What Sūrat al-Ḥashr Says of Them

Some lessons from the campaign against Banū al-Naḍīr: an entire sūrah was revealed concerning this ghazwah. It is Sūrat al-Ḥashr, and Ibn ʿAbbās used to call it the Sūrah of Banū al-Naḍīr.^*** Some of the āyāt of this sūrah follow. Allah (swt) says:

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. So here Allah is saying that the expectation beforehand, on the believers' side and on their side, was that they could not be driven out. Their fortresses were strong and powerful, and their numbers — they had plenty of fighters, and they had a lot of wealth to finance a war. So Allah (swt) is saying that the believers' expectation and their expectation was that they would not leave: the way it looked from the outset was that it would not be possible to drive them out. Nevertheless, they did leave. Why? Allah did so. Huwa alladhī akhraja — He is the one. He is the one who expelled them.

Allah says: "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." Over here Allah is talking about fortresses, but this could apply to anything. Any nation, or any superpower, that thinks its weapons — no matter what these weapons are — can stand between it and the qadar of Allah is mistaken. Whether these weapons are nuclear bombs, or aircraft carriers, or powerful aeroplanes, or bombs, whatever — a huge army, millions of fighters — if Allah (swt) wants to defeat a nation, that nation will be defeated. No one can stand between Allah (swt) and His giving victory to His servants.

Then Allah says: "But the decree of Allah came upon them from where they had not expected." No matter how strong an army is, no matter how good its preparations are, how good its training is, no matter how many types of weapons it has, there are always going to be some gaps. There are always going to be some points of weakness, and Allah (swt) knows these, and Allah (swt) will attack the enemies of Allah through these points of weakness. Now, how did it happen with the people of Banū al-Naḍīr? Allah (swt) said: but the decree of Allah came upon them from where they had not expected, and He cast terror into their hearts. This was the soldier of Allah (swt) that defeated Banū al-Naḍīr: fear. They were horrified; Allah (swt) cast fear into their hearts. So if the heart is terrified, it makes no difference what arms one has or how well fortified one is.

That is why Ibn al-Qayyim says that the Romans and Persians had stronger bodies, greater numbers and more arms than the Muslims had, but their hearts failed them when they needed them most. When the Companions stood in battle in front of the Romans and Persians, they were, in terms of physical ability, probably not as strong as their opponents. Their training was definitely less, their numbers were definitely less, and the assortment of arms that the Companions had was very limited compared to what their opponents had. However, the Companions had īmān, and that īmān made their hearts steadfast, while the enemies of Allah (swt) were attached to the dunyā, and Allah (swt) cast fear into their hearts, and they lost. So Allah (swt) says: "So take warning, O people of vision."

And if not that Allah had decreed for them evacuation, He would have punished them in this world, and for them in the Hereafter is the punishment of the Fire. So Allah is saying that if the people of Banū al-Naḍīr had not evacuated, their punishment would have been execution, which is even worse. That would be the punishment in the dunyā, and the punishment in the Hereafter would be even greater. That is because they opposed Allah and His Messenger, and whoever opposes Allah — indeed, Allah is severe in penalty. So this act of Allah (swt) in defeating Banū al-Naḍīr is because of their disbelief in Allah and His messengers. Allah (swt) is just; Allah (swt) did not punish them without their deserving that punishment. Allah (swt) punished them because of their standing against Islam. So anyone who stands against Islam, whether an individual or a nation, is calling upon themselves the wrath of Allah (swt).