Transliteration:( Wa iz qaalat taaa'ifatum minhum yaaa ahla Yasriba laa muqaamaa lakum farji'oo; wa yastaazinu fareequm minhumun Nabiyya yaqooloona inna buyootanaa 'awrah; wa maa hiya bi'awratin iny yureedoona illaa firaaraa )
29. This tells us that it is inauspicious now to call Madina Shareef as Yathrib. This is the practice of the hypocrites. To make haste with the promises of Allah Almighty and His is beyond Beloved Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم the status of the believer. Their promises are true, even if some are fulfilled with a delay.
Now, Madina Munawwarah should be referred to with endearing words like Tayyibah, Batha, and Madina etc. The reason being, the word Yathrib means a place of hardship. Here, it is stated that the hypocrites, as well as those of weak beliefs refer to the people of Madina as people of Yathrib.
Wherever the pious people have used Yathrib for Madina, there the readers must take the word to mean Madina. Either these people did not receive the Hadith prohibiting this habit, or they refer to the surrounding areas of Madina as Yathrib, but not to the city of Madina. The writer of Roobul Bayaan has stated that the people of Amaliqa had settled in this area. Their leader was Yathrib bin Abeel bin Mohla Beel bin Aus bin Amlaaq bin Laado bin Eram. Therefore this area was called Yathrib. Or, this word has been formed from THARB meaning hardship.
30. The hypocrites had told their friends that power of the infidels had increased. therefore. they should not stop there any longer, but instead return to their homes. In response. all the hypocrites left the field. Those who remained behind became identified as the sincere believers, while those who ran from there were the hypocrites.
31. The tribes of Bani Salmah and Bani Haritha made flimsy excuses to seek permission to return from the battlefield. The first group had departed without permission to leave, while the second group was seeking permission.
32. Allah Almighty had included both these groups among those who had ran from the battle field and declared them as equal culprits.
The tafsir of Surah Ahzab verse 13 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Ahzab ayat 11 which provides the complete commentary from verse 11 through 13.
23. This sentence has two meanings: The apparent meaning is that there is no chance for them to stay at the Trench against the polytheists; therefore, they should return to the city. And the hidden meaning is that there is no chance for them to remain in Islam; therefore, they should return to their ancestral religion, so that they might escape the danger in which they had involved themselves by earning the hostility of the whole of Arabia. The hypocrites uttered such mischievous things so that they could make the one who would listen to them understand the intended hidden meaning, but in case someone took exception to their words, they could say they had been misunderstood.
24. That is, when the Bani Quraizah also joined the invaders, the hypocrites had a good excuse for defection and they started asking the Prophet (peace be upon him) for leave to go and protect their houses and families, which, they said, had been endangered, whereas at that time the Prophet (peace be upon him) was responsible for the defense and protection of all the people of Al-Madinah. After the treachery of the Quraizah it was for the Prophet (peace be upon him) to devise plans for the protection of the city and its people and not of the soldiers of the army individually.
25. That is, the Prophet (peace be upon him) had already made arrangements for protection against the danger, which were a part of the collective scheme of defense being implemented by him as commander of the Islamic forces. Therefore, there was no immediate danger in the face of which these people could justifiably make such an excuse.
Related Ayat(Verses)/Topics