مِّنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌۭ صَدَقُوا۟ مَا عَٰهَدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ ۖ فَمِنْهُم مَّن قَضَىٰ نَحْبَهُۥ وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَنتَظِرُ ۖ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا۟ تَبْدِيلًۭا
Among the believers are men true to what they promised Allah. 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 -
Introduction
This is āyah 23 of Sūrat Al-Ahzaab (The Combined Forces), the 90th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 21. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 90 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Ahzaab (33)
(Of the believers are men who are true to that which they covenanted with Allah�) [33:23]. Abu Muhammad Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim informed us> 'Abd Allah ibn Humayd> Makki ibn 'Abdan> 'Abd Allah ibn Hashim> Bahz ibn Asad> Sulayman ibn al-Mughirah> Thabit> Anas who said: �My uncle Anas ibn al-Nadr - after whom I was named Anas - failed to take part in the Battle of Badr. When he returned, he was extremely pained that he did not participate in Badr. He said: 'I was absent from the first battle fought by the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. By Allah, if Allah, glorified and exalted is He, enables me to take part in any future fighting, He will see what I will do!' At the Battle of Uhud, when the Muslims were exposed, he said: 'O Allah, I exonerate myself from that which these idolaters have brought and seek Your pardon from what these - i.e. the Muslims - have done'. He then proceeded with the sword in his hand. On the way, he met Sa'd ibn Mu'adh and said to him: 'O Sa'd, by Him in Whose Hand is my soul, I can smell the scent of the Garden by Uhud'. He fought the idolaters until he was killed. We found him among the dead. He had suffered eighty something wounds, ranging from a blow with the sword, a stab with spear to a hit by a arrow. They mutilated him to the extent that we did not recognise him. It was his sister who identified him by his finger. This verse was then revealed (Of the believers are men who are true to that which they covenanted with Allah�). We used to say: 'This verse was revealed about him and his fellow Muslims [who died fighting]' �. Narrated by Muslim from Muhammad ibn Hatim from Bahz ibn Asad. Sa'id ibn Ahmad ibn Ja'far al-Mu'adhdhin informed us> Abu 'Ali ibn Abi Bakr al-Faqih> Ibrahim ibn 'Abd Allah al-Zabibi> Bundar> Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Ansari> his father> Thumamah> Anas ibn Malik who said: �This verse was revealed about Anas ibn al-Nadr (Of the believers are men who are true to that which they covenanted with Allah)�. This was narrated by Bukhari from Bundar. (Some of them have paid their vow by death (in battle), and some of them still are waiting�) [33:23].
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
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