Surat Al-Ahzab Verse No. 13: Reading and listening
Translation of the verse 13 from Surah Al-Ahzab : Number of verses 73 - - page 419 - Part 21.
﴾وَإِذۡ قَالَت طَّآئِفَةٞ مِّنۡهُمۡ يَٰٓأَهۡلَ يَثۡرِبَ لَا مُقَامَ لَكُمۡ فَٱرۡجِعُواْۚ وَيَسۡتَـٔۡذِنُ فَرِيقٞ مِّنۡهُمُ ٱلنَّبِيَّ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّ بُيُوتَنَا عَوۡرَةٞ وَمَا هِيَ بِعَوۡرَةٍۖ إِن يُرِيدُونَ إِلَّا فِرَارٗا ﴿
[ الأحزاب: 13]
And when a party of them said: "O people of Yathrib (AlMadinah)! There is no stand (possible) for you (against the enemy attack!) Therefore go back!" And a band of them ask for permission of the Prophet (SAW) saying: "Truly, our homes lie open (to the enemy)." And they lay not open. They but wished to flee.
English - Sahih International
And when a faction of them said, "O people of Yathrib, there is no stability for you [here], so return [home]." And a party of them asked permission of the Prophet, saying, "Indeed, our houses are unprotected," while they were not exposed. They did not intend except to flee.
Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi
(33:13) And when a section of them said: '(O people of Yathrib), now there is no place for you to stay, so turn back.' *23 (And call to mind) when a section of them was seeking permission from the Prophet to leave, saying: 'Our houses are exposed (to attack),' *24 although they were not exposed (to attack); *25they only wished to flee (from the battle-front).
Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi
*23) This sentence has two meanings: The apparent meaning is that there is no chance for them to stay at the Trench against the polytheists; therefore, they should return to the city. And the hidden meaning is that there is no chance for them to remain in Islam; therefore, they should return to their ancestral religion, so that they might escape the danger in which they had involved themselves by earning the hostility of the whole of Arabia. The hypocrites uttered such mischievous things so that they could make the one who would listen to them understand the intended hidden meaning, but in case someone took exception to their words, they could say they had been misunderstood.
*24) That is, "When the Bani Quraizah also joined the invaders, the hypocrites had a 'good excuse for defection and they started asking the Holy Prophet for leave to go and protect their houses and families, which, they said, had been endangered, whereas at that time the Holy Prophet was responsible for the defence and protection of all the people of Madinah. After the treachery of the Quraizah it was for the Holy Prophet to devise plans for the protection of the city and its people and not of the soldiers of the army individually."
*25) That is, "The Holy Prophet had already made arrangements for protection against the danger, which were a part of the collective scheme of defence being implemented by him as Commander of the Islamic forces. Therefore, there was no jmmediate danger in the face of which these people could justifiably make such an excuse. "