[2151] They dishonestly swear to distance themselves from their offence of the Messenger (ﷺ) about which God has just told him (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, al-Saʿdī, Ibn ʿĀshūr; see also: Imām Aḥmad: 2407, al-Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr: 12307).
Listening to those who may not necessarily tell the truth and who swear to what they say, especially when one is not fooled by them, is considered an act of chivalry in Arabian culture befitting only the noblest. Thus, they afford the speaker the chance to save face.
[2152] By being honest, which is more becoming of those who claim to be true Believers (cf. Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[2153] “Verily those who take a stand against Allah and His Messenger will be suppressed, like those before them: We have surely sent down clear Signs; and humiliating Punishment awaits the Deniers” (58: 5); “Verily those who take a stand against Allah and His Messenger will be among the most abased!” (58: 20).
[2154] While many hypocrites were sure that the Messenger (ﷺ) was truthful but decided not to acknowledge him, others were truly in doubt (cf. al-Qurṭubī, Ibn ʿĀshūr): “Or do those in whose hearts is disease think that Allah will not expose their spite? *If We willed, We would show them to you ˹Muhammad˺ so that you would know them by their mark. And you will certainly know them by their tone of speech; Allah Knows your deeds” (47: 29-30).
[2155] Yakhūḍu is to pass time in hearsay. Originally, it means to waddle in water and carries the added meaning of muddling up. Throughout the Qur’an it is used to cast negative light on what is being described (cf. Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lughah, al-Iṣfahānī, al-Mufradāt).
[2156] Being hypocritical, secretly maligning God, His Messenger and His Signs seems to have been their pastime of choice (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
ʿAbdullāh Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) narrated: “During the Tabuk Expedition a man said in a gathering: “I never set eyes on any who are more gluttonous, lying and cowardly than these reciters ˹indicating the most noble Companions who recite the Qur’an˺ of ours!” A man in the same gathering replied to him: “Liar! But indeed you are a hypocrite! I shall tell the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)!” When the news reached the Messenger (ﷺ), ˹some ayas of˺ the Qur’an came down ˹regarding the incident˺.” The narrator continues: “I saw him clinging to the belly strap of the Messenger’s (ﷺ) she camel, saying: “Messenger of Allah! We were only chit-chatting and passing time!” While the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was reciting: “Were you mocking of Allah, His Signs and His Messenger”” (cf. Ibn Abī Ḥātim, al-Ṭabarī, al-Shinqīṭī, al-ʿAdhb al-Namīr).
[2157] They have now revealed their Denial while in the past they feigned Belief (cf. al-Zajjāj, al-Samʿānī, Abū Ḥayyān, al-Shawkānī, al-Qāsimī).
[2158] Those who honestly repent will be forgiven, but the stubbornly, irrevocably Denying will be punished (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī). The door of repentance is still open for them (cf. al-Saʿdī).
[2159] They are one and the same, their deeds and motives are the same and they are each other’s allies (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, al-Saʿdī). They were a close-knit society who were up to no good, encouraging each other only to evil.
[2160] That is they are tight-fisted when it comes to giving. This highlights how callous they were (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr) and how less prone they were to yield to the call of Faith (cf. Riḍā).
[2161] “It will be said: “This Day We will Forget you as you forgot the meeting of this Day of yours! Your resort will be the Fire, and you shall have no helpers” (45: 34).