Medinan, and it is thirteen verses. [The phrase "Medinan and it is thirteen verses" is a wording that indicates Meccan and Medinan, which is omitted from the version it was transmitted from, and it may be a mistake of the transcriber. In the copies and in the books of tafsir, it is stated that it is Medinan, and thus we placed it in this version as you see. Then I saw in some copies that it is Meccan, but its verses and the reason for its revelation indicate that it is Medinan, so it should be clarified. (A)] [Revealed after Al-Ahzab] 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.'

It is narrated that a woman belonging to Abu Amr ibn Sayfi ibn Hashim, named Sarah, came to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, in Medina while he was preparing for the conquest. He said to her: "Did you come as a Muslim?" She said: "No." He said: "Did you come as a migrant?" She said: "No." He said: "Then what brought you here?" She said: "You were the family, the allies, and the tribe, and the allies have gone, meaning: they were killed on the Day of Badr, so I was in great need." [[Thus mentioned by Al-Thalabi, Al-Baghawi, and Al-Wahidi without a chain of narration. It has a significant contradiction with what is in the two Sahihs, which are narrated therein through the route of Abdullah ibn Abi Rafi' from Ali and through the route of Abu Abdur-Rahman Al-Sulami from Ali. In a narration by Ibn Hibban from Ali, he said: "I, Al-Zubair, Talhah, and Al-Miqdad went out," and Ibn Ishaq narrated in the Sirah that Muhammad ibn Ja'far ibn Al-Zubair told me from Urwah ibn Al-Zubair and others from our scholars. He said: "When the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, resolved to march to Mecca, Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah wrote a letter to the Quraysh informing them of his matter, then he gave it to a woman whom Muhammad ibn Ja'far claimed was from Muzayna. He promised her a reward to deliver it to the Quraysh. She placed it in her hair, then braided her hair around it, and then set out with it. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, received news from the heavens about what Hatib had done," and he mentioned the story. Al-Waqidi narrated through Yazid ibn Ruman, and he called her Kanud and mentioned that the reward was ten dinars. Al-Tabari, Ibn Abi Hatim, and Abu Ya'la narrated through Abu Al-Bakhtari from Al-Harith from Ali, who said: "When the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, intended to come to Mecca, he confided to some of his companions that he intended to go to Mecca, among them was Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah, and he spread among the people that he intended to go to Khaybar - so Hatib wrote - and he mentioned it." In it, he said: "I brought it out from her."]] So he urged Banu Abd Al-Muttalib, and they clothed her and provided her with supplies. Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah gave her ten dinars and clothed her in a cloak, and he asked her to carry a letter to the people of Mecca, which he wrote: "From Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah to the people of Mecca, know that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, intends to come to you, so take caution." So Sarah set out, and Gabriel descended with the news. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, sent Ali, Ammar, Umar, Talhah, Al-Zubair, Al-Miqdad, and Abu Marthad - and they were horsemen - and said: "Go until you reach Rawdat Khakh, for there is a woman with a letter from Hatib to the people of Mecca. Take it from her and let her go. If she refuses, then strike her neck." They caught up with her, and she denied it and swore an oath. They were about to turn back, and Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "By Allah, we did not lie, nor did the Messenger of Allah lie," and he drew his sword and said: "Produce the letter or I will strike your head." She brought it out from the braid of her hair. It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, granted security to all the people on the Day of the Conquest except for four: she is one of them. [[Thus narrated by Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Dala'il and Ibn Mardawayh through the route of Al-Hakam ibn Abdul Malik from Qatadah from Anas. And he named them:

Abdul Aziz bin Hanzalah, and Muqais bin Sababah, and Abdullah bin Sa'd bin Abi Sarh, and Umm Sarah, a freed woman of Quraysh, and his wording is close to the wording of the Book. In Al-Daraqutni, from the route of Umar bin Othman bin Abdul Rahman bin Sa'id Al-Makhzumi, from his father, from his grandfather, he said: "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, spared the people except for four and named them, except that he said: 'Al-Huwairith bin Naqidh and Sarah.'" Ibn Ishaq mentioned it without a chain and mentioned the five, and said in it: 'And Sarah is a freed woman of some of Banu Abdul Muttalib.' Al-Daraqutni also narrated it, and Al-Hakim from the route of Mus'ab bin Sa'd from his father, and he replaced Sarah with Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl. Al-Waqidi said in Al-Maghazi, and Ibn Sa'd followed him: "The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, commanded on the Day of the Conquest to kill six men and four women: Ikrimah, and Habar bin Al-Aswad, and Abdullah bin Hanzalah, and Ibn Abi Sarh, and Mus'ab bin Sababah, and Al-Huwairith bin Nufail, and Hind bint Utbah, and Sarah, a freed woman of Umar bin Hashim, and Marina and Marinah. So, they killed Ibn Hanzalah, Muqais, and Al-Huwairith." Then the Messenger of Allah summoned Hatib and said: "What led you to do this?" He said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have not disbelieved since I embraced Islam, nor have I deceived you since I advised you. I have not loved them since I parted from them, but I was a man attached to Quraysh. I was honored among them, meaning: a stranger, and I was not one of their own. Everyone with you from the emigrants has relatives in Mecca who protect their families and their wealth except for me. I feared for my family, so I wanted to establish a favor with them, and I knew that Allah, the Exalted, would bring down His punishment upon them. And my letter would not benefit them at all. So he believed him and accepted his excuse. Umar said: "O Messenger of Allah, let me strike the neck of this hypocrite." He said: "And what do you know, O Umar? Perhaps Allah has looked at the people of Badr and said to them: 'Do whatever you wish, for I have forgiven you.'" Then Umar's eyes overflowed with tears and he said: "Allah and His Messenger know best." Then it was revealed. The word 'take' is directed to its two objects, which are 'enemies' and 'allies.' The enemy is a form of 'fa'ool,' from 'ada,' like 'af'ool' from 'afa.' And since it is in the form of a source, it is applied to the plural as it is applied to the singular. If you say: 'You throw,' what does it relate to? I say: It may relate to 'do not take' as a condition of its pronoun, and to 'allies' as a description of it. It may also be an independent statement. If you say: 'If you made it a description of allies and it was not applied to the one who is being addressed, then where is the clear pronoun?' And your saying: 'You throw to them, you with affection?' I say: That is only required in names and not in actions. If it were said: 'Allies throwing to them with affection' as a description, the clear pronoun would have to be present. And throwing is an expression of conveying affection and delivering it to them: it is said: 'He threw to him Khurashi his chest.' And the 'ba' in 'with affection' is either extra for emphasis to indicate transference like in 'And do not throw with your own hands into destruction,' or it is established on the basis that the object of 'you throw' is omitted, meaning: 'You throw to them the news of the Messenger of Allah due to the affection between you and them.' Likewise, His saying: 'You conceal to them with affection' means: 'You deliver to them your affection secretly.' Or you are secretly conveying to them the message of the Messenger of Allah due to the affection. If you say: 'And they have disbelieved,' what is it a condition of? I say: Either from 'do not take' or from 'you throw,' meaning: 'Do not be loyal to them or show them affection,' and this is their condition. And 'they expel' is an independent statement, explaining their disbelief and their rebellion.

Or a state of those who disbelieved. And that you believe is a reason for them to expel you, meaning they will expel you because of your faith. And if you have exited is related to do not take, meaning: do not take my enemies as allies if you are my supporters. And the saying of the grammarians in such a case is: it is a conditional sentence whose response is omitted due to what precedes it indicating it. And you conceal is an initiation, and its meaning is: what benefit do you have in your concealment when you know that secrecy and announcement are the same in My knowledge, there is no difference between them, and I am aware of what My Messenger knows of what you conceal. And whoever does this concealment has missed the path of truth and correctness. And Al-Jahdari read: when they came to you, meaning: they disbelieved because of what came to you, meaning: that what should have been the reason for their faith, they made it a reason for their disbelief. If they can capture you, if they gain victory over you and are able to overpower you, they will be for you enemies with pure enmity, and they will not be your allies as you are. And they will extend to you their hands and tongues with evil through fighting and cursing, and they wish that you would renounce your religion. So, indeed, having affection for such as them and advising them is a great mistake from you and a deception for yourselves. And similar is His saying, 'They do not spare you any harm.' If you say: how is it that the response to the condition is in the present tense, then he said: and they wished in the past tense? I say: the past tense, although it runs in the conditional sentence like the present tense in the science of grammar, has a point; as if it were said: and they wished before anything else for your disbelief and renunciation, meaning: that they want to inflict upon you the harms of this world and religion altogether: from killing souls, tearing apart honor, and returning you as disbelievers. Returning you as disbelievers is the foremost of the harms to them and the first of them, for they know that religion is more precious to you than your souls, because you are willing to sacrifice them for it, and the enemy's most important concern is to target the most precious thing to its owner.