[943] Unlike the group who sincerely want peace, this group is more cunning and deceitful. To ensure their safety, they play both the Believers, by outwardly showing themselves as Believers, and their own Denying people by following their heathen ways (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
[944] Fitnah (trial) here is Denial. Originally it means trying and testing, which, in turn, is derived from the verb fatana, i.e. to throw gold in a fire to test its mettle (cf. Ibn Qutaybah, Gharīb al-Qur’ān; Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lughah). That is, they readily fall into Denial when given the least opportunity. Not only that, but when faced with any test of Faith, they flounder deeper into Denial, as the word urkisū (shoved into) entails (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).