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Sūrah Al-MumtaḥanahThe Woman Examined · Madinah · 13 āyāt · 4 movements

Revealed around the truce-breaking events before the conquest of Makkah, this surah addresses the boundary of loyalty (walāʾ) and disavowal (barāʾ): believers must not take the enemies of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ as intimate allies, however natural the pull of kinship or old friendship. Ibrāhīm عليه السلام and those with him are given as the model of open disassociation from disbelief, and the surah closes with the practical procedure for testing the sincerity of women emigrating to the believing community.

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At a glance

Āyāt	Movement	In one line
1–3	Ḥāṭib's letter and the limits of loyalty	Fear for family is a real, human motive — but it cannot justify aiding an open enemy of the faith.
4–6	Ibrāhīm عليه السلام as the model of disavowal	Open disassociation from falsehood, not silent discomfort, is the Ibrāhīmī model.
7–9	Hope of affection and the limits of kindness	The prohibition on allying with enemies is not a licence for hostility toward all non-Muslims.
10–13	Testing the migrant women	Sincerity of intention, not mere claim, was the standard for accepting the emigrant women.

Occasion & setting

Ḥāṭib ibn Abī Baltaʿah, a Companion who had fought at Badr, secretly wrote to Quraysh warning them of the Prophet's ﷺ planned march on Makkah, hoping to secure protection for family he had left behind in the city. The letter was intercepted before it could cause harm, and this surah opens by addressing the incident directly.

— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3007; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2494

Key messages

· Human fear for family does not justify aiding an open enemy of the faith with secrets.
· One sincere lapse, seen in context of a life of service, can be forgiven — as with Ḥāṭib and Badr.
· Ibrāhīm's model is open disassociation from falsehood, not private discomfort with it.
· Even the strictest boundary in this surah is paired with hope that hearts can change.
· Kindness and justice toward peaceable non-Muslims are things Allah loves, not forbids.
· Sincerity of intention was the actual standard by which the emigrant women were received.
· A pledge of faith carries concrete moral commitments — against shirk, theft, unlawful acts, infanticide and slander.

Root vocabulary

و ل ي

to be close to, to ally with

أَوْلِيَآءَ (allies/protectors) · وَلِيّ (guardian, protector) · وَلَاء (loyalty, alliance)

و د د

affection, love

1, 7

ٱلْمَوَدَّةِ (affection) · مَوَدَّة (love/affection) · وَدُود (The Most Loving (a name of Allah))

ب ر أ

to be free of, to disassociate

بُرَءَٰٓؤُا۟ (disassociated/free of) · بَرَاءَة (disavowal, acquittal) · بَرِيء (innocent, free of blame)

أ س و

to console, an exemplary pattern

4, 6

أُسْوَة (example, pattern) · أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ (excellent example) · مُؤَاسَاة (consolation, sharing in hardship)

ع د و

enmity, to transgress

1, 7

عَدُوّ (enemy) · عَادَيْتُم (you were enemies) · عَدَاوَة (enmity)

م ح ن

to test, examine

فَٱمْتَحِنُوهُنَّ (so examine them) · مِحْنَة (a trial, test) · ٱلْمُمْتَحَنَة (the woman examined (surah name))

ب ي ع

to pledge, transact

يُبَايِعْنَكَ (they pledge to you) · بَيْعَة (a pledge of allegiance) · بَايَعَ (he made a pledge / transacted)

Flip cards

19 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-Mumtaḥanah deck

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Concept map

The surah at the centre, its movements in sequence around it, and the roots, seerah moments and messages that hang off each one. Tap a node to focus its connections — the same way a linked notebook shows you what a single idea touches.

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