Tafsir of Surah At-Taubah - Verse 61

Hypocrites annoy the Prophet

Allah says, some hypocrites bother the Messenger of Allah ﷺ by questioning his character, saying,

هُوَ أُذُنٌ

(he is (lending his) ear), to those who say anything about us; he believes whoever talks to him. Therefore, if we went to him and swore, he would believe us. Similar was reported from Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah. Allah said,

قُلْ أُذُنُ خَيْرٍ لَّكُمْ

(Say: "He listens to what is best for you"), he knows who's saying the truth and who is lying,

يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَيُؤْمِنُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(he believes in Allah; has faith in the believers), he believes the believers,

وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مِنكُمْ

(and is a mercy to those of you who believe"), and a proof against the disbelievers,

وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

(But those who annoy Allah's Messenger, will have a painful torment.)

Commentary

The present verses, like the previous ones, chastise hypocrites for their absurd objections, hostility to the Holy Prophet ﷺ and their feigned professions of Faith on false oaths.

The first verse (61) mentions the painful comment made by the hypocrites against the Holy Prophet ﷺ . They thought, since he hears and believes everything, they had nothing to worry about. In the event, their conspiracy was exposed, they would simply tell him on oath that they had nothing to do with it. Allah Almighty corrected them by saying that His Messenger preferred silence against baseless hostilities because of his high morals. He did not believe in what they said. He himself knew reality as it was. He simply avoided refuting them on their faces because of his inherent gentleness of nature.

The hypocrites of Madinah used to deride Islamic personalities in private, but when they appeared before Muslims they assured them, on oath, that they were loyal to Islam. The reason for this was that the Muslims were powerful in Madinah. They were in a position to harm the interests of hypocrites. So the hypocrites wanted to give the impression that they were with the Muslims. This reveals the reality of a hypocritical character. The religiosity of a hypocrite derives from the fear of human beings and not from the fear of God. He becomes a man of character and justice where there is pressure from other human beings or there is the fear of a reaction from the public. But where there is no such risk and there is only the fear of God to prevent him from the misuse of his words and deeds, he becomes a completely changed man. He becomes a man who is not interested in being a man of character and does not feel the necessity to adopt the way of justice.