9:127 At-Tawba (The Repentance)

يعني‏:‏ أن المنافقين الذين يحذرون أن تنزل عليهم سورة تنبئهم بما في قلوبهم، إذا نزلت سورة ليؤمنوا بها، ويعملوا بمضمونها ‏{‏نَظَرَ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ‏}‏ جازمين على ترك العمل بها، ينتظرون الفرصة في الاختفاء عن أعين المؤمنين، ويقولون‏:‏ ‏{‏هَلْ يَرَاكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ ثُمَّ انْصَرَفُوا‏}‏ متسللين، وانقلبوا معرضين، فجازاهم اللّه بعقوبة من جنس عملهم، فكما انصرفوا عن العمل ‏{‏صَرَفَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ‏}‏ أي‏:‏ صدها عن الحق وخذلها‏.‏ ‏{‏بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ‏}‏ فقها ينفعهم، فإنهم لو فقهوا، لكانوا إذا نزلت سورة آمنوا بها، وانقادوا لأمرها‏.‏ والمقصود من هذا بيان شدة نفورهم عن الجهاد وغيره، من شرائع الإيمان، كما قال تعالى عنهم‏:‏ ‏{‏فَإِذَا أُنْزِلَتْ سُورَةٌ مُحْكَمَةٌ وَذُكِرَ فِيهَا الْقِتَالُ رَأَيْتَ الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ نَظَرَ الْمَغْشِيِّ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ‏}‏

وقوله " وإذا ما أنزلت سورة نظر بعضهم إلى بعض هل يراكم من أحد ثم انصرفوا صرف الله قلوبهم بأنهم قوم لا يفقهون " هذا أيضا إخبار عن المنافقين أنهم إذا أنزلت سورة على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم " نظر بعضهم إلى بعض " أي تلفتوا " هل يراكم من أحد ثم انصرفوا " أي تولوا عن الحق وانصرفوا عنه وهذا حالهم في الدنيا لا يثبتون عند الحق ولا يقبلونه ولا يفهمونه كقوله تعالى " فما لهم عن التذكرة معرضين كأنهم حمر مستنفرة فرت من قسورة " وقوله تعالى " فما للذين كفروا قبلك مهطعين عن اليمين وعن الشمال عزين " أي ما لهؤلاء القوم يتفللون عنك يمينا وشمالا هروبا من الحق وذهابا إلى الباطل وقوله " ثم انصرفوا صرف الله قلوبهم " كقوله " فلما زاغوا أزاغ الله قلوبهم بأنهم فوم لا يفقهون " أي لا يفهمون عن الله خطابه ولا يقصدون لفهمه ولا يريدونه بل هم في شغل عنه ونفور منه فلهذا صاروا إلى ما صاروا إليه.

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

And whenever a sūra is revealed wherein is mention of them and the Prophet s recites it they look at one another desiring to flee and saying ‘Will anyone see you?’ if you get up and flee? and so if no one can see them they get up and leave otherwise they stay put. Then they turn away persisting in their disbelief. God turns their hearts away from guidance because they are a folk who do not understand the truth for they do not reflect on it.

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.