Basic
أصحاب الأخدود
Surah: Al-Buruj (10)
Those Who Tormented the Believers — The People of the Trench
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ فَتَنُوا۟ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ وَٱلۡمُؤۡمِنَٰتِ ثُمَّ لَمۡ يَتُوبُوا۟ فَلَهُمۡ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابُ ٱلۡحَرِيقِ
— البروج الآية 10
Verse: "Indeed those who tormented the believing men and believing women and then did not repent — for them is the punishment of Hell, and for them is the punishment of the burning fire." (Al-Buruj 10)
Context:
Martyrdom in the way of Allah is not defeat — the People of the Trench died and their cause prevailed. Faith that withstands fire endures in history more than the kings who lit it.
Context:
- The hadith of the People of the Trench: a disbelieving king ordered the digging of a trench and lit a fire in it, then presented believers with a choice: apostatize or be thrown in
- The believers held firm and were thrown into the fire — Sahih Muslim (3005)
- A woman with a nursing infant hesitated; the infant spoke — by Allah command — : "O mother, be patient, for you are upon the truth." She then threw herself into the fire
- Remarkably: the king and his soldiers were burned by the same fire they used to burn the believers — Muslim narration
- The verse: despite all of this they have another punishment in the Hereafter in addition to what was hastened for them in this world
Martyrdom in the way of Allah is not defeat — the People of the Trench died and their cause prevailed. Faith that withstands fire endures in history more than the kings who lit it.
Source: Sahih Muslim (3005); Ibn Kathir (8/374); Lubab Al-Nuqul by Al-Suyuti
Test Yourself
Why did Allah say "and then did not repent" in the verse, and does this imply that those who repent among them are saved?
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