His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And Allah turned back those who disbelieved with their rage; they did not attain any good. And Allah sufficed the believers in battle. And Allah is All-Strong, All-Mighty." "And He caused those of the People of the Book who supported them to come down from their fortresses and cast terror into their hearts; a group you kill and a group you take captive." "And He made you inherit their land, their homes, and their wealth, and a land you had not trodden. And Allah is capable of all things." (p-109) Allah, the Exalted, enumerated in this verse His blessings upon the believers in the defeat of the confederates. And that Allah turned them back with their rage; they did not recover anything from it, nor did they attain their desire. And Allah sufficed all who were with the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, to fight the confederates. It has been narrated that the intended meaning of the believers here is Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, and a group with him who prepared for battle and came forth and called to it. It was said that He meant a man from the polytheists named Amr ibn Abd Wudd, so Allah sufficed them from the persistence of that and his call by defeating the confederates with the wind and the angels, and He did that with His strength and might. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said: "We were delayed on the day of the trench, so we did not pray the noon, nor the afternoon, nor the sunset, nor the night prayer, until after the night had fallen. Then Allah, blessed and exalted is He, revealed: 'And Allah sufficed the believers in battle.' And the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, commanded Bilal, and he established the prayer, and he performed the noon prayer excellently, then likewise for every prayer with the establishment of the prayer."

And His saying, exalted is He: "And He sent down those who supported them" refers to Banu Qurayzah, according to the consensus of the interpreters. Al-Rummani said: And Al-Hasan said: Those who sent them down from their fortresses are Banu Nadir. And the people said: They are Banu Qurayzah. This is because when they betrayed the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and supported the factions against him, Allah intended punishment for them. So when the factions departed, Gabriel, peace be upon him, came to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, at the time of Dhuhr and said: O Muhammad, indeed Allah, exalted is He, commands you to go out to Banu Qurayzah. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, called out to the people and said to them: "Let none of you pray the 'Asr prayer except in Banu Qurayzah." So the people went out to them, and a group of the Companions reached them after 'Isha and they had not prayed 'Asr, standing by the words of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and he did not correct them in that. A group prayed on the way, and they saw that the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, was merely an emphasis, and he did not correct them either. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, besieged Banu Qurayzah for twenty-five nights, then they submitted to the judgment of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, may Allah be pleased with him, and there was an alliance between them and the Aws, so they hoped for his kindness towards them. Sa'd judged that the fighters should be killed, the children and families taken captive, and the property should belong to the emigrants rather than the helpers. The helpers said to him regarding that, and he said: I wanted them to have property just as you have property. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said to him: "You have judged them with the judgment of the King from above seven heavens." Then the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, ordered that their men be brought out and their necks be struck, and they were from eight hundred to nine hundred. And among them was Huwayy ibn Akhtab al-Nadri, who had brought them into betrayal against the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. So when the factions departed, he entered among them, and he was loyal to them. He was captured until he was brought forth to the judgment of Sa'd. When he was brought near, he was wearing two fine garments, and his hands were tied to his neck, and he saw the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and said to him: O Muhammad, by Allah, I did not blame myself for my enmity towards you, and I have strived, but whoever forsakes Allah is forsaken. Then he said: O people, there is no harm; indeed, it is the command of Allah and His decree, and a battle that has been written against Banu Israel. Then he advanced and his neck was struck. In this, Jabal ibn Jawwal al-Thalabi says:

"By your life, the son of Akhtab did not blame himself, But whoever forsakes Allah is forsaken. He would strive until he reached the excuse of his soul, And he would seek honor, every seeker of honor."

And His saying: "They supported them" means: They assisted them. And Abdullah ibn Mas'ud read: "Those who supported them," which is synonymous with: They supported them. And the fortresses are the strongholds, and one of them is a fortress, which is everything by which one defends oneself. Hence, it is said for the horns of cattle: fortresses. Fortresses also refer to the thorns of the thornbush, which are made of iron. And from this is the saying of Durayd ibn al-Simmah:

"Like the sound of the fortresses in the stretched fabric."

And the killed group refers to the fighting men, and the captured group refers to the families and children.

And the majority read: "And you will capture" with a kasra on the sīn, while Abū Haywah read: "And you will capture" with a damma on the sīn.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And He has made you inherit" is a metaphor, in that it occurred for them after the death of others and their killing. And His saying: "And a land which you have not trodden" refers to the lands that were opened after, such as Iraq, the Levant, Yemen, and Mecca. So the promise of Allah, exalted is He, regarding it was at the conquest of the fortresses of Banī Qurayẓah, and He informed that He had decreed that, as stated by Ikrimah. And al-Ṭabarī mentioned from some groups that they specified that, so al-Ḥasan said: He meant the Romans and Persians, and Qatādah said: We used to say that it is Mecca. And Yazīd ibn Rūmān, Muqātil, and Ibn Zayd said: It is Khaybar, while another group said: Yemen.

The judge Abū Muḥammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And there is no reason to specify anything from that without something else.