that extended through the ground like a river. They gathered a great quantity of firewood and burned the believers in it—we seek refuge in Allah. Hence He says: ﴿the fire full of fuel﴾, meaning that the trench was a trench of fire. ﴿Full of fuel﴾ means that it contained a great quantity of blazing firewood.

﴿When they sat around it﴾ means that those who dug the trenches and cast the believers into them possessed such power and tyranny—we seek refuge in Allah—that they watched the fire devour those human beings while they sat around it upon couches, amusing themselves as though nothing were happening. Such is tyranny: a person watches human beings being devoured by fire while sitting upon his couch, enjoying conversation and remaining utterly unconcerned. ﴿And witnessed what they did to the believers﴾ means that they were present as witnesses to what they did to the believers; nothing they did to them escaped their sight. They therefore deserved this threat. Indeed, they deserved the punishment Allah inflicted upon them: He destroyed them, cursed them, cast them out, and banished them from His mercy.

﴿They resented them only because they believed in Allah—the Almighty, the Praiseworthy﴾. That is, the only thing these people who fed the fire with the bodies of those believers found objectionable was their belief in Allah—Mighty and Majestic is He: ﴿only because they believed in Allah—the Almighty, the Praiseworthy﴾. This is a rhetorical intensification of censure through what resembles praise, for belief in Allah is no grounds for condemnation. Their condemnation is itself far more deserving of condemnation, because one who believes in Allah, the Almighty and Praiseworthy, ought to be assisted and supported, and his way made easy. As for obstructing and restraining him to the point of burning him in the fire, there is no doubt that this is a grave transgression. Their faith was not something for which they should be reproached; rather, they deserved praise for it, because they worshipped the One who is worthy of worship: Allah, Glorious and Exalted, who created all beings so that they might worship Him. Whoever fulfils this worship has understood the purpose behind creation and accorded it its due.

Regarding His words, ﴿only because they believed in Allah—the Almighty, the Praiseworthy﴾, the Almighty is the One who prevails and whom nothing can overcome. He—Glorified and Exalted is He—possesses supremacy, might, and irresistible dominion over everyone. When the hypocrites said, ﴿If we return to Medina, the mightier will surely expel the weaker from it﴾, Allah Most High said: ﴿But might belongs to Allah, His Messenger, and the believers