About the Surah

The reason for descending the verse

From Anas bin Malik he said, “My uncle Anas bin An-Nadr (r.a) was absent from the Battle of Badr. He said,‘O Messenger of Allah! I was absent from the first battle you fought against the pagans. (By Allah!)if Allah gives me a chance to fight against the pagans, no doubt, Allah will see how (bravely) I will fight’. On the Day of Uhud, when the Muslims turned their backs and fled, he said, ‘O Allah! I apologize to You for what these (i.e. his Companions) have done, and I denounce what these (i.e. the pagans) have done’. Then he advanced and Sa'd bin Mu'adh met him. He said, ‘O Sa'd bin Mu'adh! By the Rabb of An-Nadr, Jannah! I am smelling its aroma coming from before (the mountain of) Uhud’. Later on, Sa'd said,‘O Messenger of Allah! I cannot achieve or do what he (i.e. Anas bin An-Nadr) did. We found more than eighty wounds by swords, spears, and arrows on his body. We found him dead and his body was mutilated so badly that none except his sister could recognise him by his finger’. We used to think that the following verse was revealed concerning him and other men of his sort.” (... among men true to what they promised Allah...) [Al-Ahzab, 33: 23] (Jalal Al-Din As-Suyuti, Lubab Al-Nuqal fi Asbabi Al-Nuzul: 171)