| Chapter 59 : Surah Al-Hashr |
(Revealed after Hijrah) Date of Revelation and Context Next, the Surah deals with the Hypocrites of Medina who were neither true to Muslims nor to Jews. A hypocrite is essentially a coward, and a cowardly person is never sincere or honest to anyone. The Hypocrites of Medina proved dishonest even to the Jews in the latter's hour of peril. The Surah opens with Divine glorification and ends with an exhortation to Muslims to sing the praises of the Beneficent and Merciful Lord, Who had nipped the wicked designs of their enemies in the bud and had opened out endless vistas of progress and prosperity for them. The Surah has close resemblance with Surah Al-Anfal.
هُوَ الَّذِي أَخْرَجَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مِنْ دِيَارِهِمْ ِلأَوَّلِ الْحَشْرِ مَا ظَنَنْتُمْ أَنْ يَخْرُجُوا وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ مَانِعَتُهُمْ حُصُونُهُمْ مِنْ اللَّهِ فَأَتَاهُمْ اللَّهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ يَحْتَسِبُوا وَقَذَفَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ الرُّعْبَ يُخْرِبُونَ بُيُوتَهُمْ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَيْدِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَاعْتَبِرُوا يَا أُولِي الأَبْصَارِ
وَمَا أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مِنْهُمْ فَمَا أَوْجَفْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ خَيْلٍ وَلاَ رِكَابٍ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُسَلِّطُ رُسُلَهُ عَلَى مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ مَا أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقُرَى فَلِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ كَيْ لاَ يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الأَغْنِيَاءِ مِنْكُمْ وَمَا آتَاكُمْ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ الَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا مِنْ دِيارِهِمْ وَأَمْوَالِهِمْ يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلاً مِنْ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا وَيَنْصُرُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الصَّادِقُونَ وَالَّذِينَ تَبَوَّءُوا الدَّارَ وَالإِيمَانَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ يُحِبُّونَ مَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلاَ يَجِدُونَ فِي صُدُورِهِمْ حَاجَةً مِمَّا أُوتُوا وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ وَمَنْ يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْمُفْلِحُونَ وَالَّذِينَ جَاءُوا مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِالإِيمَانِ وَلاَ تَجْعَلْ فِي قُلُوبِنَا غِلّاً لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ رَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ أَلَمْ تَرى إِلَى الَّذِينَ نَافَقُوا يَقُولُونَ ِلأَخْوَانِهِمْ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَئِنْ أُخْرِجْتُمْ لَنَخْرُجَنَّ مَعَكُمْ وَلاَ نُطِيعُ فِيكُمْ أَحَدًا أَبَدًا وَإِنْ قُوتِلْتُمْ لَنَنْصُرَنَّكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ إِنَّهُمْ لَكَاذِبُونَ لَئِنْ أُخْرِجُوا لاَ يَخْرُجُونَ مَعَهُمْ وَلَئِنْ قُوتِلُوا لاَ يَنْصُرُونَهُمْ وَلَئِنْ نَصَرُوهُمْ لَيُوَلُّنَّ الأَدْبَارَ ثُمَّ لاَ يُنْصَرُونَ
لاَ يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ جَمِيعًا إِلاَّ فِي قُرًى مُحَصَّنَةٍ أَوْ مِنْ وَرَاءِ جُدُرٍ بَأْسُهُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ شَدِيدٌ تَحْسَبُهُمْ جَمِيعًا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ شَتَّى ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لاَ يَعْقِلُونَ
كَمَثَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِذْ قَالَ لِلإِنسَانِ اكْفُرْ فَلَمَّا كَفَرَ قَالَ إِنِّي بَرِيءٌ مِنْكَ إِنِّي أَخَافُ اللَّهَ رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ
لَوْ أَنْزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُتَصَدِّعًا مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَتِلْكَ الأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلاَمُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ هُوَ اللَّهُ الْخَالِقُ الْبَارِئُ الْمُصَوِّرُ لَهُ الأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
3015. See 2981. Whereas Tasbih (glorifying) is used with regard to God's attributes, Taqdis (extolling His holiness) is used concerning His actions. 3016. There lived in Medina three Jewish tribes-Banu Qainuqua', Banu Nadir and Banu Quraizah. The verse refers to the banishment from Medina of the Banu Nadir. This tribe like Banu Qainuqua' before them had acted treacherously towards Muslims on several occasions. They had hatched plots and entered into secret alliances against them, with their enemies. They had repeatedly broken their plighted word and had repudiated the solemn agreement that they would remain neutral between the Holy Prophet and his enemies, and even had conspired to take his life. Their leader Ka'b bin Ashraf had gone to Mecca to enlist the help of the Quraish and of other pagan tribes around Mecca to drive out the Muslims from Medina. After the temporary reverse suffered by Muslims at Uhud, their machinations and defiance of the Holy Prophet had greatly increased. It was when the cup of their iniquities had become full to the brim and their presence in Medina had proved to be a constant source of mortal danger to Muslims and the Islamic State that the Holy Prophet had to take action against them. He laid siege to their fortresses and, after vainly holding out for about 21 days, they surrendered. They were told to leave Medina upon which they all left for Syria, only two families choosing to remain behind at Khaibar. The Holy Prophet was exceptionally kind and considerate to them. He allowed them to carry their goods and chattels with them. They departed from Medina in perfect safety, but not until they had despaired of the help they expected from their Meccan allies and from the Hypocrites of Medina, and had also found that their fortresses, which they thought were impregnable, could not save them. In view of their evil designs and machinations, their conspiracies and secret plots, their repeated acts of treachery and infidelity and the breach of their plighted word every now and then, the punishment meted out to them was extremely light. The reference in the words, at the time of the first banishment, may be to the banishment of Banu Qainuqua' from Medina after the Battle of Badr, or the words may refer to the banishment by the Holy Prophet from Medina of all the three above-mentioned Jewish tribes. That was their first banishment. 'Umar, the Holy Prophet's Second Successor, however; banished all the Jews from the rest of Arabia for the second and last time. Thus the words may be taken as embodying a prophecy that after the Jewish tribes of Medina will have been banished by the Holy Prophet, all the Jews of Arabia would suffer the same fate at some later time. 3017. In view of the material resources, political alliances and organization of the Jews of Medina, the Muslims could never think that the Jews could be driven out of Medina so easily and without any loss of human life on either side. 3018. Before departing from Medina the Banu Nadir had destroyed, with their own hands, their houses and other movable property before the very eyes of Muslims. The Holy Prophet had given them ten days to dispose of their affairs as they liked. Thus the Jews of Medina were the originators of the scorched earth policy, centuries before the Russians had adopted it in World War II. 3019. The exile of the Banu Nadir from Medina was a very light punishment. They deserved a much heavier punishment, and had they not been exiled they would have been severely punished in some other way. 3020. The reference is to the cutting, by orders of the Holy Prophet, of the palm trees of the Banu Nadir who, as stated in v. 3, had shut themselves up in their fortresses in defiance of the Holy Prophet's orders to surrender. After the siege had lasted for some days, the Holy Prophet, in order to compel them to surrender, ordered that some of their palm trees of the linah kind, of which the dates are of very inferior quality and quite unfit for human consumption, (Al-Raud al-Unuf), should be cut down. It was after only six trees had been cut down, that they surrendered (Zurqani). The orders of the Holy Prophet were extremely light and lenient and quite in conformity with the laws of civilized warfare. 3021. As Fai' consists of such booty as is attained without difficulty or labor and accrues to Muslims without war, the soldiers have no share in it, and the whole of it goes to the public treasury. The verse may have special reference to the spoils the Muslims got from the Jews of Khaibar. It lays down the principle that the circulation of wealth should not remain confined to the privileged and propertied class. As an individual's health requires that his physical needs be reasonably met, the health of the society requires that material goods be widely distributed and wealth be in easy circulation. This is the basic principle of Muslim economics. Finding humanity ground down under the tyranny of vested interests, Islam propounded measures that broke the barriers of economic caste and enormously reduced the injustice of special privilege. It does not, however, oppose the profit motive or economic competition, but only insists that acquisitiveness and competition be balanced by fair play and compassion. Since human nature automatically takes care for the former, it falls to social laws to safeguard the latter. The Zakat is Islam’s basic device for institutionalizing regard for the need of others, but it is supplemented by a number of other measures. 3022. The words, whatsoever the Messenger gives you; take it; show that the Sunnah forms an integral part of the Islamic Law. 3023. The words constitute a great testimonial to the spirit of self-sacrifice, hospitality and goodwill of the Ansar (Helpers). The Refugees (Muhajirin) from Mecca came to them, deprived and denuded of all their possessions, and they received them with open arms and made them equal partners in their belongings. The bond of love and brotherhood which the Holy Prophet established between the Refugees from Mecca and the Helpers of Medina and to which this verse bears an eloquent testimony, stands unrivalled in the whole history of human relationships. 3024. The words may apply to the Refugees who came later to Medina, or to all the coming generations of Muslims. 3025. The Hypocrites had urged the Jews of Medina to defy the Holy Prophet and break their plighted word with him, holding out to them false promises of help and succor in time of need. But when relying upon their promises the Jews defied the Holy Prophet and marched against him, they left them in the lurch. 3026. The verse means that the disbelievers, particularly the Jews and the Hypocrites of Medina, present a false facade of unity against Islam, but as they have no common cause to fight for, and as their interests are diverse and divergent, there can possibly exist no real unity among them. There were three parties in Arabia who appeared to be united against the Islamic State-the Jews, the Hypocrites of Medina and the pagan Quraish of Mecca. The Quraish saw in the rising power of Islam a great danger to their all-round supremacy, the Hypocrites (of whom 'Abd Allah bin Ubayy was the leader) to their domination in Medina; and the Jews to their organization and racial superiority. Having no common objective their seeming unity had no real basis and it never materialized in time of danger. 3027. The reference may be to the Quraish of Mecca who sustained ignominious defeat at Badr, or to Banu Qainuqua' who were punished for their mischief and machinations after Badr. The latter were the first of the three Jewish tribes who were banished from Medina one month after the Battle of Badr because they had broken their pledged word with the Holy Prophet. Eventually they settled in Syria. 3027A. The verse may signify that the proud pagan Arabs whom no pre-Islamic teaching could wean from their polytheistic beliefs and idolatrous practices and who, like a strong rock, remained unmoved and firmly wedded to their Bedouin usages, unaffected by the corrosive influence of the glamour and glitter of the neighboring Christian civilization, would be humbled before the sublime and powerful Message of Islam, and from their erstwhile stony hearts would gush forth fountains of light and learning.
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