textscholarly hypothesis
Qur'an 85:4–10: 'the People of the Ditch'
c. c. 610 – c. 622
Place: najran
17.477, 44.179 · On the map
The text is attested. The Najran identification is traditional exegesis, and modern scholarship is divided.
Q 85 curses 'the companions of the ditch' who burned believers in a fire. Most classical exegetes identify this with the Najran massacre of 523. Silverstein argues the passage is best read against Daniel 3 and Near Eastern martyr traditions, while noting the Najran link.
People named here
- Najran martyrs
Where scholars disagree
For
- Muslim exegetes (al-Tabari etc.): Najran
Against
- Adam Silverstein — Der Islam 2019: Daniel 3 / Near Eastern context
- Josef Horovitz (1926), as summarized by Silverstein: eschatological (hellfire) reading
Links
Text and wording
In
Martyrdom of the Christians of Najran
Exegetes identify the 'People of the Ditch' with the Najran massacre.
text_parallel
traditional
Sources
- Qur'an, Surat al-Buruj (85)
Quran.com. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Adam Silverstein, 'Who are the Aṣḥāb al-Ukhdūd? Q 85:4–10 in Near Eastern Context', Der Islam 96.2 (2019)
De Gruyter. Accessed 2026-11-11.