Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Hashr Verse 2

Mufti Taqi Usmani

He is the One who expelled the disbelievers of the People of the Book from their homes at the time of the first gathering. You did not expect that they would leave, and they deemed that their fortresses would protect them from Allah. But Allah came to them from where they did not expect, and cast fear in their hearts when they were spoiling their homes with their own hands and with the hands of the believers. So, learn a lesson, O you who have eyes to see.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

He is the One Who expelled the disbelievers of the People of the Book from their homes for ˹their˺ first banishment ˹ever˺. You never thought they would go. And they thought their strongholds would put them out of Allah’s reach. But ˹the decree of˺ Allah came upon them from where they never expected. And He cast horror into their hearts so they destroyed their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers.[[ The Prophet (ﷺ) allowed Banu An-Naḍîr to carry whatever they could on their camels, so they removed the wooden pillars of their homes, causing them to collapse. ]] So take a lesson ˹from this˺, O  people of insight!

Ruwwad Translation Center

It is He Who expelled the disbelievers of the People of the Book [Banī Nadīr] from their homes as the first banishment. You did not think that they would leave, and they thought that their fortresses would protect them from Allah. But [the punishment of] Allah came upon them from where they did not expect and He cast dread in their hearts, destroying their homes with their own hands and the hands of the believers. So take a lesson, O you people of insight.

A. J. Arberry

It is He who expelled from their habitations the unbelievers among the People of the Book at the first mustering. You did not think that they would go forth, and they thought that their fortresses would defend them against God; then God came upon them from whence they had not reckoned, and He cast terror into their hearts as they destroyed their houses with their own hands, and the hands of the believers; therefore take heed, you who have eyes!

Abdul Haleem

It was He who drove those of the People of the Book who broke faith out from their homes at the first gathering of forces––you [believers] never thought they would go, and they themselves thought their fortifications would protect them against God. God came up on them from where they least expected and put panic into their hearts: their homes were destroyed by their own hands, and the hands of the believers. Learn from this, all of you with insight!

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

He it is that drave forth those of the people of the Book who disbelieved from their homes at the first gathering, Ye imagined no that they would go -forth; and they imagined that their fortresses would protect them against Allah. Wherefore Allah came upon them whence they reckoned not, and cast terror in their hearts so that they made their houses desolate with their own hands and the hands of the believers. So learn a lesson. O ye endued with insight!

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

It is He Who got out the Unbelievers among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering (of the forces). Little did ye think that they would get out; And they thought that their fortresses would defend them from Allah! But the (Wrath of) Allah came to them from quarters from which they little expected (it), and cast terror into their hearts, so that they destroyed their dwellings by their own hands and the hands of the Believers, take warning, then, O ye with eyes (to see)!

Abul Ala Maududi

He it is Who in the first assault drove forth the People of the Book that disbelieved from their homes at the first gathering of forces. You did not believe that they would leave; while they too thought that their fortresses would defend them against Allah. Then Allah came upon them from whence they did not even imagine, casting such terror into their hearts that they destroyed their homes by their own hands and their destruction was also caused by the hands of the believers. So learn a lesson from this, O you who have perceptive eyes!

Ahmed Ali

It is He who drove those among the people of the Book who refused to believe, from their homes for the first confrontation. You did not think that they would go away, and they imagined that their forts would protect them against God. But God came upon them from where they did not suspect, and filled their hearts with terror, so that they destroyed their homes with their own hands (or were destroyed) by the hands of believers. So take heed, O men of sight!

Ahmed Raza Khan

It is He Who expelled the disbelievers among the People given the Book(s) from their homes, for their first gathering; you did not expect them to leave, whereas they assumed that their fortresses would save them from Allah, so Allah’s command came to them from a place they had not imagined; and He instilled awe in their hearts, so they ruin their own houses by their own hands and at the hands of the Muslims; therefore learn a lesson, O those who can perceive!

Ali Quli Qarai

It is He who expelled the faithless belonging to the People of the Book from their homes at the outset of [their] en masse banishment. You did not think that they would go out, and they thought their fortresses would protect them from Allah. But Allah came at them from whence they did not suppose and He cast terror into their hearts. They demolish their houses with their own hands and the hands of the faithful. So take lesson, O you who have insight!

Ali Ünal

He it is Who drove out those who disbelieve from among the People of the Book from their (fortified) homes as the first instance of gathering (them for punishment and banishing from the heartland of Islam). You did not think that they would go forth (so easily), just as they thought that their strongholds would protect them against God. But (the will of) God came upon them from where they had not reckoned (it could come): He cast dread into their hearts. And so they were wrecking their homes by their own hands, as well as by the hands of the believers. Learn a lesson, then, O people of insight.

Amatul Rahman Omar

It is He Who turned out from their homes those who had disbelieved (- Banû Nadzîr) from among the People of the Scripture on (the occasion of) the first banishment. You never thought that they would quit, while they (themselves) thought that their strongholds would defend them against (the judgment of) Allâh. But (the punishment from) Allâh came upon them from quarters they little expected. He struck their hearts with terror so that they demolished their houses (partly) with their own hands and (what remained of them was being destroyed) at the hands of the believers. So take warning from them O you who have insight!

English Literal

He is who brought out those who disbelieved from The Book`s people from their homes/countries to the gathering`s beginning, you did not think/assume that (E) they emerge , and they thought/assumed , that they, their fortresses/fortification are protecting them/making them invincible from God, so God came to them from where/when they did not think/suppose, and He threw/hurled in their hearts/minds the terror/fright, they destroy/demolish their houses/homes with their hands, and the believers` hands, so be warned/cautioned, you (owners) of the eye sights/knowledge.

Faridul Haque

It is He Who expelled the disbelievers among the People given the Book(s) from their homes, for their first gathering; you did not expect them to leave, whereas they assumed that their fortresses would save them from Allah, so Allah’s command came to them from a place they had not imagined; and He instilled awe in their hearts, so they ruin their own houses by their own hands and at the hands of the Muslims; therefore learn a lesson, O those who can perceive!

Hamid S. Aziz

He it is Who caused those of the followers of the Book who disbelieved to go forth from their homes at the first exile. You did not think that they would go forth, while they were certain that their fortresses would defend them against Allah; but Allah came to them whence they did not expect, and cast terror into their heart. They demolished their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers; therefore take a lesson, O you who have eyes!

Hilali & Khan

He it is Who drove out the disbelievers among the people of the Scripture (i.e. the Jews of the tribe of Bani An-Nadir) from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think that they would get out. And they thought that their fortresses would defend them from Allah! But Allah's (Torment) reached them from a place whereof they expected it not, and He cast terror into their hearts, so that they destroyed their own dwellings with their own hands and the hands of the believers. Then take admonition, O you with eyes (to see).

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth glorifies Allah; and He is the Mighty, the Wise.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

He it is Who caused those who disbelieved of the followers of the Book to go forth from their homes at the first banishment you did not think that they would go forth, while they were certain that their fortresses would defend them against Allah; but Allah came to them whence they did not expect, and cast terror into their hearts; they demolished their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers; therefore take a lesson, O you who have eyes!

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

He it is Who hath caused those of the People of the Scripture who disbelieved to go forth from their homes unto the first exile. Ye deemed not that they would go forth, while they deemed that their strongholds would protect them from Allah. But Allah reached them from a place whereof they recked not, and cast terror in their hearts so that they ruined their houses with their own hands and the hands of the believers. So learn a lesson, O ye who have eyes!

Muhammad Sarwar

It is He who drove the disbelievers among the followers of the Bible out of their homes (in the Arabian Peninsula) as the first time exiles. You did not think that they would leave their homes and they thought that their fortresses would save them from God. The decree of God came upon them in a way that even they did not expect. He caused such terror to enter their hearts that they started to destroy their own homes by their own hands and by those of the believers. People of vision, learn from this a lesson.

Qaribullah & Darwish

It was He who expelled the unbelievers among the People of the Book from their homes into the first exile. You did not think that they would go out, and they thought their fortresses would protect them from Allah. But Allah came upon them from where they did not expect, casting terror into their hearts that their homes were destroyed by their own hands as well as by the hands of the believers. Therefore, take heed you that have eyes.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

He it is Who drove out the disbelievers among the People of the Scripture from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think that they would get out. And they thought that their fortresses would defend them from Allah! But Allah reached them from a place whereof they expected it not, and He cast terror into their hearts so that they demolished their own dwellings with their own hands and the hands of the believers. Then take admonition, O you with eyes.

Wahiduddin Khan

It was He who turned those People of the Book who denied the truth out of their homes in the first banishment. You never thought they would go, and they thought their strongholds would protect them against God. But God came upon them from where they least expected and cast such terror into their hearts that their houses were pulled down by their own hands as well as by the hands of the believers. Learn a lesson, then, you who are endowed with insight.

Talal Itani

It is He who evicted those who disbelieved among the People of the Book from their homes at the first mobilization. You did not think they would leave, and they thought their fortresses would protect them from God. But God came at them from where they never expected, and threw terror into their hearts. They wrecked their homes with their own hands, and by the hands of the believers. Therefore, take a lesson, O you who have insight.

Tafsir jalalayn

It is He Who expelled those who disbelieved of the People of the Scripture, namely, the Jews of the Ban al- Nadr, from their homelands, [from] their dwellings at Medina, at the first exile, that is, their exile to Syria, the last [exile] being their banishment to Khaybar by `Umar during his caliphate. You did not think, O believers, that they would go forth, and they thought that they would be protected (mni`atuhum is the predicate of an, `that') by their fortresses (husnuhum, the agent of the verb [mni`atuhum], with which the predication is completed) from God, from His chastisement. But God, His command and His chastisement, came at them from whence they had not reckoned, [from whence] had never occurred to them, from the part of the believers, and He cast terror (ru`b or ru`ub) into their hearts, by having their chief Ka`b b. al- Ashraf slain, destroying [as they did] (read yukharribna; or yukhribna, [derived] from [4th form] akhraba) their houses, in order to take away with them what they valued of wood and so on, with their own hands and the hands of the believers. So take heed, O you who have eyes!

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

هُوَ الَّذِي أَخْرَجَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ


He it is Who drove out the disbelievers among the People of the Scripture,

referring to the Jewish tribe of Bani An-Nadir, according to Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Az-Zuhri and several others.

When the Messenger of Allah migrated to Al-Madinah, he made a peace treaty with the Jews stipulating that he would not fight them and they would not fight him. They soon betrayed the treaty that they made with Allah's Messenger. Therefore, Allah sent His torment down on them; it can never be averted, and His appointed destiny touched them; it can never be resisted.

The Prophet forced them to evacuate and abandon their fortified forts that Muslims did not think they would ever control. The Jews thought that their fortifications will save them from Allah's torment, but they did not help them against Allah in the least. Then, that which they did not expect came to them from Allah, and Allah's Messenger forced them to leave Al-Madinah.

Some of them went to Adhri`at in the area of Ash-Sham, which is the area of the grand Gathering and Resurrection, while others went to Khyber. The Prophet allowed them to evacuate their forts and take whatever their camels could carry. They destroyed the property that they could not carry. This is why Allah the Exalted said,

يُخْرِبُونَ بُيُوتَهُم بِأَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَيْدِي الْمُوْمِنِينَ

فَاعْتَبِرُوا يَا أُولِي الاْاَبْصَارِ

they demolished their own dwellings with their own hands and the hands of the believers Then take admonition, O you with eyes.

meaning, "Contemplate the end of those who defied Allah's command, contradicted His Messenger and denied His Book. See how Allah's humiliating torment struck them in this life, as well as, the painful torment that Allah has reserved for them in the Hereafter."

Abu Dawud recorded that Abdur-Rahman bin Ka`b bin Malik said that one of the Prophet's Companions said,

"The Quraysh idolators wrote to Abdullah bin Ubayy and those who were still worshipping idols among the tribes of Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj. The Messenger of Allah was in Al-Madinah at the time, before the battle of Badr occurred. They wrote;

`You have given refuge to our citizen. We swear by Allah, you should fight him, or we will expel you or gather all our forces, until we kill your soldiers and take your women captive.'

When the news of this threat reached Abdullah bin Ubayy and the idolators of Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj, they prepared to fight the Prophet. The news of this reached the Prophet and he went to them saying,

لَقَدْ بَلَغَ وَعِيدُ قُرَيْشٍ مِنْكُمُ الْمَبَالِغَ مَا كَانَتْ تَكِيدُكُمْ بِأَكْثَرَ مِمَّا تُرِيدُ أَن تَكِيدُوا بِهِ أَنْفُسَكُمْ تُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تُقَاتِلُوا أَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَإِخْوَانَكُم

The threat of the Quraysh has caused you extreme anxiety! The Quraysh cannot cause you more harm than what you will cause yourselves by your actions. Do you want to fight your children and brethren?

When they heard these words from the Prophet, they dispersed and the news of what happened reached the Quraysh idolators.

After the battle of Badr, the Quraysh idolators wrote to the Jews of Al-Madinah,

`You have armor and forts! You should fight our citizen or we will do such and such to you, and nothing will prevent us from acquiring your women.'

The news of this letter also reached the Prophet and Bani An-Nadir intended to betray their treaty.

Bani An-Nadir sent a message to the Prophet asking him to come with thirty of his Companions to meet thirty of their rabbis half way, from either side. They said that the rabbis would listen to the Prophet and if they believe in him, the rest of Bani An-Nadir would believe.

They intended to kill the Messenger, and Allah informed His Messenger of this plot before they could harm him. The next day, the Prophet gathered his forces and laid siege to their area, saying to them,

إِنَّكُمْ وَاللهِ لَا تَأْمَنُونَ عِنْدِي إِلاَّ بِعَهْدٍ تُعَاهِدُونَنِي عَلَيْه

By Allah! You will not be safe until and unless you renew your peace treaty with me.

They refused to do so, and the Prophet fought them the rest of that day. The next morning, the Prophet laid siege to the tribe of Bani Qurayzah and left Bani An-Nadir alone that day.

The Prophet ordered Bani Qurayzah to sign a new treaty of peace, and they accepted.

The Prophet left Bani Qurayzah and went back to Bani An-Nadir with his forces and fought them until they agreed to surrender in return for safe passage out of Al-Madinah. Bani An-Nadir evacuated Al-Madinah and took with them all whatever their camels could carry from their furniture, including even the wood and the doors to their houses.

The date trees of Bani An-Nadir were granted to the Messenger by Allah when He said,

وَمَا أَفَاء اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مِنْهُمْ فَمَا أَوْجَفْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ خَيْلٍ وَلَا رِكَابٍ

And what Allah gave as booty to His Messenger from them -- for this you made no expedition with either cavalry or camelry.

that is, what you earned without a fight. The Prophet divided most of their trees between the emigrants and gave to only two men who were poor from Al-Ansar. He did not give the Ansar any of it, except for these two men. The Prophet kept a part of the war booty for himself and that part of charity of the Prophet was transferred to the administration of his daughter's children, i.e., children of Fatima."

However, let us summarize the battle of Bani An-Nadir here. From Allah alone we seek help.
The Reason behind the Battle of Bani An-Nadir

After the seventy Companions whom the Prophet sent to teach the Qur'an were killed at the area of Bi'r Ma`unah, excluding `Amr bin Umayyah Ad-Damri, who killed two men from the tribe of Bani `Amir on his way back to Al-Madinah. He did not know that these two men had a promise of safe passage from Allah's Messenger. When he went back to Al-Madinah, he told the Prophet what happened and the Prophet said,

لَقَدْ قَتَلْتَ رَجُلَيْنِ لَاَدِيَنَّهُمَا

You have killed two men, I shall pay the blood money for them.

Bani An-Nadir and Bani `Amir were allies and had treaties. The Prophet asked Bani An-Nadir to help pay the blood money for the two dead men.

The area of Bani An-Nadir was in a suburb of Al-Madinah, a few miles to the east. In his book of Sirah, Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar said;

"Then the Messenger of Allah went to Bani An-Nadir to ask them for financial help to pay the blood money of the two men from Bani `Amir, who were killed by `Amr bin Umayyah Ad-Damri. They had a promise of safe passage from the Prophet according to the (sub narrator) Yazid bin Ruman. Bani An-Nadir and Bani `Amir had a treaty and were allies.

When Allah's Messenger went to Bani An-Nadir asking them for help to pay the blood money for the two men, they said, `

Yes, O Abu Al-Qasim! We will help you, since you asked us for help.'

Yet, when they met each other in secret, they said, `You will not find a better chance with this man than this,' while the Messenger of Allah was sitting next to a wall of one of their houses.

They said, `Who will ascend this wall and drop a stone on this man and rid us of his trouble'

`Amr bin Jihash bin Ka`b volunteered and ascended the wall of the house to drop a stone on the Messenger.

The Messenger of Allah was sitting with several of his Companions, such as Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Ali. The news of this plot was conveyed to the Prophet from heaven, and he stood up and went back to Al-Madinah.

When the Companions thought that the Messenger was absent for a long time, they went to see where he was and saw a man coming from Al-Madinah. They asked him, and he said that he saw the Prophet enter Al-Madinah. The Messenger's Companions went to him, and he told them the news of the betraying plot that the Jews planned against him. He ordered them to prepare for war and to march forth to Bani An-Nadir.

The Prophet gathered his forces and marched to the area of Bani An-Nadir, who had taken refuge in their fortified forts. The Messenger ordered their date trees be cut down and burned. The Jews heralded at the Prophet,

`O Muhammad! You used to forbid mischief in the earth and blame those who did it. Why is it that you had the date trees cut down and burned'

Meanwhile, Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, Wadi`ah, Malik bin Abi Qawqal, Suwayd, Da`is and several other men who all belonged to the tribe of Al-Khazraj bin Bani `Awf, sent a message to Bani An-Nadir saying,

`Be firm and strong. We will never abandon you. If you are fought against, we will fight along with you and if you are forced to leave Al-Madinah, we will accompany you.'

The Jews waited for this claim of support, but the hypocrites did not deliver. Allah cast terror in the hearts of the Jews. They asked the Messenger to allow them safe passage out of Al-Madinah and to spare their lives. In return, they would only take what their camels could carry, except for weapons.

The Prophet agreed. The Jews collected all the wealth their camels could transport. One of the Jews would demolish his own house around its door, so that he could carry the door on the back of his camel. Bani An-Nadir moved to Khyber, and some of them went to Ash-Sham.

They left all that remained behind for the Messenger of Allah, who had control over how it was to be divided. The Prophet divided it between the emigrants and none of Al-Ansar got a share, except for Sahl bin Hunayf and Abu Dujanah Simak bin Kharashah. They said that they were poor and the Messenger of Allah gave them their share.

Only two men from Bani An-Nadir embraced Islam, Yamin bin Umayr bin Ka`b bin `Amr bin Jihash and Abu Sa`d bin Wahb and they saved their wealth due to their acceptance of Islam."

Ibn Ishaq continued,

"Some of the offspring of Yamin narrated to me that the Messenger of Allah said to Yamin,

أَلَمْ تَرَ مَا لَقِيتُ مِنَ ابْنِ عَمِّكَ وَمَا هَمَّ بِهِ مِنْ شَأْنِي


Have you not heard what your cousin plotted to do against me?

Yamin bin `Umayr promised someone a reward if he killed his cousin `Amr bin Jihash, and someone killed him, according to their claim"

Ibn Ishaq then said,

"All of Surah Al-Hashr was revealed about Bani An-Nadir. "

A similar story was recorded by Yunus bin Bukayr from Ibn Ishaq.

*****

Allah's statement,

هُوَ الَّذِي أَخْرَجَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ


He it is Who drove out the disbelievers among the People of the Scripture,

refers to Bani An-Nadir,

مِن دِيَارِهِمْ لاَِوَّلِ الْحَشْرِ
..

from their homes at the first gathering.

Allah said,

مَا ظَنَنتُمْ أَن يَخْرُجُوا

You did not think that they would get out.

i.e., within the few days you laid siege against them. The Companions had surrounded their forts for only six days, and their forts were fortified and formidable.

This is why Allah the Exalted said,

وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُم مَّانِعَتُهُمْ حُصُونُهُم مِّنَ اللَّه

فَأَتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ يَحْتَسِبُوا

And they thought that their fortresses would defend them from Allah! But Allah reached them from a place where they expected it not.

meaning, there came to them from Allah what they did not expect or anticipate.

Allah said in another Ayah,

قَدْ مَكَرَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ فَأَتَى اللَّهُ بُنْيَـنَهُمْ مِّنَ الْقَوَاعِدِ فَخَرَّ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّقْفُ مِن فَوْقِهِمْ وَأَتَـهُمُ الْعَذَابُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

Those before them indeed plotted, but Allah struck at the foundation of their building, and then the roof fell down upon them, from above them, and the torment overtook them from directions they did not perceive. (16;26)

Allah said,

وَقَذَفَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الرُّعْبَ

and He cast terror into their hearts,

means, Allah cast fear, terror and fright in their hearts, and why would that not happen to them He who was given victory, by Allah frightening his enemies the distance of a month, laid siege to them. May Allah's peace and blessings be on the Prophet.

As in Ibn Ishaq's explanation -- which preceded;

يُخْرِبُونَ بُيُوتَهُم بِأَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَيْدِي الْمُوْمِنِينَ

that they demolished their own dwellings with their own hands and the hands of the believers.

the Jews brought down what they wanted to transport from their roofs and doors, so that they could carry them on camels.

Similar was said by `Urwah bin Az-Zubayr, `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and several others.

فَاعْتَبِرُوا يَا أُولِي الاْاَبْصَارِ



Then take admonition, O you with eyes.

Allah's statement