Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Ahzab Verse 10

Mufti Taqi Usmani

(Recall) when they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes were distracted, and the hearts reached the throats, and you were thinking about Allah all sorts of thoughts.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

˹Remember˺ when they came at you from east and west,[[ lit., from above and below you. ]] when your eyes grew wild ˹in horror˺ and your hearts jumped into your throats, and you entertained ˹conflicting˺ thoughts about Allah.[[ The believers were reassured while the doubts of the hypocrites grew more fierce. ]]

Ruwwad Translation Center

When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and your eyes grew wild [in horror], and the hearts reached the throats, and you began to entertain various thoughts about Allah.

A. J. Arberry

When they came against you from above you and from below you, and when your eyes swerved and your hearts reached your throats, while you thought thoughts about God;

Abdul Haleem

They massed against you from above and below; your eyes rolled [with fear], your hearts rose into your throats, and you thought [ill] thoughts of God.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when eyes turned aside and hearts reached to the gullets, and of Allah ye were imagining various things.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Behold! they came on you from above you and from below you, and behold, the eyes became dim and the hearts gaped up to the throats, and ye imagined various (vain) thoughts about Allah!

Abul Ala Maududi

When they came upon you from above you and from below you, when your eyes were stupefied with horror and your hearts leapt to your throats, and you began to entertain diverse thoughts about Allah.

Ahmed Ali

When they came upon you from above and below you, when the eyes were stupefied with horror, and hearts jumped to the throats, and you made wild suppositions about God.

Ahmed Raza Khan

When the disbelievers came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes became fixed in stare and the hearts came up to the throats, and you were imagining matters regarding Allah.

Ali Quli Qarai

When they came at you from above and below you, and when the eyes rolled [with fear] and the hearts leapt to the throats, and you entertained misgivings about Allah,

Ali Ünal

(Remember) when they came upon you from above you (from the east) and from below you (from the west), and when (your) eyes turned dull and (your) hearts came up to the throats; and (those of weak faith among) you were harboring vain thoughts about God.

Amatul Rahman Omar

(Recall how He favoured you) when they (-your enemies) invaded you (at Madînah) from above you (from the highlands on the east) and from below you (-from the valley to the west) and when (your) eyes were dazed (in terror) and your hearts rose up to (your) throats while (some of) you entertained diverse thoughts about Allâh.

English Literal

When they came to you from above you and from lower than you, and when the eyesights/knowledge deviated/turned away, and the hearts/minds reached the larynxes/voice boxes (throats) , and you think/assume with God the thoughts/assumptions .

Faridul Haque

When the disbelievers came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes became fixed in stare and the hearts came up to the throats, and you were imagining matters regarding Allah.

Hamid S. Aziz

O you who believe! Call to mind the favour of Allah to you when there came down upon you hosts, so We sent against them a strong wind and hosts that you saw not, and Allah is Seer what you do.

Hilali & Khan

When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the throats, and you were harbouring doubts about Allah.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

O you who believe, call to mind the favour of Allah to you when there came against you hosts, so We sent against them a strong wind and hosts that you saw not. And Allah is ever Seer of what you do.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes turned dull, and the hearts rose up to the throats, and you began to think diverse thoughts of Allah.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when eyes grew wild and hearts reached to the throats, and ye were imagining vain thoughts concerning Allah.

Muhammad Sarwar

Eyes became dull and hearts almost reached the throat when they attacked you from above and below and you started to think of God with suspicion.

Qaribullah & Darwish

They came on you from above and from below, and when your eyes swerved and your hearts leapt to your throats, and you thought thoughts about Allah;

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the throats, and you were harboring doubts about Allah.

Wahiduddin Khan

When they came against you both from above you and from below you, your eyes rolled [with fear] and your hearts leapt up to your throats, and you entertained [ill] thoughts about God.

Talal Itani

When they came upon you, from above you, and from beneath you; and the eyes became dazed, and the hearts reached the throats, and you harbored doubts about God.

Tafsir jalalayn

When they came at you from above you and from below you, in other words, from the higher side of the valley and from its lower side, from the east and from the west, and when the eyes turned away [in fear], from everything, to [gaze at] their enemies [approaching] from every side, and the hearts lept to the throats (hanjir, the plural of hunjura, which lies at the bottom of the gullet) out of intense fear, while you entertained all sorts of, different, thoughts concerning God, [some] of assistance, some of despair;

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

إِذْ جَاوُوكُم مِّن فَوْقِكُمْ

When they came upon you from above you,

refers to the Confederates,

وَمِنْ أَسْفَلَ مِنكُمْ

and from below you.

We have already noted the report from Abu Hudhayfah that these were Banu Qurayzah.

وَإِذْ زَاغَتْ الاْإَبْصَارُ وَبَلَغَتِ الْقُلُوبُ الْحَنَاجِرَ

and when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the throats,

means, from intense fear and terror.

وَتَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ الظُّنُونَا



and you were harboring doubts about Allah.

Ibn Jarir said;

"Some of those who were with the Messenger of Allah, had doubts and thought that the outcome would be against the believers, and that Allah would allow that to happen."

Muhammad bin Ishaq said concerning the Ayah;
وَإِذْ زَاغَتْ الاْإَبْصَارُ وَبَلَغَتِ الْقُلُوبُ الْحَنَاجِرَ وَتَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ الظُّنُونَا
(when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the throats, and you were harboring doubts about Allah),

"The believers had all kinds of doubts, and hypocrisy emerged to such an extent that Mu`attib bin Qushayr, the brother of Banu `Amr bin `Awf said;`Muhammad was promising us that we would win the treasure of Chosroes and Caesar, but one of us cannot even go and relieve himself."'

Al-Hasan said concerning the Ayah;
وَتَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ الظُّنُونَا
(and you were harboring doubts about Allah),

"There were different kinds of thoughts; the hypocrites thought that Muhammad and his Companions would be eliminated, while the believers were certain that what Allah and His Messenger promised was true, and that He would cause the religion to prevail even if the idolators hated it."

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Abu Sa`id, may Allah be pleased with him, said;

"On the day of Al-Khandaq, we said;`O Messenger of Allah, is there anything we should say, for our hearts have reached our throats.'

He said;

نَعَمْ قُولُوا

اللَّهُمَّ اسْتُرْ عَوْرَاتِنَا وَامِنْ رَوْعَاتِنَا


Yes, say;

O Allah, cover our weak points and calm our fears.

Then (Allah) struck the faces of the enemy with the wind, and defeated them with the wind.

This was also recorded by Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal from Abu `Amir Al-`Aqadi