[926] Obeying the infallible Prophet (ﷺ) is tantamount to obeying God Almighty Himself Who entrusted him with the delivery of His Message. Whatever the Messenger (ﷺ) bids is by the bidding of God, for he says nothing out of his own accord but every word he utters is revealed to him by God (cf. 53: 3-4; al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Tawḥīdī, Ibn ʿĀshūr). Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Whoever obeys me obeys Allah. Whoever disobeys me disobeys Allah”. (al-Bukhārī: 7137, Muslim: 1835)
[927] You are only tasked with delivering the Message, not to holding them accountable for their disobedience.
[928] The hypocrites. (al-Wāḥidī, Ibn Kathīr, Ibn ʿAṭiyyah)
[929] After having paid the Prophet (ﷺ) lip service and left him, a group of them convene later in the evening (bayyata) and deliberate among themselves resolving to contravene the Prophet’s bidding (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
[930] They are in reality no more than a distraction from the main purpose of building a solid community out of the numerous individual Believers. The hypocrites were staunch in their stance and efforts to convince them otherwise was an unnecessary waste of time, especially as the danger they presented was not imminent, even if it had to be held in check. So the Prophet (ﷺ) is told not to busy his thoughts with them (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī). God, the All-Sufficient Helper, will take care of this matter.
[931] The hypocrites will not ponder upon the Qur’an which is abundant enough as evidence of the Divine source of Muhammad’s (ﷺ) Messengership, and reason enough for them to follow his orders. Orders that are for the best interests of the whole community. They simply cannot see this glaring Truth because their discerning faculty is clouded by cancerous doubt; there are locks on their hearts (47: 24).
[932] These are the blabbers, a fifth column, within the ranks who are only too eager to spread whatever news comes their way aiming to stir up unrest. Talk is still of the behaviour of the insincere in times of war. Letting the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Believers in on all of this is by way of boosting their immunity against such disheartening guiles.
[933] When one receives news in times of turbulence, the best action is to relay it confidentially to the commander and/or those in a position of responsibility. Those of sound judgement among these realize the truth behind it and act accordingly.
[934] By guiding you to the best course of action (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
[935] The person who helps others in time of need, will be rewarded handsomely for his good efforts (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī). Abū Musā al-Ashʿarī (رضي الله عنه) said: “When someone in need comes to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) or when he was asked for something, he would announce ˹to his Companions˺: “Intervene and you will be rewarded!” (al-Bukhārī: 1432) Yet the person who knowingly extends a helping hand to someone who intends evil is considered a partner in that misdeed and thus will reap a portion of that evil harvest (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī). “Help one another in piety and Mindfulness; and do not help one another in sin and transgression.” (5: 2)
[936] In this context, this obviously refers to an offer of peace by people with whom the Believers are at war as well as to individual people who, while possibly belonging to the enemy, have, to all outward appearances, peaceful intentions and could very well be Believers. This is in accordance with the Qur’anic injunctions: “If they incline to peace, you should incline to it as well” (8:61), and “If they hold back ˹from fighting˺, only the wrongdoers shall be transgressed against”. (2:193) (cf. al-Rāzī, Asad; also see Ayas 90, 91 and particularly 94 below.) The greeting of Islam is that of Peace (Salām). This is further explained in Aya 94 below.
[937] ʿImrān Ibn al-Ḥuṣayn (رضي الله عنه) said: “A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: “Assalāmu ʿalaykum ˹Peace be upon you˺”. He was replied to ˹by the same greeting˺ and sat down. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Ten ˹ḥasanahs˺”. Then another one came and said: “Assalāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatu Allāh ˹Peace be upon you and Allah’s Mercy˺”. He was replied to ˹by the same greeting˺ and sat down. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Twenty ˹ḥasanahs˺”. Then another one came and said: “Assalāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatu Allāh wa barakātuhu ˹Peace be upon you and Allah’s Mercy and His Blessings˺”. He was replied to ˹by the same greeting˺ and sat down. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Thirty ˹ḥasanahs˺”. (Abū Dāwūd: 5195, al-Tirmidhī: 2689, Aḥmad: 19948) The more courteous the reply, the more the reward one receives for it. The form of greeting that was ordained by God is: Assalāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatu Allāh ˹Peace be upon you and Allah’s Mercy˺ (cf. al-Bukhārī: 6227).