Allah, fear Him, and fear no one but Allah.” And He says:
“Will you not fight a people who broke their oaths, plotted to expel the Messenger, and were the first to attack you? Do you fear them? Allah has more right that you should fear Him.”
Thus this verse—namely, His words, Most High, “When the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease said”—shows that disease and hypocrisy in the heart cause doubt concerning truthful reports that should reassure a person and dispel his fear, until they imagine that those reports were merely a deception, exactly as happened in this incident of ours.
Then He Most High says:
“And when a group of them said, ‘O people of Yathrib, you cannot remain here, so go back.’”
The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had encamped with the Muslims near Mount Salʿ, placing the trench between himself and the enemy. A group of them said, “You cannot remain here because the enemy is so numerous. Go back to Medina.”
Another interpretation is: “You cannot remain followers of Muhammad’s religion, so return to the religion of polytheism.” Another is: “You cannot continue fighting, so turn instead to seeking safety and protection from them.”
Likewise, when this enemy arrived, some of the hypocrites said, “The Islamic state can no longer stand, so we should come under Tatar rule.” Some members of the elite said, “The land of Syria is no longer fit to live in. Rather, we should leave it, either for the Hijaz and Yemen or for Egypt.” Others said, “Rather, the best course is to surrender to these people, just as