Cheatsheet

Sūrah Al-ḤashrThe Gathering / The Exile · Madinah · 24 āyāt · 5 movements

Revealed after the expulsion of Banū an-Naḍīr from Madīnah, a Jewish tribe bound by treaty to the Prophet ﷺ who broke their covenant and plotted against him, and who were then besieged and exiled without a single blow of ordinary battle being struck. The surah opens by describing that outcome as Allah's own doing, moves to lay down the ruling on fayʾ — property acquired without a military charge — and its distribution among the needy rather than the wealthy alone, then turns to praise the Anṣār's ithār, their preference for others over themselves, before warning of hypocrites whose promises to their allies are as empty as Shayṭān's promise to those he leads astray. It closes with one of the Qur'an's richest passages naming Allah by His most beautiful names.

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At a glance

Āyāt	Movement	In one line
1–4	Expelled by Allah's decree, not by battle	No fortification, material or otherwise, can shield a person from what Allah decrees.
6–8	The ruling on fayʾ: not a monopoly of the rich	Wealth acquired without effort still carries an obligation to reach the needy, not just the powerful.
8–10	The Anṣār: love, contentment, and preferring others	True generosity gives preference to others' needs even while one's own needs remain unmet.
11–17	The parable of the hypocrites and Shayṭān	Promises of support built on empty rhetoric collapse the moment real sacrifice is required.
22–24	The closing Names: 'to Him belong the most beautiful Names'	Allah's beautiful names are not interchangeable synonyms; each carries a distinct meaning and implication.

Occasion & setting

Banū an-Naḍīr held a treaty of mutual security with the Prophet ﷺ in Madīnah. After the Muslim setback at Uḥud, and following the tribe's plot to assassinate the Prophet ﷺ by dropping a millstone on him during a visit to their quarter, he besieged their fortresses for around two weeks. Their allies among the hypocrites and Banū Qurayẓah, despite earlier promises, did not come to their aid, and Banū an-Naḍīr were ultimately expelled from Madīnah, taking what they could carry and destroying the rest of their own homes rather than leave them to the Muslims.

— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4882 (Ibn ʿAbbās on the naming of Sūrat al-Ḥashr); Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr, introduction to Sūrat al-Ḥashr

Key messages

· No fortress, alliance or possession can shield anyone from what Allah decrees.
· Wealth acquired without struggle still carries an obligation toward the needy, not just the powerful.
· A general Islamic principle against wealth's concentration among the rich is drawn from this specific ruling on fayʾ.
· The Anṣār's ithār — preferring others even amid one's own want — stands as one of the Qur'an's highest models of generosity.
· True success is tied directly to being freed from the stinginess of one's own soul.
· Alliances built on empty promises collapse exactly like Shayṭān's abandonment of those he misleads.
· The surah moves from a scene of expulsion and hypocrisy to one of the richest declarations of Allah's names.
· Reflecting on Allah's beautiful names is a fitting response after witnessing His decree unfold in history.

Root vocabulary

ح ش ر

to gather, to muster

ٱلْحَشْرِ (the gathering) · يُحْشَرُ (he is gathered) · مَحْشَر (a place of gathering)

خ ر ج

to go out, expel

2, 8

أَخْرَجَ (He expelled) · أُخْرِجُوا۟ (they were expelled) · خُرُوج (going out)

ف ي أ

to return, restore [fayʾ]

6, 7

أَفَآءَ (He restored [as fayʾ]) · فَىْء (returned wealth, fayʾ) · فَاءَ (he returned)

أ ث ر

to prefer, to leave a trace

يُؤْثِرُونَ (they give preference) · إِيثَار (preferring others, ithār) · أَثَر (trace, effect)

ش ح ح

stinginess, avarice

شُحَّ (stinginess) · شَحِيح (stingy, miserly) · أَشَحَّة (the most stingy [pl.])

ه ج ر

to emigrate, forsake

8, 9

ٱلْمُهَـٰجِرِينَ (the emigrants) · هَاجَرَ (he emigrated) · هِجْرَة (emigration)

خ ل ق

to create

ٱلْخَـٰلِقُ (the Creator) · خَلَقَ (He created) · خَلْق (creation)

ع ز ز

might, honour

23, 24

ٱلْعَزِيزُ (the Exalted in Might) · عِزَّة (honour, might) · أَعَزَّ (He honoured)

ر ح م

mercy

10, 22

ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ (the Entirely Merciful) · ٱلرَّحِيمُ (the Especially Merciful) · رَحْمَة (mercy)

Flip cards

24 cards over the roots, movements, takeaways and seerah events of this surah. Anything you mark “still learning” comes back before the deck ends.

Sūrah Al-Ḥashr deck

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Concept map

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