The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

33. THE JOINT FORCES
A Medinan sura which gets its title from the incident of the Battle of the Trench
in ah 5/627 ce (verses 9–27), when the joint forces of various tribes of
disbelievers besieged Medina. The believers dug a ditch, which the disbelievers
were unable to cross, and eventually the enemy retreated in disarray. This is
mentioned in order to remind the believers of God’s goodness to them, so that
they may obey the numerous instructions given in the sura, starting with the
regulation of adoption and including proper conduct towards the Prophet and
his wives. The hypocrites are warned to stop their bad behaviour.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1 Prophet, be mindful of God and do not give in to the disbelievers
and the hypocrites: God is all knowing, all wise. 2 Follow what your
Lord reveals to you: God is well aware of all your actions. 3 Put your
trust in God: God is enough to trust. 4 God does not put two hearts
within a man’s breast. He does not turn the wives you reject and
liken to your mothers’ backs a into your real mothers; nor does He
make your adopted sons into real sons. These are only words from
your mouths, while God speaks the truth and guides people to the
right path.
5 Name your adopted sons after their real fathers: this is more
equitable in God’s eyes––if you do not know who their fathers are
[they are your] ‘brothers-in-religion’ and protégés. b You will not be
blamed if you make a mistake, only for what your hearts deliberately
intend; God is most forgiving and merciful. 6 The Prophet is more
protective towards the believers than they are themselves, while his
wives are their mothers. c In God’s Scripture, blood-relatives have a
stronger claim than other believers and emigrants, though you may
still bestow gifts on your protégés. All this is written in the Scripture.
a In pre-Islamic Arabia the husband sometimes said to his wife, ‘From now on, you
are to me like my mother’s back,’ by which he meant that he refused to have further
conjugal relations with her, yet did not divorce her and so give her the freedom to
remarry (see 58: 1–4).
b Mawla in Arabic has many meanings, including ‘protégé’, ‘client’, ‘companion’.
c The Prophet’s wives were given the title ‘Mothers of the Believers’. Cf. verse 53.