9:126 At-Tawba (The Repentance)

قال تعالى ـ موبخًا لهم على إقامتهم على ما هم عليه من الكفر والنفاق ـ ‏:‏ ‏{‏أَوَلَا يَرَوْنَ أَنَّهُمْ يُفْتَنُونَ فِي كُلِّ عَامٍ مَرَّةً أَوْ مَرَّتَيْنِ‏}‏ بما يصيبهم من البلايا والأمراض، وبما يبتلون من الأوامر الإلهية التي يراد بها اختبارهم‏.‏ ‏{‏ثُمَّ لَا يَتُوبُونَ‏}‏ عما هم عليه من الشر ‏{‏وَلَا هُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ‏}‏ ما ينفعهم، فيفعلونه، وما يضرهم، فيتركونه‏.‏ فالله تعالى يبتليهم ـ كما هي سنته في سائر الأمم ـ بالسراء والضراء وبالأوامر والنواهي ليرجعوا إليه، ثم لا يتوبون ولا هم يذكرون‏.‏ وفي هذه الآيات دليل على أن الإيمان يزيد وينقص، وأنه ينبغي للمؤمن، أن يتفقد إيمانه ويتعاهده، فيجدده وينميه، ليكون دائما في صعود‏.‏

يقول تعالى أَوَ لا يرى هؤلاء المنافقون " أنهم يفتنون " أي يختبرون " في كل عام مرة أو مرتين ثم لا يتوبون ولا هم يذكرون " أي لا يتوبون من ذنوبهم السالفة ولا هم يذكرون فيما يستقبل من أحوالهم قال مجاهد: يختبرون بالسنة والجوع. وقال قتادة: بالغزو في السنة مرة أو مرتين. وقال شريك عن جابر عن الجعفي عن أبي الضحى عن حذيقة في قوله " أو لا يرون أنكم يفتنون في كل عام مرة أو مرتين " قال كنا نسمع في كل عام كذبة أو كذبتين فيضل بها فئام من الناس كثير رواه ابن جرير. وفي الحديث عن أنس: لا يزداد الأمر إلا شدة ولا يزداد الناس إلا شحا وما من عام إلا والذي بعده شر منه. سمعته من نبيكم صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Hypocrites suffer Afflictions

Allah says, do not these hypocrites see,

أَنَّهُمْ يُفْتَنُونَ

(that they are put in trial), being tested,

فِى كُلِّ عَامٍ مَّرَّةً أَوْ مَرَّتَيْنِ ثُمَّ لاَ يَتُوبُونَ وَلاَ هُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ

(once or twice every year Yet, they turn not in repentance, nor do they learn a lesson.) They neither repent from their previous sins nor learn a lesson for the future. Mujahid said that hypocrites are tested with drought and hunger. Allah said;

وَإِذَا مَآ أُنزِلَتْ سُورَةٌ نَّظَرَ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ هَلْ يَرَاكُمْ مِّنْ أَحَدٍ ثُمَّ انصَرَفُواْ صَرَفَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُم بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لاَّ يَفْقَهُون

(And whenever there comes down a Surah, they look at one another (saying): "Does any one see you" Then they turn away. Allah has turned their hearts because they are a people that understand not.) This describes the hypocrites that when a Surah is revealed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ,

نَّظَرَ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ

(they look at one another), they turn their heads, right and left, saying,

هَلْ يَرَاكُمْ مِّنْ أَحَدٍ ثُمَّ انصَرَفُواْ

("Does any one see you" Then they turn away. ..) turning away from, and shunning the truth. This is the description of hypocrites in this life, for they do not remain where the truth is being declared, neither accepting nor understanding it, just as Allah said in other Ayat,

فَمَا لَهُمْ عَنِ التَّذْكِرَةِ مُعْرِضِينَ - كَأَنَّهُمْ حُمُرٌ مُّسْتَنفِرَةٌ - فَرَّتْ مِن قَسْوَرَةٍ

(Then what is wrong with them that they turn away from admonition As if they were wild donkeys. Fleeing from a lion.)74:49-51, and,

فَمَالِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ قِبَلَكَ مُهْطِعِينَ - عَنِ الْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ الشِّمَالِ عِزِينَ

(So what is the matter with those who disbelieve that they hasten to hear from you. (Sitting) in groups on the right and on the left.)70:36-37. This Ayah also means, what is the matter with these people who turn away from you to the right and to the left, to escape from truth and revert to falsehood Allah's statement,

ثُمَّ انصَرَفُواْ صَرَفَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُم

(Then they turn away. Allah has turned their hearts (from Truth)) is similar to,

فَلَمَّا زَاغُواْ أَزَاغَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ

(So when they turned away, Allah turned their hearts away.) 61:5. Allah said next,

بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لاَّ يَفْقَهُونَ

(because they are a people that understand not. ) They neither understand Allah's Word nor attempt to comprehend it nor want it. Rather, they are too busy, turning away from it. This is why they ended up in this condition.

لَقَدْ جَآءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Do they not see that is the hypocrites in which case read a-wa-lā yarawna; or if read a-wa-lā tarawna ‘do you O believers not see’ that they are tested afflicted every year once or twice? with drought and diseases. Still they do not repent of their hypocrisy nor do they remember nor do they heed admonition.

In verse 126: يُفْتَنُونَ فِي كُلِّ عَامٍ مَّرَّ‌ةً أَوْ مَرَّ‌تَيْنِ (they are put to trial every year once or twice), hypocrites have been warned about their incorrigible hypocrisy and constant breach of trust which brought all sorts of troubles for them every year once or twice. They saw the defeat of their disbelieving accomplices, the kuffar of Makkah. Then, they had to face the disgrace brought upon them when their hypocrisy was exposed. So, there was no dearth of warning signals for them. Incidentally, the count of ` once' or ` twice' here does not signify the numbers one and two as such. In fact, the purpose is to stress that this chain of action and reaction keeps moving all the time yet they take no lesson from what happens to them.