The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Tabrisi said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) conquered Mecca and promised his ummah the rule over Persia and Rome, the hypocrites and the Jews said: 'Far-fetched! What has Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) to do with the kingdom of Persia and Rome?! Are Medina and Mecca not enough for him that he has set his greed upon Rome and Persia?!' So this verse قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ ... was revealed. This report has been narrated from Ibn Abbas and Anas. And it has been said: 'The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) marked out the boundary of the trench in the Battle of the Confederates (Ahzab) and allotted to every ten men forty cubits (approximately twenty metres); as a result the Muhajirun and the Ansar disputed over Salman (may Allah have mercy on him), for he was a strong man. The Muhajirun said: "Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) is one of us!" and the Ansar said: "Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) is one of us!" Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) is one of us, the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them)."' Amr ibn Awf said: 'I, Salman (may Allah have mercy on him), Hudhayfah, Nu'man ibn Muqarrin al-Muzani and six of the Ansar were within a stretch of forty cubits. We dug until, when we were in a pit that had an opening, Allah brought out from the heart of the trench a hard rock which broke our pickaxes and adzes and made the work difficult for us. We said: "O Salman (may Allah have mercy on him)! Go to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and inform him of the matter of this hard rock. Either we may turn aside from it — for turning aside [in practice] is close — or let him give us his command about it, for we do not like to overstep the boundary the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) has marked out."' Amr ibn Awf said: 'Salman (may Allah have mercy on him), wearing a Turkish cloak, climbed up out of the pit and came to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! A hard white rock has emerged from the heart of the trench which has broken our pickaxe and made the work difficult for us, so that nothing at all — neither little nor much — can be chipped from it. Give us your command about it, for we do not like to overstep the boundary you have marked."' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) came down into the trench together with Salman (may Allah have mercy on him), while the nine were on the edge of the trench. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) took the pickaxe from Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) and struck the rock with it a blow that split it, and a light flashed from it which illuminated what lay between the two edges of the trench, so that it was as if a lamp had been lit inside a dark house. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) then said the takbir of victory and opening, and the Muslims said the takbir. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) struck it again and a light flashed from it which illuminated what lay between the two edges of the trench, so that it was as if a lamp had been lit inside a dark house; and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said the takbir of victory and opening, and the Muslims said the takbir. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) struck it a third blow and broke it, and a light flashed from it which illuminated what lay between the two edges of the trench, so that it was as if a lamp had been lit inside a dark house; and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said the takbir of victory and opening, and the Muslims said the takbir, and he took Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) by the hand and they climbed up. Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 'May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! I have seen something from you that I have never seen from you before.' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) turned to the people and said: 'Did you hear what Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) is saying?' They said: 'Yes!' He said: 'I struck my first blow and the light you saw flashed; by means of that light the palaces of al-Hirah and the cities of Kisra were shown to me — they were like the fangs of dogs; then Jibra'il (peace be upon him) informed me that my ummah would prevail over them. Then I struck my second blow and the light you saw flashed; by means of that light the red palaces in the land of Rome were shown to me, and they were as though they were the fangs of dogs; then Jibra'il (peace be upon him) informed me that my ummah would prevail over them. Then I struck my third blow and the light you saw flashed for me; by means of that light the palaces of Sana'a were shown to me, and they were as though they were the fangs of dogs; then Jibra'il (peace be upon him) informed me that my ummah would prevail over them; so rejoice at the good news!' The Muslims rejoiced and said: 'Praise be to Allah! It is a true promise; He has promised us victory after hardship.' The hypocrites said: 'Do you not wonder? He amuses you with wishes and gives you false promises and tells you that he sees, from Medina, the palaces of al-Hirah and the cities of Kisra, and that they will be conquered at your hands, while you are only digging the trench out of fear and are unable to come out and face [the enemy]!' So this verse of the Qur'an was revealed: And [also] remember when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease were saying: 'Allah and His Messenger have promised us nothing but delusions!' (Ahzab/12). And Allah the Exalted revealed concerning this incident the verse: قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِکَ الْمُلْکِ [Say: O Allah, Master of the Kingdom] ...