Tafseer of The Exile · Al-Hashr · 59:2
It is He who expelled the ones who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think they would leave, and they thought that their fortresses would protect them from Allah; but [the decree of] Allah came upon them from where they had not expected, and He cast terror into their hearts [so] they destroyed their houses by their [own] hands and the hands of the believers. So take warning, O people of vision.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: "He is the One who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb) from their homes at the first gathering. You did not think that they would depart, and they thought that their fortresses would protect them against Allah. But Allah came upon them from where they did not expect, and He cast terror into their hearts, so that they destroyed their houses with their own hands and with the hands of the believers. Take warning from this, O you who have insight!" (59:2)
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, means by His word: "He is the One who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering": Allah is the One who expelled those who denied the prophethood of Muḥammad ﷺ among the People of the Book — and they are the Jews of Banū al-Naḍīr — from their homes, that is, their departure from their dwellings and their houses, when they made a treaty with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on condition that he would guarantee their safety with regard to their blood, their women, and their children, and on condition that there should accrue to them what the camels could carry of possessions, and that their houses and the rest of their possessions should be vacated for him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ agreed to that, and they departed from their homes: some of them departed to Syria (al-Shām) and some to Khaybar. That is the word of Allah, mighty and exalted is He: "He is the One who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering."
And in agreement with what we have said about that, the interpreters (ahl al-taʾwīl) spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Waraqāʾ related to us — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah, mighty and exalted is He: "He is the One who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering," he said: [they are] the Naḍīr, up to His word: "and that He might disgrace the morally corrupt (fāsiqīn)."
* Mention of all that has been [transmitted] about them concerning that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "He is the One who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering," it was said: [to] Syria; and they are Banū al-Naḍīr, a tribe of the Jews, whom the Prophet of Allah ﷺ banished from Medina to Khaybar, upon his return from Uḥud.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī: "from their homes at the first gathering," he said: they are Banū al-Naḍīr; the Prophet ﷺ fought them until he made a treaty with them concerning their banishment, and he banished them to Syria, on condition that there should accrue to them what the camels could carry of possessions, except the ḥalqa — and the ḥalqa are the weapons. They belonged to a tribe that had not in the past undergone banishment, and Allah, mighty and exalted is He, had prescribed banishment upon them; and had that not been the case, He would have punished them in this world with death and captivity (sabī).
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: "He is the One who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering," he said: these are the Naḍīr, when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ banished them.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama ibn al-Faḍl related to us, saying: Ibn Isḥāq related to us, on the authority of Yazīd ibn Rūmān, he said: concerning Banū al-Naḍīr the whole of Sūrat al-Ḥashr was sent down, in which He mentions what Allah, mighty and exalted is He, brought upon them of His vengeance, and that by which He gave the Messenger of Allah ﷺ power over them, and what he did with regard to them. So He said: "He is the One who expelled those who disbelieved among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering" ... the verses.
And His word: "at the first gathering," the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: at the first driving-together in this world, and that was their driving-together to the land of Syria.
And in agreement with what we have said about that, the interpreters spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, concerning His word: "at the first gathering," he said: "their banishment was the first gathering in this world, to Syria."
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: "A fire shall come from the east of the earth, driving the people together towards its west; it spends the night with them where they spend the night, it takes the midday rest with them where they take the midday rest, and it devours whoever lags behind."
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of ʿAwf, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, he said: it has reached me that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he banished Banū al-Naḍīr, said: "Depart, for this is the first gathering, and we follow upon the track."
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: "at the first gathering," he said: Syria, when He returned them to Syria. And he recited the word of Allah, mighty and exalted is He: "O you to whom the Book has been given, believe in what We have sent down, confirming what you already possess, before We efface faces and turn them back upon their backs." He said: from where they had come; "turn them back upon their backs" means that they returned to Syria, from where they had come they were returned to it.
And His word: "You did not think that they would depart," the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says to the believers among the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: you did not think that these whom Allah expelled from their homes among the People of the Book would depart from their dwellings and their houses. "And they thought that their fortresses would protect them against Allah." This people thought that only — according to what is transmitted — because ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy and a group of the hypocrites, when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ besieged them, sent [messengers] to them commanding them to stand firm in their fortresses, and promising them victory.
As Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Yazīd ibn Rūmān, that a group of Banū ʿAwf ibn al-Khazraj, among whom were ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl, and Wadīʿa and Mālik, the two sons of Nawfal, and Suwayd and Dāʿis, sent to Banū al-Naḍīr [with the message]: "stand firm and fortify yourselves, for we will not surrender you; and if you are fought, we will fight at your side, and if you depart, we will depart with you." Thereupon they waited expectantly for their help, but they did [nothing], and they had fortified themselves in the fortresses against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he came upon them.
And His word: "But Allah came upon them from where they did not expect," the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: then the command of Allah came upon them from where they did not expect that it would come upon them. And that command of Allah which came upon them from where they did not expect, [consisted in His] casting terror into their hearts through the arrival of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ upon them with his companions. The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: "and He cast terror into their hearts."
And His word: "so that they destroyed their houses with their own hands and with the hands of the believers," the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, means by His word "they destroy their houses" Banū al-Naḍīr of the Jews, and that they destroyed their dwellings. That was because they — according to what is transmitted — looked at the woodwork in their houses that they found beautiful, or the pillar or the door, and then took it out with their own hands and with the hands of the believers.
And in agreement with what we have said about that, the interpreters spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "so that they destroyed their houses with their own hands and with the hands of the believers": they began to destroy them from the inside, and the believers began to destroy them from the outside.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, he said: when they made a treaty with the Prophet ﷺ, they did not leave a single piece of woodwork that pleased them untouched but they took it with them, and that was their destruction. And Qatāda said: the Muslims destroyed what faced them from the outside, and the Jews destroyed them from the inside.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Yazīd ibn Rūmān, he said: they carried off from their possessions — that is, Banū al-Naḍīr — what the camels could carry, and the man among them would break down his house at the lintel of his door, place it on the back of his camel, and go off with it. He said: that is His word: "so that they destroyed their houses with their own hands and with the hands of the believers," and that was their breaking down of their houses at the lintels of their doors when they carried them off.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning the word of Allah, mighty and exalted is He: "so that they destroyed their houses with their own hands and with the hands of the believers," he said: these are the Naḍīr; the Prophet ﷺ made a treaty with them on [the condition of] what the camels could carry, and they began to pull out the posts and to destroy their houses.
And others said: that was said only because they destroyed their houses in order to build, with the demolition material thereof, that which the Muslims had demolished of their fortresses.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: "so that they destroyed their houses with their own hands and with the hands of the believers. Take warning from this, O you who have insight!", he said: by this Banū al-Naḍīr are meant; every time the Muslims demolished something of their fortresses, they began to demolish and destroy their houses, and then build up with it what the Muslims destroyed; and that was their ruin.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His word: "so that they destroyed their houses with their own hands and with the hands of the believers," by this the people of [Banū] al-Naḍīr are meant; every time the Muslims demolished [something] of their fortress, they began to demolish their houses with their own hands and with the hands of the believers, and then build up with it what the Muslims had destroyed.
And the reciters differed concerning the reading of it. Most of the reciters of the Hijaz, Medina, and Iraq — except Abū ʿAmr — read it as "yukhribūna" with lightening (takhfīf) of the rāʾ, in the meaning of: they leave them and let them lie idle and ruined. And Abū ʿAmr used to read it as "yukharribūna" with doubling (tashdīd) of the rāʾ, in the meaning of: they break down their houses. And it is transmitted from Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī and al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī that they both read it in accordance with the reading of Abū ʿAmr. And Abū ʿAmr claimed — according to what is transmitted from him — that he preferred the doubling of the rāʾ only for the reason that I have mentioned, namely that al-ikhrāb [with lightening] properly means: to leave a thing ruined without inhabitant, whereas Banū al-Naḍīr did not [simply] leave their dwellings and depart from them, but rather destroyed them by demolition and tearing down, and that — according to what he said — can only be [expressed] with the doubling.
And the correct of the two readings therein, according to me, is the reading of the one who read it with lightening, because of the consensus of the authoritative proof of the reciters concerning that. And some of the experts in the Arabic of the Arabs used to say: al-takhrīb and al-ikhrāb have one and the same meaning, and that difference concerns only the usage, not a difference in meaning.
And His word: "Take warning from this, O you who have insight!", the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: let yourselves be admonished, O assembly of possessors of understanding, by what Allah did to these Jews into whose hearts Allah cast terror while they were in their fortresses, because of His vengeance; and know that Allah is the Protector of whoever takes Him as protector, and the Helper of His Messenger against everyone who treats him with enmity, and that He causes to descend upon whoever treats Him with enmity a vengeance similar to that which He caused to descend upon Banū al-Naḍīr. And by "al-abṣār" (the insight/the sights) in this place are meant only the sights of the hearts, for the taking of warning occurs by them, and not by seeing with the eyes.
