Surah Muhammad, may Allah’s blessings be upon him

It is called the Surah of Fighting (al-Qital). According to the majority, it is Medinan, and they have mentioned no exceptions. From Ibn Abbas and Qatada, it is reported that it is Medinan except for His saying, the Almighty: "And how many a town..." up to the end of it. For when the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings be upon him, left Mecca toward the Cave, he turned toward it and said: "You are the most beloved of Allah’s lands to me, and you are the most beloved of Allah’s lands to me. Had it not been that your people drove me out of you, I would not have left you." Then Allah, the Almighty, revealed that regarding this. Thus, it is Meccan, based on the principle that what was revealed on the way to Medina before the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings be upon him, reached it—that is, what was revealed during the journey of the Hijra—is considered Meccan by convention, as is gathered from a report brought forth by Uthman ibn Sa’id al-Darimi with his chain of narration to Yahya ibn Salam. The number of its verses is forty according to the Basrans, thirty-nine according to the Kufans, and thirty-eight in the others. The disagreement concerns His saying, the Almighty: "until the war lays down its burdens" and His saying, the Almighty: "a delight for the drinkers." It is not hidden that the beginning of this Surah is strongly linked, connected, and cohesive with the end of the Surah preceding it; such that if the Basmala were removed from between them, they would be a single, continuous entity with no incongruity, like a single verse, one part clutching the neck of the other. According to what al-Tabarani brought forth in al-Awsat from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with both of them, the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings be upon him, used to recite it in the Maghrib prayer.

Ibn Marduyah brought forth from Ali, may Allah honor his face, that he said: "The Surah of Muhammad was revealed concerning a verse regarding the Umayyads." I do not deem this report authentic. Yes, the disbelievers of the Umayyads have the greatest share of the generalities of the verses concerning the disbelievers, just as the members of the House (Ahl al-Bayt), may Allah be pleased with them, have the highest and most prominent share of the generalities of the verses concerning the believers. More than this is not said, other than my saying: May Allah curse those who severed the ties of kinship and harmed the Progeny (Al).

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

"Those who disbelieved and hindered [others] from the way of Allah"—meaning they turned away from Islam and the path of following it, or they prevented others from doing so. This is based on the interpretation of sadd (hindering) as either intransitive or transitive. Al-Kashf states: The former is more evident, because "hindering from the way of Allah" is turning away from what Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, brought, based on His saying: "Say, 'This is my way; I invite to Allah...'" (12:108). This aligns with His saying: "And those who have believed and done righteous deeds and believed in what has been sent down upon Muhammad." However, many reports support the second [transitive] interpretation. Al-Dahhak interpreted "the way of Allah" as the House of Allah (the Ka'bah), saying that their hindering from it means they prevented those seeking it; however, this is not strong.

The verse is general for everyone characterized by the title of "hindering." Ibn Abbas said: They—meaning those who disbelieved and hindered according to the second interpretation of sadd—are those who provided food on the day of the Great Battle of Badr. It is as if he meant those who enter into the generality [of the verse] primarily, for they were hinderers with their wealth and their persons, so their hindering was greater than the hindering of others who disbelieved and hindered from the way. The first among them to provide food, according to what is reported from the biography by Ibn Sayyid al-Nas, was Abu Jahl—may the curse of Allah be upon him—who slaughtered ten camels for the disbelievers of Quraysh when they set out from Mecca. Then Safwan ibn Umayyah slaughtered nine at Usfan; then Suhayl ibn ‘Amr slaughtered ten at Qadid; then Shaybah ibn Rabi’ah, having lost the path, slaughtered nine; then ‘Utbah ibn Rabi’ah slaughtered ten; then Miqyas ibn al-Jumahi slaughtered nine during a time of hardship; then Al-‘Abbas slaughtered ten; Al-Harith ibn ‘Amir slaughtered nine; and Abu al-Bakhtari slaughtered ten at the water of Badr, and Miqyas slaughtered nine. Then the war occupied them, so they ate from their provisions.

It is said they were six individuals: Nabih and Munabbih, the sons of Al-Hajjaj; ‘Utbah and Shaybah, the sons of Rabi’ah; and Abu Jahl and Al-Harith, the sons of Hisham. Muqatil added six others to them: ‘Amir ibn Nawfal, Hakim ibn Hizam, Zam’ah ibn al-Aswad, Al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, Safwan ibn Umayyah, and Abu Sufyan ibn Harb. Each one of them fed the Ahabish and the soldiers for one day, seeking their assistance against the war of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Counting Abu Sufyan among them, if the report is authentic, does not conflict with his being with the caravan, because the intent of "the day of Badr" is the time of its occurrence, thus including those who provided food on the road and during the duration of the event until it ended. Muqatil said: They were twelve men from among the polytheists who used to hinder people from Islam and command them to disbelieve. It is also said: They were devils from among the People of the Scripture who hindered those who wanted—whether from among them or others—to enter into Islam.

The relative pronoun [Those] is the subject, and its predicate is His saying: "He will waste their deeds"—meaning He annulled them, rendered them futile, and made them lost, having no effect or benefit at all. This is not in the sense that He, glory be to Him, annulled and thwarted them after they were otherwise, but rather that He, the Almighty and Majestic, decreed their invalidity and loss. Or, what is meant by "their deeds" are the acts of righteousness they performed, such as maintaining ties of kinship, hosting guests, ransoming captives, and other noble deeds.

It is permissible that the meaning is "He made them astray," meaning devoid of guidance, since He, Glory be to Him, did not grant them success to intend through them His, the Almighty’s, Countenance. Or "He made them lost," meaning unguided, based on the attribution. Those who say the verse is about the food-providers and their ilk say: The meaning is that He, the Almighty and Majestic, nullified the plot they executed against the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—such as the spending they incurred during their journey to fight him—and others for the sake of supporting His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and making His religion prevail over all religions. This is perhaps more consistent with what follows, and likewise with what has been said that the verse was revealed regarding Badr.