in the land, there is no protector or helper.” He said: It was mentioned to us that two men fought, one from Juhaynah and the other from Ghifar, and Juhaynah were allies of the Ansar. The Ghifari gained the upper hand over the Juhani, and 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy called out: “O Banu Aws, help your brother!” He also said: “By Allah, our situation and the situation of Muhammad is just as the one who said: ‘Fatten your dog and it will eat you.’” And he said: “If we return to Medina, the most powerful among us will surely drive out the weakest.” A man from the Muslims reported this to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) sent for him and asked him about it, but he swore by Allah that they did not say [it]. So Allah revealed regarding that in the Quran: “They swear by Allah that they did not say [it], but they had said the word of disbelief and disbelieved after their Islam, and they planned that which they could not attain.”

The third interpretation:

10111 - (*) Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Aslam mentioned it, Ishaq ibn Rahawayh narrated to us, Muhammad ibn [---] reported to us: They watch for when Abu 'Amir comes to pray in it; and he had left Medina as an enemy to Allah [---] and disbelieved after their Islam. And they are the ones who intended to push the Prophet (peace be upon him) on the night of al-'Aqabah. They were a group who had conspired to kill the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) while they were with him on one of his journeys. They began looking for an opportunity, until he entered a mountain pass. Some of them went ahead and some fell behind, and this was at night. They said: “When he enters the mountain pass, we will push him off his camel into the valley.” Hudhayfah heard [them], as he was leading the Prophet's (peace be upon him) mount, while the one leading him that night was 'Ammar ibn Yasir, and his driver was Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman. Hudhayfah heard the sound of camel hooves, and he turned around and found them to be a group of masked men. He said: “Away with you, away with you, O enemies of Allah!” So they held back. The Prophet (peace be upon him) proceeded until he reached the place he intended. When morning came, he sent for them all and said: “You intended such and such.” They swore by Allah that they did not say it, nor did they intend what he asked them about. That is His saying: “They swear by Allah that they did not say [it], but they had said the word of disbelief and disbelieved after their Islam, and they planned that which they could not attain.”

His saying, the Almighty: “And they planned that which they could not attain.”

[The first interpretation]

10000 - (*) Muhammad ibn 'Ubadah ibn al-Bakhtari al-Wasiti narrated to us, Yazid narrated to us, Hammad ibn Salamah narrated to us from Hisham ibn 'Urwah from his father, he said: Allah revealed “And they planned that which they could not attain.” He said: And al-Julas had bought a horse in order to kill the Prophet (peace be upon him).