Surah 33. Al-Ahzab, Ayah 9
| يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَاءَتْكُمْ جُنُودٌ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًا وَجُنُودًا لَمْ تَرَوْهَا ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرًا |
| Asad | : | O YOU who have attained to faith! Call to mind the blessings which God bestowed on you [at the time] when [enemy] hosts came down upon you, where-upon We let loose against them a stormwind and [heavenly] hosts that you could not see:13 yet God saw all that you did. |
| Malik | : | O believers! Remember the favor of Allah, which he bestowed on you, when you were attacked by your enemy's army (during the battle of Trench/Confederates) and We unleashed against them violent winds and invisible forces. Allah saw all that you were doing. |
| Pickthall | : | O ye who believe Remember Allah's favor unto you when there came against you hosts, and We sent against them a great wind and hosts ye could not see. And Allah is ever Seer of what ye do. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | O ye who believe! Remember the Grace of Allah (bestowed) on you when there came down on you hosts (to overwhelm you): but We sent against them a hurricane and force that ye saw not. But Allah sees (clearly) all that ye do. 3679 3680 3681 |
| Transliteration | : | yaa 'ayyuhaa 'alladhena 'aamano udhkuro nicmah 'allaah calay -kum 'idh jaa'at -kum junod fa- arsalnaa calay -hi reh.(an) wa- junod(an) lam taraw -haa wa- kaana 'allaah bi- maa tacmalon bas.er(an) |
Note - 13Cf. {3:124-125} and the corresponding note [93]. The
present passage (verses {9-27}) relates to the War of the
Confederates (al-ahzab) - also called the War of the
Trench (al-khandaq) - which took place in 5 H. At the
instigation of the Jewish tribe of Banu 'n-Nadir, who had
been expelled from Yathrib (Medina) after they had broken
the treaty binding them to the Muslims, several of the
most powerful Abrabian tribes formed a confederacy with a
view to overcoming, once and for all, the threat posed by
Islam to the beliefs and many of the customs of pagan
Arabia. In the month of Shawwal, 5 H., a force of well
over 12,000 men, composed of the Quraysh and their allies
- the Banu Kinanah, Banu Asad and the people of the
coastlands (the Tihamah), as well as the great Najdi
tribe of Ghatafan and its allies, the Hawazin (or Banu
'Amir) and Banu Sulaym - converged upon Medina.
Forewarned of their coming, the Prophet had ordered a
deep trench to be dug around the town - a defensive
measure unknown in pre-Islamic Arabia - and thus brought
the assault of the Confederates to a halt. At that point,
however, another danger arose for the Muslims: the Jewish
tribe of Banu Qurayzah, who lived in the outskirts of
Medina and until then had been allied with the Muslims,
broke the treaty of alliance and openly joined the
Confederates. Nevertheless, during a siege lasting
several weeks all the attempts of the latter to cross the
trench - manned by the numerically much weaker and less
well-armed Muslims - were repulsed with heavy losses to
the attackers; dissensions, based on mutual distrust,
gradually undermined the much-vaunted alliance between
the Jewish and the pagan Arab tribes; in the month of Dhu
'l-Qa'dah their frustration became complete when a
bitterly-cold stormwind raged for several days, making
life unbearable even for hardened warriors. And so,
finally, the siege was raised and the Confederates
dispersed, thus ending the last attempt of the pagans to
destroy the Prophet and his community.
|
Note - 3679In this verse is summed up the beginning and the end of
the fateful struggle of the Siege of Madinah in A.H. 5.
The composition of the unhallowed Confederacy that came
to destroy Islam is referred to in the Introduction. They
came with a force of ten to twelve thousand fighting men,
an unprecedented army for that time and country. The
battle is known as the Battle of the Trench.
|
Note - 3680After a close investment of two to four weeks, during
which the enemy were disheartened by their ill success,
there was a piercing blast of the cold east wind. It was
a severe winter, and February can be a very cold month in
Madinah, which is about 3,000 ft. above the sea-level.
The enemy's tents were torn up, their fires were
extinguished, the sand and rain beat in their faces, and
they were terrified by the portents against them. They
had already well nigh fallen out amongst themselves, and
beating a hasty retreat, they melted away. The Madinah
fighting strength was no more than 3,000, and the Jewish
tribe of the Banu Quraiza who were in their midst was a
source of weakness as they were treacherously intriguing
with the enemy. And further there were the Hypocrites:
see n. 3666 above. But there were hidden forces that
helped the Muslims. Besides the forces of nature there
were angels, though invisible to them, who assisted the
Muslims.
|
Note - 3681Allah sees everything. Therefore we may conclude that the
discipline and moral fervour of the Muslims, as well as
the enemy's insincerities, intrigues, and reliance on
brute force, were all contributory causes to his repulse,
under Allah's dispensation. There were many hidden causes
which neither party saw clearly.
|
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Cf. {3:124-125} and the corresponding note [93]. The present passage (verses {9-27}) relates to the War of the Confederates (al-ahzab) - also called the War of the Trench (al-khandaq) - which took place in 5 H. At the instigation of the Jewish tribe of Banu 'n-Nadir, who had been expelled from Yathrib (Medina) after they had broken the treaty binding them to the Muslims, several of the most powerful Abrabian tribes formed a confederacy with a view to overcoming, once and for all, the threat posed by Islam to the beliefs and many of the customs of pagan Arabia. In the month of Shawwal, 5 H., a force of well over 12,000 men, composed of the Quraysh and their allies - the Banu Kinanah, Banu Asad and the people of the coastlands (the Tihamah), as well as the great Najdi tribe of Ghatafan and its allies, the Hawazin (or Banu 'Amir) and Banu Sulaym - converged upon Medina. Forewarned of their coming, the Prophet had ordered a deep trench to be dug around the town - a defensive measure unknown in pre-Islamic Arabia - and thus brought the assault of the Confederates to a halt. At that point, however, another danger arose for the Muslims: the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayzah, who lived in the outskirts of Medina and until then had been allied with the Muslims, broke the treaty of alliance and openly joined the Confederates. Nevertheless, during a siege lasting several weeks all the attempts of the latter to cross the trench - manned by the numerically much weaker and less well-armed Muslims - were repulsed with heavy losses to the attackers; dissensions, based on mutual distrust, gradually undermined the much-vaunted alliance between the Jewish and the pagan Arab tribes; in the month of Dhu 'l-Qa'dah their frustration became complete when a bitterly-cold stormwind raged for several days, making life unbearable even for hardened warriors. And so, finally, the siege was raised and the Confederates dispersed, thus ending the last attempt of the pagans to destroy the Prophet and his community. |
| |
In this verse is summed up the beginning and the end of the fateful struggle of the Siege of Madinah in A.H. 5. The composition of the unhallowed Confederacy that came to destroy Islam is referred to in the Introduction. They came with a force of ten to twelve thousand fighting men, an unprecedented army for that time and country. The battle is known as the Battle of the Trench. |
| |
After a close investment of two to four weeks, during which the enemy were disheartened by their ill success, there was a piercing blast of the cold east wind. It was a severe winter, and February can be a very cold month in Madinah, which is about 3,000 ft. above the sea-level. The enemy's tents were torn up, their fires were extinguished, the sand and rain beat in their faces, and they were terrified by the portents against them. They had already well nigh fallen out amongst themselves, and beating a hasty retreat, they melted away. The Madinah fighting strength was no more than 3,000, and the Jewish tribe of the Banu Quraiza who were in their midst was a source of weakness as they were treacherously intriguing with the enemy. And further there were the Hypocrites: see n. 3666 above. But there were hidden forces that helped the Muslims. Besides the forces of nature there were angels, though invisible to them, who assisted the Muslims. |
| |
Allah sees everything. Therefore we may conclude that the discipline and moral fervour of the Muslims, as well as the enemy's insincerities, intrigues, and reliance on brute force, were all contributory causes to his repulse, under Allah's dispensation. There were many hidden causes which neither party saw clearly. |
