Tafsir of Surah Muhammad - Verse 30

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."

وَلَوْ نَشَاءُ لَأَرَ‌يْنَاكَهُمْ فَلَعَرَ‌فْتَهُم بِسِيمَاهُمْ (And if We will, We would show them to you, so as you would definitely recognize them by their features - 47:30). In other words, if Allah wishes, He could pinpoint and define precisely who the hypocrites are and describe their features so that the Holy Prophet ﷺ could identify each hypocrite personally. Grammatically, the Qur'an has introduced this clause by the hypothetical particle lau "if". Thus introduced, the sentence implies that what is supposed either does not occur or is not likely to take place. From this point of view, the clause implies that if Allah had willed, He would have pinpointed every hypocrite to you personally, but His wisdom and clemency did not wish to expose them to shame and disgrace in this way, and thus maintain the principle that all worldly matters be decided by their outer appearance, and the inner conditions and matters of the heart be left to the All-Knowing Allah. However, Allah has given to the Holy Prophet ﷺ the insight, so that he is able to perceive into the inner nature and real character of the hypocrites by the style of their speech. This is the meaning of وَلَتَعْرِ‌فَنَّهُمْ فِي لَحْنِ الْقَوْلِ ; "... And (still) you will recognize them by the tone of (their) speech. - 47:30]...". (IbnKathir)

Sayyidna ` Uthman Ibn ` Affan ؓ says that anyone who conceals a secret in his heart, Allah displays it on his face, and brings it out by the slip of his tongue. In other words, in the course of conversation, some such words slip out which express their inner secrets. Likewise there is a Hadith which reports that any person harboring a secret thought in his heart, Allah puts a cover on it; if it is good, it becomes manifest. Some narrations of ahadith described that the Holy Prophet ﷺ was imparted the knowledge of a group of the hypocrites by name. For example, it is recorded in Musnad of Imam Ahmad on the authority ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amr ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ in one of his sermons called out the names of particular hypocrites and asked them to leave the congregation. Thirty - six names were counted altogether. (Ibn Kathir).

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.