By the sky full of constellations,85:1
and the promised Day ˹of Judgment˺,85:2
and the witness and what is witnessed!85:3
Condemned are the makers of the ditch—85:4
the fire ˹pit˺, filled with fuel—85:5
when they sat around it,85:6
watching what they had ˹ordered to be˺ done to the believers,85:7
who they resented for no reason other than belief in Allah—the Almighty, the Praiseworthy—85:8
˹the One˺ to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and earth. And Allah is a Witness over all things.85:9
Those who persecute the believing men and women and then do not repent will certainly suffer the punishment of Hell and the torment of burning.85:10
Muhammad Ibn Ishaq claimed that the People of the Ditch lived after the advent of Jesus (Peace be upon him). However, other scholars disagreed, asserting that they lived before him (Peace be upon him). Despite the disagreement, many scholars mentioned that this incident was repeated more than once.
There is a Prophetic Hadith narrating the story of those mentioned in the Qur'an. It is reported that Allah's Messenger ﷺ said: "There lived a king before you, and he had a court magician. As the magician grew old, he said to the king: 'I have grown old; send some young boy to me so that I should teach him magic.' The king sent him a young boy to train in magic. On his way to the magician, the boy found a monk sitting there. He listened to the monk's talk and was impressed by it. It became his habit to pass by the monk, spend time with him listening to his teachings, and then leave for the magician late. The magician beat him because of his delay. The boy complained to the monk, who said to him: 'When you fear the magician, say: Members of my family detained me. And when you fear your family, say: The magician detained me.' It so happened that a huge beast blocked the way of the people. The boy said: 'Today I will know whether the magician or the monk is superior.' He picked up a stone and said: 'O Allah, if the affair of the monk is dearer to You than the affair of the magician, cause death to this animal so that the people can move freely.' He threw the stone, killed the animal, and the people moved freely. The boy went to the monk and informed him. The monk said: 'Son, today you are superior to me. Your affair has reached a stage where you will soon be put to a trial. If you are put to trial, do not give any clue about me.' The young man began to treat the blind and those suffering from leprosy. He cured people of all kinds of illnesses. When a companion of the king who had gone blind heard about him, he came with numerous gifts and said: 'If you cure me, all these things will be yours.' The boy said: 'I do not cure anyone; it is Allah Who cures. If you affirm faith in Allah, I will supplicate to Allah to cure you.' He affirmed his faith, and Allah cured him. He then came to the king and sat by his side as before. The king asked: 'Who restored your eyesight?' He replied: 'My Lord!' The king was astounded and said: 'Do you have a Lord other than me?' He said: 'My Lord and your Lord is Allah.' The king seized him and tormented him until he gave a clue about the boy. The young man was summoned, and the king said: 'O boy, I hear you have become so proficient in your magic that you cure the blind and those suffering from leprosy and do such and such things.' The boy replied: 'I do not cure anyone; it is Allah Who cures.' The king seized him and began to torment him until the boy gave a clue about the monk. The monk was summoned and told: 'Turn back from your religion.' He refused, and the king ordered a saw to be brought. He placed it in the middle of the monk's head and sawed him until he fell apart. The courtier was then brought and told: 'Turn back from your religion.' He refused, and the king sawed him until he fell apart. The boy was brought and told: 'Turn back from your religion.' He refused and was handed over to a group of courtiers. The king ordered: 'Take him to such and such mountain; if he refuses to renounce his faith, throw him down the mountain.' They took him, but the boy prayed: 'O Allah, save me from them in any way You like.' The mountain quaked, and they all fell down. The boy walked back to the king. The king asked: 'What happened to your companions?' He replied: 'Allah has saved me from them.' The king handed him to other courtiers, saying: 'Take him in a small boat; if he does not renounce his religion, throw him into the water.' They took him, but the boy prayed: 'O Allah, save me from them and what they want to do.' The boat turned over, they drowned, and the boy walked back to the king. The king asked: 'What happened to your companions?' He replied: 'Allah has saved me from them.' The boy then said: 'You cannot kill me unless you do what I ask.' The king asked: 'What is that?' The boy replied: 'Gather people in a plain, hang me by a tree trunk, take an arrow from my quiver, say: In the name of Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and shoot. Only then will you be able to kill me.' The king called the people in an open plain, tied the boy to the tree trunk, took an arrow from his quiver, said: 'In the Name of Allah, the Lord of the boy,' and shot the arrow. It struck the boy's temple, and he died. The people then proclaimed: 'We affirm our faith in the Lord of the boy!' The courtiers told the king: 'Do you see that Allah has done what you tried to prevent? The people have affirmed their faith.' The king ordered ditches to be dug and fires lit in them. He proclaimed: 'Anyone who does not turn back from the boy's religion will be thrown into the fire.' The people, including a woman with her child, chose to die rather than renounce their faith. The child said to his mother: 'Endure this ordeal, for it is the Truth.'"
Some scholars claimed that the incident of the ditch was repeated multiple times in history. Ibn Abu Hatim said: I was told by my father, after Abul Yaman, after Safwan Ibn Abdur Rahman Ibn Jubair, as saying: the incident of the ditch took place in Yemen during the lifetime of Tubba'. It also occurred in Constantinople during Constantine's reign, where he threw Christians into fires. It happened in Babylon during Bikhtinassar's time, where Daniel, Izrya, and Mashayl were thrown into a great fire but were saved by Allah, while their oppressors fell into the fire they made. Concerning Allah's statement, "Cursed were the people of the Ditch," As-Sadiy said: There were three ditches: one in Sham (Syria), another in Iraq, and the third in Yemen. (Narrated by Ibn Abu Hatim). Some historians and scholars of Tafsir mentioned that that king was Yusuf Dhu-Nuwâs, one of the kings of Himyar, who died in the year 524 (by the Christian calendar). A staunch follower of Judaism, he oppressed the Christians of Najrân, giving them a choice between forsaking their religion and being burned in the ditch that he had prepared for them. They refused to abandon their religion, which led to him burning them in the year 523. That wicked slaughter prompted An-Najâshi, the Christian ruler of Al-Habashah, to exact revenge from Yusuf Dhu-Nuwas and his followers. After the king ignited fire in the ditch, he ordered his soldiers to bring every male and female believer and to show them the fire. Anyone that did not abandon his religion was to be thrown into the fire, which is what ended up happening. When the turn came for a woman who had her young son with her to fall into the ditch, she hesitated. Her son then said, "O Mother, be patient, for indeed you are upon the truth." (The story of the woman and her child is related in Sahih Muslim)
