Tafsir of Surah Muhammad - Verse 29

Exposing the Hidden Secret of the Hypocrites Allah says ...

أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِمْ مَّرَضٌ أَن لَّن يُخْرِجَ اللَّهُ أَضْغَـنَهُمْ

(Or do those in whose hearts is disease think that Allah would never expose their ill--wills) meaning, do the hypocrites think that Allah will not expose their affair to His believing servant Yes indeed, He will expose their affair and manifest it so that those with insight will be able to understand it. In that regard, Allah revealed Surah Bara'ah (or At-Tawbah), in which He clarified the hypocrites' scandals, and pinpointed their practices that are indicative of their hypocrisy. Because of that, this Surah (Surah Bara'ah) is also called "The Exposer". Adghan is the plural of Dighn, which means what the souls harbor of envy and hatred toward Islam and its people who support it. Allah then says,

وَلَوْ نَشَآءُ لأَرَيْنَـكَهُمْ فَلَعَرَفْتَهُم بِسِيمَـهُمْ

(Had We so willed, We could have shown them clearly to you, so that you would know them by their marks.) Allah is telling His Messenger , "Had We willed, O Muhammad, We would have shown you the specific individuals who are hypocrites, so that you would plainly know them." However, Allah did not do that in regard to all of the hypocrites. He conceals His creation, lets their affairs run according to apparent purity, and leaves the inner secrets to the One Who is well aware of them. Allah then adds,

وَلَتَعْرِفَنَّهُمْ فِى لَحْنِ الْقَوْلِ

(But you will know them by the tone of their speech!) which means, `you will know them by their speech that reveals their intentions.' A person declares his association through the context and meaning of his words -- as the Commander of the faithful `Uthman bin `Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Never would one conceal a secret but Allah will expose it by the look on his face and the uncontrolled words of his tongue." Allah then says,

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم

(And We will surely try you) meaning, `We will surely test you with commands and prohibitions.'

حَتَّى نَعْلَمَ الْمُجَـهِدِينَ مِنكُمْ وَالصَّـبِرِينَ وَنَبْلُوَ أَخْبَـرَكُمْ

(until We know those who strive among you and the patient, and We will put to a test all your affairs.) There is absolutely no doubt that Allah's knowledge precedes the occurrence of all events. In this Ayah, "until We know" means `until We know of its occurrence.' This is why Ibn `Abbas said in regard to this and similar texts, "Except so that We may know, means, so that We may see."

أَمْ حَسِبَ الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَ‌ضٌ أَن لَّن يُخْرِ‌جَ اللَّـهُ أَضْغَانَهُمْ (Do those having disease in their hearts rather think that Allah will never expose their grudges [ against Islam ]? - 47:29) " The word adghan is the plural of dighn which means secret enmity, rancour, malice or spite. This verse was revealed in connection with hypocrites to expose their bitter hatred and rancour against Islam which they were hiding in their hearts. Outwardly, they expressed their love for the Holy Prophet ﷺ and inwardly they harbored violent hatred and enmity for him. They knew that Allah is the knower of the unseen, yet they were not concerned that He would expose their inner secret and covert enmity to the people. Ibn Kathir says in Surah Bara'ah that Allah has described their works, actions and activities which expose their hypocrisy and they would be identified as hypocrites. Therefore, another name of that Surah is fadihah meaning exposing to shame or disgrace, because specific qualities of the hypocrites are set out in it.

The hypocrite Muslims were jealous of their pious brethren in religion? The reason was that they felt that all progress made by Islam benefitted sincere Muslims, and this was very distressing to them. They used to wonder why they should sacrifice their lives and property in a campaign which enhanced the position of others, while conferring no greatness on them. The hypocrites hid these inner feelings in their outward behaviour. But this did not remain concealed from people of understanding. Their artificial tone revealed that their connection with Islam was that of outward show and was not in any sense heartfelt.