Al-Buruj · Makki · ayah 4 of 22

Al-Buruj 85:4

قُتِلَ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلْأُخْدُودِ

“Destroyed [i.e., cursed] were the companions of the trench[1895]”

Saheeh International

Essence

A king dug a trench to bury a faith; the Quran names him after his pit, curses him, and never records his victory.

A reflection

The boy, the king and the arrow

Sahih Muslim reports the Prophet ﷺ telling this story. A king had a sorcerer. When the sorcerer grew old, he asked for a boy to train as his successor. On the road to his lessons, the boy passed a monk, sat with him and loved what he heard. The sorcerer beat him for being late; his family beat him for coming home late. The monk taught him a small evasion to get through the day.

One day a huge beast blocked the road and held everyone back. The boy picked up a stone. O Allah, he said, if the monk's way is dearer to You than the sorcerer's, let this kill it. It did, and the people went on. The monk told him: today you are better than me, and you will be tested. If you are, do not point them to me.

Soon the boy was curing the blind and the leper. A courtier of the king, who had gone blind, came with gifts. 'I heal no one,' the boy said. 'Allah heals. If you believe in Him, I will pray and He will heal you.' He believed and was healed. The king asked who had restored his sight. 'My Lord,' he said. The king asked if he had a lord other than the king. 'My Lord and your Lord is Allah.'

Torture followed, until each named the next. The monk and the courtier refused to turn back and were sawn apart. The boy was sent up a mountain and out to sea. Each time he prayed, 'O Allah, suffice me against them as You will.' The mountain shook, the boat capsized, and he walked back alone.

Then he told the king how to kill him. Gather the people on one plain. Tie me to a trunk. Take an arrow from my quiver and say: In the name of Allah, the Lord of the boy. The king did it, and the boy died. The crowd cried out: we believe in the Lord of the boy.

So the king had trenches cut at the mouths of the streets and fires lit in them. Whoever would not turn back was driven in. A woman came with her baby and hung back from the flames. The child said, 'Be patient, mother. You are on the truth.'

The full entry has 4 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.