Surah Ahzab Ayat 13 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 13
And when a faction of them said, “O people of Yathrib, there is no stability for you [here], so return [home].” And a party of them asked permission of the Prophet, saying, “Indeed, our houses are unprotected,” while they were not exposed. They did not intend except to flee.
Behold! A party among them said: “Ye men of Yathrib! ye cannot stand (the attack)! therefore go back!” And a band of them ask for leave of the Prophet, saying, “Truly our houses are bare and exposed,” though they were not exposed they intended nothing but to run away.
And when a section of them said: “(O people of Yathrib), now there is no place for you to stay, so turn back.” (And call to mind) when a section of them was seeking permission from the Prophet to leave, saying: “Our houses are exposed (to attack),” although they were not exposed (to attack); they only wished to flee (from the battle-front).
And when a party of them said: “O people of Yathrib (AlMadinah)! There is no stand (possible) for you (against the enemy attack!) Therefore go back!” And a band of them ask for permission of the Prophet (SAW) saying: “Truly, our homes lie open (to the enemy).” And they lay not open. They but wished to flee.
And when a party of them said: O folk of Yathrib! There is no stand (possible) for you, therefor turn back. And certain of them (even) sought permission of the Prophet, saying: Our homes lie open (to the enemy). And they lay not open. They but wished to flee.
And as a section of them said, ” O population of Yathrib, Al-Madînah) there is no stationing (here) for you, so return!” And a group of them were asking permission of the Prophet, saying, “Surely our houses are privacies.” (Or: weak spots; i.e., They begged permission to protect their own homes) And in no way were they privacies; decidedly they would like (to seek) nothing except flight.
Some of them said, ‘People of Yathrib, you will not be able to withstand [the attack], so go back!’ Some of them asked the Prophet’s permission to leave, saying, ‘Our houses are exposed,’ even though they were not- they just wanted to run away:
ان ہی کی ایک جماعت نے ہانک لگائی کہ اے مدینہ والو! تمہارے لئے ٹھکانہ نہیں چلو لوٹ چلو، اور ان کی ایک اور جماعت یہ کہہ کر نبی ﴿صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم﴾ سے اجازت مانگنے لگی کہ ہمارے گھر غیر محفوظ ہیں، حاﻻنکہ وه (کھلے ہوئے اور) غیر محفوظ نہ تھے (لیکن) ان کا پختہ اراده بھاگ کھڑے ہونے کا تھا
Quran 33 Verse 13 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Ahzab ayat 13, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(33:13) And when a section of them said: “(O people of Yathrib), now there is no place for you to stay, so turn back.”[23] (And call to mind) when a section of them was seeking permission from the Prophet to leave, saying: “Our houses are exposed (to attack),”[24] although they were not exposed (to attack); [25] they only wished to flee (from the battle-front).
23. This sentence has two meanings: The apparent meaning is that there is no chance for them to stay at the Trench against the polytheists; therefore, they should return to the city. And the hidden meaning is that there is no chance for them to remain in Islam; therefore, they should return to their ancestral religion, so that they might escape the danger in which they had involved themselves by earning the hostility of the whole of Arabia. The hypocrites uttered such mischievous things so that they could make the one who would listen to them understand the intended hidden meaning, but in case someone took exception to their words, they could say they had been misunderstood.
24. That is, when the Bani Quraizah also joined the invaders, the hypocrites had a good excuse for defection and they started asking the Prophet (peace be upon him) for leave to go and protect their houses and families, which, they said, had been endangered, whereas at that time the Prophet (peace be upon him) was responsible for the defense and protection of all the people of Al-Madinah. After the treachery of the Quraizah it was for the Prophet (peace be upon him) to devise plans for the protection of the city and its people and not of the soldiers of the army individually.
25. That is, the Prophet (peace be upon him) had already made arrangements for protection against the danger, which were a part of the collective scheme of defense being implemented by him as commander of the Islamic forces. Therefore, there was no immediate danger in the face of which these people could justifiably make such an excuse.
Ibn-Kathir
The tafsir of Surah Ahzab verse 13 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Ahzab ayat 11 which provides the complete commentary from verse 11 through 13.
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