Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (659)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(9–11) “O you who believe, remember Allah’s favor upon you when armies came against you, and We sent against them a wind and armies you could not see. Allah is All-Seeing of what you do. * When they came at you from above and from below, when eyes grew wild, hearts rose to the throats, and you entertained all manner of thoughts about Allah. * There the believers were tested and shaken with a mighty shaking.”

Allah, Exalted is He, reminds His believing servants of His favor upon them and urges them to give thanks for it. The forces of the people of Mecca and the Hijaz came against them from above, while those of Najd came from below. They bound themselves by covenant ⦗660⦘ and pledge to annihilate the Messenger and his Companions. This occurred during the Battle of the Trench.

[Groups] (1) of the Jews living around Medina joined forces with them, and thus they came with vast armies made up of many peoples.

The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—had a trench dug around Medina. They then besieged the city, and the situation grew dire. Hearts rose to the throats, and many people began entertaining every conceivable thought because they saw the formidable means arrayed against them and the severity of the hardships. The siege of Medina continued for a long time, and conditions remained as Allah described: “When eyes grew wild, hearts rose to the throats, and you entertained all manner of thoughts about Allah”—that is, evil thoughts that Allah would not support His religion or fulfill His word.

“There the believers were tested” by this tremendous trial “and shaken with a mighty shaking” through fear, anxiety, and hunger, so that their faith might be made evident and their certainty increased. Their faith and profound certainty then became manifest—praise be to Allah—to such a degree that, in this regard, they surpassed those of earlier and later generations.

When anguish intensified and hardships compounded, their faith reached the certainty of direct witnessing: “When the believers saw the confederate forces, they said, ‘This is what Allah and His Messenger promised us, and Allah and His Messenger have spoken the truth.’ And it only increased them in faith and submission.”

There the hypocrisy of the hypocrites became clear, and what they had concealed came to light. Allah, Exalted is He, says:

(1) Added from manuscript B.

﴿٩ - ١١﴾ ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَاءَتْكُمْ جُنُودٌ فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ رِيحًا وَجُنُودًا لَمْ تَرَوْهَا وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرًا * إِذْ جَاءُوكُمْ مِنْ فَوْقِكُمْ وَمِنْ أَسْفَلَ مِنْكُمْ وَإِذْ زَاغَتِ الأبْصَارُ وَبَلَغَتِ الْقُلُوبُ الْحَنَاجِرَ وَتَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ الظُّنُونَا * هُنَالِكَ ابْتُلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَزُلْزِلُوا زِلْزَالا شَدِيدًا﴾ . يذكر تعالى عباده المؤمنين، نعمته عليهم، ويحثهم على شكرها، حين جاءتهم جنود أهل مكة والحجاز، من فوقهم، وأهل نجد، من أسفل منهم، وتعاقدوا ⦗٦٦٠⦘ وتعاهدوا على استئصال الرسول والصحابة، وذلك في وقعة الخندق. ومالأتهم [طوائف] (١) اليهود، الذين حوالي المدينة، فجاءوا بجنود عظيمة وأمم كثيرة. وخندق رسول الله ﷺ، على المدينة، فحصروا المدينة، واشتد الأمر، وبلغت القلوب الحناجر، حتى بلغ الظن من كثير من الناس كل مبلغ، لما رأوا من الأسباب المستحكمة، والشدائد الشديدة، فلم يزل الحصار على المدينة، مدة طويلة، والأمر كما وصف الله: ﴿وَإِذْ زَاغَتِ الأبْصَارُ وَبَلَغَتِ الْقُلُوبُ الْحَنَاجِرَ وَتَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ الظُّنُونَ﴾ أي: الظنون السيئة، أن الله لا ينصر دينه، ولا يتم كلمته. ﴿هُنَالِكَ ابْتُلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ﴾ بهذه الفتنة العظيمة ﴿وَزُلْزِلُوا زِلْزَالا شَدِيدًا﴾ بالخوف والقلق، والجوع، ليتبين إيمانهم، ويزيد إيقانهم، فظهر -ولله الحمد- من إيمانهم، وشدة يقينهم، ما فاقوا فيه الأولين والآخرين. وعندما اشتد الكرب، وتفاقمت الشدائد، صار إيمانهم عين اليقين، ﴿وَلَمَّا رَأَى الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الأحْزَابَ قَالُوا هَذَا مَا وَعَدَنَا اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَصَدَقَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَمَا زَادَهُمْ إِلا إِيمَانًا وَتَسْلِيمًا﴾ وهنالك تبين نفاق المنافقين، وظهر ما كانوا يضمرون قال تعالى:

(١) زيادة من: ب.