sound. From the same root comes intihāb (wailing in grief). The vow is the utterance spoken when making the covenant. Since their covenant was their vow to remain true in battle—and someone who remains true in battle may be killed—the words “fulfilled his vow” came to be understood as meaning that he had been martyred. This is especially so when the vow is to remain true in all circumstances, for he can only fulfil it completely through death. Fulfilling the vow means honouring the covenant, as Allah Most High says:
“Among the believers are men who have been true to the covenant they made with Allah. Among them are those who have fulfilled their vow.”
That is, they have fulfilled it completely. For someone whose covenant was unrestricted, this comes about through death or being killed.
“And among them are those who are still waiting.”
That is, waiting to fulfil it: having fulfilled part of it, they await the completion of the covenant. The basic meaning of fulfilment is bringing something to completion.
“So that Allah may reward the truthful for their truthfulness and punish the hypocrites if He wills, or turn to them in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
Allah, glorified be He, explains that He brought the confederate forces so that He might reward the truthful for their truthfulness, since they proved true in their faith. As Allah Most High says:
“The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, then never doubt, and strive with their wealth and their lives in the cause of Allah. It is they who are the truthful.”
He thus confined faith to those believers who strive in His cause and declared that they are the ones who are truthful in saying, “We believe”—not those who said, as the Bedouins did, “We believe,” when faith had not entered their hearts; rather, they had yielded and submitted.
As for the hypocrites, they face one of two outcomes: either He will punish them, or He will turn to them in forgiveness. Such was the condition of the people at the Trench and in this campaign.