Surah Al-Hashr: Thematic English Translation (Mustafa Çevik)

All that is in the heavens and on the earth reminds human beings of the greatness of Allah’s knowledge, His power, and His divinity (glorifies Him), and at the same time shows that they are carrying out without fail the tasks Allah has laid upon them. Allah alone is the One whose every ruling is absolutely perfect and who puts everything in its proper place.

You never imagined that those of the People of the Book who had gathered and risen up to fight you would then lose the nerve to fight and leave their homeland. And they thought that their fortresses and houses would protect them against Allah; but when Allah threw them into the grip of fear and brought them face to face with a blow they never expected, their will broke; as they abandoned their homeland, their houses were being pulled down, on the one hand by themselves and on the other by the believers. O you who have understanding, there are lessons to be learned and drawn from this.

Had Allah not ordained banishment from their homeland for them, He would certainly have punished them with a greater punishment. And in the Hereafter the punishment of Hell awaits them. For they were ungrateful to Allah and the Prophet and set about stabbing the believers in the back. Whoever is ungrateful to Allah and His Prophet and rebels, Allah punishes him with a severe punishment.

O you who believe! Whether you cut down the date palms of the People of the Book who were hostile to you or left them standing, it was by Allah’s leave and with His help. For they had broken the treaty they made with the Prophet and, by attempting treachery, had deserved punishment.

You spurred on neither horse nor camel for the spoils Allah granted His Prophet from them without fighting. Allah sends His Prophet against whomever He wills and makes him prevail over them; Allah alone has power to do whatever He wills.

Allah has made known to His Prophet how the spoils gained without fighting are to be shared out, thus: part of these spoils (for Allah) belongs to the Bayt al-Mal (the state treasury), for the purpose of upholding Allah’s way, the order and morality of Islam; and the other part belongs, at the Prophet’s disposal, to those of his kin he sees fit, to the orphans left by the dead, to the poor, and to stranded travelers.

We did this so that the spoils would not become a fortune circulating among the rich, adding wealth to their wealth. Of those specified, let whoever the Prophet gives something from these spoils take it, and let whoever he does not give keep from asking. Do not forget that you are answerable for Allah’s commands, for Allah’s punishment is very severe.

Part of these spoils will also be given to the believers who were impoverished after being forced to emigrate, leaving their homeland and their homes because of the oppression of those who associate partners with Allah and deny the truth, while struggling to live and keep alive the order and morality centered on Allah. They are the ones who left their property and possessions for the sake of their faith and hastened to Allah’s call.

The people native to that region, who had opened their doors to their believing brothers, feel no jealousy at the spoils being shared out in this way; indeed some of them, even when they themselves are in need, put their emigrant brothers before themselves.

These people, who have cleansed themselves of greed and of coveting what is given to others, Allah will reward and bring to happiness.

And the believers who come after those who lived in wholehearted submission to Allah and completed their worldly lives, and who follow in their footsteps, pray thus: “Our Lord! Forgive us, and our brothers who believed before us and fulfilled what their faith required, and keep our hearts from falling prey to feelings such as jealousy, envy, and rancor toward our believing brothers. Our Lord! Surely You are most compassionate and merciful.”

The hypocrites were saying to the traitors from among the People of the Book: “If the Prophet and those with him wage war on you to drive you out of your homeland, we will fight them together with you. If you face expulsion from your homeland, we will come with you, and in this matter we will listen to no one.”

Allah is witness that they are liars who do not keep their word. For these hypocrites will not help the Jews, who say they are People of the Book, either during the fighting or when they are being driven from their homeland; and even if they do set about helping them, they will turn their backs and flee at the first sign of difficulty.

O you who believe! Those who associate partners with Allah, those who deny the truth, and the hypocrites, whether of the People of the Book or not, fear you more than they fear Allah, for they are people who, though Allah’s majesty, power, and the severity of His punishment have been made known to them, do not wish to grasp its importance.

Even when they help one another, they shrink from fighting you face to face. They attack only from behind their fortresses, or with weapons that can reach you from afar. In fact there are fierce discord and disagreements among them too, but you think they are united. Their hearts are cold toward one another and in disarray. They are communities who do not use their reason rightly, who see the truth and do not accept it. Their end will be like that of those who, before them, paid the penalty for what they did and deserved the punishment of Hell in the Hereafter.

The case of the hypocrites who urged the People of the Book to fight the believers is just like Satan’s urging a person to deny Allah’s call. He whispers to the person, “You have other gods besides Allah; they will not abandon you, they will hasten to your help,” and then, to the one who accepts this, he says, “I am not responsible for this acceptance of yours or your conduct. I fear Allah, the one true Lord of all the worlds,” and goes away from him.

In the end, together with Satan, they will all enter the Hell they deserve, where they will remain forever, and meet the Fire.

O you who believe! Obey scrupulously what Allah commands you and fulfill your responsibilities consciously. Let every person look to what he has sent ahead. Never be like the defiantly disobedient, the ungrateful, those who associate partners with Allah, and the hypocrites, who forgot Allah and whom Allah has in turn forgotten! Allah is aware of what you do.

Can those who have deserved the fire of Hell and are condemned to it ever be equal to those who believe, fulfill what their faith requires, and whom Allah deems worthy of Paradise? Certainly it is the people of Paradise who are the triumphant (hum al-fa’izun).

Had We laid on a mountain the responsibility We have laid through the Quran on the human being, whom We created with so many blessings, with strength, power, capacity, and ability, to make the order of Islam prevail and live on the earth, you would have seen the mountain bow to Allah to fulfill this responsibility, strain with all its might, and wear itself to pieces in the effort to carry out its task. We make this example known to you so that you may reflect on it and know the importance of your responsibilities toward Allah. (The human being should be striving earnestly to fulfill the responsibilities that Allah, his true Lord and God, has laid upon him.)

Allah is most compassionate, merciful, and kind toward those who make this effort. He knows what is in hearts, and what is done in secret and in the open. There is no true god but Him.

Allah, besides whom His creatures have no true Lord and God, is the one absolute Owner of judgment and sovereignty. He is free of every imperfection; and it is Allah alone who, by His guidance, will bring whoever wishes to attain safety, peace, security, and justice to what they seek.

Allah alone is the One who watches over His creation, whose power suffices for everything, the Possessor of might, honor, and absolute authority, the Exalted and Supreme. Allah is far above those whom the polytheists regard as partners in His authority. He has given no one the authority to lay down rulings over His servants, or to judge by anything other than the rulings He has laid down.

It is Allah who shapes and creates the heavens, the earth, and what is between them, who governs them, and who is their true Owner. Everything reminds us again and again of His greatness. The most beautiful names and attributes belong to Allah.