If you say: Where is the answer to the oath? I say: It is omitted, indicated by His saying, "Killed are the companions of the trench." It is as if it were said: I swear by these things that they are cursed, meaning the disbelievers of Quraysh, just as the companions of the trench were cursed. This is because the surah was revealed to strengthen the believers and to encourage them to be patient with the harm of the people of Mecca. It reminds them of what happened to those who preceded them: the torture for their faith, the various types of harm, and their patience and steadfastness, so that they may find comfort in them and endure what they faced from their people. They should know that their disbelievers in the sight of Allah are like those who were tortured and burned in the fire, truly cursed, deserving to be said about them: Quraysh was killed, just as it was said: The companions of the trench were killed. And the saying: "Killed is man, how ungrateful he is," was recited: killed, with emphasis. The trench is: the cleft in the ground, and it is similar in construction and meaning to the cleft and the clefts. From it, "And its legs sank in the clefts of the rats." It has been narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: There was a magician for some kings, and when he grew old, he took a boy to teach him magic. On the boy's way, there was a monk: he listened to him. One day, he saw a creature that was blocking the people. He took a stone and said: O Allah, if the monk is more beloved to You than the magician, kill it. So it was killed. After that, the boy would cure the blind and the leper, and he healed a blind companion of the king. The king saw him and asked him: Who restored your sight? He said: My Lord. The king became angry and tortured him. He pointed to the boy and tortured him, then pointed to the monk, but the monk did not turn back from his religion, so he was sawed in half. The boy refused and was taken to a mountain to be thrown from its peak. He prayed, and the people fell down, and he escaped. Then he was taken to a boat to drown him, and he prayed, and the boat capsized, and they drowned, and he escaped. He said to the king: I will not be killed until you gather the people in a plain and crucify me on a trunk and take an arrow from my quiver and say: In the name of Allah, the Lord of the boy, then throw it at me. So he threw it, and it struck his temple, and he placed his hand on it and died. The people said: We believe in the Lord of the boy. It was said to the king: What you feared has befallen you. So he ordered trenches to be dug at the mouths of the streets and fire to be lit in them. Whoever did not return to them was thrown into them until a woman came with a child and hesitated to fall into it. The child said: O mother, be patient, for you are upon the truth. So she jumped in. It was said: He said to her: Jump and do not hesitate. It was said: He said to her: It is only a moment, so be patient. This was narrated by Muslim, and at-Tirmidhi, and an-Nasa'i, and Ibn Hibban, and at-Tabari, and at-Tabarani, and Ahmad, and Ishaq, and Abu Ya'la, and al-Bazzar, all narrated it from the narration of Ibn Abi Layla from various chains, and the closest to the wording of the book is the narration of at-Tabari. It was uniquely narrated by Thabit al-Banani from Abdur-Rahman. And Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: When they disagreed about the rulings of the Magians, he said: They are people of the Book and they were adhering to their Book. Wine had been made lawful for them, so some of their kings consumed it and became drunk, and he had relations with his sister. When he became sober, he regretted and sought a way out. She said to him: The way out is that you address the people and say: O people, indeed Allah has made lawful the marriage of sisters, then address them afterward and say: Indeed Allah has prohibited it. So he addressed them, but they did not accept from him. She said to him: Strike them with a whip, but they did not accept. She said to him: Strike them with the sword, but they did not accept. So she commanded him to dig trenches and light fires and throw those who refused into them. They are the ones whom Allah intended with His saying: "Killed are the companions of the trench." This was narrated by Muslim, and at-Tirmidhi, and an-Nasa'i, and Abu Ya'la, and at-Tabari, and at-Tabarani, and Ahmad, and Ishaq, and al-Bazzar, all narrated it from the narration of Abdur-Rahman ibn Hamid, and at-Tabari narrated it from the narration of Ja'far ibn Abi al-Mughira from Abdur-Rahman ibn Ayyiz who said: When the Muslims defeated the people of al-Isfahan, they turned back, and Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, came to them. They gathered and said: What is to be done regarding the rulings on the Magians?

They are not the people of the Book. And they are not among the polytheists of the Arabs. He said: They are the people of the Book. So he mentioned it. And the narration of al-Tabari is more complete than this. It is said: A man from those who were on the religion of Jesus, may peace be upon him, went to Najran, and he called them, and they responded to him. Then Dhul-Nawas, the Jew, marched against them with soldiers from Himyar. He offered them a choice between fire and Judaism, and they refused. He burned twelve thousand of them in the trenches. It is said: seventy thousand. Ibn Ishaq narrated this in the Sirah, and Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad narrated to me from Muhammad ibn Ka'b. So he mentioned it at length. It was mentioned that the length of the trench is forty cubits and its width is twelve cubits. Al-Thalabi transmitted this from al-Kalbi. And it is reported from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that whenever he mentioned the companions of the trench, he sought refuge from severe trials. The fire is a part of the trench that has fuel, described as a great fire that has much wood and the bodies of people to raise its flames. And it was recited: the fuel, with a dammah, as it is a place for killing, meaning they were cursed when they were surrounded by the fire, sitting around it. The meaning of 'upon it' is what is close to it from the edges of the trench, as in His saying:

And the dew and the circling [around the fire]

This has been explained in the third part, page 53, so refer to it if you wish, the corrector said.

And just as you say: it passed over him, meaning: elevated to a place close to it. And the meaning of their testimony against the burning of the believers is that they were entrusted with that and made witnesses to testify to one another before the king that none of them neglected what they were commanded and entrusted with regarding the torture. It is also possible that it is meant that they are witnesses to what they do to the believers, and they will bear witness on the Day of Resurrection:

The day their tongues, hands, and feet will testify against them for what they used to do.

And what they found fault with them, and what they criticized and denied, was nothing but faith, as in His saying:

And there is no fault in them except that their swords

This has been explained in the second part, page 142, so refer to it if you wish, the corrector said.

Ibn al-Ruqayyat said:

What they found fault with the Banu Umayyah was only that they were patient when angry.

This is from Qays al-Ruqayyat. And 'naqamu' means they hated: and 'hilm' means patience: he says: they made the best of things, which is patience in anger, something ugly. It is possible that the subject of both actions is the pronoun referring to the Banu Umayyah. It is also possible that the first is for them, and the second for the ones who found fault. And it contains the following praise that resembles blame for the sake of exaggeration in praise, as they made patience in anger a blame, while it is the utmost in praise. And it is narrated: what people found fault with, and based on it, the correct way is to drop 'between' for the sake of meter. And Abu Haywah recited: 'naqamu', with a kasrah, and the eloquent way is with a fathah. And he mentioned the attributes that make Him worthy of being believed in and worshiped, which are His being Mighty, Prevailing, Capable, feared for His punishment, Praiseworthy, and Bestowing. Praise is due to Him for His blessings, and His reward is hoped for. To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, so everyone in them is obligated to worship Him and show humility to Him in reverence, because what they found fault with them is the truth, which only a false one immersed in misguidance would find fault with. And indeed, those who find fault are deserving of Allah's vengeance upon them with a punishment that cannot be compared to any punishment. And Allah is Witness over all things, a warning to them, meaning He knows what they have done, and He will reward them for it.