Surah Al-Hashr (The Gathering),059
By
Sayyid Abul ‘Ala Mawdudi (rahimahullāh)
In the name
of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;
All the
praise and Thanks is due to Allāh, the Lord of the al-'ālamīn.
There is none worthy of worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu
alayhi wa sallam, is His Messenger.
Name
The
Surah derives its name from the mention of the word al-hashr (The
Gathering) in verse thereby implying that it is the Surah in which the word al-hashr
has occurred.
Period of Revelation
Bukhari and Muslim contain a tradition from Sa'id bin Jubair (radiyallāhu`anhu) to the effect "When I
asked Abdullah bin Abbas(radiyallāhu`anhu)
about Surah Al-Hashr, he replied that it was sent down concerning the
battle against the Bani an-Nadir
just as Surah Al-Anfal was sent down concerning the Battle of Badr. In another
tradition from Hadrat Sa'id bin Jubair, the words cited from Ibn Abbas (radiyallāhu`anhu)
are: Qul: Surah an-Nadir: Say, it is Surah an-Nadir." The same
thing has been related also from Mujahid, Qatadah, Zuhri, Ibn Zaid, Yazid bin
Ruman, Muhammad bin Ishaq and others. They are unanimous that the followers of
the Book, whose banishment has been mentioned in it, imply the Bani an-Nadir.
Yazid bin Ruman, Mujahid and Muhammad bin Ishaq have stated that this whole
Surah, from beginning to end, came down concerning this very battle.
As for
the question as to when this battle took place, Imam Zuhri has stated on the authority of Urwah bin Zubair that it took place six months after the Battle of
Badr. However, Ibn Sa'ad, Ibn Hisham and Baladhuri regard it as an event of
Rabi' al-Awwal, A. H. 4, and the same is correct. For all traditions agree that
this battle took place after the incident of Bi'r Ma'unah, and historically also it is well known that the
incident of Bir Ma'unah occurred
after the Battle of Uhud and not before it.
Historical Background
In order
to understand the subject matter of this Surah well, it is necessary to have a
look at the history of the Madinah and Hejaz Jews, for without it one cannot
know precisely the real causes of the Holy Prophet's dealing with their
different tribes the way he did.
No
authentic history of the Arabian Jews exists in the world. They have not left
any writing of their own in the form of a book or a tablet which might throw
light on their past, nor have the Jewish historians and writers of the non-Arab
world made any mention of them, the reason being that after their settlement in
the Arabian peninsula they had detached themselves from the main body of the
nation, and the Jews of the world did not count them as among themselves. For
they had given up Hebrew culture and language, even the names, and adopted
Arabism instead. In the tablets that have been unearthed in the archaeological
research in the Hejaz no trace of the Jews is found before the first century of
the Christian era, except for a few Jewish names. Therefore, the history of the
Arabian Jews is based mostly on the verbal traditions prevalent among the Arabs
most of which bad been spread by the Jews themselves.
The Jews
of the Hejaz claimed that they had come to settle in Arabia during the last
stage of the life of the Prophet Moses
(‘alaihissalam). They said that the Prophet Moses (‘alaihissalam) had dispatched
an army to expel the Amalekites from
the land of Yathrib and had commanded it not to spare even a single soul of
that tribe. The Israelite army carried out the Prophet's command, but spared
the life of a handsome prince of the Amalekite king and returned with him to
Palestine. By that time the Prophet Moses had passed sway. His successors took
great exception to what the army had done, for by sparing the life of an
Amalekite it had clearly disobeyed the Prophet and violated the Mosaic Law. Consequently, they excluded
the army from their community, and it had to return to Yathrib and settle there
forever.(Kitab al-Aghani, vol. xix, p. 94). Thus the Jews claimed that
they had been living in Yathrib since about 1200 B.C. But, this had in fact no
historical basis and probably the Jews had invented this story in order to
overawe the Arabs into believing that they were of noble lineage and the
original inhabitants of the land.
The
second Jewish immigration, according to the Jews, took, place in 587 BC. when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of
Babylon, destroyed Jerusalem and dispersed the Jews throughout the world.
The Arab Jews said that several of their tribes at that time had come to settle
in Wadi al-Qura, Taima, and Yathrib.(Al-Baladhuri,
Futuh al-Buldan). But this too has no historical basis. By this also
they might have wanted to prove that they were the original settlers of the
area.
As a
matter of fact, what is established is that when in A. D. 70 the Romans massacred the Jews in Palestine, and then in A. D. 132 expelled them from that
land, many of the Jewish tribes fled to find an asylum in the Hejaz, a
territory that was contiguous to Palestine in the south. There, they settled
wherever they found water springs and greenery, and then by intrigue and
through money lending business gradually occupied the fertile lands. Ailah, Maqna, Tabuk, Taima, Wadi al Qura,
Fadak and Khaiber came under their control in that very period, and Bani Quraizah, Bani al-Nadir, Bani
Bahdal, and Bani Qainuqa also came
in the same period and occupied Yathrib.
Among
the tribes that settled in Yathrib the Bani al Nadir and the Bani Quraizah were
more prominent for they belonged to the Cohen or priest class. They were looked
upon as of noble descent and enjoyed religious leadership among their co-
religionists. When they came to settle in Madinah there were some other tribes
living there before, whom they subdued and became practically the owners of
this green and fertile land.
About
three centuries later, in A. D. 450 or
451, the great flood of Yaman
occurred which has been mentioned in vv. 16-17 of Surah Saba above. As a result
of this different tribes of the people
of Saba were compelled to leave Yaman and disperse in different parts of
Arabia. Thus, the Bani Ghassan went
to settle in Syria, Bani Lakhm in Hirah (Iraq), Bani Khuzaah between Jeddah and Makkah and the Aus and the Khazraj went
to settle in Yathrib. As Yathrib was under Jewish domination, they at first did
not allow the Aus and the Khazraj to gain a footing and the two Arab tribes had
to settle on lands that had not yet been brought under cultivation, where they
could hardly produce just enough to enable them to survive. At last, one of
their chiefs went to Syria to ask for the assistance of their Ghassanide brothers; he brought an army
from there and broke the power of the Jews. Thus, the Aus and the Khazraj were
able to gain complete dominance over Yathrib, with the result that two of the
major Jewish tribes, Bani an-Nadir
and Bani Quraizah were forced to
take quarters outside the city. Since the third tribe, Bani Qainuqa was not on friendly terms with the other two tribes,
it stayed inside the city as usual, but had to seek protection of the Khazraj
tribe. As a counter measure to this Bani an- -Nadir and Bani Quraizah took
protection of the Aus tribe so that they could live in peace in the suburbs of
Yathrib.
Before
the Holy Prophet's arrival at Madinah until his emigration the following were
the main features of the Jews position in Hejaz in general and in Yathrib in
particular:
- In the matter of language,
dress, civilization and way of life they had completely adopted Arabism,
even their names had become Arabian. Of the 12 Jewish tribes that had
settled in Hejaz, none except the Bani
Zaura retained its Hebrew name. Except for a few scattered scholars
none knew Hebrew. In fact, there is nothing in the poetry of the Jewish poets
of the pre-Islamic days to distinguish it from the poetry of the Arab
poets in language, ideas and themes. They even inter-married with the
Arabs. In fact, nothing distinguished them from the common Arabs except
religion. Notwithstanding this, they had not lost their identity among the
Arabs and had kept their Jewish prejudice alive most ardently and
jealously. They had adopted superficial Arabism because they could not
survive in Arabia without it.
- Because of this Arabism the
western orientalists have been misled into thinking that perhaps they were
not really Israelites but Arabs who had embraced Judaism, or that at least
majority of them consisted of the Arab Jews. But there is no historical
proof to show that the Jews ever engaged in any proselytizing activities
in Hejaz, or their rabbis invited the Arabs to embrace Judaism like the
Christian priests and missionaries. On the contrary, we see that they
prided themselves upon their Israelite descent and racial prejudices. They
called the Arabs the Gentiles, which did not mean illiterate or uneducated
but savage and uncivilized people. They believed that the Gentiles did not
possess any human rights; these were only reserved for the Israelites, and
therefore, it was lawful and right for the Israelites to defraud them of
their properties by every fair and foul means. Apart from the Arab chiefs,
they did not consider the common Arabs fit enough to have equal status
with them even if they entered Judaism. No historical proof is available,
nor is there any evidence in the Arabian traditions, that some Arab tribe
or prominent clan might have accepted Judaism. However, mention has been
made of some individuals, who had become Jews. The Jews, however, were
more interested in their trade and business than in the preaching of their
religion. That is why Judaism did not spread as a religion and creed in
Hejaz but remained only as a mark of pride and distinction of a few
Israelite tribes. The Jewish rabbis, however, had a flourishing business
in granting amulets and charms, fortune telling and sorcery, because of
which they were held in great awe by the Arabs for their
"knowledge" and practical wisdom.
- Economically they were much
stronger than the Arabs. Since they bad emigrated from more civilized and
culturally advanced countries of Palestine and Syria, they knew many such
arts as were unknown to the Arabs; they also enjoyed trade relations with
the outside world. Hence, they had captured the business of importing
grain in Yathrib and the upper Hejaz and exporting dried dates to other
countries. Poultry farming and fishing also were mostly under their
controls They were good at cloth weaving too. They had also set up wine
shops here and there, where they sold wine which they imported from Syria.
The Bani Qainuqa generally practised crafts such as that of the goldsmith,
blacksmith and vessel maker. In all these occupations, trade and business
these Jews earned exorbitant profits, but their chief occupation was
trading in money lending in which they had ensnared the Arabs of the
surrounding areas. More particularly the chiefs and elders of the Arab
tribes who were given to a life of pomp, bragging and boasting on the
strength of borrowed money were deeply indebted to them. They lent money
on high rates of interest and then would charge compound interest, which
one could hardly clear off once one was involved in it. Thus, they had
rendered the Arabs economically hollow, but it had naturally induced a
deep rooted hatred among the common Arabs against the Jews.
- The demand of their trade
and economic interests was that they should neither estrange one Arab
tribe by befriending another, nor take part in their mutual wars. But, on
the other hand, it was also in their interests, that they should not allow
the Arabs to be united and should keep them fighting and entrenched
against each other, for they knew that whenever the Arab tribes united,
they would not allow them to remain in possession of their 1large
properties, gardens and fertile lands, which they had come to own through
their profiteering and money lending business. Furthermore, each of their
tribes also had to enter into alliance with one or another powerful Arab
tribe for the sake of its own protection so that no other powerful tribe
should overawe it by its might. Because of this they had not only to take
part in the mutual wars of the Arabs but they often had to go to war in
support of the Arab tribe to which their tribe was tied in alliance
against another Jewish tribe which was allied to the enemy tribe. In
Yathrib the Bani Quraizah and the Bani an-Nadir were the allies of the Aus
while the Bani Qainuqa of the Khazraj. A little before the Holy Prophet's
emigration, these Jewish tribes had confronted each other in support of
their respective allies in the bloody war that took place between the Aus
and the Khazraj at Buath.
Such
were the conditions when Islam came to Madinah, and ultimately an Islamic State
came into existence after the Holy Prophet's (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam)
arrival there. One of the first things that he accomplished soon after
establishing this state was unification of the Aus and the Khazraj and the
Emigrants into a brotherhood, and the second was that he concluded a treaty
between the Muslims and the Jews on definite conditions, in which it was
pledged that neither party would encroach on the rights of the other, and both
would unite in a joint defense against the external enemies. Some important
clauses of this treaty are as follows, which clearly show what the Jews and the
Muslims had pledged to adhere to in their mutual relationship:
"The
Jews must bear their expenses and the Muslims their expenses. Each must help
the other against anyone who attacks the people of this document. They must
seek mutual advice and consultation, and loyalty is a protection against
treachery. They shall sincerely wish one another well. Their relations will be
governed by piety and recognition of the rights of others, and not by sin and
wrongdoing. The wronged must be helped. The Jews must pay with the believers so
long as the war lasts. Yathrib shall be a sanctuary for the people of this
document. If any dispute or controversy likely to cause trouble should arise,
it must be referred to God and to Muhammad the Apostle of God; Quraish and
their helpers shall not be given protection. The contracting parties are bound
to help one another against any attack on Yathrib; Every one shall be
responsible for the defence of the portion to which he belongs" (lbn
Hisham, vol. ii, pp. 147 to 150).
This was
on absolute and definitive covenant to the conditions of which the Jews
themselves had agreed. But not very long after this they began to show
hostility towards the Holy Prophet of Allāh (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam)and
Islam and the Muslims, and their hostility and perverseness went on increasing
day by day. Its main causes were three:
First,
they envisaged the Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam)merely as a chief
of his people, who should be content to have concluded a political agreement
with them and should only concern himself with the worldly , interests of his
group. But they found that he was extending an invitation to belief in Allāh
and the Apostleship and the Book (which also included belief in their own
Prophets and scriptures), and was urging the people to give up disobedience of Allāh
and adopt obedience to the Divine Commands and abide by the moral laws of their
own prophets. This they could not put up with. They feared that if this
universal ideological movement gained momentum it would destroy their rigid
religiosity and wipe out their racial nationhood.
Second,
when they saw that the Aus and the Khazraj and the Emigrants were uniting into a brotherhood and the people from the
Arab tribes of the surrounding areas, who entered Islam, were also joining this
Islamic Brotherhood of Madinah and
forming a religious community, they feared that the selfish policy that they
had been following of sowing discord between the Arab tribes for the promotion
of their own well being and interests for centuries, would not work in the new
system, but they would face a united front of the Arabs against which their
intrigues and machinations would not succeed.
Third,
the work that the Holy Messenger of Allāh (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) was
carrying out of reforming the society and civilization included putting an end
to all unlawful methods" in business and mutual dealings. More than that;
he had declared taking and giving of interest also as impure and unlawful
earning. This caused them the fear that if his rule became established in
Arabia, he would declare interest legally forbidden, and in this they saw their
own economic disaster and death.
For
these reasons they made resistance and opposition to the Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu
'alayhi wa sallam) their national ideal. They would never hesitate to employ
any trick and machination, any device and cunning, to harm him. They spread
every kind of falsehood so as to cause distrust against him in the people's
minds. They created every kind of doubt, suspicion and misgiving in the hearts
of the new converts so as to turn them back from Islam. They would make false
profession of Islam and then would turn apostate so that it may engender more
and more misunderstandings among the people against Islam and the Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu
'alayhi wa sallam). They would conspire with the hypocrites to create mischief
and would cooperate with every group and tribe hostile to Islam. They would
create rifts between the Muslims and would do whatever they could to stir them
up to mutual feuds and fighting. The people of the Aus and the Khazraj tribes
were their special target, with whom they had been allied for centuries. Making
mention of the war of Buath before
them they would remind them of their previous enmities so that they might again
resort to the sword against each other and shatter their bond of fraternity
into which Islam had bound them. They would resort to every kind of deceit and
fraud in order to harm the Muslims economically. Whenever one of those with
whom that had business dealings, would accept Islam, they would do whatever
they could to cause him financial loss. If he owed them something they would
worry and harass him by making repeated demands, and if they owed him
something, they would withhold the payment and would publicly say that at the
time the bargain was made he professed a different religion, and since he had
changed his religion, they were no longer under any obligation towards him.
Several instances of this nature have been cited in the explanation of verse 75
of Surah Al Imran given in the commentaries by Tabari, Nisaburi, Tabrisi and in
Ruh al Ma'ani.
They had
adopted this hostile attitude against the covenant even before the Battle of
Badr. But when the Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and the Muslims
won a decisive victory over the Quraish at Badr, they were filled with grief
and anguish, malice and anger. They were in fact anticipating that in that war
the powerful Quraish would deal a death blow to the Muslims. That is why even
before the news of the Islamic victory reached Madinah they had begun to spread
the rumor that the Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam)had fallen a
martyr and the Muslims had been routed, and the Quraish army under Abu Jahl was
advancing on Madinah. But when the battle was decided against their hopes and
wishes, they burst with anger and grief. Ka'b bin Ashraf, the chief of the Bani
an-Nadir, cried out:"By God, if Muhammad has actually killed these nobles
of Arabia, the earth's belly would be better for us than its back." Then
he went to Makkah and incited the people to vengeance by writing and reciting
provocative elegies for the Quraish chiefs killed at Badr. Then he returned to
Madinah and composed lyrical verses of an insulting nature about the Muslim
women. At last, enraged with his mischief, the Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi
wa sallam) sent Muhammad bin Maslamah Ansari in Rabi al-Awwal, A. H. 3, and had
him slain. (Ibn Sad, Ibn Hisham, Tabari).
The
first Jewish tribe which, after the Battle of Badr, openly and collectively
broke their covenant were the Bani Qainuqa. They lived in a locality inside the
city of Madinah. As they practised the crafts of the goldsmith, blacksmith and
vessel maker, the people of Madinah had to visit their shops fairly frequently.
They were proud of their bravery and valor. Being blacksmiths by profession
even their children were well armed, and they could instantly muster 700
fighting men from among themselves. They were also arrogantly aware that they
enjoyed relations of confederacy with the Khazraj and Abdullah bin Ubbay, the chief of the, Khazraj, was their chief
supporter. At the victory of Badr, they became so provoked that they began to
trouble and harass the Muslims and their women in particular, who visited their
shops. By and by things came to such a pass that one day a Muslim woman was
stripped naked publicly in their bazaar. This led to a brawl in which a Muslim
and a Jew were killed. Thereupon the Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa
sallam) himself visited their locality, got them together and counseled them on
decent conduct. But the reply that they gave was; "O Muhammad, you perhaps think we are like the Quraish; they did
not know fighting; therefore, you overpowered them. But when you come in
contact with us, you will see how men fight." This was in clear words
a declaration of war. Consequently, the Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa
sallam) laid siege to their quarters towards the end of Shawwal (and according
to some others, of Dzul Qa'dah) A. H. 2. The siege had hardly lasted for a
fortnight when they surrendered and all their fighting men were tied and taken
prisoners. Now Abdullah bin Ubayy
came up in support of them and insisted that they should be pardoned. The Holy
Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) conceded his request and decided that
the Bani Qainuqa would be exiled from Madinah leaving their properties, armour
and tools of trade behind. (Ibn Sa'd, Ibn Hisham, Tarikh Tabari).
For some
time after these punitive measures (i. e. the banishment of the Qainuqa and
killing of Ka'ab bin Ashraf the Jews
remained so terror stricken that they did not dare commit any further mischief.
But later when in Shawwal, A. H. 3, the Quraish in order to avenge themselves
for the defeat at Badr, marched against Madinah with great preparations, and
the Jews saw that only a thousand men had marched out with the Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu
‘alayhi wa sallam)as against three thousand men of the Quraish, and even they
were deserted by 300 hypocrites who returned to Madinah, they committed the
first and open breach of the treaty by refusing to join the Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu
‘alayhi wa sallam)in the defense of the city although they were bound to it.
Then, when in the Battle of Uhud the Muslims suffered reverses, they were
further emboldened. So much so that the Bani an-Nadir made a secret plan to
kill the Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam)though the plan failed
before it could be executed. According to the details, after the incident of Bi'r Maunah (Safar, A. H. 4) Amr bin Umayyah Damri slew by mistake
two men of the Bani Amir in
retaliation, who actually belonged to a tribe which was allied to the Muslims,
but Amr had mistaken them for the
men of the enemy. Because of this mistake their blood money became obligatory
on the Muslims. Since the Bani an-Nadir
were also a party in the alliance with the Bani
Amir, the Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam)went to their clan
along with some of his Companions to ask for their help in paying the blood
money. Outwardly they agreed to contribute, as he wished, but secretly they
plotted that a person should go up to the top of the house by whose wall the
Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam)was sitting and drop a rock on him
to kill him. But before they could execute their plan, Allāh informed him in
time and be immediately got up and returned to Madinah.
Now
there was no question of showing them any further concession. The Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu
'alayhi wa sallam)at once sent to them the ultimatum that the treachery they
had meditated against him had come to his knowledge; therefore, they were to
leave Madinah within ten days; if anyone of them was found staying behind in
their quarters, he would be put to the sword. Meanwhile Abdullah bin Ubayy sent them the message that he would help them
with two thousand men and that the Bani Quraizah and Bani Ghatafan also would
come to their aid; therefore, they should stand firm and should not go. On this
false assurance they responded to the Holy Prophet's ultimatum saying that they
would not leave Madinah and he could do whatever was in his power.
Consequently, in Rabi' al-Awwal, A. H. 4, the Holy Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi
wa sallam) laid siege to them, and after a few days of the siege (which
according to some traditions were 6 and according to others 15 days) they
agreed to leave Madinah on the condition that they could retain all their
property which they could carry on thee camels, except the armor. Thus, Madinah
was rid of this second mischievous tribe of Jews. Only two of the Bani an-Nadir
became Muslims and stayed behind. Others went to Syria and Khaiber.
This is
the event that has been discussed in this Surah.
Theme and Subject Matter
The
theme of the Surah as stated above is an appraisal of the battle against the Bani an Nadir. In this, on the whole,
four things have been discussed.
- In the first four verses
the world has been, admonished to take heed of the fate that had just
befallen the Bani an-Nadir. A
major tribe which was as strong in numbers as the Muslims, whose people
boasted of far more wealth and possession who were by no means ill
equipped militarily and whose forts were well fortified could not stand
siege even for a few Days, and expressed their readiness to accept
banishment from their centuries old, well established settlement even
though not a single man from among them was slain. Allāh says that this
happened not because of any power possessed by the Muslims but because the
Jews had tried to resist and fight Allāh and His Messenger, and those who
dare to resist the power of Allāh, always meet with the same fate.
- In verse 5, the rule of the
law of war that has been enunciated is: the destruction caused in the
enemy territory for military purposes does not come under "spreading
mischief in the earth."
- In vv 6-10 it has been
stated how the lands and properties which come under the control of the
Islamic State as a result of war or peace terms, are to be managed. As it
was the first ever occasion that the Muslims took control of a conquered
territory, the law concerning it was laid down for their guidance.
- In vv. 11-17 the attitude
that the hypocrites had adopted on the occasion of the battle against the
Bani an-Nadir has been reviewed and the causes underlying it have been
pointed out.
- The whole of the last
section (vv. 18-24) is an admonition for all those people who had
professed to have affirmed the faith and joined the Muslim community, but
were devoid of the true spirit of the faith. In it they have been told
what is the real demand of the Faith, what is the real difference between
piety and wickedness, what is the place and importance of the Quran which
they professed to believe in, and what are the attributes of Allāh in Whom
they claimed to have believed.
Wallāhu’alam
