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Battle of the Trench (Al-Ahzab)

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Battle of the Trench (Al-Ahzab)

غَزْوَةُ الْأَحْزَاب

The Battle of the Trench, also known as Al-Ahzab (The Confederates), marks a pivotal moment in early Islamic history, occurring in the 5th year of the Hijra. This extraordinary event saw a vast confederation of Arab tribes and Jewish clans besiege Medina, threatening to annihilate the nascent Muslim community. To defend the city, Muslims, under the guidance of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), dug a deep trench, a novel military strategy in Arabia at the time. The Quran beautifully captures the immense trials faced by the believers, describing how [eyes shifted [in fear], and hearts reached the throats], and how [the believers were tested and shaken with a severe shaking]. It also exposes the wavering faith of hypocrites who sought to abandon the Prophet, arguing [O people of Yathrib, there is no stability for you [here], so return [home]]. Despite the overwhelming odds and the extended siege, Allah's divine intervention was manifested as [a wind and armies [of angels] you did not see], scattering the confederate forces without a major direct confrontation. This battle stands as a testament to Allah's protection and the resilience of the early Muslim community, profoundly strengthening their faith and marking a crucial turning point for the young Islamic state.

Quran 8 verses

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَآءَتْكُمْ جُنُودٌ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًا وَجُنُودًا لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرًا

Yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanuz kuroo ni'matal laahi 'alaikum iz jaaa'atkm junoodun fa arsalnaa 'alaihim reehanw wa junoodal lam tarawhaa; wa kaanal laahu bimaa ta'maloona Baseera

O you who have believed, remember the favor of Allah upon you when armies came to [attack] you and We sent upon them a wind and armies [of angels] you did not see. And ever is Allah, of what you do, Seeing.

مومنو خدا کی اُس مہربانی کو یاد کرو جو (اُس نے) تم پر (اُس وقت کی) جب فوجیں تم پر (حملہ کرنے کو) آئیں۔ تو ہم نے اُن پر ہوا بھیجی اور ایسے لشکر (نازل کئے) جن کو تم دیکھ نہیں سکتے تھے۔ اور جو کام تم کرتے ہو خدا اُن کو دیکھ رہا ہے

Commentary

Ma'arif-ul-Quran: Commentary At the beginning of the Surah, by saying: وَ اتَّبع مَا یُوحٰٓی اِلَیکَ , the Holy Prophet ﷺ was asked to follow the Divine revelation sent to him. Then, in the previous verse: اَلنَّبِیُّ اَولٰی بِالمُؤمِنِینَ , the believers have been obligated with the implementation of the orders of t...
Tafsir al-Jalalayn: O you who believe! Remember God’s favour to you when hosts of disbelievers came against you as confederates at the time the Ditch al-khandaq was being dug and We unleashed against them a great wind and hosts of angels you did not see. And God is ever Seer of what you do read ta‘malūna to imply ‘in t...
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): The Campaign of the Confederates (Al-Ahzab) Allah tells us of the blessings and favors He bestowed upon His believing servants when He diverted their enemies and defeated them in the year when they gathered together and plotted. That was the year of Al-Khandaq, in Shawwal of the year 5 AH according ...

إِذْ جَآءُوكُم مِّن فَوْقِكُمْ وَمِنْ أَسْفَلَ مِنكُمْ وَإِذْ زَاغَتِ ٱلْأَبْصَٰرُ وَبَلَغَتِ ٱلْقُلُوبُ ٱلْحَنَاجِرَ وَتَظُنُّونَ بِٱللَّهِ ٱلظُّنُونَا۠

Iz jaaa'ookum min fawqikum wa min asfala minkum wa iz zaaghatil absaaru wa balaghatil quloobul hanaajira wa tazunnoona billaahiz zunoonaa

[Remember] when they came at you from above you and from below you, and when eyes shifted [in fear], and hearts reached the throats and you assumed about Allah [various] assumptions.

جب وہ تمہارے اُوپر اور نیچے کی طرف سے تم پر چڑھ آئے اور جب آنکھیں پھر گئیں اور دل (مارے دہشت کے) گلوں تک پہنچ گئے اور تم خدا کی نسبت طرح طرح کے گمان کرنے لگے

Commentary

Ma'arif-ul-Quran: Commentary Identified in the previous verses was the great station of the Holy Prophet ﷺ along with the instruction to Muslims that they should follow and obey him totally and perfectly. Congruent to this, these two full sections of the Qur'an have been revealed about the event of the battle of al-A...
Tafsir al-Jalalayn: When they came at you from above you and from below you in other words from the higher side of the valley and from its lower side from the east and from the west and when the eyes turned away in fear from everything to gaze at their enemies approaching from every side and the hearts lept to the thro...
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): The Campaign of the Confederates (Al-Ahzab) Allah tells us of the blessings and favors He bestowed upon His believing servants when He diverted their enemies and defeated them in the year when they gathered together and plotted. That was the year of Al-Khandaq, in Shawwal of the year 5 AH according ...

هُنَالِكَ ٱبْتُلِىَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَزُلْزِلُوا۟ زِلْزَالًا شَدِيدًا

Hunaalikab tuliyal mu'minoona wa zulziloo zilzaalan shadeedaa

There the believers were tested and shaken with a severe shaking.

وہاں مومن آزمائے گئے اور سخت طور پر ہلائے گئے

Commentary

Ma'arif-ul-Quran: Commentary Identified in the previous verses was the great station of the Holy Prophet ﷺ along with the instruction to Muslims that they should follow and obey him totally and perfectly. Congruent to this, these two full sections of the Qur'an have been revealed about the event of the battle of al-A...
Tafsir al-Jalalayn: it was there that the believers were sorely tried there they were tested to distinguish the sincere individual from the one otherwise and were shaken with a mighty shock because of the severity of the terror.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): How the Believers were tested, and the Position of the Hypocrites during the Battle of Al-Khandaq Allah tells us what happened when the Confederates surrounded Al-Madinah and the Muslims were besieged and found themselves in straitened circumstances, with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in their midst. The...

وَإِذْ قَالَت طَّآئِفَةٌ مِّنْهُمْ يَٰٓأَهْلَ يَثْرِبَ لَا مُقَامَ لَكُمْ فَٱرْجِعُوا۟ وَيَسْتَـْٔذِنُ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُمُ ٱلنَّبِىَّ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّ بُيُوتَنَا عَوْرَةٌ وَمَا هِىَ بِعَوْرَةٍ إِن يُرِيدُونَ إِلَّا فِرَارًا

Wa iz qaalat taaa'ifatum minhum yaaa ahla Yasriba laa muqaamaa lakum farji'oo; wa yastaazina fareequm minhumun Nabiyya yaqooloona inna buyootanaa 'awrah; wa maa hiya bi'awratin iny yureedoona illaa firaaraa

And when a faction of them said, "O people of Yathrib, there is no stability for you [here], so return [home]." And a party of them asked permission of the Prophet, saying, "Indeed, our houses are unprotected," while they were not exposed. They did not intend except to flee.

اور جب اُن میں سے ایک جماعت کہتی تھی کہ اے اہل مدینہ (یہاں) تمہارے ٹھہرنے کا مقام نہیں تو لوٹ چلو۔ اور ایک گروہ ان میں سے پیغمبر سے اجازت مانگنے اور کہنے لگا کہ ہمارے گھر کھلے پڑے ہیں حالانکہ وہ کھلے نہیں تھے۔ وہ تو صرف بھاگنا چاہتے تھے

Commentary

Ma'arif-ul-Quran: The second state mentioned here is that of the hypocrites for they had started saying that the promises of Allah and His Rasul ﷺ were a web of deception: إِذْ يَقُولُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَ‌ضٌ مَّا وَعَدَنَا اللَّـهُ وَرَ‌سُولُهُ إِلَّا غُرُ‌ورً‌ا (And (remember) when the h...
Tafsir al-Jalalayn: And when a party of them namely the hypocrites said ‘O people of Yathrib! namely the region of Medina it Yathriba is a diptote because of its being a proper noun and because of the morphological similarity it bears to a verbal form there is not a stand possible read muqām or maqām for you here in ot...
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): How the Believers were tested, and the Position of the Hypocrites during the Battle of Al-Khandaq Allah tells us what happened when the Confederates surrounded Al-Madinah and the Muslims were besieged and found themselves in straitened circumstances, with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in their midst. The...

يَحْسَبُونَ ٱلْأَحْزَابَ لَمْ يَذْهَبُوا۟ وَإِن يَأْتِ ٱلْأَحْزَابُ يَوَدُّوا۟ لَوْ أَنَّهُم بَادُونَ فِى ٱلْأَعْرَابِ يَسْـَٔلُونَ عَنْ أَنۢبَآئِكُمْ وَلَوْ كَانُوا۟ فِيكُم مَّا قَٰتَلُوٓا۟ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

Yahsaboonal Ahzaaba lam yazhaboo wa iny yaatil Ahzaabu yawaddoo law annahum baadoona fil A'raabi yasaloona 'an ambaaa'ikum wa law kaanoo feekum maa qaatalooo illaa qaleela

They think the companies have not [yet] withdrawn. And if the companies should come [again], they would wish they were in the desert among the bedouins, inquiring [from afar] about your news. And if they should be among you, they would not fight except for a little.

(خوف کے سبب) خیال کرتے ہیں کہ فوجیں نہیں گئیں۔ اور اگر لشکر آجائیں تو تمنا کریں کہ (کاش) گنواروں میں جا رہیں (اور) تمہاری خبر پوچھا کریں۔ اور اگر تمہارے درمیان ہوں تو لڑائی نہ کریں مگر کم

Commentary

Ma'arif-ul-Quran: The second state mentioned here is that of the hypocrites for they had started saying that the promises of Allah and His Rasul ﷺ were a web of deception: إِذْ يَقُولُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَ‌ضٌ مَّا وَعَدَنَا اللَّـهُ وَرَ‌سُولُهُ إِلَّا غُرُ‌ورً‌ا (And (remember) when the h...
Tafsir al-Jalalayn: They suppose that the confederates of disbelievers have not yet departed to Mecca because of their fear of them and were the confederates to come a second time they would wish that they were in the desert with the Bedouins asking about your news your encounters with the disbelievers. And if they wer...
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): يَحْسَبُونَ الاٌّحْزَابَ لَمْ يَذْهَبُواْ (They think that the Confederates have not yet withdrawn;) and that they are still close by and will return. وَإِن يَأْتِ الاٌّحْزَابُ يَوَدُّواْ لَوْ أَنَّهُمْ بَادُونَ فِى الاٌّعْرَابِ يَسْأَلُونَ عَنْ أَنبَآئِكُمْ (and if the Confederates should come, the...

وَلَمَّا رَءَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٱلْأَحْزَابَ قَالُوا۟ هَٰذَا مَا وَعَدَنَا ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥ وَصَدَقَ ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥ وَمَا زَادَهُمْ إِلَّآ إِيمَٰنًا وَتَسْلِيمًا

Wa lammaa ra al mu'minoonal Ahzaaba qaaloo haaza maa wa'adanal laahu wa Rasooluh; wa maa zaadahum illaaa eemaananw wa tasleemaa

And when the believers saw the companies, they said, "This is what Allah and His Messenger had promised us, and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth." And it increased them only in faith and acceptance.

اور جب مومنوں نے (کافروں کے) لشکر کو دیکھا تو کہنے لگے یہ وہی ہے جس کا خدا اور اس کے پیغمبر نے ہم سے وعدہ کیا تھا اور خدا اور اس کے پیغمبر نے سچ کہا تھا۔ اور اس سے ان کا ایمان اور اطاعت اور زیادہ ہوگئی

Commentary

Ma'arif-ul-Quran: The second state mentioned here is that of the hypocrites for they had started saying that the promises of Allah and His Rasul ﷺ were a web of deception: إِذْ يَقُولُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَ‌ضٌ مَّا وَعَدَنَا اللَّـهُ وَرَ‌سُولُهُ إِلَّا غُرُ‌ورً‌ا (And (remember) when the h...
Tafsir al-Jalalayn: And when the believers saw the confederates of disbelievers they said ‘This is what God and His Messenger promised us in the way of trial and assistance to victory and God and His Messenger were truthful’ about the promise. And that only increased them in faith in belief in God’s promise and submiss...
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): The Command to follow the Messenger ﷺ This Ayah is an important principle, to follow the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in all his words, and deeds, etc. Hence Allah commanded the people to take the Prophet as an example on the day of Al-Ahzab, with regard to patience, guarding, striving and waiting for Allah...

وَرَدَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِغَيْظِهِمْ لَمْ يَنَالُوا۟ خَيْرًا وَكَفَى ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٱلْقِتَالَ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ قَوِيًّا عَزِيزًا

Wa raddal laahul lazeena kafaroo bighaizihim lam yanaaloo khairaa; wa kafal laahul mu'mineenal qitaal; wa kaanal laahu Qawiyyan 'Azeezaa

And Allah repelled those who disbelieved, in their rage, not having obtained any good. And sufficient was Allah for the believers in battle, and ever is Allah Powerful and Exalted in Might.

اور جو کافر تھے اُن کو خدا نے پھیر دیا وہ اپنے غصے میں (بھرے ہوئے تھے) کچھ بھلائی حاصل نہ کر سکے۔ اور خدا مومنوں کو لڑائی کے بارے میں کافی ہوا۔ اور خدا طاقتور (اور) زبردست ہے

Commentary

Ma'arif-ul-Quran: The second state mentioned here is that of the hypocrites for they had started saying that the promises of Allah and His Rasul ﷺ were a web of deception: إِذْ يَقُولُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَ‌ضٌ مَّا وَعَدَنَا اللَّـهُ وَرَ‌سُولُهُ إِلَّا غُرُ‌ورً‌ا (And (remember) when the h...
Tafsir al-Jalalayn: And God repulsed those who were disbelievers namely the confederates in their rage without their attaining any good without achieving their desire in any way to triumph over the believers. And God spared the believers from fighting by unleashing the wind and the angels. And truly God is Strong in br...
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): Allah drove back the Confederates disappointed and lost Allah tells us how he drove the Confederates away from Al-Madinah by sending against them a wind and troops of angels. If Allah had not made his Messenger a Mercy to the Worlds, this wind would have been more severe than the barren wind which H...

وَأَنزَلَ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَٰهَرُوهُم مِّنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ مِن صَيَاصِيهِمْ وَقَذَفَ فِى قُلُوبِهِمُ ٱلرُّعْبَ فَرِيقًا تَقْتُلُونَ وَتَأْسِرُونَ فَرِيقًا

Wa anzalal lazeena zaaha roohum min Ahlil Kitaabi min sa yaaseehim wa qazafa fee quloobihimm mur ru'ba freeqan taqtuloona wa taasiroona fareeqaaa

And He brought down those who supported them among the People of the Scripture from their fortresses and cast terror into their hearts [so that] a party you killed, and you took captive a party.

اور اہل کتاب میں سے جنہوں نے اُن کی مدد کی تھی اُن کو اُن کے قلعوں سے اُتار دیا اور اُن کے دلوں میں دہشت ڈال دی۔ تو کتنوں کو تم قتل کر دیتے تھے اور کتنوں کو قید کرلیتے تھے

Commentary

Ma'arif-ul-Quran: The second state mentioned here is that of the hypocrites for they had started saying that the promises of Allah and His Rasul ﷺ were a web of deception: إِذْ يَقُولُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَ‌ضٌ مَّا وَعَدَنَا اللَّـهُ وَرَ‌سُولُهُ إِلَّا غُرُ‌ورً‌ا (And (remember) when the h...
Tafsir al-Jalalayn: And He brought down those of the People of the Scripture namely the Banū Qurayza who had supported them from their strongholds sayāsī is the plural of sīsa and is that in which one fortifies himself against an enemy and He cast terror into their hearts so that some of them you slew and these were th...
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): The Campaign against Banu Qurayzah We have already noted that when the Confederates came and camped outside Al-Madinah, Banu Qurayzah broke the covenant that existed between them and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. This happened by the agency of Huyay bin Akhtab An-Nadari, may Allah curse him, who entered...

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