سورة الأحزاب

Ibn Abbas: وَ إِذْ یَقُولُ الْمُنافِقُونَ وَ الَّذِینَ فِی قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ ما وَعَدَنَا اللهُ وَ رَسُولُهُ إِلَّا غُرُوراً [And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was a disease began to say: Allah and His Messenger did not promise us (victory) but only to deceive] — the hypocrites were saying, "Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) promises us that he will conquer the cities of Chosroes and Caesar, while we do not have security even to relieve ourselves. By Allah, these are deceptive promises."

Ali ibn Ibrahim: When the battle dragged on for the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), the siege upon them grew tighter. At that time the weather was also very cold, and they were suffering from hunger and were greatly afraid of the Jews. It was then that the hypocrites uttered the words which Allah has mentioned in the Quran, and all the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), except a few, became hypocrites. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) had earlier told his companions that the confederates of the Arabs would unite with one another and attack us from the front, and that the Jews would act treacherously and we would have to fear them from behind, and that they would make great efforts, but the outcome and the end of the affair would be to my advantage and to their loss. When the Quraysh came for battle and the Jews acted treacherously, the hypocrites said: ما وَعَدَنَا اللهُ وَ رَسُولُهُ إِلَّا غُرُوراً [Allah and His Messenger did not promise us anything but deception]. A group of the hypocrites had houses on the outskirts of Medina. So they said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Will you permit us to return to our houses which are on the outskirts of Medina, for those houses have low walls and we fear that the Jews may raid them?" Another group also said: "Come, let us flee and take to the desert and seek refuge with the bedouin Arabs, for all the promises of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) have been empty and worthless."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Amr ibn Awf said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) went down into the trench together with Salman, while those nine men were standing at the edge of the trench. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) took the pickaxe from Salman's hand and struck a blow upon that rock, splitting it in such a way that from within its crack a flash of light shone like a lamp inside a dark house. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) uttered a takbir of victory and the Muslims also raised takbir. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) struck a second blow, and again from within the crack of the rock a flash of light shone like a lamp inside a dark house. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) uttered a takbir of victory and the Muslims also raised takbir. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) brought down the third blow, and again broke the rock in such a way that from within its crack a flash of light shone like a lamp inside a dark house. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) uttered a takbir of victory and the Muslims also raised takbir. Then he took Salman's hand and climbed up with him. Salman said: "May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! I saw something from you which I had never seen before." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) turned to that group and said: "Did you also see what Salman is saying?" They said: "Yes." He said: "When I struck the first blow and that flash which you saw shone forth, by that flash the palaces of al-Hira and the cities of Kisra shone before me like the fangs of dogs, and Jibra'il informed me that my community will prevail over them. When I struck the second blow and that flash which you saw shone forth, by that flash the red palaces in the land of Rum shone before me like the fangs of dogs, and Jibra'il informed me that my community will prevail over them. When I struck the third blow and that flash which you saw shone forth, by that flash the palaces of Sana'a shone before me like the fangs of dogs, and Jibra'il informed me that my community will prevail over them, so give the good news." The Muslims gave one another the good news and said: "Praise be to Allah, whose promise is true; He has promised us victory after the siege." The hypocrites said: "Do you not wonder that he gladdens you and gives you false promises and says that from Yathrib he can see the palaces of al-Hira and the cities of Kisra, which will be conquered for you, while you are digging the trench out of fear and cannot even face the enemy?!" Then the Qur'an was revealed: إِذْ یَقُولُ المُنافِقُونَ وَ الَّذِینَ فِی قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ ما وَعَدَنَا اللهُ وَ رَسُولُهُ إِلَّا غُرُوراً [When the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said: "Allah and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusion."] And Allah the Exalted said concerning this matter: Say: "O Allah! Owner of sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and take sovereignty from whom You will; You honour whom You will and abase whom You will. All good is in Your hand; indeed You are able to do all things." (Al Imran/26).