The hypocrites and the sick at heart said: “God and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusions.” Some of them said: “People of Yathrib! You cannot withstand (the attack) here, so go back.” And a group of them asked the Prophet’s permission to leave, saying: “Our houses are exposed,” while they were not exposed. They only wanted to run away. Had their city been stormed from all sides, and had they been asked to renounce their faith they would have done so without much delay. They had previously vowed before God that they would never turn their backs in flight. A vow made to God must surely be answered for. (The Confederates Al-Ahzab: 33: 12-15)
As we continue our commentary on this passage that analyzes the events of the encounter at the Moat between the Muslims and the hypocrites we need to mention that two Muslim reconnaissance units went out one night, and they met by accident, each thinking the other to belong to the enemy. They clashed, with some from both groups being injured or killed. When one of them shouted the Muslim battle slogan: “Ha Mim. They will not triumph,” they realized their mistake and stopped fighting. The Prophet (peace be upon him) advised the two parties: “Whoever of you is wounded should consider it an injury incurred for God’s sake, and whoever of your men has been killed is a martyr.”
The worst distress the Muslims faced during the siege was the treachery of the Qurayzah Jews, who were to their rear. They feared that at any time a concerted attack by the idolaters and Jews could be mounted and that they would be heavily outnumbered by the herds intent on exterminating Islam and the Muslims.
On top of all these, the Muslims also faced the schemes concocted by the hypocrites, who, as usual, tried to raise doubts in their minds and so split their ranks: “The hypocrites and the sick at heart said: God and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusions.” In this way, the hypocrites saw in the Muslims’ distress a chance to speak out without being blamed. They felt they could now undermine the believers’ morale, raising doubts about the promises given by God and His Messenger, without accusing fingers being raised against them. The overall situation, or so it seemed, confirmed the doubts they were raising. Moreover, they were consistent with what they felt deep inside. Such testing times, however, removed the thin cover by which the hypocrites tried to hide their reality. They were in such a state of fear themselves that this in itself shattered all their claims to be believers. In short, their truth was out.
In every community there will always be hypocrites and doubters who will, in times of difficulty, adopt the same attitude. Theirs is a state of mind encountered in all communities and across all generations.
“Some of them said: People of Yathrib! You cannot withstand (the attack) here, so go back.” Thus they tried to encourage the people of Madinah to desert and go home, arguing that standing guard behind the moat was meaningless when their homes were exposed to danger. This was a wicked attempt to exploit a natural weakness in people’s hearts: their concerns about their women and children at times of great danger. “And a group of them asked the Prophet’s permission to leave, saying: ‘Our houses are exposed.’” Such people tried to give the appearance of being with the Muslims, whilst all they wanted was leave to go home under the pretext that their homes were vulnerable to attack. The Qur’an, however, states their true motives, refutes their arguments and confronts them with their lies and tricks: “while they were not exposed. They only wanted to run away.”
One report mentions that the Harithah clan sent one of their people, Aws ibn Qayzi, to the Prophet with a message saying: “Our homes are exposed. There is none among the Ansar whose quarters are as vulnerable as ours. There is nothing to repel the Ghatafan from directing an attack against our quarters. Could you please give us permission to return home so that we can protect our women and children.” The Prophet gave them permission. However, Saad ibn Muadh said to him: “Messenger of God! Do not give them such permission. Whenever we faced a hardship in the past, they would do the same.” Thereafter the Prophet issued an order that they should return to Madinah. It was such people that the Qur’an put face to face with their inner motives: “They only wanted to run away.”
The surah pauses a little here in order to draw a mental picture for those hypocrites as to how hollow their faith was and how they were always ready to break ranks, even for the slightest reason. They would not even try to cover their weaknesses: “Had their city been stormed from all sides, and they had been asked to renounce their faith they would have done so without much delay.” The attitude described in the previous verses was the one they adopted when the enemy was still outside Madinah, unable to storm it. No matter how hard and stressful a situation is, a potential danger is far less than a real one. Should their worst fears come true and Madinah be stormed from all sides, and should they be asked to renounce Islam, they would do so with little hesitation, or a few would hesitate for a while before then reverting to disbelief. In essence, their claimed faith lacked firm roots while their cowardice made them unable to resist.
Thus the Qur’an exposed their reality and put them naked before the mirror to see themselves as they truly were. It then accused them of breaking their clear pledges, which they had earlier given to none other than God. Yet they were heedless of their promises and pledges: “They had previously vowed before God that they would never turn their backs in flight. A vow made to God must surely be answered for.”
Ibn Hisham reports: “This is a reference to the Harithah clan who, together with the Salamah clan, were about to desert the Muslim camp before the Battle of Uhud. They subsequently vowed before God they would never do so again. Therefore, the surah reminds them of their earlier undertaking.
At Uhud, God saved them and spared them from the consequences of desertion. This was one example of the practical lessons of the early days of jihad. Now, with the lapse of time ensuring greater experience, they had to be put face to face against their reality.
