Surah al-Hashr

Al-Biqa'i said: It is named Surah Bani al-Nadir. Al-Bukhari and others narrated from Ibn Jubayr who said: I said to Ibn Abbas, "Surah al-Hashr?" He replied, "Say: Surah Bani al-Nadir." Ibn Hajar said: It is as if he disliked naming it 'al-Hashr' (The Gathering) so that it would not be thought that the intent behind it is the Day of Resurrection, whereas the intent here is the expulsion of Banu al-Nadir.

It is Medinan, and its verses are twenty-four without dispute. Its connection to what precedes it is that at the end of the previous [surah] it is stated: "Allah has written: 'I shall surely overcome, I and My messengers,'" and at the beginning of this one: "Allah came upon them from where they did not expect, and He cast terror into their hearts." At the end of that one, those who oppose Allah and His Messenger were mentioned, and at the beginning of this one, those who defy Allah and His Messenger are mentioned. In the first, the hypocrites and the Jews and their mutual alliance were mentioned, and in this one is mentioned what befell the Jews and how the alliance of the hypocrites did not avail them in the slightest.

It has been narrated that Banu al-Nadir had made a peace treaty with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that they would neither be against him nor for him. When he appeared on the day of Badr, they said, "He is the Prophet who was described in the Torah; his banner shall not be repelled." But when the Muslims were defeated on the day of Uhud, they doubted and broke their covenant. Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf went out with forty riders to Mecca and formed an alliance against him with Quraysh at the Kaaba. Jibril (peace be upon him) informed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) of that, so he ordered the killing of Ka’b. Muhammad ibn Maslamah killed him by treachery while he was a bridegroom, after his foster brother, Abu Na'ilah Silkan ibn Salamah—one of the Banu 'Abd al-Ashhal—had taken him by the forelock of his head.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had discovered treachery from them when he came to them seeking their help with the blood money for the two men from Banu 'Amir whom 'Amr ibn Umayyah al-Damri had killed upon his return from Bi'r Ma'una. They intended to drop a stone upon him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), but Allah protected him.

After Ka’b was killed by some months—according to the correct view, not immediately after, as some have claimed—the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered preparation for war against them and to march toward them. This was in the year four, in the month of Rabi' al-Awwal. They were in a village called al-Zahra. The Muslims marched with him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while he was on a donkey haltered with palm fiber—some say on a camel—and he appointed Ibn Maktum over Medina.

When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) reached them, he found them mourning over Ka’b. They said, "Leave us to weep for our sorrows, then we will obey your command." He said, "Depart from Medina." They replied, "Death is closer to us than that," and they called each other to war. It is said they asked him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for ten days to prepare for departure.

The hypocrites, led by 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy and his cohorts, sent word to them not to leave their fortress, saying, "If they fight you, we are with you and will surely support you; and if you are expelled, we will go out with you." So they fortified the lanes and secured them. Then they agreed upon treachery against the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). They said, "Come out with thirty of your companions, and thirty of us will come out so they may hear from you; if they believe you, we will all believe." He did so. Then they said, "How can we understand while we are sixty? Come out with three, and three of our scholars will come out to you." He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did so, but they concealed daggers and intended to assassinate him. A woman among them who was a well-wisher sent word to her brother—who was a Muslim—and informed him of what they intended. He hurried to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and whispered the news to him before he could reach them.

The next day, he advanced upon them with the battalions and besieged them for six nights, as Ibn Hisham said in his Sirah, though it is also said for twenty-one nights. Allah cast terror into their hearts, and they despaired of the support of the hypocrites, so they requested peace. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) refused them anything but expulsion, on the condition that every three households could carry on a camel whatever they wished of their belongings. They departed for the Levant, to Jericho and Adhri'at, except for the people of two households among them: the family of Salam ibn Abi al-Huqayq, the family of Kinanah ibn al-Rabi' ibn Abi al-Huqayq, and the family of Huyayy ibn Akhtab; they joined Khaybar, and a group joined al-Hirah.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) seized their wealth and weapons, finding fifty coats of mail, fifty helmets, and three hundred and forty swords. Ibn Ubayy had said to them, "I have two thousand of my people and others who will support you, and the Banu Qurayzah and your allies from Ghatafan will support you." But when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) besieged them, the Banu Qurayzah distanced themselves from them, and Ibn Ubayy and their allies from Ghatafan abandoned them. Then Allah the Almighty revealed His saying: ...

Surah Al-Hashr: (1)

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

"Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth glorifies Allah, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise."

...up to His saying, the Exalted: "And Allah is over all things competent."

The discussion regarding the equivalent of this sentence has already preceded at the beginning of Surah Al-Hadid. The relative pronoun (ma) is repeated here for the sake of additional affirmation and to alert [the reader] to the independence of each of the two groups [in the heavens and the earth] in their glorification. And His saying, the Exalted: