they are a folk who have no sense.” (59:14)
These Jews of Banu al-Nadir will not fight you all together,
except from within fortified villages.
They will not face you in open combat, nor from behind walls.
The enmity among these disbelievers of the Jews is intense.
You would think the hypocrites and the People of the Book are united, their words in agreement,
yet their hearts are divided due to their mutual hostility.
This state of affairs I have described to you regarding these Jews and hypocrites
is because they are a people who do not understand what is to their benefit,
nor what results in their loss and deficiency.
“On the likeness of those (who suffered) a short time before them, they taste the ill-effects of their own conduct, and theirs is painful punishment.” (59:15)
The example of these Jews of Banu al-Nadir and the hypocrites
regarding what Allah is doing to them by inflicting His punishment upon them,
“On the likeness of those (who suffered) a short time before them, they taste the ill-effects of their own conduct, and theirs is painful punishment.” (59:15)
is that they have received Allah’s punishment for their disbelief in Him.
And in the Hereafter, along with the disgrace they suffered in this world, they shall have a painful torment.
It is like the example of Satan when he said to man, "Disbelieve."
“(And the hypocrites are) on the likeness of the devil when he telleth man to disbelieve, then, when he disbelieveth saith: Lo! I am quit of thee. Lo! I fear Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.” (59:16)
“And the consequence for both will be that they are in the Fire, therein abiding. Such is the reward of evil-doers.” (59:17)
And that is the recompense of the wrongdoers.
The example of these hypocrites who promised the Jews of Banu al-Nadir support,
"I fear Allah,"
the example of these hypocrites who promised the Jews of Banu al-Nadir support if they were fought,
or to leave with them if they were expelled,
and the example of the hypocrites in their deception by breaking their promise,
and abandoning them when they were in dire need of them,
is like the example of Satan who deceived a human,
and promised him support when he needed it if he would follow him and disbelieve in Allah.
So he disbelieved in Allah, followed him, and obeyed him.
But when he needed his support, he abandoned him and disowned him,
saying to him, "I fear Allah, Lord of the worlds," regarding helping you.
The outcome for Satan and the human who obeyed him and disbelieved in Allah
is that they will both abide in the Fire, remaining there forever.
That is the reward for the Jews of Banu al-Nadir,
and the hypocrites who promised them support,
and every disbeliever in Allah who wrongs himself through his disbelief in Him,
that they will abide in the Fire.
Fear Allah; indeed, Allah is All-Aware of what you do.
O you who have believed in Allah and affirmed His Oneness,
fear Allah by performing His obligatory duties and avoiding His prohibitions.
And let every soul look to what it has sent forth for the Day of Resurrection of deeds,
whether they are righteous deeds that will save it, or evil deeds that will ruin it.
Fear Allah, for He has knowledge and awareness of your deeds, both good and evil.
Nothing of them is hidden from Him.
And He will recompense you for all of them.
“And be not ye as those who forgot Allah, therefor He caused them to forget their souls. Such are the evil-doers.” (59:19)
Those are the defiantly disobedient.
Do not be like those who neglected to perform the duty to Allah that He obligated upon them,
so He made them forget themselves.
It means Allah made them forget their own share of good deeds.
Those who forgot Allah are the defiantly disobedient,
meaning those who departed from the obedience of Allah into His disobedience.
“Not equal are the owners of the Fire and the owners of the Garden. The owners of the Garden, they are the victorious.” (59:20)
“Not equal are the owners of the Fire and the owners of the Garden. The owners of the Garden, they are the victorious.” (59:20)
The people of the Fire and the people of Paradise are not equal.
The people of Paradise are the successful ones,
meaning they are those who attained what they sought and desired, and are saved from what they feared.
“If We had caused this Qur'an to descend upon a mountain, thou (O Muhammad) verily hadst seen it humbled, rent asunder by the fear of Allah. Such similitudes coin We for mankind that haply they may reflect.” (59:21)
“If We had caused this Qur'an to descend upon a mountain, thou (O Muhammad) verily hadst seen it humbled, rent asunder by the fear of Allah. Such similitudes coin We for mankind that haply they may reflect.” (59:21)
And these examples We present to the people so that they might reflect.
If We had sent down this Qur'an upon a mountain—which is stone—
you would have seen it, O Muhammad, humbled and splitting asunder from the fear of Allah, despite its hardness,
out of caution that it might fail to fulfill the right of Allah obligated upon it in revering the Qur'an.
Yet it has been sent down to the son of Adam, while he treats it with disregard,
and turns away from it and from the lessons and reminders it contains.
“And when Our revelations are recited unto him he turneth away in pride as if he heard them not, as if there were a deafness in his ears. So give him tidings of a painful doom.” (31:7)
These things We liken for the people.
And Allah presents these examples for them so that they might reflect upon them,
and turn back in repentance and submit to the truth.
The One from whose fear the mountain would split, O people,
is the Worshipped One, to whom alone worship and divinity are due.
“Lo! Allah is the Knower of the Unseen of the heavens and the earth. Lo! He is Aware of the secret of (men's) breasts.” (35:38)
We witness what is in them of what is seen and perceived.
He is the Most Gracious in this world and the Hereafter, and Most Merciful to those who believe in Him.
“He is Allah, than Whom there is no other Allah, the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, Peace, the Keeper of Faith, the Guardian, the Majestic, the Compeller, the Superb. Glorified be Allah from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him).” (59:23)
“He is Allah, than Whom there is no other Allah, the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, Peace, the Keeper of Faith, the Guardian, the Majestic, the Compeller, the Superb. Glorified be Allah from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him).” (59:23)
Exalted is Allah above what they associate with Him.
He is the Worshipped One to whom alone worship is fitting.
The Sovereign, above whom there is no sovereign, and nothing exists except below Him.
The Blessed, from whose injustice His creation is safe.
And the One who grants security to His creation from His injustice.
The Witness, the Trustworthy, the Confirmer.
Allah is truthful in everything He has related about the past of this world,
and what remains, and what He has related about the Hereafter.
The Severe in retribution against those from whom He takes vengeance among His enemies.
The One who sets right the affairs of His creation,
directing them toward what is in their best interest.
He is exalted above every evil.
This is in glorification of Allah and declaring Him free from the polytheism of those who associate partners with Him.
“He is Allah, the Creator, the Shaper out of naught, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifieth Him, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.” (59:24)
To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.
“He is Allah, the Creator, the Shaper out of naught, the Fashioner. His are the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifieth Him, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.” (59:24)
And He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.
He is the Worshipped Creator,
for whom there is no other deity worthy of worship,
and no creator besides Him.
The Originator who brought creation into existence by His power.
The Fashioner who shapes His creation however He wills and as He wills.
To Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names.
Everything in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him,
and they prostrate to Him, willingly and unwillingly.
And He is the Severe in retribution against His enemies,
the All-Wise in His management of His creation,
and in directing them toward what is in their best interest.
A summary of the Tafsir of al-Tabari.