Verses 64–74

Chapter 9: Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) · Printed edition: Volume 18, pp. 224–254

These verses discuss another aspect of the hypocrites’ state, reveal yet another one of their evil qualities that they have concealed through their two-facedness, and show that they were afraid that they would be discovered or that a chapter of the Qurʾan would be sent down to disclose their scheming.

From the verses, it is evident that the hypocrites under discussion here were a group with a significant number of members, as shown by the verse, if We forgive a group among you, We will punish another group (). It also appears that they had some connections and agreements with other groups of hypocrites, as indicated by the verse, the hypocrites, men and women, are from one another (). They continued to maintain an outward appearance of submission and faith until the time these verses were revealed and would only disclose their hypocrisy and faithlessness to one another, keeping it secret from everyone else, You have disbelieved after your faith ().

It is also evident that the hypocrites were plotting together, as this is where they revealed their faithlessness to one another. They were clearly intending to do something serious, so God intervened to protect the Messenger from them, and their plans came to nothing as a result, as shown by the verse, But they certainly did utter the word of unfaith and renounced faith after their submission. They contemplated what they could not achieve ().

It appears that some elements of their plot came to light, as they were questioned about it and offered excuses that were just as bad as whatever they had in mind, as indicated by the verse, if you question them, they will surely say, ‘We were just gossiping and amusing ourselves’ (). The following verse occurs in the same context and reveals that whatever their plan was, it was hatched after the Prophet had set out on the campaign to Tabūk and returned to Medina, as evinced by the verse, If Allah brings you back to a group of them (), and the verse, They will swear to you by Allah, when you return to them ().

Therefore, in summary, what these verses show is that there were a group of those who went forth with the Prophet who were conspiring to harm him, and it was in the course of their plotting that they secretly uttered words of disbelief after having outwardly embraced Islam. Then they resolved to do what they had agreed upon, such as assassinating him or the like, but God foiled their plans, disgraced them, and exposed them. Then, when they were asked about their plots, they said: ‘We were just gossiping and amusing ourselves.’ So God rebuked them through the words of His Messenger that they were deriding God, His signs, and His messenger and threatened them with punishment if they did not repent, then God commanded His Prophet to fight them and to fight those who disbelieved.

As you can see, these verses appear to relate most closely to the account of al-ʿAqaba of all the accounts they could apply to that have come down in the various narrations explaining the context in which these verses were revealed. We shall discuss the most important of these in our treatment of the narrations, below.

يَحْذَرُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ أَنْ تُنَزَّلَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُورَةٌ تُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِمَا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ ۚ قُلِ اسْتَهْزِئُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ مُخْرِجٌ مَا تَحْذَرُونَ ٦٤

(9:64) The hypocrites are apprehensive lest a chapter should be sent down against them, informing them about what is in their hearts. Say, ‘Go on deriding. Allah will indeed bring out what you are apprehensive of.’

The hypocrites saw that most of what they concealed of their hypocrisy, the blasphemous things they whispered to one another, and their derision and mockery, were known to the Messenger and recited to the people in the verses of the Qurʾan that the Prophet said were revelations from God. Now, even though they certainly did not believe that these were divine revelations from God brought down to the Messenger of God by the Angel Gabriel; they believed that there were believers spying on them and reporting back to the Prophet about their activities, which he then disclosed in the verses of revelation. What they feared was that their hypocrisy and secret unbelief would be revealed, as the Prophet was the one who had power and authority over them, and he could do with them as he pleased.

Therefore, the hypocrites were fearful that a chapter of the Qurʾan would come down and reveal the disbelief they concealed, the plans they made to turn the tide of events against the Prophet, and their goal to thwart his mission and extinguish his message. For this reason, God commanded His Prophet to tell them that God is aware of what their hearts contain and that He would bring to light whatever they were afraid of being exposed by revealing a chapter of the Qurʾan about them. In other words, that God would send down a chapter fitting this description.

This explanation renders the meaning of the verse clear. Hence, the passage, the hypocrites are apprehensive lest a chapter should be sent down against them, is addressed to the Prophet and the discussion as a whole is directed to him. Now, he already knows, because God Himself has taught him, that what he recites to people is divine speech and the Qurʾan has come down from Him. Therefore, God describes the divine speech that the hypocrites are most fearful of in terms of what the Prophet knows—that it is a chapter of the Qurʾan that has come down from God about the people, including the hypocrites—not according to what the hypocrites imagine—that it is human speech presented as though it was divine speech.

Therefore, the hypocrites were afraid that the Prophet would recite a discourse about them to the people in the form of a chapter of the Qurʾan that laid bare the contents of their hearts and exposed their secrets, their infidelity, and their evil intentions for all to see. This, in reality, is the revelation that they feared would be sent down.

Say, ‘Go on deriding. Allah will indeed bring out what you are apprehensive of’: It appears that ‘deriding’ here is used in reference to their hypocrisy and its effects. God calls their hypocrisy derision because of what He relates from them in the verse, When they meet the faithful, they say, ‘We believe,’ but when they are alone with their devils, they say, ‘We are with you; we were only deriding’ (). Therefore, what derision refers to here is the fact that they conceal what they are afraid of coming to light. The imperative, ‘Go on deriding’ then, is a command that is intended to reveal the incapability of the one to whom it is addressed. In other words, persist in your hypocrisy and continue to conceal the things about you that you are afraid of having exposed to people’s eyes and ears. Surely God will bring all of that forth and draw back the veil on your secrets. He will make apparent what you have secreted in your hearts.

Hence, while the opening of the verse says that they are fearful of a chapter of the Qurʾan being revealed about them, what they were really afraid of was that the Prophet was aware of their activities and that these would be made known to the people. This is what the end of the verse says they are fearful of. Therefore, it is as though the verse is saying: ‘The hypocrites are afraid of a chapter of the Qurʾan being sent down, so tell them that God will surely send it down.’ Or, it is saying: ‘The hypocrites are afraid that their true nature will be exposed and the contents of their hearts will be made plain to see, so tell them that they should go on deriding, for God will surely expose that and inform people what is really in their hearts.’

The above explanation addresses a number of problems that have been posed about the verse. The first of these is that the hypocrites do not believe in the Prophet or his message and that, therefore, they do not really believe that the Qurʾan has come down from God, so how can they be afraid of a chapter of it being revealed against them?

The second is that they are not truly believers, so how can God say he will send a chapter of the Qurʾan down ‘upon’ them (as the verse uses the preposition ʿalā, literally meaning ‘on’ but translated here as ‘against’) when the revelation is only sent down ‘upon’ the Prophet or the faithful?

The third is that they are afraid of a chapter of the Qurʾan being revealed about them, and this is really an internal emotional state, so how can the verse refer to this as ‘derision’?

The fourth and final is that the beginning of the verse says that they are afraid of a chapter of the Qurʾan being sent down, but the end of the verse says that God will bring forth what they are fearful of. Therefore, does this not mean that God will bring forth a chapter of the Qurʾan, or He will bring forth the sending down of a chapter?

Now, some commentators respond to the first objection by saying that the phrase, the hypocrites are apprehensive is actually intended to mean ‘let the hypocrites be apprehensive lest a chapter should be sent down against them….’

However, it should be clear that this is a weak answer, both because there is no evidence for this reading and that it conflicts with the end of the verse, as it becomes meaningless to say, ‘Let the hypocrites be apprehensive of such-and-such. Say, “Go on deriding. Allah will indeed bring out what you are apprehensive of”—meaning what you should be apprehensive of.’

Some have argued that the hypocrites were only putting on a show of apprehension mockingly and not in earnest. However, this would mean that they were confident that the disbelief they harboured in their hearts and their sinfulness that they kept hidden would never be brought to light, and that no one could possibly discover it. This is explicitly refuted by the numerous verses of the Qurʾan that disclose the disbelief and sinfulness they had set their hearts upon and the schemes and plots they had secretly made between themselves—see, for example, the verses of Sūrah al-Baqarah, Sūrah al-Munāfiqīn and others. Moreover, they had already directly witnessed their secrets being disclosed time and again, so there is no way that they could have believed that they would never be discovered, such that they could put on a mocking show of apprehension. After all, God has said elsewhere that they suppose every cry is directed against them ().

Others have argued that most of the hypocrites were actually in doubt about the truthfulness of the Prophet’s mission without necessarily denying it outright. Therefore, they knew rationally that it was possible a chapter of the revelation could be sent down to reveal the contents of their hearts. Therefore, the anxiety and concern they display is a natural consequence of their doubt and hesitancy about the Prophet and his claims. If they were certain that the Messenger’s claims were false, they would not have feared such a revelation. Equally, if they were certain that his claims were truthful, there would have been no reason for them to be afraid or apprehensive, because their hearts would have had the assurance of faith.

This is the response that the majority of commentators on the Qurʾan have favoured, and while on the surface it appears to be a valid reading of the verse, it nevertheless faces some problems. These commentators have read the verse as meaning that the hypocrites are fearful lest a chapter of the revelation be revealed against them, because fear—they say—is an appropriate response to being in doubt about something, as opposed to having certainty.

However, the verse does not use the word ‘fear’ (khawf) to describe their state but ‘apprehension’ (ḥadhar), saying they are apprehensive that a chapter be revealed against them. Now, the word ḥadhar also conveys a sense of being on guard or protecting oneself against something. This means that the person who is apprehensive will take measures to ward off the thing he is apprehensive of and to protect himself from the harm he anticipates from it.

Now, if what the hypocrites were experiencing was merely doubt, without having seen first-hand the real-world effects of what they were afraid of, then it would not make sense for them to take precautions against it. Therefore, the fact that the hypocrites are described as ‘apprehensive’ rather than merely ‘fearful’ shows that they have already had experience of something similar, such as the verses of Sūrah al-Baqarah and other chapters. And it is the idea of this experience being repeated that gives rise to their anxiety and apprehension, rather than mere doubt or hesitation. Therefore, our preferred explanation is what we have already said.

As regards the second objection to the verse, which concerns the use of the preposition ʿalā (lit. ‘upon’ but translated here as ‘against’) in lest a chapter should be sent down against them, some commentators respond that it is used in the same meaning here as it is in the verse, and they followed what the devils recited about (ʿalā) Solomon’s reign, namely in the sense of ‘about.’ Therefore, the meaning of the verse is: ‘The hypocrites are apprehensive lest a chapter should be sent down about their state and revealing their true inner condition for all to see.’ There is no problem with this reading, save for the fact that it is made redundant by the next phrase, informing them about what is in their hearts, as we shall explain shortly.

Other commentators have said that the pronoun in ‘against them’ (ʿalayhim) refers to the faithful rather than the hypocrites. In this case, the meaning of the verse is that ‘the hypocrites are apprehensive lest a chapter should be sent down upon the faithful informing the hypocrites of the true contents of their own hearts or informing the faithful of the true contents of the hypocrites’ hearts.’

However, some might reject this reading because it requires an arbitrary distinction to be made between pronouns, but its supporters could argue that there is no problem in Arabic rhetoric with such a distinction being made so long as the meaning of the verse is not impaired. Another argument in defence of this reading might be that the distinction is not arbitrary, because a previous verse has already described how the hypocrites swear oaths to the faithful in order to please them, after which God rebukes them by saying that God and His Messenger are more worthy of being pleased if they were truly faithful. Therefore, the current verse builds on this theme by saying that the hypocrites are afraid lest a chapter of revelation should be sent down to the faithful informing them of what is really in the former’s hearts, which would destroy their trust in them. According to this view, the pronoun refers back to the faithful because that is what the context of the verse most strongly indicates. Therefore, there is no arbitrary distinction whatsoever.

The answer to this is that there is no disputing that the topic of discussion in these verses and many of the verses before and after them is the hypocrites, or that the context of these verses is that they are addressed to the Prophet and no one else. Meanwhile, the phrase, they swear to you by Allah, to please you, which is addressed to the faithful, is a temporary shift in address (iltifāt) for a specific purpose, after which the address shifts back to the Prophet. Therefore, one cannot argue that the context of the verses shows they are addressed primarily to the faithful. After all, were this the case, it would have been better to say: ‘Lest a chapter be sent down to you [pl.] informing you about what is in their hearts.’ Therefore, it does not make sense to switch to the third-person pronoun, ‘them’ when previously the faithful were addressed directly as ‘you.’

Now, if one were to argue that the passage, the hypocrites are apprehensive…, is intended to explain why the hypocrites are swearing oaths to the faithful to keep them happy, this diverts this group of verses from their primary purpose, which we explained at the beginning of this section and, in doing so, deprives it of its internal logic and the interconnection between verses.

The verse, the hypocrites are apprehensive…, is not intended to explain why the hypocrites are swearing oaths at all. On the contrary, this is a new topic of discussion with its own goal, which is clearly visible when you study all eleven verses.

To conclude, the verses previous to this do not contain any mention of the faithful that would make it necessary to connect them with the current group, such that the use of the pronoun ‘them’ could be taken as a reference to the faithful. This is the arbitrary distinction mentioned above, and such a reading is not in keeping with the eloquence of the Qurʾan, because it introduces unnecessary ambiguity into the meaning of the verse.

The correct opinion is that the pronoun ‘them’ in lest a chapter should be sent down against them refers to the hypocrites, as we have already stated. There is no problem saying that a chapter that a chapter of revelation is sent down ‘upon’ (ʿalā, translated as ‘against’) them when it is revealed to reveal the truth, call attention to their evil acts, and rebuke them for their hypocrisy. After all, they are outwardly part of the community of the faithful and cannot be distinguished from them, and God uses the preposition ‘upon’ with regards to the faithful in the verse, and remember Allah’s blessing upon you, and what He has sent down to you (ʿalaykum, lit. ‘upon you’) of the Book and wisdom, to advise you therewith ().

God has also used a similar expression in reference to the People of the Book in the verse, the People of the Book ask you to bring down for them (ʿalayhim, lit. ‘upon them’) a Book from the sky (), and in reference to the idolaters in the verse, and we will not believe your ascension until you bring down for us (ʿalaynā, lit. ‘upon us’) a book that we may read (). Now, insofar as the hypocrites are outwardly part of the community of the faithful, it is hardly more improbable that God should describe the Qurʾan being sent down ‘upon’ them than it is for Him to do the same for the idolaters or the People of the Book. Now, the verbs nuzūl, inzāl, and tanzīl (all conveying various nuances of ‘sending down’) can take the preposition ilā (‘to’) to convey a sense of ‘ending’ or ‘reaching’ or ʿalā (‘upon’) to convey a sense of coming down from a higher place. The Qurʾan uses both of these prepositions abundantly and the meaning of sending down the Book ‘to’ a people or ‘upon’ a people means that the revelation is addressed to their affairs and to explain what will benefit them in this world and the next.

As for the third objection, one might answer it by saying that the phrase, Say, ‘Go on deriding…’ shows that they were behaving apprehensively in a mocking fashion and were not seriously fearful of anything.

However, the problem with this response is that there are many verses that have been sent down in Sūrah al-Baqarah, Sūrah al-Nisāʾ, and others—all of which were revealed prior to these verses—which expose the wickedness in the hypocrites’ hearts and make known their secrets. This shows, therefore, that they had a credible fear and that their apprehension was genuine, not pretend mockery.

Furthermore, in Sūrah al-Munāfiqūn, God describes the hypocrites as follows: They suppose every cry is directed against them (), while in a similitude in Sūrah al-Baqarah, He says, they put their fingers in their ears due to the thunderclaps, apprehensive of death ().

Therefore, the correct understanding of ‘deriding’ here is that their derision and mockery is none other than their hypocrisy itself, when they profess outwardly what they do not believe in their hearts, as per the verse, When they meet the faithful, they say, ‘We believe,’ but when they are alone with their devils, they say, ‘We are with you; we were only deriding’ ().

As for the fourth objection, the response to it is that the thing they were apprehensive of was actually their hypocrisy being brought to life and the true contents of their hearts being revealed for all to see. That is why they were fearful lest a chapter of revelation be sent down about them. Therefore, there is no difference between the thing they were apprehensive of at the beginning of the verse and what is mentioned at its end. In other words, when God says, Allah will indeed bring out what you are apprehensive of, this means that He will bring to light the hypocrisy and two-facedness that they have kept hidden and inform the people about the contents of their wicked hearts.

وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ إِنَّمَا كُنَّا نَخُوضُ وَنَلْعَبُ ۚ قُلْ أَبِاللَّهِ وَآيَاتِهِ وَرَسُولِهِ كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَهْزِئُونَ ٦٥

(9:65) If you question them, they will surely say, ‘We were just gossiping (nakhūḍ) and amusing ourselves.’ Say, ‘Were you deriding Allah, His signs, and His apostles?’

According to al-Ṭabriṣī in Majmaʿ al-bayān, khawḍ (lit. ‘delve’ but translated here as ‘gossiping’) means to step into a liquid, such as water or mud. However, this word was used metaphorically so often that it acquired other meanings too.

Al-Rāghib writes in his Mufradāt: ‘Khawḍ means to descend into a body of water and proceed through it (i.e. “to delve”). It is also used figuratively in the sense of “to delve into matters.” The Qurʾan frequently uses it for situations in which it is blameworthy to involve oneself.’

Note that God does not explicitly mention what the hypocrites are being questioned about. So if the Prophet were to pose them a question, what would it be? God foretells that, in response, they will surely say, ‘We were just gossiping and amusing ourselves.’ The use of the preposition ‘we were just’ (innamā kunna) suggests that whatever they were doing, it was somehow connected to the Prophet, that it was something plainly visible that aroused suspicions about them, and that after the Prophet had discovered what they were up to, they could not find any excuse except to say that they were acting in jest and play, not intending anything serious.

The gossip (khawḍ) and amusement (laʿb) with which they sought to excuse their behavior were considered immoral acts that people would not normally want to be associated with, especially the faithful and anyone else who made an outward profession of faith, and especially if this was with regards to something that pertained to God and His Messenger. Therefore, this suggests that they could not find any other justification for their behavior to conceal what they were really planning other than this, suggesting that, even on appearance, what they were doing would have seemed extremely suspect.

For this reason, God commanded His Prophet to rebuke them on the basis of their excuse: Say, ‘Were you deriding Allah, His signs, and His apostles?’ Then the true nature of their actions is explained in the following verse: They swear by Allah that they did not say it. But they certainly did utter the word of unfaith and renounced faith after their submission. They contemplated what they could not achieve… ().

Based on all of these circumstantial indicators, it is clear that the hypocrites had planned to do some harm to the Prophet, such as assassinating him or laying a deadly trap for him and had actually taken practical steps to put this into action and engaged in wicked discussions about it. However, they erred in their plots and the Prophet remained unharmed. The arrow missed its mark. Then, when their conspiracy came to light and the Prophet questioned them about what they had been trying to do, they excused themselves by saying that they had only been gossiping and amusing themselves. Based on this, the Prophet rebukes them with God’s words, Were you deriding Allah, His signs, and His messengers? After this, God rejects the excuses they proffered and reveals their true intentions.

In short, then, the verse’s meaning is as follows:

‘I swear that if you were to ask them about what you saw them doing, “Why did you do that?” when it is obvious that it had something to do with you, they will surely answer, “We meant no harm, it is not what you think, so do not think ill of us, we were merely gossiping and amusing ourselves to pass the time. It was nothing serious, only jest.”

‘In doing so, they confess to mocking God, His signs, and His Messenger, because they are confessing that their behavior towards you was merely for gossip and amusement. Therefore, they have mocked God and His Messenger. Therefore, you should tell them, “Were you deriding God, His signs, and His messengers?” In other words, ask them whether they seriously mean to excuse their wicked behavior by presenting it as another evil deed, namely mocking God, His signs, and His Messenger, which is tantamount to disbelief?’

It is not unlikely that the central purpose of the verse is to show how their behavior is, in fact, mocking the Messenger and it only mentions God and His signs to show the full implications of mocking the Messenger. After all, the Messenger is a sign of God, so to deride the Messenger is to deride God’s signs, and to deride God’s signs is to deride God Almighty Himself. Therefore, mocking the Messenger is tantamount to mocking God, His signs, and His Messenger all at once.

لَا تَعْتَذِرُوا قَدْ كَفَرْتُمْ بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ ۚ إِنْ نَعْفُ عَنْ طَائِفَةٍ مِنْكُمْ نُعَذِّبْ طَائِفَةً بِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا مُجْرِمِينَ ٦٦

(9:66) Do not make excuses. You have disbelieved after your faith.’ If We forgive a group among you, We will punish another group (ṭāʾifa), for they have been guilty.

Al-Rāghib says in his Mufradāt: ‘Ṭawf means to walk around something. From this is derived the word ṭāʾif, meaning someone who patrols outside homes to keep them safe… and the word ṭāʾifa, which means a group of people or a piece of something.

‘God says, But why should not there go forth a group (ṭāʾifa) from each of their sections to become learned in religion—and some say that ṭāʾifa can be used for to denote as few as one person from a larger group, as per the verse, if two groups of the faithful fight one another… (), and the verse, when two groups among you were about to lose courage… ().

‘And when the word ṭāʾifa is used in the plural sense, it is considered a plural of ṭāʾif, but if it is used to denote the singular then it is grammatically plural but figuratively singular, or it can be treated like the words riwāya (“narration”) or ʿallāma (“extremely learned”).’

However, some scholars have erred by denying that the word ṭāʾifa can apply to one or two persons from a larger group of people as readily as it can apply to three or more, resulting in them developing a faulty understanding of its meaning. There is no evidence to support their assertion, and the word itself does not tell us anything specific about the number of persons to which it refers. However, the fact that ṭāʾifa can be used to signify a piece of something suggests that it can validly be used to denote an individual person from a larger group as well.

Therefore, the phrase, do not make excuses. You have disbelieved after your faith, forbids the hypocrites from excusing their actions on the basis of them being mere amusement. In particular, you have disbelieved after your faith shows that their excuses are of no benefit as these still mean that they have still disbelieved after their faith.

The meaning of faith here is the profession or appearance of faith that they showed outwardly to others, as opposed to genuine faith, which is divine guidance that is not followed by error. This reading is supported by the later verse, but they certainly did utter the word of unfaith and renounced faith after their submission (), which replaces the word ‘faith’ (īmān) with ‘submission’ (islām), which means to make an outward profession of faith in the form of the two testimonies.

Now, one might say that there are many levels of faith, including a weak level of belief or conviction that can be lost, such as the faith of those in whose hearts is a sickness, for God has counted them amongst the faithful but also mentioned them alongside the hypocrites. There is no reason why they cannot abandon such faith. After all, God has removed the faith of those who were stronger in faith than them, as He relates in the verse, Relate to them an account of him to whom We gave Our signs, but he cast them off. Thereupon Satan pursued him, and he became one of the perverse. Had We wished, We would have surely raised him by their means, but he clung to the earth and followed his desires ().

He also says, As for those who believe and then disbelieve, then believe and then disbelieve and then increase in disbelief, Allah shall never forgive them, nor shall He guide them to any way (). In fact, the Qurʾan frequently mentions disbelief after belief. Therefore, there is no reason why faith that is not firmly rooted in the heart cannot be effaced.

Of course, well-established faith and deeply rooted beliefs will never fade, as God says elsewhere, whomever Allah guides is rightly guided (), and indeed Allah does not guide those who mislead ().

As for when God says, if We forgive a group among you, We will punish another group, this shows that the hypocrites being discussed in the present set of verses were very numerous, and that because the sentence of punishment has been passed against them, they must suffer punishment. Therefore, even if God spares some of them this punishment due to some benefit that obtains from this mercy, the punishment will still fall on the remainder of the group. This is the meaning we understand from the passage if We forgive a group among you, We will punish another group based on its order and its context.

In other words, it often seems like there is a necessary connection between cause and effect here, which means that the effect comes into being as a result of the cause. However, the present verse shows that this is not always the case, as the effect here is conditioned by the fact that the punishment is due against the hypocrites collectively. Therefore, if God forgives some of them, the remainder will have to be punished without the possibility of reprieve.

Based on the above, we can understand, first of all, why God says that if He forgives some of the hypocrites, He will punish others. This provides the basis for a response to the objection some have raised about the verse, namely that there is no necessary connection between forgiving some and punishing others—so how can one be conditioned on the other?

The answer to this is that the sentence of punishment has been passed against the hypocrites collectively, which means some of them must be punished. However, this means that some can still be forgiven, in which case the remainder must be punished.

The second point we can grasp from the above is that the meaning of ‘forgiveness’ (ʿafuww) here is to spare them punishment due to some benefit this brings to the religion rather than forgiveness in the sense of God forgiving them their sin on the basis of their repenting. This is because it would make no sense to say: ‘If We forgive the sins of a group of you because they have repented, We will punish the rest for their sins, but if they all repented, we would not punish any of them whatsoever.’ What is more, God enjoins all of them to repent in the subsequent verse, Yet if they repent, it will be better for them; but if they turn away, Allah shall punish them with a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter ().

The third point is that the forgiveness mentioned in the verse means to be spared punishment in this world, and the punishment referenced also means punishment in this world. This is because, as other verses of the Qurʾan explicitly state, punishment in the Hereafter can only be removed through repentance or intercession, neither of which are in operation in our present discussion. As for repentance, it is clear that this is not what the verse intends, and as for intercession, numerous verses of the Qurʾan attest to the fact that intercession can only be obtained in the Hereafter by a believer whose faith has been accepted by God—and we have discussed this at length in the first volume of this commentary.

The fourth point is that there is nothing to preclude the entirety of the passage, Do not make excuses. You have disbelieved after your faith. If We forgive a group among you…, being included in the Prophet’s speech, as we have already established that the meaning of forgiveness in this verse is to be spared punishment in this world as a matter of political expediency. Therefore, there is nothing to indicate that this passage is not part of what God is telling His Prophet to say to the hypocrites.

However, the apparent meaning of the following verses suggests that this is part of God’s speech, which is addressed to the hypocrites. Therefore, this is a transition (iltifāt) from addressing the Prophet to addressing them. And what this transition conveys is God’s utter wrathfulness and extreme anger toward them for their behavior, as though it is not enough for the Prophet to convey His message to them, but He turns to address them directly Himself to threaten them with a punishment against which there can be no protection and from which there can be no escape.

الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ ۚ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمُنْكَرِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَقْبِضُونَ أَيْدِيَهُمْ ۚ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَنَسِيَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ ٦٧ وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ وَالْكُفَّارَ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ هِيَ حَسْبُهُمْ ۚ وَلَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُقِيمٌ ٦٨

(9:67-68) The hypocrites, men and women, are from one another: they bid what is wrong and forbid what is right, and are tight-fisted. They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them. The hypocrites are indeed the transgressors. Allah has promised the hypocrites, men and women, and the faithless, the Fire of hell, to remain in it. That suffices them. Allah has cursed them, and there is a lasting punishment for them.

Some commentators have said this marks the beginning of a new discussion concerning the state of the hypocrites in general by mentioning some general identifying qualities they all share and foretelling the requital that God has in store for them in the hereafter, before turning to discuss the state of the faithful in general by mentioning some general identifying qualities they all share and foretelling the rewards God has set aside for them in contrast to the hypocrites, so as to provide a comprehensive account of what awaits everyone in the Hereafter. The evidence for this last point is that God mentions the disbelievers alongside the hypocrites, Allah has promised the hypocrites, men and women, and the faithless, the Fire of hell…

However, it appears that this verse is actually intended to provide an explanation for what God says in the previous verse, namely, If We forgive a group among you, We will punish another group. As such, this verse, like the previous one, is still being addressed to the hypocrites directly.

Hence, insofar as the previous verse indicates that God will not let the hypocrites alone until He punishes them for their crimes and, even if He spares some of them worldly punishment because of some wisdom or benefit this secures, He will seize the remainder with punishment. But this also gives rise to the question: How shall God punish some if He spares others? Is this not merely guilt by association? The answer to this, provided in the present verses, is that the hypocrites are all from one another because they all share in the same wicked character traits and deeds and, therefore, they all share the same recompense for these deeds and consequences for their state of being.

Perhaps the verse mentions the hypocrites, men and women together, even though women have not been mentioned previously, to emphasise the unity of all hypocrites in spiritual qualities and to hint that there are also women who are active in these seditious groups and activities that are undermining the Muslim community.

Based on this, the meaning of the verse is that one should not be surprised that some of the hypocrites will be punished when others are let off, because all of the hypocrites—men and women alike—share a common set of moral and spiritual qualities that unify them in spite of their multiplicity. Therefore, they belong to one another, they share the same traits and deeds, and God has ordained the same punishment for them.

The hypocrites are the ones who bid others to evil and discourage others from good deeds in the way of God. In other words, they have forgotten God because they have turned aside from His remembrance because they are transgressors who have forsaken the path of divine servanthood. As a result, God has forgotten them and will not grant them the rewards He bestows upon His servants who are mindful of the station of their Lord.

Then God mentions what He has promised them: Allah has promised the hypocrites, men and women, and the faithless—note that he includes the faithless with them because, in His eyes, they are all alike—the Fire of hell, to remain in it. That suffices them—as a recompense, and it will not go beyond them to affect anyone else—Allah has cursed them—by banishing them from His mercy—and there is a lasting punishment for them—which will not end and from which they will never escape.

Based on this, it is apparent that the passage, they have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them… is an explanation of the earlier phrase, they bid what is wrong and forbid what is right, and are tight-fisted.

From this, we can deduce that enjoining good, forbidding evil, and spending in the way of God are all forms of remembrance.

كَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ كَانُوا أَشَدَّ مِنْكُمْ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرَ أَمْوَالًا وَأَوْلَادًا فَاسْتَمْتَعُوا بِخَلَاقِهِمْ فَاسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِخَلَاقِكُمْ كَمَا اسْتَمْتَعَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ بِخَلَاقِهِمْ وَخُضْتُمْ كَالَّذِي خَاضُوا ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ ٦٩

(9:69) Similar to those who were before you, who were more powerful than you and more abounding in wealth and children: they enjoyed their share (khalāqihim); you too enjoy your share, just like those who were before you enjoyed their share, and you have gossiped as they gossiped. They are the ones whose works have failed in this world and the Hereafter; and it is they who are the losers.

According to al-Rāghib, khalāq refers to the blessings that a human being acquires through his moral character. As God says elsewhere, but for such there is no share in the Hereafter ().

This verse is a continuation of God’s address to the hypocrites, which began with the verse, Do not make excuses. You have disbelieved after your faith (), and fits within the same context and flow of discourse. It compares the state of the hypocrites to the disbelievers and hypocrites who came before them in order to prove the point made in the previous verse, namely that the hypocrites, men and women, are from one another. This is because all of the hypocrites and the disbelievers share a single common nature in that they have all turned aside from the remembrance of God and devoted themselves instead to amusing themselves with the transitory enjoyments of this world, such as wealth, offspring, and gossiping about God’s signs. As a result, their works will fail in this world and the next, and they will suffer loss.

Therefore, the meaning of the verse appears to be as follows: ‘You are like those who came before you who had power, wealth, and offspring—and were in fact superior and more abounding than you in all of these—and who enjoyed their share of this world. You have enjoyed as they enjoyed, and you have amused yourselves and they amused themselves. But their worlds failed in this world and the Hereafter and they were the losers. You too, like them, shall see your works fail in this world and the Hereafter, and that is why God has promised you Hellfire, in which you will dwell eternally, and cursed you.’

God mentions that those who came before were more powerful and more enriched with wealth and children to call attention to the fact that, in spite of all of this, they could not thwart Him and that none of this saved their works from going awry or saved them from loss. So, the Qurʾan asks the hypocrites around the Prophet: ‘What will be your fate, when you are weaker than they and lesser in both wealth and offspring?’

أَلَمْ يَأْتِهِمْ نَبَأُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ وَعَادٍ وَثَمُودَ وَقَوْمِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَأَصْحَابِ مَدْيَنَ وَالْمُؤْتَفِكَاتِ ۚ أَتَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ ۖ فَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَظْلِمَهُمْ وَلَٰكِنْ كَانُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ ٧٠

(9:70) Has there not come to them the account of those who were before them—the people of Noah, ‘Ad, and Thamud, and the people of Abraham, the inhabitants of Midian, and the towns that were overturned? Their messengers brought them manifest proofs. So it was not Allah who wronged them, but it was they who used to wrong themselves.

In this verse, God turns back to address the Prophet and refers to the hypocrites as ‘them’ and reminds them of the stories that the Qurʾan has recounted of past peoples. It specifically mentions the people of Noah, the entirety of whom God punished with drowning; ʿAd—the people of Hūd—who He destroyed with an earthquake; the people of Abraham, who were ruled by Nimrod and whom God deprived of His blessings; the towns that were overturned were settlements that God overturned the ground underneath them so that their bottommost part became their topmost part, as happened with the people of Lot.

Their messengers brought them manifest proofs—meaning they brought them clear signs, proofs, and arguments, and this is a summary description of what transpired with them. In other words, their messengers brought them clear signs, they denied them, and so they were destroyed. It was not in God’s plan to wrong them, for He made truth and falsehood clear to them, distinguished good sense from deviation, and guidance from error. However, it was the peoples and nations who wronged themselves by immersing themselves in the enjoyments of this world and mocking God’s signs and denying His messengers.

وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ ۚ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَيُطِيعُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ سَيَرْحَمُهُمُ اللَّهُ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ ٧١

(9:71) But the faithful, men and women, are comrades of one another: they bid what is right and forbid what is wrong and maintain the prayer, give the zakāt, and obey Allah and His Apostle. It is they to whom Allah will soon grant His mercy. Indeed Allah is all-mighty, all-wise.

Now God turns His attention to describing the state of the faithful in general in contrast to the description He has just given of the hypocrites, saying, But the faithful, men and women, are comrades of one another to show that in spite of their multiplicity and differences in terms of number and gender, they share a single being that is not divided in the least, and hence they are comrades of one another.

It is for this reason that they enjoin one another to good deeds and dissuade one another from evil. Therefore when the different members of a community look after one another, comradeship (wilāya) extends throughout it, and they enjoin the good and forbid the evil amongst themselves.

Then, God describes them by saying that they maintain the prayer, give the zakāt. These are the two main pillars of the Islamic faith; prayer is the pillar of worship, for it embodies the relationship between God and His creation, while zakāt embodies relations between people.

To this, He adds that they obey Allah and His Messenger—the phrase ‘obey Allah’ covers obeying all of the divine laws, while the phrase ‘and His Messenger’ includes all of the laws of governance that the Prophet issues to govern the affairs of the community, set right their affairs, and command them on military campaigns; the judgements he issues in court cases; the application of criminal law; and the like thereof.

Given that, obeying the Messenger, from another angle, also includes obeying all of the divine laws God has sent down from the heavens, as it is the Messenger who proclaims the truth and calls others to observe the roots and branches of the religion.

It is they to whom Allah will soon grant His mercy: This foretells that God has ordained that the believers thus described be enshrouded by His mercy, and this contrasts with the description of the hypocrites, given above, they have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them. It appears that the verse’s coda, indeed Allah is all-mighty, all-wise, also provides the rationale for them being granted this mercy, as it is God’s peerless might that means nothing can obstruct His mercy and there is no flaw or gap in His wisdom.

وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَمَسَاكِنَ طَيِّبَةً فِي جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ ۚ وَرِضْوَانٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ ٧٢

(9:72) Allah has promised the faithful, men and women, gardens with streams running in them, to remain therein forever, and good dwellings in the Gardens of Eden (ʿAdn). Yet Allah’s pleasure is greater; that is the great success.

The name ʿAdn (‘Eden’) is derived from a verbal noun meaning to reside or dwell somewhere. One might say ‘he dwelt there’ (ʿadana bi al-makān), meaning he remained there and inhabited it. From the same root is derived the word maʿdin (‘mine’ or ‘lode’) because minerals and jewels are found therein. Therefore, the phrase ‘Gardens of Eden’ (jannāt ʿAdn) actually denotes the gardens in which the faithful will dwell eternally.

Yet Allah’s pleasure is greater: In other words, based on the context in which this phrase occurs, God’s satisfaction with them is even greater than all of this. The phrase ‘Allah’s pleasure’ (riḍwānun min Allāh) is indefinite to magnify it and show that it cannot be measured or encompassed by human minds or to show that any satisfaction from God, however small, is greater in worth than all of this. This is not only because all of this emanates from God’s satisfaction with a person or is an extension of this satisfaction, even if this is true in itself, but because the essence of divine servanthood to which the Book of God calls people means to serve God out of love for Him, not because one desires paradise or fears hellfire. On the contrary, the greatest happiness and greatest success for the one who loves God is to win the satisfaction of his Beloved rather than seeking anything to satisfy himself.

And, as if as a reference to this, God concludes the verse with the words, that is the great success. The phrasing of this sentence conveys a meaning of exclusivity, namely that God’s pleasure is at the heart of every great success, including the great success of attaining Paradise. After all, were there nothing of the reality of divine pleasure in the blessing of Paradise, these would not be blessings but misfortunes instead.

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ جَاهِدِ الْكُفَّارَ وَالْمُنَافِقِينَ وَاغْلُظْ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ وَمَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُۖ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ ٧٣

(9:73) O Prophet! Strive (jāhid) against the faithless and the hypocrites, and be severe with them. Their refuge shall be hell, and it is an evil destination.

To strive (jihād or mujāhada) against a people means to do your utmost to resist them and repel them, and this can be in word, in deed, or even through fighting them. The Qurʾan often uses this term in the sense of warfare, although it sometimes uses it in other senses as well, as per the verse, as for those who strive in Us, We shall surely guide them in Our ways ().

When God tells His messenger to strive against the faithless, this is in the sense of fighting them because they are openly hostile and opposed to him. As for the hypocrites, they are those who do not show their faithlessness nor openly express their hostility. On the contrary, they keep their true feelings hidden and rely on plots and conspiracies to overturn events. Therefore, it is meaningless to talk about striving against them in the sense of fighting or waging war on them. What would seem most plausible, then, is that the Qurʾan is using the verb ‘strive’ here to denote expending one’s energies in whatever manner is most expedient to resist them and thwart their plants. For example, expediency might dictate that one should isolate them, disassociate from them, and avoid interacting with them, or it might dictate that one should verbally admonish them, or it might dictate that they should be banished and exiled to another place, or it might dictate that they be put to death if they are found to have acted treasonously, and so on.

Something that might indicate the that above reading—that ‘strive’ in the verse refers to expending one’s efforts in any manner to resist them—is the intended meaning is the use of the phrase, and be severe with them, which means to be harsh and aggressive towards them.

As for the phrase, their refuge shall be hell, and it is an evil destination, this follows on from the command at the beginning of the verse and perhaps provides a rationale for it, as if to render the full meaning: ‘Those disbelievers and hypocrites are worthy of being struggled against, for their refuge is hell.’

يَحْلِفُونَ بِاللَّهِ مَا قَالُوا وَلَقَدْ قَالُوا كَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ وَكَفَرُوا بَعْدَ إِسْلَامِهِمْ وَهَمُّوا بِمَا لَمْ يَنَالُوا ۚ وَمَا نَقَمُوا إِلَّا أَنْ أَغْنَاهُمُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ ۚ فَإِنْ يَتُوبُوا يَكُ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ يَتَوَلَّوْا يُعَذِّبْهُمُ اللَّهُ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ ۚ وَمَا لَهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ مِنْ وَلِيٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ ٧٤

(9:74) They swear by Allah that they did not say it. But they certainly did utter the word of unfaith and renounced faith after their submission. They contemplated what they could not achieve, and they were vindictive only because Allah and His Messenger had enriched them out of His grace. Yet if they repent, it will be better for them; but if they turn away, Allah shall punish them with a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter, and they shall not find on the earth any guardian or helper.

The context of this verse indicates that the hypocrites did some evil deed and then sought to excuse it through something they said, but that when the Prophet rebuked them and held them to account for their utterance they swore that this was not what they had said, as we have already seen in the previous verse, if you question them, they will surely say, ‘We were just gossiping and amusing ourselves’ (), which shows that they were excusing their behavior by saying that it was done in amusement and jest.

However, God denounces them as liars in both matters. With regard to their denial of their own words, He says, but they certainly did utter the word of unfaith, which He further explains through the phrase, and renounced faith after their submission to show that, had they uttered these words in earnest, this was tantamount to disbelieving after embracing Islam.

Note that in this verse He says and renounced faith after their submission (islām) here, while He had previously said, you have disbelieved after your faith (īmān) ()—why is ‘submission’ mentioned in this verse, but ‘faith’ is used in the earlier one? Perhaps this is because the words of the earlier verse were those of the Prophet, who was speaking to the hypocrites’ outward appearance, based on their claims to believe and their outward show of faith. On the other hand, the present verse is the speech of God, who knows everything that is visible and everything that is hidden and, therefore, can see that they are not true believers and that they had not gone beyond uttering the two testimonies of faith with their tongues. In other words, they were Muslims but not believers and, through their words, they had forsaken Islam for faithlessness. This indicates that they had said something that contained an explicit rejection of one or both of the two testimonies of faith.

Alternatively, the earlier verse might refer to their deeds, as they had intended to do harm to the Prophet. Now, a deed without words that does not achieve its intended effect does not impair a person’s status as a Muslim, as this is determined by their profession of belief. Instead, such an action is to the detriment of their faith, which is determined by what they believe. By contrast, the second verse refers to the excuse they offered for their suspicious behavior, and this does invalidate their status as Muslims, because this is determined by what they profess—in contrast to faith, which devolves to the belief in one’s heart.

As for their denial of the evil deeds they had done and their attempts to present it as amusement and jest, this is what God refers to with the words, they contemplated what they could not achieve.

After this, God disparages them by saying, and they were vindictive only because Allah and His Messenger had enriched them out of His grace. In other words, they were displeased because God and His Messenger had enriched them in the form of the spoils He had granted them, the security and comfort He had provided for them, and because He had provided them with the means to produce wealth and amass riches from every direction. The Prophet is included in this because he had guided them to a righteous way of life that opened the doors of blessings to them in the heavens and upon the earth, divided the spoils amongst them, and spread justice amongst them.

Therefore, this is a juxtaposition of two opposite things. On the one hand, God has enriched them, and to enrich someone would normally cause them to be happy and grateful. However, in this case, it is a source of rancor and displeasure, as though they had been wronged or mistreated. One could say that the verse makes it seem as though they see God’s kindness towards them as cruelty. Therefore, it is a form of derision mixed with disapproval, similar to the verse, and make your provision that you deny? (), which means that you make the provision that God has granted you a reason for denying His signs, while logically this should be something that makes you grateful for His blessings and pleased with His gifts. In other words: ‘Instead of giving thanks for your provision, you deny God’s signs!’

The pronoun ‘His’ in the phrase ‘out of His grace’ refers to God. In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, al-Ṭabrisī explains: ‘God did not say, “out of their [dual] grace”, only because one does not combine God with any other being in a pronoun out of respect for God’s magnificence. That is why, when the Prophet heard someone say, “Whoever obeys God and His Messenger has been guided, and whoever disobeys them [dual] has gone astray!”, he told him: “What a terrible preacher you are for these people!” He said: “What should I have said, O Messenger of God?” He said: “Say: ‘And whoever disobeys God and His Messenger’, for this is what God says in the verse, but Allah and His Messenger are worthier that they should please Him ().” Some also say that the verse does not say “out of their grace” because all grace belongs to God and the Messenger is also part of God’s grace.’

However, there is another element at play here in addition to the veneration and magnification of God, which we have already discussed in our commentary on the verse, They are certainly faithless who say, ‘Allah is the third of a trinity’ (). In short, God’s oneness is not a oneness of number and, therefore, it cannot have anything else added to it to produce a number such as two, or three, or four.

Then God explains to these hypocrites that, in spite of their grievous sins, their explicit faithlessness in God, and their contemplation of what they could not achieve, they can still turn back to their Lord. He then explains the outcome of this repentance and the outcome of turning away from His grace, saying, yet if they repent, it will be better for them—because it will bring them His forgiveness and Paradise—but if they turn away—and refuse to repent—Allah shall punish them with a painful punishment in this world—by making an example out of them, or by urging the Prophet to plot against them and plan their destruction. And even if it is not part of their punishment, the fact that their hypocrisy means that they are opposing the system of cause and effect that is built upon faithfulness and sincerity, this system of cause and effect will turn against them, shatter them, and expose them for what they are, and this would suffice as a recompense. As God says, and Allah does not guide the transgressing lot ()—and the Hereafter—with the punishment of Hellfire.

…and they shall not find on the earth any guardian or helper: Meaning, that they shall find no guardian in the earth who can look after their affairs and turn aside the punishment from them, nor any helper who can support them and help them repel the punishment with which they have been threatened. This is because the hypocrites are all from one another and united by their corrupt beliefs. Their corrupt root cuts them off from all the various means and resources in the cosmos to which they could take recourse. Therefore, they truly have no guardian to protect them nor helper to assist them, and perhaps this part of the verse is an indication towards the meaning we highlighted when discussing a painful punishment in this world, above.

Examining Narrations

1. In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, about the verse, the hypocrites are apprehensive lest a chapter should be sent down against them, we read: Some say that this verse was revealed about twelve men who had plotted to ambush the Messenger of God at ʿAqaba on his return from Tabūk, but Gabriel warned the Messenger of God in advance and told him to send people ahead to strike the faces of their mounts.

ʿAmmār was leading the mount of the Messenger of God and Ḥudhayfa was driving it. So he said to Ḥudhayfa, ‘Go and strike the faces of their mounts’, so he struck them until he drove them off.

When the Prophet arrived, he said to Ḥudhayfa, ‘Did you recognise any of them?’

He said, ‘I did not recognise any of them.’

The Messenger of God said, ‘They were so-and-so and so-and-so…’—and he counted their names off one by one.

Ḥudhayfa said, ‘Why not send someone after them to kill them?’

He said, ‘I do not want the Arabs to say, “Once Muḥammad had triumphed with his companions, he began to kill them off.”’ This is narrated from Ibn Kaysān.

A similar account is narrated from Imām al-Bāqir, with the additional detail that the hypocrites plotted together to kill him and told one another, ‘If he finds out, we will say, “We were just gossiping and amusing ourselves” (), and if he does not, we will kill him.’

Some say that a group of the hypocrites said on the Tabūk campaign, ‘This man thinks that he will storm the palaces and citadels of Syria, it will never happen! It will never!’ But God informed His Prophet of this and he gave orders that these men should be brought to him, whereat he repeated their words to them.

They said, ‘O Prophet of God, we were just gossiping and amusing ourselves’, and they swore oaths to that effect. Then the verse was revealed, if you question them… (). This is narrated from al-Ḥasan and Qatāda.

Some have said that this was when he turned back from the Tabūk campaign to return to Medina, and there were three or four people in front of him deriding and laughing. One of them was laughing without saying anything. Gabriel came down and informed the Messenger of God of this. So, he summoned ʿAmmār b. Yāsir and said, ‘These men are mocking me and the Qurʾan, Gabriel told me of this. If you ask them, they will tell you, “We were just talking to pass the time on the journey!”’

So, ʿAmmār followed them and said, ‘What do you find so amusing?’

They said: ‘We were just talking to pass the time on the journey!’

ʿAmmār said, ‘God and His Messenger have spoken the truth! May you burn in Hell!’

So, they went to the Prophet giving their excuses, so God send down these verses. This is narrated from al-Kalbī, ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm al-Qummī, and Abū Ḥamza al-Thumālī.

Some have said that on the Prophet’s campaign to Tabūk, a man said, ‘I have not seen anyone more deceitful in speech or more cowardly in battle than them’—meaning the Messenger of God and his companions. ʿAwf b. Mālik said to him, ‘You have lied, but you are hypocrite!’ He intended to inform the Messenger of God of this but revelation had already been sent down, so the man came to him offering his excuses. He said, ‘We were just gossiping and amusing ourselves.’ This was what caused the verse to be revealed. This is narrated from Ibn ʿUmar, Zayd b. Aslam, and Muḥammad b. Kaʿb.

Some have said that one of the hypocrites said, ‘Muḥammad was telling us that so-and-so’s camel was in such-and-such a valley—what does he know about the Unseen?’ Then, this verse was revealed.

Others have said that this verse was revealed about ʿAbd Allāh b. Abī Warhaṭa. This is narrated by al-Ḍaḥḥāk.

2. Also in Majmaʿ al-Bayān, concerning the verse, they swear by Allah that they did not say it (), we read: ‘There is disagreement among commentators concerning who this reverse was revealed about. Some say that the Messenger of God was sitting under the shade of a tree and said, “A person will come to you and look at you through the eyes of Satan.” Not long after, a man with blue eyes approached and the Messenger of God called him over and asked him, “What do you and your comrades revile me for?” So the man went and returned with his companions, and they swore by God that they had done no such thing. Then God sent down this verse. This is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās.

Others have said that the hypocrites went forth to Tabūk with the Messenger of God, then, when some of them were alone, they began to revile the Messenger of God and his Companions and make derogatory remarks about the religion. Ḥudhayfa reported this to the Messenger of God, who asked them, ‘What is this that has reached me about you?’ So, they swore by God that they had not said anything of the sort. This is narrated from al-Ḍaḥḥāk.

Some have said that this verse was revealed about Julās b. Suwayd b. Ṣāmit. The Messenger of God delivered a sermon one day at Tabūk, mentioned the hypocrites, called them ‘filth’ (rijis) and condemned them. On hearing this, Julās said, ‘By God, if Muḥammad is truthful in what he says, then we are worse than donkeys!’ ʿĀmir b. Qays heard him say this and responded, ‘Yes, by God, surely Muḥammad speaks the truth, and surely you are worse than a donkey.’ Then, when the Messenger of God returned to Medina, ʿĀmir b. Qays came to him and informed him of what Julās had said, but Julās denied this, saying, ‘He is lying, O Messenger of God.’

So, the Messenger of God commanded the two of them to swear oaths in front of the pulpit. Julās stood up and swore an oath by God at the pulpit that he had said no such thing, then ʿĀmir got up and swore an oath that he had heard him say it. Then he said, ‘O God! Send down truthfulness from us upon Your truthful Prophet!’ The Messenger of God and the faithful said, ‘Amen!’ Then, before the two men had even separated Gabriel descended with the verse, until the sentence, yet if they repent, it will be better for them.

Julās got up and said, ‘O Messenger of God, may God convey the truth of the matter to you, I am ready to repent. What ʿĀmir b. Qays has told you is true. I said those words, I repent to God and ask for His forgiveness.’ The Messenger of God accepted this from him. This is narrated from al-Kalbī, Muḥammad b. Isḥāq, and Mujāhid.

Others have said that this verse was revealed about ʿAbd Allāh b. Ubayy b. Salūl, when he said, When we return to the city, the mighty will surely expel the abased from it (). This is narrated from Qatāda.

Some have said that this was revealed about the people of ʿAqaba, who had conspired together to assassinate the Messenger of God in ʿAqaba on his return from Tabūk. They planned to cut the saddle ties from his mount and then strike it until he fell, but God warned him of their plans. This was one of his miracles, for there was no way he could have known this except by way of revelation from God.

So, the Messenger of God arrived in ʿAqaba, accompanied by ʿAmmār and Ḥudhayfa, one of them leading his mount and the other driving it. He commanded all of the people who were with him to travel through the middle of the valley. His assassins were twelve or fifteen men in number, all of whose identities were known to the Messenger of God and he was able to name them one by one. This is narrated from al-Zajjāj, al-Wāqidī, and al-Kalbī. The full version of the story can be found in the work of al-Wāqidī.

Imām al-Bāqir said: ‘Eight of them were from the Quraysh, and four were Arabs of other tribes.’

Author’s comments: What al-Ṭabrisī has mentioned above is from what he collected and sifted out of the narrations transmitted in works of tradition-based Qurʾanic commentaries and collections of traditions from both Sunnī and Shīʿī authorities. There are other narrations that he did not include—and, indeed, this was the appropriate choice, as we have omitted most of what al-Ṭabrisī omitted.

As for the narrations that he included in his commentary, some of them do not accord with the verses, except for the account concerning ʿAqaba that is sometimes cited in relation to the first verse of this section, The hypocrites are apprehensive lest a chapter should be sent down against them… () and sometimes relating the final verse, They swear by Allah that they did not say it… ().

As for the other narrations transmitted regarding this verse, these are narrations concerning fragmentary accounts and narratives which, if authenticated, are general accounts about the hypocrites that do not necessarily pertain directly to the verses under discussion. The reader will recall that there are eleven verses in total in this section, all of which are connected to one another and appear to have been composed with a single purpose in mind. This is to call attention to one account concerning the hypocrites about their efforts to assassinate the Messenger of God and their uttering words of unbelief. However, God intervened to prevent them from achieving their aims, so the Messenger of God asked them about their suspicious activities, and what they had said. They tried to cover up the true nature of their actions and denied ever saying such things, swearing oaths to this effect, but God denounced them as liars. This is a general summary of the contents of these verses, and the only narrations that appear to match these details are those concerning the events of ʿAqaba.

Therefore, most of these narrations cannot be used as a basis for interpreting these verses, unless we are to adopt the method of some scholars, which is to interpret verses using narrations based on the meaning of the narrations, regardless of whether the wording of the verses actually supports such a reading by conforming to the contents of the narration. However, there are often so many discrepancies between the verses and the narrations that these occasion pessimism about the latter’s reliability, as will be evident to anyone who refers to these.

Another problem that these narrations present in terms of their reliability as a basis for interpreting these verses is that they frequently break up verses and separate different verses from one another by saying that each was revealed about a different person and for a different reason. However, the reader will recall that these verses all share a single context and appear to have been composed as a single coherent unit with a single purpose and topic in mind.

3. In al-Durr al-manthūr, ʿAbd al-Razzāq, Ibn Mundhir, and Abū al-Shaykh narrate from al-Kalbī that when the Messenger of God was on his way back from Tabūk, there were three groups in front of him mocking God, His Messenger, and the Qurʾan. However, one of them—a man by the name of Yazīd b. Wadīʿa—was not comfortable with the discussion and avoided them. About him was revealed the verse, if We forgive a group among you, We will punish another group ()—here, the word ‘group’ (ṭāʾifa) is used to refer to an individual.

Author’s comments: This is the basis on which some commentators claim that the word ṭāʾifa can respond to one or many. However, this verse is clearly meant to be understood in general terms rather than referring to a specific person or persons. This is something observable in many verses of the Qurʾan, as we have already discussed.

4. In the same source (al-Durr al-manthūr), Ibn Mardawayh narrates from Ibn ʿAbbās: ‘This verse was revealed about a group of the hypocrites from the Banū ʿAmr b. ʿAwf tribe, including Wadīʿa b. Thābit, and a man from the Ashjaʿ tribe, who was an ally of theirs called Makhshī b. Ḥamīr, who were travelling with the Messenger of God on his expedition to Tabūk. They said to one another: “Do you think that fighting the Romans is like fighting anyone else? By God, I think we will be in chains by the morning!”

‘Makhshī b. Ḥamīr said, “How I would have liked to give us each a hundred lashes so that a verse of the Qurʾan would not be sent about us and our statements will not be revealed!”

‘The Messenger of God said to ʿAmmār b. Yāsir, “Catch up with those people, for they are damned, and ask them what they have said. If they deny it and keep it under wraps, tell them, ‘Rather, you said such-and-such.’” So, he caught up with them, spoke to them as he had been bidden, so they began to excuse themselves. Whereat, God sent down the verse, Do not make excuses. You have disbelieved after your faith. If We forgive a group among you… ()—the one whom God forgave was Makhshī b. Ḥamīr, who took the name ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and asked God that he be slain as an anonymous martyr. He was slain at Yamāma, and none knew where he had been slain nor how he was slain, and no trace of him could be found after the battle.’

Author’s comments: The story of Makhshī b. Ḥamīr appears in a number of narrations. However, even if it is authentic, this does not necessarily mean the verses were revealed as described, as its contents and those of the verses are markedly different.

It is not necessary for us, when we come across authentic accounts from the time of the Prophet, no matter what story they contain, to resort to them in order to explain verses of the Qurʾan such that we obtain the meaning of the Qurʾan through such accounts.

5. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, and Abū al-Shaykh narrate from Ibn ʿAbbās: ‘How similar is tonight to yesterday, similar to those who were before you, who were more powerful than you… and you have gossiped as they gossiped ()—these are the Children of Israel, who we resemble most closely. By He in whose hand is my soul, you will follow them such that if one of them entered a lizard’s hole, you would enter it too.’

Author’s comments: The same narration from Ibn ʿAbbās appears in Majmaʿ al-Bayān.

6. In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, it is narrated from Tafsīr al-Thaʿlabī, from Abū Hurayra, from Abū Saʿīd al-Kuhdrī, from the Prophet: ‘You will follow the way of previous nations, cubit by cubit, span by span, and fathom by fathom, such that even if one of them entered the hole of a lizard, you would enter it too.’ They said, ‘O Messenger of God, you mean we will do as the Persians, the Romans, and the People of the Book did before us?’ He said, ‘Are there peoples besides them?’

In the same source, also from Tafsīr al-Thaʿlabī from Ḥudhayfa: ‘The hypocrites who are amongst you today are worse than the hypocrites who were there during the time of the Messenger of God.’ We said: ‘How so?’ He said: ‘They concealed their hypocrisy, while those today proclaim it.’

7. In ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, al-Ṣadūq narrates via his chain from al-Qāsim b. Muslim, from his brother ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. Muslim: ‘I asked Imām al-Riḍā about the verse, they have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them (). He said, “Surely God does not forget or overlook anything, for it is only created and originated beings that forget and overlook things. Have you not heard the verse, and your Lord is not forgetful? (). Rather, He only requites the one who has forgotten Him and forgotten the encounter of their Day by causing them to forget themselves, as He says in the verse, and do not be like those who forget Allah, so He makes them forget their own souls (), or the verse, So today We will forget them as they forgot the encounter of this day of theirs (). In other words, “We will forsake them just as they forsook preparing for the encounter of this day of theirs.”’
8. In Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, it is narrated from Jābir, from Imām al-Bāqir: ‘They have forgotten Allah—meaning they have forsaken obedience to Him—so He has forgotten them—He has forsaken them.’

In the same source, it is narrated from Abū Muʿammar al-Saʿdānī that Imām ʿAlī said about the verse, they have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them: ‘It only means that they have forgotten God in the abode of this world and not acted in obedience to Him—they have not believed in Him, nor in His Messenger—so He has forgotten them in the Hereafter—meaning He has not set aside any reward for them, so they have been forgotten in the distribution of goodness.’

Author’s comments: Shaykh al-Ṣadūq also narrates this in Maʿānī al-akhbār via a chain of narrations going back to Abū Muʿammar from him.

9. In al-Kāfī, via a chain of narrators going back to Abū Baṣīr, he asks Imām al-Ṣādiq about the verse, the towns that were overturned? Their messengers brought them manifest proofs. The Imām responds, ‘These were the people of Lot, whose town was overturned upon them, such that its highest point became its lowest.’
10. In Tahdhīb al-ahkām, it is narrated via a chain of narrators from Ṣafwān b. Mihrān: ‘I said to Imām al-Ṣādiq, “A Muslim woman who knows me for my work [as a camel driver] and who I know for her piety but who has no chaperone came to me and asked me to give her a ride. What should I do?” He said, “Give her a ride, for the male believer is a chaperone for the female one.” Then he recited the verse, but the faithful, men and women, are comrades of one another ().’

Author’s comments: Al-ʿAyyāshī also narrates this in his Tafsīr from Ṣafwān al-Jammāl, from Imām al-Ṣādiq.

11. In Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, it is narrated from Thuwayr, from ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn: ‘When the inhabitants of Paradise enter Paradise, and God’s trustee (walī) enters the gardens and abodes and reclines, each believer will be on a throne surrounded by servants, branches laden with fruit will bend toward him, springs of water will erupt around him, rivers will flow beneath him, tables are spread out before him, cushions are placed for him, and servants bring him whatever he desires without him needing to ask them… the maidens of Paradise will come forth from the gardens of paradise to him and they will remain in this state for as long as God wills.

‘Then the Almighty will look down upon them and say, “O My friends, the people of My obedience, and the inhabitants of My paradise who have made their home in my vicinity! Shall I inform you of something even better than where we are now?” They will answer, “Our Lord! What could be better than where we are now, where we have whatever we desire and enjoy all we gaze upon in the vicinity of the All-Generous?”

‘God will repeat the question to them, and they will respond, “Our Lord! Yes!” And He will tell them, “My being pleased with you and affection for you is better and greater than where you are now!” They will respond, “Yes, our Lord! Your being pleased with us and Your affection for us is better and dearer to our hearts!”

‘Then ʿAlī b. Ḥusayn recited the verse, Allah has promised the faithful, men and women, gardens with streams running in them, to remain therein forever, and good dwellings in the Gardens of Eden. Yet Allah’s pleasure is greater; that is the great success ().’

12. In al-Durr al-manthūr, Ibn Mardawayh narrates from Jābir that the Messenger of God said, ‘When the inhabitants of paradise enter paradise, God will say to them, “Do you desire that I increase anything for you?” They will say, “O our Lord! Is there anything left save that you have granted it to us?” He will answer, “Yes, my pleasure with you, for I shall never be displeased with you!”’

Author’s comments: This idea is found in numerous narrations from both Sunnī and Shīʿī sources.

13. In Jāmiʿ al-jawāmiʿ, from Abū al-Dardāʾ, from the Prophet: ‘Eden is God’s abode that no eye hath seen, whose thought has not occurred to any human heart, and in whom none will dwell except three: The prophets, the veracious, and the martyrs. God says, “Blessed be the one who enters it.”’
14. In Tafsīr al-Qummī, about the verse, O Prophet! Strive against the faithless and the hypocrites (), we read: ‘My father related to me, from Abū ʿUmayr, from Abū Baṣīr, from Imām al-Bāqir: “Strive against the faithless and the hypocrites by upholding the religious duties.”’
15. In al-Durr al-manthūr, al-Bayhaqī relates in Shuʿub al-īmān from Ibn Masʿūd: ‘When the verse, O Prophet! Strive against the faithless and the hypocrites, was revealed, the Messenger of God was commanded to strive first with his hand, and if he was not able to do this, then with his heart, and if he was not able to do this, then with his tongue, and if he was not able to do this, then with his frowning countenance.’

Author’s comments: There is some confusion in this tradition about the order of its parts, as striving with one’s heart should occur after all of the other elements rather than in between them.