Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And He brought down those who opposed them from among the People of the Book from their fortresses, and He cast terror into their hearts. A group you kill and a group you take captive.”

He said: meaning Qayarah, is that what you have, or is it Banu Qayarah?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Their fortresses are the plural of *sayyisah*, which is what they take refuge in. "

and cast terror into their hearts

وَقَذَفَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الرُّعْبَ

[Al-Ahzab 33:26]

And He brought down those who supported them among the People of the Scripture from their fortresses

وَأَنْزَلَ الَّذِينَ ظَاهَرُوهُمْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مِنْ صَيَاصِيهِمْ

[Al-Ahzab 33:26]

revealed

أنزل

To whom does the pronoun refer? It refers to Allah. And His saying:

those who opposed them

الَّذِينَ ظَاهَرُوهُمْ

means they aided and supported them. *Muzahirah* means assistance, and *tataharra* upon something means to support and back it up. Allah the Exalted said:

But if you cooperate against him - then indeed Allah is his protector

وَإِنْ تَظَاهَرَا عَلَيْهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ مَوْلاهُ

[Al-Tahrim: 4] And He said:

Say, "If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants."

قُلْ لَئِنِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى أَنْ يَأْتُوا بِمِثْلِ هَذَا الْقُرْآنِ لا يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا

[Al-Isra: 88] meaning a helper and supporter. And His saying:

They supported them

ظَاهَرُوهُمْ

means they aided and supported them from among the People of the Book. And His saying:

from the People of the Scripture

مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ

[Al-Baqarah 2:105]

The intended meaning of the People of the Book is the Jews and the Christians, but in this verse, the intended group is a faction of the Jews, namely the Banu Quraizah. It has been mentioned previously that the Banu Quraizah, Banu Nadir, and Banu Qaynuqa were three tribes of Jews who were residing in Madinah when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived. He established a treaty with them, but they broke that treaty. Only the Banu Quraizah remained, and then the Banu Quraizah broke the treaty by aiding whom? The Confederates against the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) returned from the Battle of the Confederates and entered his house and performed a bath, Jibril came to him and said to him:

Go out to these people

اخرج إلى هؤلاء

pointing to the Banu Quraizah, for they had broken the treaty. So the Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) ordered his companions, commanding them to go out. He said:

None should offer the 'Asr prayer but at Bani Quraiza.

لا يصلين أحد العصر إلا في بني قريظة

Sahih al-Bukhari 946

The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did not hesitate or delay, despite the fatigue and weakness involved. So they went out and besieged the Banu Quraizah for about twenty days until they submitted to the judgment of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him). Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: Here

And He brought down those who supported them among the People of the Scripture from their fortresses

وَأَنْزَلَ الَّذِينَ ظَاهَرُوهُمْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مِنْ صَيَاصِيهِمْ

[Al-Ahzab 33:26]

from their fortresses

مِنْ صَيَاصِيهِمْ

is a noun and a prepositional phrase attached to *anzala*, meaning He brought down these people from their *sayyisat*, i.e., from their places of safety. The original meaning of *sayyisat* is cattle pens, because they provide safety there. So

from their fortresses

مِنْ صَيَاصِيهِمْ

means from their places of safety and their fortresses in which they took refuge. But that did not avail them anything from Allah; He brought them down from their *sayyisat*... The end. Go, what contradicts? Yes.

and cast terror into their hearts

وَقَذَفَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الرُّعْبَ

[Al-Ahzab 33:26]

cast

قذف

means He cast, which has a stronger impact than saying "He placed." Meaning, if He said "He placed fear in their hearts," it would imply that the fear became in the hearts. But if He said:

cast

قذف

it became stronger. *Ra'b* means fear. And when fear settles in the heart, do not ask about the one who is afraid; he thinks that the trees are moving. He does not perceive things as they are. Even if one of his companions called out to him, he would think it was his enemy calling him to kill him. And nothing is more effective as a weapon against the enemy than fear. For this reason, the Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) said:

I have been supported with fear being struck into the hearts of my enemy for a distance of one month's travel

نصرت بالرعب مسيرة شهر

Sunan an-Nasa'i 432Sahih (Darussalam)

However, if the heart is firm and at peace, then the fighter will stand firm, as Allah the Exalted said:

O you who have believed, when you encounter a company [from the enemy forces], stand firm and remember Allah much that you may be successful.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا لَقِيتُمْ فِئَةً فَاثْبُتُوا وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

[Al-Anfal: 45] And the remembrance of Allah the Exalted brings tranquility to the hearts.

Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured."

أَلا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

[Ar-Ra'd: 28] And Allah the Mighty and Majestic informed that Allah sent rain upon the people of Badr to firm their feet and to bring tranquility. The conclusion is that fear is one of the most effective weapons against the enemy.

and cast terror into their hearts [so that] a party you killed, and you took captive a party.

وَقَذَفَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الرُّعْبَ فَرِيقًا تَقْتُلُونَ وَتَأْسِرُونَ فَرِيقًا

[Al-Ahzab 33:26]

The author said:

a group

فريقاً

You kill them, and they are the fighters.

and take captive a group

وَتَأْسِرُونَ فَرِيقًا

"From them" means the children. When the siege dragged on and they submitted to the judgment of the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him), he gave them a choice. He said:

Whom do you want to submit to the judgment of?

من تريدون أن تنزلوا على حكمه

But Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him), when he came, was in a tent in the mosque because he had been wounded in the Battle of the Confederates in his leg. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had set up a tent for him in the mosque to visit him nearby, because he was the leader of his people, the leader of the Aws. He came on a donkey from the mosque of the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) to the place of the siege. The Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) informed him that they had given him the judgment. He said: " My judgment is binding upon them, or my judgment in them is binding," pointing to the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) and also pointing to them. So they said, "Yes," and all of them were pleased. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was pleased, and these Jews were also pleased. So he said: "It is time for Sa'd that no one should blame him for the sake of Allah" This is a position of a great trial. So he judged them (may Allah be pleased with him) with a great judgment, a correct judgment in accordance with the truth. He said: "I judge that you kill their fighters, take their children as captives, and take their wealth as spoils" So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that their fighters be killed, and they are the adult men. As for the children, the women and men who are not adults, they are to be taken as captives, and the wealth is to be taken as spoils. So they killed in Madinah between seven hundred and eight hundred, killed in one day, based on the judgment that they had agreed to. This is the meaning of His saying: