Tafsir of Al-Hashr 59:6

(And what Allah restored to His Messenger from them) This is the commencement of an explanation regarding the status of the wealth taken from them, following the description of the punishment that befell their persons—both immediate and delayed—and what happened to their homes and palm trees in terms of destruction and cutting. It means: what Allah the Exalted restored to His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) from those disbelievers, namely the Banu al-Nadir.

"What" (ma) is a relative pronoun functioning as the subject (mubtada'), and the sentence following it is the conjunctive clause, with the referent ('a'id) being implicit, as we have indicated. The sentence associated with the fa thereafter is the predicate. It is also permissible for it to be a conditional sentence, with the following sentence being the answer to the condition. What is meant by what He—the Glorified and Exalted—restored to him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) from them is the wealth they possessed which remained after their expulsion.

The meaning of "restoring" it to him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is transferring it to him. Even if this does not strictly necessitate that it had previously belonged to him—similar to what is said regarding the Almighty's statement: "Or you will return to our creed"—it is apparent [in its meaning]; and if it does necessitate prior possession in the context mentioned, it is metaphorical. It carries an implication that this wealth was inherently suited to belong to him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and had only fallen into their hands unjustly, so Allah the Exalted returned it to its rightful owner. Such is the status of all the wealth of the disbelievers that becomes fay' (spoils) for the believers, for Allah the Exalted created mankind for His worship and created the wealth of the world as a means to reach obedience to Him; thus, it is more fitting that it should belong to those who obey Him. This is why the booty obtained without hardship is called fay', even though [etymologically] it comes from the return of shade. Al-Raghib conveys from some that it is named as such by analogy to the fay' which is shade, as a warning that the noblest of worldly objects act like a vanishing shadow.

"Restored" (afa'a), according to al-Bahr, carries the meaning of the present tense. If "what" (ma) is conditional, this is evident. If it is a relative pronoun, then because when the fa appears in its predicate, it resembles the conditional noun. If the verse was revealed before their expulsion, it would be a report of the unseen; if it was revealed after their expulsion and their wealth had come into the Messenger's hand, it would be an explanation of what is to come, and the ruling of the past is the same as the future. The reports indicate that it was revealed afterwards. It is narrated that when the Banu al-Nadir were expelled from their homes and abandoned their estates and wealth, the Muslims requested that it be divided into fifths like the spoils of Badr. Then [this verse] was revealed: (And what Allah restored to His Messenger from them...) until (...you did not spur on any horse or camel). Thus, it belonged solely to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and others narrated from Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The wealth of the Banu al-Nadir was among what Allah the Exalted restored to His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) without the Muslims spurring on any horse or camel for it. It belonged solely to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and he would spend from it for his family for a year, then place the remainder into weapons and horses as equipment for the cause of Allah the Exalted."

Al-Dahhak said: It belonged solely to him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), so he favored the emigrants with it and distributed it among them, and gave nothing of it to the Helpers (Ansar) except for Abu Dujana Simak ibn Kharasha, Sahl ibn Hunayf, and al-Harith ibn al-Simma; he gave to them due to their poverty. Ibn Hisham mentioned something similar, though he mentioned the first two and did not mention al-Harith, and likewise Ibn Sayyid al-Nas did not mention him, and he noted that he gave Sa'd ibn Mu'adh a sword belonging to Ibn Abi al-Huqayq which had a reputation among them.

The meaning of (you did not spur on) is that you did not gallop to obtain it, derived from wajif (speed of travel). Abu Hayyan cited as evidence the verse of Nusayb: "How many a party whose galloping you have hastened toward you, and were it not for you, the parties would not have galloped." Ibn Hisham said: (You spurred on) means you moved and exhausted in travel, and he cited the verse of Tamim ibn Muqbil: "Since the polished white swords were handled, away from the party at times when the party spurred on." The outcome is one.

The "from" (min) in the Almighty's statement: (of horses) is an intensifier in the object to signify completeness, as if it were said: "You did not spur on against it a single horse at all, nor camel." It signifies that which is ridden, for the term "rider" (rakib) is used predominantly for those upon a camel, just as "horseman" (faris) is for one upon a horse or donkey and the like. It is not used in the most eloquent usage: "rider" for someone on a horse or donkey; rather, one says "horseman" and the like, even if the word [in language] is general. They did not actually use horses or camels, but walked on foot to the fortresses of the Banu al-Nadir, except for the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who was on a donkey or a camel as previously mentioned, because they were near—about two miles from Medina. The intended meaning is that what was obtained was not achieved through hardship or combat worth noting on your part. This is why he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did not give any of it to the Helpers except those I mentioned. As for his giving to the Emigrants, it may be because they were strangers, and their state of being strangers was treated as equivalent to being on a journey or in jihad.

When it was pointed out that obtaining this was not due to their work, the cause of its attainment was indicated by His saying, the Almighty: (But Allah gives His messengers power over whom He wills). That is, but His custom—the Almighty—is to give His messengers power over whom He wills from among their enemies, a special empowerment. He gave His Messenger, Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), power over these people in an unusual way, without you having to plunge into the straits of calamities or endure the severities of war. Therefore, you have no right to their wealth, and its disposal is delegated to him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). (And Allah is over all things competent); He does as He wills, how He wills, sometimes through known methods and other times through others. It is said that the verse is about Fadak, as the Banu al-Nadir were besieged and fought, unlike the people of Fadak. This is contrary to what is established by the reports, as what occurred was a struggle not worth counting.