The Banishment

The Prophet expelled the tribe of Bani An-Nadir from Madinah for breaking their peace agreement with the Muslims.

The hypocrites are criticized for secretly supporting Bani An-Nadir.

The people of Madinah (known as Al-Ansar 'the Helpers') are praised for welcoming their brothers and sisters (known as Al-Muhajiroon 'the Emigrants') who moved from Makkah after years of abuse.

Allah instructs the believers on how to divide war gains and to prepare for the Next Life.

The following passage was revealed to discuss 2 issues

Although Muslims were not allowed to cut down trees during war, they had to clear some palm trees to be able to access the gated area where Bani An-Nadir lived. So the tribe complained about it.

Some Muslims had questions about how the war gains (such as money, land, homes, and so on) should be divided. According to the following verses, since it was an easy battle, the Prophet had the right to divide the gains according to what was best for the community. So he gave most of the gains to the poor Makkan emigrants so they didn't have to burden the people of Madinah. (Recorded by Imam Ibn Kathir)

One of the people of Madinah, named Thabit ibn Qais , invited a Makkan emigrant Muslim for dinner because he was very hungry. Since the family of Thabit didn't have enough food for every. one, he told his wife to put the lights out when dinner was served so the guest would eat up all the food, thinking that everybody was eating with him. In the morning, the Prophet s told Thabit that Allah really liked what he and his wife had done with their guest. {Recorded by Imam Al-Qurtubi}

Bani An-Nadir were told that they had 10 days to leave. When they started to pack, some hyp ocrites came to them and said, You don't have to leave. Just stand your ground and fight, ana we will support you with thousands of fighters So Bani An-Nadir decided to stay. However, the hypocrites didn't showW up to support them when the Muslim army came, so eventually the tribe had no choice but to pack up and leave Madinah. (Recorded by Imam ibn Kathir)

Allah makes it easy for us to go to Jannah. For every good deed, He gives us from 10 to 700 rewards or more-depending on how sincere we are. Every sin is counted only as one. If someone thinks about doing something good but couldn't do it, he or she will get a reward. If someone thinks about doing something evil but doesn't do it, he or she will get a reward as well. For someone to receive their full reward, they need to do good deeds only for the sake of Allah, following the example of the Prophet as.

According to verses 18-20 of this surah, every now and then we need to sit and think about the deeds that we will be taking with us to the Next Life..

If we are doing something wrong, we should ask ourselves:.

1.Why did we do that?.

2.What should we do to correct this wrong?.

3.And how can we avoid doing it again? This attitude will help us repent to Allah. One shouldn't wait till tomorrow, because tomorrow may never come.

If we are doing something good, we should ask ourselves:.

1)Are we doing our best?

2)Could we do better next time?

3)And are we doing it to please Allah or to show off? Our intention is what decides if a good deed is accepted or not.

There was a scholar who used to judge his own actions. He dug a fake grave in his house to remind himself of the Next Life. Every now and then, he would lie down in that grave and his assistant would close the grave with a heavy slab. Then he would stay there for about one hour to question his intentions and deeds. At the end, he would say, O Allah! Give me a second chance. I'll do better next time.After he finished, he would knock a couple of times and his children would open for him. One day, he got inside the grave as usual, and his wife and children went shopping. After one hour, he knocked but no one opened for him. He started to panic, and kept knocking and crying for hours until he actually thought he was dead. Finally, his wife and children came and opened for him. He told himself, I was lucky today, but one day I'll actually die and go to the grave, and no one will open for me.

WORDS OF WISDOM Shaytan will not leave us alone. He will always try to play tricks to get us to trouble. For example, if we do something good, he will try to stop us or at least mess with our intentions. If we do something wrong, he will say, It's okay because everybody else is doing it,or You are still young, and you can repent later,or Your sin is very small compared to what others do, or Your sins are too big for Allah to forgive.

This is a true story of a 17-year old boy who lived in Canada. His mother would ask him to pray his 5 daily salah, but he always said, Tomorrow. She would ask him to go to the masjid for Jum'ah (Friday prayers), but he always said, Next week. Eventually, he came to the masjid, not to pray, but for his own janazah (funeral prayer) after he had died in a car accident..

Every true Muslim loves and respects the Quran. But evervone has a different connection withthe Bookof Allah. Some listen to it only when someone dies. Some keep a copy in their car, think ing that it will protect them against accidents. Others give it to each other as a gift. And some have beautiful verses tramed and hung on the wall to make their living room look nice. But this is not the reason why Allah revealed the Quran. According to verse 21 of this surah, the Quran is so powerful that it can make a mighty mountain crumble to pieces. But we cannot feel this pow- er until we have a personal relationship with the Quran. Our duty towards the Quran includes reading it, understan ding it, memorizing it, reflecting on it, living by it, and teaching it to others.

Allah has many Beautiful Names. The Prophet said, O Allah! I ask You by every Namethat You have-whether You revealed it in Your book, or taught any of Your servants, or kept it to Yourself ..{Recorded by Imam Ahmad} Some of those Names are mentioned in said that if you understand 99 of Allah's Names. verses 22-24 of this surah. The Prophet will go to Jannah. (Recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari memorize them, and live by them, you & Imam Muslim}.

If you keep in mind that Allah is the Most Merciful, you will never lose hope in His mercy. If you understand that He is the Most Forgiving, you will never lose hope in His forgiveness. If you realize that He is the Creator and Provider, you will worship and thank Him. If we know that He sees and hears everything, we will be careful of what we say and do.

One of the Beautiful Names of Allah is Al-Mutakabbir (the Majestic). It means that Allah is above human needs and shortcomings. For example, He doesn't need sleep because He never gets tired. He doesn't have children or parents, because He is not in need of some- one to carry His Name or to take care of Him. And He is never unjust to His creation, even those who deny Him..

Another Beautiful Name is Al-Jabbar (the One in Control). Everyone makes plans. But everything goes according to Allah's plan. Al-Jabbar also means: the One Who comforts the weak and the abused.Jabirah is the Arabic word for 'a cast' which supports a broken bone. Allah always takes care of us. And He rewards those who take care of others and put a smile on their faces for His sake.

Dr. Abdul Kalam (the former President of India) said that one day when he camne home fromschool for lunch, he noticed that the food was burnt. Although his mom apologized for trne burnt biryani, his dad thanked her, saying that the food tasted good. Before he went to be0, Abdul Kalam went to his dad's room and asked, Baba (dad)! Did you really like the fooa to day? His dad gave him a hug and said, Betta (son)! Your mom has done so much work today and she was tired. Burnt food doesn't hurt anyone, but bad words do.

This is a true story of an Egyptian doctor named Hossam Mowafy. He said he was asked by a friend to visit a poor, old lady at the hospital, which would make her very happy. He could have Ignored the reguest and drove to his house, which was over an hour drive from his work. But he remembered that an Imam once told him that putting a smile on people's faces is one of the things that Allah loves the most. So he visited her and made sure she was taken care of While he was leaving the hospital, he had a stroke' and passed out. He was immediately rushed to a room where he received proper medical attention. He said if he didn't visit this poor lady that day, he would have died on the highway..