Surah Munafiqun ayat 2 Tafsir Quran 63:2

﴿اتَّخَذُوا أَيْمَانَهُمْ جُنَّةً فَصَدُّوا عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ سَاءَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ﴾
[ المنافقون: 2]

63:2 They have taken their oaths as a cover, so they averted [people] from the way of Allah. Indeed, it was evil that they were doing.

They have taken their oaths as a shield as a means of protection for their possessions and their lives and so they have barred thereby from the way of God that is from using them for the struggle. Evil indeed is that which they are wont to do.

They use their oaths to hide, under the garb of truth, their extreme vanity Many among the believers were deceived, and the hypocrites policy achieved its necessary ends. In consequence they have blocked the path of Allah, the path of righteousness, and persistently opposed the progress in purpose and in action. Evil indeed is the way they have conducted themselves in life

Which was revealed in Al-Madinah بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Case of the Hypocrites and their Behavior Allah the Exalted states that the hypocrites pretended to be Muslims when they went to the Prophet .
In reality, they were not Muslims, but rather the opposite.
This is why Allah the Exalted said, إِذَا جَآءَكَ الْمُنَـفِقُونَ قَالُواْ نَشْهَدُ إِنَّكَ لَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ ( When the hypocrites come to you, they say: "We bear witness that you are indeed the Messenger of Allah." ) meaning, `when the hypocrites come to you, they announce this statement and pretend to believe in it.' Allah informs that there is no substance to their statement, and this is why He said, وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ إِنَّكَ لَرَسُولُهُ ( Allah knows that you are indeed His Messenger, ) then said, وَاللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ إِنَّ الْمُنَـفِقِينَ لَكَـذِبُونَ ( And Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are liars indeed. ) meaning, their claims, even though it is true about the Prophet.
But they did not believe inwardly in what they declared outwardly, and this is why Allah declared their falsehood about their creed.
Allah's statement, اتَّخَذْواْ أَيْمَـنَهُمْ جُنَّةً فَصَدُّواْ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ( They have made their oaths a screen.
Thus they hinder (others ) from the path of Allah.) meaning, the hypocrites shield themselves from Muslims when they falsely and sinfully swear to be what they are not in reality.
Some Muslims were deceived because they did not know their falsehood, and thus, thought that they were Muslims.
Some Muslims believed what hypocrites say and even imitated them in their outward behavior.
However, inwardly, hypocrites seek the destruction of Islam and its people, and this is why trusting them might bring great harm to many people.
This is why Allah said next, فَصَدُّواْ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ إِنَّهُمْ سَآءَ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ ( Thus they hinder (others ) from the path of Allah.
Verily, evil is what they used to do.) Allah said, ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ءَامَنُواّ ثُمَّ كَفَرُوا فَطُبِعَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَهُمْ لاَ يَفْقَهُونَ ( That is because they believed, and then disbelieved; therefore their hearts are sealed, so they understand not. ) meaning, He has decreed them to be hypocrites because they reverted from faith to disbelief and exchanged guidance for misguidance.
Therefore, Allah stamped and sealed their hearts and because of it, they cannot comprehend the guidance, nor any goodness can reach their hearts.
Truly, their hearts neither understand, nor attain guidance.
Allah said, وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَهُمْ تُعْجِبُكَ أَجْسَـمُهُمْ وَإِن يَقُولُواْ تَسْمَعْ لِقَوْلِهِمْ ( And when you look at them, their bodies please you; and when they speak, you listen to their words. ) meaning, hypocrites have a graceful outer appearance and are eloquent.
When one hears them speak, he will listen to their eloquent words, even though hypocrites are truly weak and feeble, full of fear, fright and cowardice.
Allah's statement, يَحْسَبُونَ كُلَّ صَيْحَةٍ عَلَيْهِمْ ( They think that every cry is against them. ) means, every time an incident occurs or something frightening happens, they think that it is headed their way.
This is indicative of their cowardice, just as Allah said about them, أَشِحَّةً عَلَيْكُمْ فَإِذَا جَآءَ الْخَوْفُ رَأَيْتَهُمْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ تَدورُ أَعْيُنُهُمْ كَالَّذِى يُغْشَى عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ فَإِذَا ذَهَبَ الْخَوْفُ سَلَقُوكُم بِأَلْسِنَةٍ حِدَادٍ أَشِحَّةً عَلَى الْخَيْرِ أوْلَـئِكَ لَمْ يُؤْمِنُواْ فَأَحْبَطَ اللَّهُ أَعْمَـلَهُمْ وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيراً ( Being miserly towards you then when fear comes, you will see them looking to you, their eyes revolving like (those of ) one over whom hovers death; but when the fear departs, they will smite you with sharp tongues, miserly towards good.
Such have not believed.
Therefore Allah makes their deeds fruitless and that is ever easy for Allah.) ( 33:19 ) They are shapes that do not have much substance, and this is why Allah said, هُمُ الْعَدُوُّ فَاحْذَرْهُمْ قَاتَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَنَّى يُؤْفَكُونَ ( They are the enemies, so beware of them.
May Allah curse them! How are they denying the right path ) means, how they are being led astray to the misguidance, away from the guidance.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Prophet said,
«إِنَّ لِلْمُنَافِقِينَ عَلَامَاتٍ يُعْرَفُونَ بِهَا: تَحِيَّتُهُمْ لَعْنَةٌ وَطَعَامُهُمْ نُهْبَةٌ وَغَنِيمَتُهُمْ غُلُولٌ لَا يَقْرَبُونَ الْمَسَاجِدَ إِلَّا هَجْرًا، وَلَا يَأْتُونَ الصَّلَاةَ إِلَّا دَبْرًا، مُسْتَكْبِرِينَ لَا يَأْلَفُونَ وَلَا يُؤْلَفُونَ، خُشُبٌ بِاللَّيْلِ صُخُبٌ بِالنَّهَارِ وفِي رِوَايَةٍ سُخُبٌ بِالنَّهَار»
( Hypocrites have certain signs that they are known by.
Their greeting is really a curse, their food is from stealing and the war booty they collect is from theft.
They shun the Masjid and they do not come to the prayer but at its end.
They are arrogant; it is neither easy for them to blend in, nor it is easy for people to blend with them.
They are like pieces of wood by night and are noisy by day. )

(63:2) They shelter behind their oath, *2 and thus hinder their own selves and others from the Path of Allah. *3 Evil indeed is what they do.

They have taken their oaths as a meaning

*2) That is, they use the oaths that they swear to convince others of their Islam and faith as a shield to save themselves from the wrath of the Muslims so that they do not treat them as they treat their open enemies.

These oaths may imply the oaths which they usually swear to convince others of their faith as well as those which they swore when they were caught committing some hypocritical act, and also those oaths which 'Abdullah bin Ubayy had sworn to contradict the report given by Hadrat Zaid bin Arqam.
Besides these, there is another probability that Allah might have regarded this statement of theirs as an oath: " We bear witness that you are Allah's Messenger. " This last probability has given rise to a dispute among the jurists, namely: If a person states something with the words: " I bear witness, " will it be regarded as an oath or not? Imam Abu Hanifah and his companions ( except Imam Zufar ), Imam Sufyan Thauri and Imam Auza'i regard it as an oath ( Yamin in the Shari'ah terminology ).
Imam Zufar says that it is not an oath.
Two sayings from Imam Malik have been reported in this connection: first' that it is an oath absolutely, and second, that if while saying: " I bear witness, " his intention was to say: y God, I bear witness," or "I bear witness before God," it would he a statement on oath, otherwise not.
Imam Shafe'i says: 'Even if the person says the words: "I bear witness before God." it would not be a statement made on oath, unless he uttered these words with the intention of swearing an oath, " ( AI-Jassas_, Ahkam al-Qur an; Ibn al'.Arabi.
Ahkam al-Qur an ).

*3) The verb sadd in Arabic is transitive as well as intransitive.
Therefore, saddu 'an sabil-Allah means; " They turn away from the Way of Allah, " as well as: 'they turn others away from the Way of AIIah." According to the first meaning the verse would 'mean: "By means of these oaths they first plant themselves firmly among the Muslims and then invent ways to escape fulfilling demands of the faith and to avoid obedience to AIlah and His Messenger.
" According to the second meaning it would mean: "They use their false oaths as a cover for committing evil deeds.
Posing as Muslims they weaken the Muslim community from within: find out the secrets of the Muslims and convey these to their enemies, create doubts about Islam among the non-Muslims and use such devices for inspiring the simple Muslims with evil suggestions which a hypocrite in the guise of a Muslim only could do, for an open enemy of Islam cannot use them.

 

Which was revealed in Al-Madinah بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Case of the Hypocrites and their Behavior Allah the Exalted states that the hypocrites pretended to be Muslims when they went to the Prophet .
In reality, they were not Muslims, but rather the opposite.
This is why Allah the Exalted said, إِذَا جَآءَكَ الْمُنَـفِقُونَ قَالُواْ نَشْهَدُ إِنَّكَ لَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ ( When the hypocrites come to you, they say: "We bear witness that you are indeed the Messenger of Allah." ) meaning, `when the hypocrites come to you, they announce this statement and pretend to believe in it.' Allah informs that there is no substance to their statement, and this is why He said, وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ إِنَّكَ لَرَسُولُهُ ( Allah knows that you are indeed His Messenger, ) then said, وَاللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ إِنَّ الْمُنَـفِقِينَ لَكَـذِبُونَ ( And Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are liars indeed. ) meaning, their claims, even though it is true about the Prophet.
But they did not believe inwardly in what they declared outwardly, and this is why Allah declared their falsehood about their creed.
Allah's statement, اتَّخَذْواْ أَيْمَـنَهُمْ جُنَّةً فَصَدُّواْ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ( They have made their oaths a screen.
Thus they hinder (others ) from the path of Allah.) meaning, the hypocrites shield themselves from Muslims when they falsely and sinfully swear to be what they are not in reality.
Some Muslims were deceived because they did not know their falsehood, and thus, thought that they were Muslims.
Some Muslims believed what hypocrites say and even imitated them in their outward behavior.
However, inwardly, hypocrites seek the destruction of Islam and its people, and this is why trusting them might bring great harm to many people.
This is why Allah said next, فَصَدُّواْ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ إِنَّهُمْ سَآءَ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ ( Thus they hinder (others ) from the path of Allah.
Verily, evil is what they used to do.) Allah said, ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ءَامَنُواّ ثُمَّ كَفَرُوا فَطُبِعَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَهُمْ لاَ يَفْقَهُونَ ( That is because they believed, and then disbelieved; therefore their hearts are sealed, so they understand not. ) meaning, He has decreed them to be hypocrites because they reverted from faith to disbelief and exchanged guidance for misguidance.
Therefore, Allah stamped and sealed their hearts and because of it, they cannot comprehend the guidance, nor any goodness can reach their hearts.
Truly, their hearts neither understand, nor attain guidance.
Allah said, وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَهُمْ تُعْجِبُكَ أَجْسَـمُهُمْ وَإِن يَقُولُواْ تَسْمَعْ لِقَوْلِهِمْ ( And when you look at them, their bodies please you; and when they speak, you listen to their words. ) meaning, hypocrites have a graceful outer appearance and are eloquent.
When one hears them speak, he will listen to their eloquent words, even though hypocrites are truly weak and feeble, full of fear, fright and cowardice.
Allah's statement, يَحْسَبُونَ كُلَّ صَيْحَةٍ عَلَيْهِمْ ( They think that every cry is against them. ) means, every time an incident occurs or something frightening happens, they think that it is headed their way.
This is indicative of their cowardice, just as Allah said about them, أَشِحَّةً عَلَيْكُمْ فَإِذَا جَآءَ الْخَوْفُ رَأَيْتَهُمْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ تَدورُ أَعْيُنُهُمْ كَالَّذِى يُغْشَى عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْمَوْتِ فَإِذَا ذَهَبَ الْخَوْفُ سَلَقُوكُم بِأَلْسِنَةٍ حِدَادٍ أَشِحَّةً عَلَى الْخَيْرِ أوْلَـئِكَ لَمْ يُؤْمِنُواْ فَأَحْبَطَ اللَّهُ أَعْمَـلَهُمْ وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيراً ( Being miserly towards you then when fear comes, you will see them looking to you, their eyes revolving like (those of ) one over whom hovers death; but when the fear departs, they will smite you with sharp tongues, miserly towards good.
Such have not believed.
Therefore Allah makes their deeds fruitless and that is ever easy for Allah.) ( 33:19 ) They are shapes that do not have much substance, and this is why Allah said, هُمُ الْعَدُوُّ فَاحْذَرْهُمْ قَاتَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَنَّى يُؤْفَكُونَ ( They are the enemies, so beware of them.
May Allah curse them! How are they denying the right path ) means, how they are being led astray to the misguidance, away from the guidance.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Prophet said, «إِنَّ لِلْمُنَافِقِينَ عَلَامَاتٍ يُعْرَفُونَ بِهَا: تَحِيَّتُهُمْ لَعْنَةٌ وَطَعَامُهُمْ نُهْبَةٌ وَغَنِيمَتُهُمْ غُلُولٌ لَا يَقْرَبُونَ الْمَسَاجِدَ إِلَّا هَجْرًا، وَلَا يَأْتُونَ الصَّلَاةَ إِلَّا دَبْرًا، مُسْتَكْبِرِينَ لَا يَأْلَفُونَ وَلَا يُؤْلَفُونَ، خُشُبٌ بِاللَّيْلِ صُخُبٌ بِالنَّهَارِ وفِي رِوَايَةٍ سُخُبٌ بِالنَّهَار» ( Hypocrites have certain signs that they are known by.
Their greeting is really a curse, their food is from stealing and the war booty they collect is from theft.
They shun the Masjid and they do not come to the prayer but at its end.
They are arrogant; it is neither easy for them to blend in, nor it is easy for people to blend with them.
They are like pieces of wood by night and are noisy by day. )

( They make their faith ) they make their oath by Allah ( a pretext ) to escape being killed ( that they may turn (men ) from the way of Allah) and bar people from Allah’s religion and obedience in secret. ( Verily evil is that which they are wont to do ) evil is that which they do in their state of disbelief and hypocrisy, of plotting, treachery and turning people away,

They have made their oaths a screen (for their hypocrisy). Thus they hinder (men) from the Path of Allah. Verily, evil is what they used to do.

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