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

'Tafsir of Surah Al-Hashr'

This surah is Madani by consensus of the scholars. It is the surah of Banu Nadir. This is because 'the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, had made a pact with Banu Nadir for peace, and they believed that no banner would be turned back from them. When the defeat of Uhud occurred, they became suspicious and allied with Quraysh and betrayed. When the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, returned from Uhud, he became aware of the beliefs of Banu Nadir and their betrayal of their pact and their alliance with the disbelievers. So he gathered them and besieged them and made a pact with them to expel them from their land. They then migrated to different lands: Khaybar, Sham, and other places. Then the matter of Banu Qurayzah was the outcome of the confederates.'

Allah, the Exalted, said: ﴿Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth glorifies Allah, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise﴾ ﴿It is He who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think that they would go out, and they thought that their fortresses would protect them from Allah. But Allah came to them from where they did not expect, and He cast terror into their hearts, so they were destroying their own houses by their own hands and the hands of the believers. So take heed, O people of vision﴾

The saying about the glorification of the inanimate objects that are included in 'whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth' has been previously mentioned. The scholars have differed about this. Some said: this is literal. Others said: this is metaphorical, meaning that the effects of creation in them and the existence of them are like glorification and a call to glorification from those who have the ability to glorify. And Makki said: 'Glorified' means: prayed and prostrated. All of this means submission and obedience. 'The Exalted in Might, the Wise' are two attributes appropriate for what follows in the story of the enemy whom He expelled from their homes.

And ﴿those who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture﴾ are Banu Nadir. They were a great tribe of Banu Israel, comparable in status and rank to Banu Qurayzah. The two tribes were called 'the two priests' because they are from the descendants of the priest son of Aaron. Their land and fortresses were close to Medina, and they had date palms and great wealth. 'When the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, returned from Uhud, he went out to Banu Nadir and besieged them and expelled them on the condition that they carry away from their wealth what the camels could carry, except for the weapons, which is all the arms. So they left for different lands.' This is His saying, the Exalted: ﴿It is He who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture from their homes﴾.

And His saying, exalted is He: "For the first gathering". The people have differed in the meaning of that after their agreement that "the gathering" is the collection and direction towards a certain place. Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan and others said: He meant the gathering of the Day of Resurrection, meaning: this is its beginning, and the rising from the graves is its end. It has been narrated from al-Hasan that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said to them: "Proceed, this is the first gathering and we are on your trail." And Ikrimah, al-Zahrawi, and others said: The meaning is: for the first place of gathering, which is al-Sham, because most of Banu al-Nadir came to al-Sham. It has been narrated that the gathering of the Day of Resurrection is towards al-Sham and that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said to Banu al-Nadir: "Leave," they said: Where to, O Muhammad? He said: "To the land of the gathering." And a group said - in the book of al-Mahdawi - that the intended gathering is in this world, which is the expulsion and removal. This is what the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, did to Banu al-Nadir at the beginning, and what Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, did to the people of Khaybar is the end. The verse has informed of an absence, and the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, has informed of the expulsion of the people of Khaybar. It is possible that the end of the gathering is in the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, in his illness: "There will not remain two religions in the Arabian Peninsula," for that implies the expulsion of their remnants. Al-Khalil said - in what al-Zajjaj narrated -: It was named an island because it is surrounded by the sea of Abyssinia, the sea of Persia, and the Tigris and Euphrates. In this surrounding, there is consideration.

And His saying, exalted is He: "What did you think that they would come out" means: due to their stronghold and their large number, your hopes and thoughts did not reach that they would come out and leave their wealth for you. Based on that stronghold, number, and fortification, they thought that no one would be able to overpower them. And His saying, exalted is He: "From Allah" means: from the soldiers of Allah and the party of Allah. And His saying, exalted is He: "So Allah came to them from where they did not expect" is an expression of Allah, exalted is He, granting victory to the Muslims over them and placing them in a state of defeat and humiliation. The majority read: "the terror" with the 'ayn being silent, and Abu Ja'far and Shaybah read: "the terror" with the 'ayn being pronounced.

And the interpreters differed in the meaning of His saying, the Most High: ﴿They are destroying their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers﴾. Al-Dahhak, Al-Zajjaj, and others said: Whenever the Muslims demolished their fortifications in battle, they destroyed them from the houses and repaired the fortress as a habit. This is the meaning of their destruction. Al-Zuhri and others said: They would not leave a good piece of wood, nor a beam, nor a post, except that they uprooted it and destroyed the houses from it. And His saying, the Most High: ﴿and the hands of the believers﴾, in that their actions with their disbelief are a cause for the destruction of the believers' houses, so it is as if they have destroyed them with the hands of the believers. A group of the interpreters said: When they resolved to leave, they were stingy about leaving the houses intact for the believers, so they demolished and destroyed them as a means of corruption for those who would come. And Qatadah said: The believers destroyed from the outside to enter, and they destroyed from the inside. The majority of the reciters read: "They are destroying" with the خاء being silent and the راء being lightened. Abu Amr alone, and Al-Hasan - with a difference from him - and Qatadah, and Isa read: "They are destroying" with the خاء being opened and the راء being stressed. A group of scholars of language said: The two readings have the same meaning. And Abu Amr ibn Al-Ala said: "To destroy" means: to demolish and corrupt, and "to cause to be destroyed" means: to leave the place in ruins and depart from it.

Then let the Blessed and Exalted alert the believers and others who have the ability to look at the support of His Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him, and His action towards those who opposed him and contended with him by His saying: ﴿So take a lesson, O you who have eyes﴾, meaning: the minds and understandings.