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Surah At-Tawba · Medinan

9:56 At-Tawba (The Repentance)

وَيَحۡلِفُونَ بِٱللَّهِ إِنَّهُمۡ لَمِنكُمۡ وَمَا هُم مِّنكُمۡ وَلَٰكِنَّهُمۡ قَوۡمࣱ يَفۡرَقُونَ

Yusuf Ali

They swear by Allah that they are indeed of you; but they are not of you: yet they are afraid (to appear in their true colours)

Pickthall

And they swear by Allah that they are in truth of you, when they are not of you, but they are folk who are afraid

Mubarakpuri (King Fahd Complex)

They swear by Allah that they are truly of you while they are not of you, but they are a people (hypocrites) who are afraid (that you may kill them)

Juz
10
Page
196
Ruku
162

Tafsirs (commentaries)

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Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged)

Hafiz Ibn Kathir (abridged)

Exposing Hypocrites' Fright and Fear

Allah describes to His Prophet the fright, fear, anxiety and nervousness of the hypocrites,

يَحْلِفُونَ بِاللَّهِإِنَّهُمْ لَمِنكُمْ

(They swear by Allah that they are truly of you), swearing a sure oath,

وَمَا هُم مِّنكُمْ

(while they are not of you), in reality,

وَلَـكِنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ يَفْرَقُونَ

(but they are a people who are afraid), and this is what made them swear.

لَوْ يَجِدُونَ مَلْجَئاً

(Should they find a refuge), such as a fort in which they hide and fortify themselves,

أَوْ مَغَـرَاتٍ

(or caves), in some mountains,

أَوْ مُدَّخَلاً

(or a place of concealment), a tunnel or a hole in the ground, according to the explanation given by Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah,

لَّوَلَّوْاْ إِلَيْهِ وَهُمْ يَجْمَحُونَ

(they would turn straightway thereto with a swift rush) away from you because they associate with you unwillingly, not because they are fond of you. They prefer that they do not have to mix with you, but necessity has its rules! It is because of this that they feel grief, sadness and sorrow, seeing Islam and its people enjoying ever more might, triumph and glory. Therefore, whatever pleases Muslims brings them grief, and this is why they prefer to disassociate themselves from the believers. Hence Allah's statement,

لَوْ يَجِدُونَ مَلْجَئاً أَوْ مَغَـرَاتٍ أَوْ مُدَّخَلاً لَّوَلَّوْاْ إِلَيْهِ وَهُمْ يَجْمَحُونَ

(Should they find a refuge, or caves, or a place of concealment, they would turn straightway thereto with a swift rush.)

وَمِنْهُمْ مَّن يَلْمِزُكَ فِي الصَّدَقَـتِ فَإِنْ أُعْطُواْ مِنْهَا رَضُواْ وَإِن لَّمْ يُعْطَوْاْ مِنهَا إِذَا هُمْ يَسْخَطُونَ

Source: Ibn Kathir abridged via spa5k/tafsir_api · reference

Sources

Arabic text: Tanzil project (tanzil.net) — Uthmani Hafs edition. Translations: Yusuf Ali and Pickthall (public domain) and Mubarakpuri (King Fahd Quran Printing Complex). For audio recitation sources and data-handling details, see the privacy policy .