Surah 33 · Madinah · 73 āyāt

Phase 05 · Hijrah and the building of Madinah(1–5 AH) — view in timeline

Al-AḥzābThe Confederates

الأحزاب

Named for the confederate army of Quraysh, Ghaṭafān and their allies that besieged Madīnah in 5 AH, this surah moves between the siege at the Trench and the household of the Prophet ﷺ. It corrects the pre-Islamic practice of adoption through the case of Zayd ibn Ḥārithah, lays out conduct toward the Prophet's ﷺ wives including ḥijāb, and closes with the cosmic image of the Trust offered to the heavens, the earth and the mountains, which only man agreed to carry.

Why it was revealed

A confederation of roughly ten thousand fighters from Quraysh, Ghaṭafān and other tribes, incited in part by exiled Jewish leaders of Banū al-Naḍīr, marched on Madīnah. On Salmān al-Fārisī's advice a trench was dug around the exposed side of the city, and the siege dragged on for about a month amid cold, hunger and fear, until a storm and shifting alliances broke the confederates' resolve.

Drawn fromṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2834; Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4787; Ibn Kathīr on 33:10–12; Ibn Kathīr on 33:26–27; Ibn Kathīr on 33:37; Ibn Kathīr on 33:53, 33:59; Ibn Kathīr on 33:9; al-Wāqidī, al-Maghāzī; Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah; Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah (via Ibn Isḥāq)

Al-Bukhārī and Muslim narrate how the Prophet ﷺ himself laboured in digging the trench, reciting verses of endurance with the companions; the surah then addresses Banū Qurayẓah's breach of their treaty during the siege, referring to them implicitly in āyah 26 as those from the People of the Scripture who backed the confederates.

Cited toṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2834; Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah (via Ibn Isḥāq); al-Wāqidī, al-Maghāzī

In the Prophet's ﷺ life

LossShawwāl 5 AH · Age About 58 · Madīnah

The confederates besiege Madīnah

A combined force of Quraysh, Ghaṭafān and allied tribes, numbering some ten thousand, marched on Madīnah, prompting the digging of a trench on Salmān al-Fārisī's suggestion around the city's exposed northern flank.

Cited toIbn Hishām, al-Sīrah; Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2834

  • Madd — 2 vowels
  • Madd — 2, 4 or 6 vowels
  • Madd — 6 vowels (lāzim)
  • Madd — 4 or 5 vowels (wājib)
  • Ghunnah — 2 vowels
  • Qalqalah
  • Ikhfāʾ
  • Ikhfāʾ shafawī
  • Idghām shafawī
  • Idghām with ghunnah
  • Idghām without ghunnah
  • Idghām mutajānisayn
  • Idghām mutaqāribayn
  • Iqlāb
  • Hamzat al-waṣl
  • Lām shamsiyyah
  • Silent letter

Tajwīd markup and colour convention: Quran.com API (v4) — text_uthmani_tajweed. Recitation audio: Quran.com / Quran Foundation Audio API (v4).

THEME 01Āyāt 1–8

One heart, real sonship, and Allah's true speech

Allah has not made for any man two hearts within him, nor made your wives whom you declare unlawful your mothers, nor made your adopted sons your true sons — that is merely a saying of your mouths, but Allah speaks the truth and guides to the right way. The opening āyāt dismantle three pre-Islamic fictions in a single breath, insisting that reality and mere speech are not the same thing.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 33:4; Ibn Kathīr on 33:4

4

مَّا جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ لِرَجُلٍ مِّن قَلْبَيْنِ فِى جَوْفِهِۦ ۚ وَمَا جَعَلَ أَزْوَٰجَكُمُ ٱلَّـٰٓـِٔى تُظَـٰهِرُونَ مِنْهُنَّ أُمَّهَـٰتِكُمْ ۚ وَمَا جَعَلَ أَدْعِيَآءَكُمْ أَبْنَآءَكُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ قَوْلُكُم بِأَفْوَٰهِكُمْ ۖ وَٱللَّهُ يَقُولُ ٱلْحَقَّ وَهُوَ يَهْدِى ٱلسَّبِيلَ

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

Allāh has not made for a man two hearts in his interior. And He has not made your wives whom you declare unlawful your mothers. And He has not made your claimed [i.e., adopted] sons your [true] sons. That is [merely] your saying by your mouths, but Allāh says the truth, and He guides to the [right] way.

Loading audio…

From the tafsīr

The three examples — divided loyalty, ẕihār (declaring a wife unlawful like a mother), and adoption as true lineage — are grouped because each substitutes a verbal declaration for an actual, created reality.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 33:4

'That is your saying by your mouths' establishes a legal principle: naming does not change essence; calling an adopted son a 'son' does not grant him the legal status of a biological son in inheritance and lineage.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 33:4

Key takeaways

Reflect

Where in your own life have you let a label substitute for the reality it was meant to describe?

Saved on this device · included in your printable study sheet

Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

What three pre-Islamic assumptions does 33:4 correct together?

Question 2 of 2

What legal principle does al-Qurṭubī draw from 'that is your saying by your mouths'?

THEME 02Āyāt 9–27

The Trench: fear, patience and unseen help

Remember Allah's favour upon you when armies came against you and We sent a wind and hosts you did not see; when eyes shifted with fear and hearts reached the throats, and you thought about Allah various thoughts. The surah preserves the psychological weight of the siege before crediting the eventual relief entirely to Allah's unseen intervention.

Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī on 33:11; Ibn Kathīr on 33:9–10

From the tafsīr

The 'hosts you did not see' refers specifically to the angels Allah sent to shake and demoralize the confederates, sent alongside the fierce wind that overturned their camp.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 33:9–10

'You thought about Allah various thoughts' names the moment of testing honestly — some hearts wavered under pressure — without condemning the community wholesale, since the surah also praises those who remained firm.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 33:11

Key takeaways

Reflect

In your own hardest test, what unseen means did Allah use that you only recognised afterwards?

Saved on this device · included in your printable study sheet

Check yourself

0 / 1 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 1

What are the 'hosts you did not see' in 33:9 understood to refer to?

THEME 03Āyāt 22–24

Men true to their covenant

Among the believers are men true to what they pledged to Allah — some have fulfilled their vow even to death, and some await their turn, and they have not changed in the least. Set against those who wavered, the surah names the steadfastness of companions who had vowed before Badr or the Trench to stand firm no matter the outcome.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 33:23; Ibn Kathīr on 33:23

23

مِّنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا۟ مَا عَـٰهَدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ ۖ فَمِنْهُم مَّن قَضَىٰ نَحْبَهُۥ وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَنتَظِرُ ۖ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا۟ تَبْدِيلًا

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

Among the believers are men true to what they promised Allāh. Among them is he who has fulfilled his vow [to the death], and among them is he who awaits [his chance]. And they did not alter [the terms of their commitment] by any alteration -

Loading audio…

From the tafsīr

Reports connect this āyah to companions such as Anas ibn al-Naḍr, who missed the Battle of Badr and vowed that if Allah brought him to witness a future battle he would show Allah what he would do, subsequently fulfilling that vow and being martyred at Uḥud.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 33:23

'They have not changed in the least' contrasts directly with the wavering hearts of 33:12, making faithfulness under identical pressure the measure of true belief.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 33:23

Key takeaways

Reflect

What commitment have you made to Allah that has not yet been tested by real pressure?

Saved on this device · included in your printable study sheet

Check yourself

0 / 1 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 1

What does 33:23 contrast with the wavering described earlier in the surah?

THEME 04Āyāt 36–40

Zayd ibn Ḥārithah and the end of false lineage

When Zayd no longer had need of his wife, Allah married her to the Prophet ﷺ so that there would be no discomfort among believers regarding the wives of their adopted sons once divorced — and Muḥammad ﷺ is not the father of any man among you, but the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the prophets.

Drawn fromṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4787; Ibn Kathīr on 33:37

37

وَإِذْ تَقُولُ لِلَّذِىٓ أَنْعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْسِكْ عَلَيْكَ زَوْجَكَ وَٱتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ وَتُخْفِى فِى نَفْسِكَ مَا ٱللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ وَتَخْشَى ٱلنَّاسَ وَٱللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَن تَخْشَىٰهُ ۖ فَلَمَّا قَضَىٰ زَيْدٌ مِّنْهَا وَطَرًا زَوَّجْنَـٰكَهَا لِكَىْ لَا يَكُونَ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَرَجٌ فِىٓ أَزْوَٰجِ أَدْعِيَآئِهِمْ إِذَا قَضَوْا۟ مِنْهُنَّ وَطَرًا ۚ وَكَانَ أَمْرُ ٱللَّهِ مَفْعُولًا

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

And [remember, O Muḥammad], when you said to the one on whom Allāh bestowed favor and you bestowed favor, "Keep your wife and fear Allāh," while you concealed within yourself that which Allāh is to disclose. And you feared the people, while Allāh has more right that you fear Him. So when Zayd had no longer any need for her, We married her to you in order that there not be upon the believers any discomfort [i.e., guilt] concerning the wives of their claimed [i.e., adopted] sons when they no longer have need of them. And ever is the command [i.e., decree] of Allāh accomplished.

Loading audio…
40

مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَآ أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن رَّسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمًا

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

Muḥammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allāh and seal [i.e., last] of the prophets. And ever is Allāh, of all things, Knowing.

Loading audio…

From the tafsīr

Zayd ibn Ḥārithah had long been called Zayd ibn Muḥammad before this surah renamed adopted sons by their actual fathers' names, ending the fiction of adoptive lineage.

Cited toṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4787

The marriage to Zaynab bint Jaḥsh after her divorce from Zayd served the specific legal purpose of establishing, by lived example, that a divorced wife of an adopted son is lawful to marry — precisely because adoption creates no true kinship.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 33:37

Key takeaways

Reflect

What inherited social custom might need re-examination against what is actually true, rather than merely familiar?

Saved on this device · included in your printable study sheet

Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

What had Zayd ibn Ḥārithah been called before this surah's revelation?

Question 2 of 2

What title does 33:40 give the Prophet ﷺ in relation to prophethood?

THEME 05Āyāt 53–59

The Prophet's ﷺ household and ḥijāb

Believers are told not to linger in the Prophet's ﷺ houses beyond need, and to ask his wives for anything from behind a partition, since that is purer for both hearts; his wives, daughters and the believing women are told to draw their outer garments over themselves so they may be recognised and not troubled.

Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī on 33:59; Ibn Kathīr on 33:53

53

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَدْخُلُوا۟ بُيُوتَ ٱلنَّبِىِّ إِلَّآ أَن يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ إِلَىٰ طَعَامٍ غَيْرَ نَـٰظِرِينَ إِنَىٰهُ وَلَـٰكِنْ إِذَا دُعِيتُمْ فَٱدْخُلُوا۟ فَإِذَا طَعِمْتُمْ فَٱنتَشِرُوا۟ وَلَا مُسْتَـْٔنِسِينَ لِحَدِيثٍ ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكُمْ كَانَ يُؤْذِى ٱلنَّبِىَّ فَيَسْتَحْىِۦ مِنكُمْ ۖ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يَسْتَحْىِۦ مِنَ ٱلْحَقِّ ۚ وَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتَـٰعًا فَسْـَٔلُوهُنَّ مِن وَرَآءِ حِجَابٍ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ أَطْهَرُ لِقُلُوبِكُمْ وَقُلُوبِهِنَّ ۚ وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَن تُؤْذُوا۟ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَآ أَن تَنكِحُوٓا۟ أَزْوَٰجَهُۥ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦٓ أَبَدًا ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكُمْ كَانَ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ عَظِيمًا

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

O you who have believed, do not enter the houses of the Prophet except when you are permitted for a meal, without awaiting its readiness. But when you are invited, then enter; and when you have eaten, disperse without seeking to remain for conversation. Indeed, that [behavior] was troubling the Prophet, and he is shy of [dismissing] you. But Allāh is not shy of the truth. And when you ask [his wives] for something, ask them from behind a partition. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts. And it is not [conceivable or lawful] for you to harm the Messenger of Allāh or to marry his wives after him, ever. Indeed, that would be in the sight of Allāh an enormity.

Loading audio…
59

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ قُل لِّأَزْوَٰجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَآءِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَـٰبِيبِهِنَّ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰٓ أَن يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allāh Forgiving and Merciful.

Loading audio…

From the tafsīr

The occasion was guests who lingered after a wedding meal, causing the Prophet ﷺ discomfort he was too courteous to voice directly; Allah is described as 'not shy of the truth', stating outright what he ﷺ would not.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 33:53

The jilbāb commanded here was distinguishing outerwear that marked free Muslim women and protected them from the harassment then common in Madīnah's streets, tying the ruling to both modesty and protection.

Cited toAl-Qurṭubī on 33:59

Key takeaways

Reflect

Where does courtesy toward others perhaps require you to be more direct, following Allah's example of stating the truth plainly?

Saved on this device · included in your printable study sheet

Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

What was the specific occasion behind 33:53's instruction about entering the Prophet's ﷺ houses?

Question 2 of 2

According to al-Qurṭubī, what dual purpose did the jilbāb of 33:59 serve?

THEME 06Āyāt 72–73

The Trust offered to the heavens and the earth

Indeed, We offered the Trust to the heavens, the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and were afraid of it, but man undertook to bear it — he was unjust and ignorant. The surah closes on a cosmic image: creation on the grandest scale refused a responsibility that the smallest and weakest of creatures accepted.

Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī on 33:72; Ibn Kathīr on 33:72

72

إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا ٱلْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱلْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا

Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured

Indeed, We offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant.

Loading audio…

From the tafsīr

The Trust (al-amānah) is widely explained as obligation and moral accountability — the freedom to obey or disobey, with consequence — which the heavens, earth and mountains, lacking that kind of will, could not and need not bear.

Cited toIbn Kathīr on 33:72

Man's description as 'unjust and ignorant' at the close is not condemnation alone but a sober warning: accepting the Trust without fulfilling it is precisely the injustice and ignorance in question, while fulfilling it is the whole purpose of the surah's preceding rulings.

Cited toAl-Saʿdī on 33:72

Key takeaways

Reflect

Which part of the Trust you carry — in worship, in family, in community — have you been treating lightly?

Saved on this device · included in your printable study sheet

Check yourself

0 / 2 correct

Answer from memory before scrolling back — retrieval is what makes it stick.

Questions and options are reshuffled and reworded each attempt

Question 1 of 2

What is 'the Trust' (al-amānah) in 33:72 generally explained to mean?

Question 2 of 2

How does al-Saʿdī read man being called 'unjust and ignorant' at the end of the surah?

FROM CLASS

Upload your handwritten notes

Photograph or scan the pages you wrote in class — several at once. Each page is transcribed, translated into English if you wrote in Arabic or Urdu, matched to the theme it belongs to, and added to your notes for this surah.

Up to 3 pages at a time · JPG, PNG or HEIC

10 of 10 free AI pages left today

VOCABULARY

Roots from this surah

Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.

د ع و

āyāt 4, 37

to call, claim

  • أدعياءكمyour claimed (adopted) sons
  • دعوةa call, invitation
  • الداعيthe one who calls

أ س و

āyāt 21

example, pattern

  • أسوةan example
  • تأسّىto follow an example
  • الإسوة الحسنةthe excellent pattern

ص د ق

āyāt 23, 24

truthfulness, sincerity

  • صدقواthey were true
  • الصدقtruthfulness
  • الصادقونthe truthful

خ ت م

āyāt 40

to seal, finish

  • خاتمseal, last
  • ختمhe sealed
  • الخاتمةthe conclusion

ح ج ب

āyāt 53

to veil, partition

  • حجابa partition, veil
  • حاجبone who blocks/screens
  • الاحتجابconcealment

ج ل ب ب

āyāt 59

outer garment

  • جلابيبouter garments
  • جلبابan outer wrap
  • يجلببto wear such a garment

أ م ن

āyāt 72

trust, security

  • الأمانةthe Trust
  • أمينtrustworthy
  • الأمنsecurity

ظ ل م

āyāt 72

injustice, wrongdoing

  • ظلومunjust (intensive)
  • ظالمa wrongdoer
  • الظلمinjustice

Carry this with you

  • Words shape culture, but they cannot alter a created reality such as true lineage.
  • Allah's help in hardship can arrive through means entirely outside human planning.
  • A test reveals the range of hearts in any community; both wavering and steadfastness are named honestly.
  • A vow to Allah is measured by whether it survives the actual moment of trial.
  • The Prophet's ﷺ own household became a living demonstration of the rulings revealed about it.
  • Sealing the line of prophethood with Muḥammad ﷺ closes the door to any later claim to revelation.
  • Modesty legislation in the Qur'an is tied to dignity and protection, not concealment for its own sake.
  • Moral responsibility is a Trust the rest of creation was spared and humanity alone agreed to carry.

Where this surah connects

Cross-surah threads

Parts of the Qurʾān explain other parts. Each thread below opens the same subject as it is argued across every other surah you have studied, in revelation order.

All threads →

Sources behind Sūrah Al-Aḥzāb

Every line of context, tafsīr and takeaway on this page traces back to one of these references. Ḥadīth numbers open on sunnah.com and āyah references open on quran.com, so you can check the claim rather than take it on trust. The Arabic text itself is fetched live from a verified public corpus.

FINAL ASSESSMENT

Full exam — the whole surah, from memory

Every question from every theme, interleaved and reworded. Interleaving is what turns recognition into recall. Each answer updates your review schedule, your mistakes list and your mastery score for that theme.

Al-Aḥzāb — full exam

1 / 10 · 0 correct

10 questions across 6 themes.

Al-Aḥzāb · The Trust offered to the heavens and the earth

What is 'the Trust' (al-amānah) in 33:72 generally explained to mean?

Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol