سورة البروج

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Imam Hasan (peace be upon him) said: When the Companions of the Pit (Ashab al-Ukhdud) were mentioned before the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), he would seek refuge in Allah the Exalted from the severity of tribulation.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Jabir (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) who said: "The bishop of Najran came to the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) and the discussion turned to Ashab al-Ukhdud (the People of the Pit). The Imam said: 'Allah sent an Abyssinian prophet to his people in Abyssinia, and he called the people to worship Allah the Exalted. But the people denied him, fought him, and overcame him. Then they dug pits, placed firewood in them, and set them ablaze. Then they said to all those who had accepted the religion of that prophet: You must abandon his religion, or else we will throw you into the fire. A great many people renounced that religion, and a great many refused, and they threw them into the fire. Until it came to the turn of a woman who had a two-month-old child. They said to her: Either abandon your religion, or we will throw you into the fire. She wanted to throw herself into the fire, but when she looked at her child, mercy overcame her and she wanted to turn back. But Allah caused that child to speak, and he said: O mother, throw yourself and me into the fire, for this act is a small and insignificant thing before Allah.' The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was asked: 'What rulings were applied among the Magians?' He said: 'They were People of the Book and had a heavenly scripture. One day their king became drunk and had intercourse with his sister and his mother. When he became sober he regretted it, and this matter weighed heavily on him. So he said to the people: Performing this act is lawful and permissible. But the people did not accept. So he prepared pits of fire, and whoever did not accept this act, he threw into the fire.'"

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Isma'il ibn Abi Rafi' narrated from his father from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): ... Then Mahrawayh ibn Bukhtnassar ruled for sixteen years and twenty days. When he reached this time, he dug a pit and threw Daniyal (peace be upon him) and his believing companions into that pit, and kindled a fire in that pit. But when he saw that the fire did not harm them and did not come near them, he threw them into a well in which there were lions and other beasts of prey. He tormented them in the worst manner, until Allah the Mighty and Majestic delivered them from his hand. And these are the ones whom Allah the Mighty and Majestic mentions in the Quran, saying: قُتِلَ أَصْحَابُ الْأُخْدُودِ * النَّارِ ذَاتِ الْوَقُودِ [Cursed be the makers of the pit, of the fire fed with fuel].

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): قُتِلَ أَصْحابُ الْأُخْدُودِ [Cursed be the makers of the pit] — The one who incited Abyssinia to plunder Yemen was Dhu Nuwas, the last king of Himyar, who became a Jew, and all the Himyarites followed him in this religion, and he called himself Yusuf. A period of time passed in this manner. Then news reached him that in Najran there were remnants of the Christian religion who followed the religion and creed of Isa (peace be upon him) and the Injil, and the head and leader of this religion was Abdullah ibn Burya. So the people urged Dhu Nuwas to go there and force them to accept the Jewish religion and creed. So he set out toward them until he reached Najran, and there he gathered whoever was upon the Christian religion, and presented the Jewish religion to them, but they refused to accept this religion. So he debated and argued with them and pressed and insisted, but they refused to accept the Jewish creed and chose death. So Dhu Nuwas dug a pit (ukhdud) for them, gathered firewood in it, and kindled a fire. A group of them were burned in the fire and a group were killed with drawn swords, and he tortured them in the worst manner, until the number of those killed reached twenty thousand. A man from among those Christians called Daws Dhu Thalaban fled from there on a horse. They pursued him, but they got stuck in the sand and he escaped from them. And Dhu Nuwas returned to his scattered army. So Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: قُتِلَ أَصْحَابُ الْأُخْدُودِ * النَّارِ ذَاتِ الْوَقُودِ [Cursed be the makers of the pit, the fire fed with fuel] up to where He says: الْعَزِیزِ الحَمِیدِ [the Mighty, the Praiseworthy].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Allah sent an Abyssinian prophet to his people. So he rose to fight his people and many of his companions were killed and taken captive, and they dug a pit for them and kindled a fire in it, and they called out: Whoever is upon our religion and creed, let him stay away from this pit, and whoever is upon the religion of this prophet, must enter this fire. And people began entering this blazing pit. A woman came with her child, but she feared that blazing fire. The child said to the mother: "Enter," so the woman entered that fire. They are the Ashab al-Ukhdud (People of the Pit).

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Maytham al-Tammar narrates: I heard Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) mentioning the Ashab al-Ukhdud (People of the Pit) and he said: "They were ten, and ten others like them will be killed in the same manner in this marketplace."