Tirmidhi

Hadith Commentary:
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has established eight chapters on Surah Al-Munafiqun, and under each heading, he has presented the same incident from different perspectives. His purpose is to show that the context of revelation (shan-e-nuzul) for all these verses is the same incident. However, in relation to this incident, it is necessary to clarify two points:

➊ The first point is that conveying a bad statement of one person to another, if done for a religious benefit, is not considered tale-bearing (namimah).
The tale-bearing that has been declared forbidden in the Shari‘ah is that which is done with the intention of causing corruption and to incite discord among people.

➋ The second point is that the conduct adopted by Abdullah bin Ubayy, the accursed, if someone adopts such behavior while living in a Muslim society, it is indeed blameworthy. However, before making such a decision, it should be considered whether such a killing might not become the cause of a great tribulation (fitnah).
Blindly applying the law without consideration sometimes produces results completely contrary to the very purpose for which the law is applied.
If a hypocrite (munafiq) or a corrupt person (mufsid) has a significant political power behind him, then instead of punishing him and thereby giving rise to further tribulations, it is better to, with wisdom and prudence, eliminate the actual political power on which he relies for his mischief—as the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did in the case of Abdullah bin Ubayy.
The result of this was that within two or three years, the influence of the hypocrites in Madinah Tayyibah was broken forever, and even the children began to hate them.
Wallahu al-musta‘an.

Hadith Commentary:
Although Abdullah bin Ubayy Mardud was a hypocrite (munafiq), outwardly he remained among the Muslims. Therefore, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) thought that if he were killed, those who only see the apparent and are unaware of the real situation would begin to say that the Prophet is killing his own people. And when this becomes widespread, others would hesitate to accept Islam.

It was regarding this hypocrite and his followers that Surah Al-Munafiqun was revealed in the Noble Qur’an, in which this accursed one’s statement is also mentioned: that upon reaching Madinah, he would expel the honorable and humble people (i.e., the Muhajirun, the emigrant Muslims from Makkah).

Allah Ta’ala Himself destroyed and ruined him, and by His grace, the Muslims were declared the victors of Madinah. From this incident, it is also proven that prudence and consideration of consequences (maslahah) are necessary for every Muslim.

For this reason, it has been said:
A beneficial lie is better than a harmful truth.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
By "the call of ignorance" (da‘wat al-jahiliyyah) is meant calling upon others for help during a fight by raising one's voice. In the era of ignorance (jahiliyyah), people would gather at such calls and assist the one calling, even if he was an oppressor. When Islam came, it forbade such slogans in which there was the stench of tribalism and quarrelling. It is not absolutely forbidden to call someone for help; however, any call intended to express nationalism or tribalism is objectionable.

➋
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah, by this heading, has alluded to a hadith in which the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: "Are these the slogans of ignorance?" It was said: "No." He said: "Then there is no harm. A person should help his brother, whether he is an oppressor or oppressed. Helping the oppressor is to prevent him from oppression." (Musnad Ahmad: 323/3)

➌
In this hadith, there is an indication towards the importance of religious matters and keeping an eye on upcoming circumstances, because some people apparently accept Islam, but its truth does not settle in their hearts. If they are punished at any time, the enemies of the religion will incite others to hatred by saying, "Look, now they are killing their own Muslims." It was possible that people would start fighting against the Muslims by accusing them of hidden disbelief. Since such circumstances could arise from killing Abdullah bin Ubayy, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam refrained from killing him. And Allah knows best.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
On this occasion, Abdullah bin Ubay stirred up the Ansar greatly, saying:
“These Muhajirun have come to Madinah and have become our rivals.”
Then he said to the Ansar:
“This calamity is of your own making—you gave them a place among you and shared your wealth with them.
Even now, the only solution is to cut off their food and water.
They will leave on their own.”

➋
At this point, we consider it necessary to clarify the slogans of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance).
The Islamic method is that if two people, in the course of a dispute, wish to call others for help, they should say: ‘O Muslims! Come to our aid,’ or ‘O people! Come to help us.’ But if each of them calls people by the name of their own tribe, clan, or region, then this is a slogan of Jahiliyyah.
One who responds to such a call does not consider who is the oppressor and who is the oppressed; instead of helping the oppressed on the basis of truth and justice, he will help the members of his own group, even if they are the oppressors.
This is an act of Jahiliyyah, which causes corruption in the world.
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) declared it a filthy and vile thing and said:
“You became one nation on the foundation of Islam, so why are you now calling each other by the names of Ansar and Muhajirun?”
Muslims should avoid such slogans, for they destroy truth and justice.
And Allah is the One whose help is sought.

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: From this hadith, it is understood that if, in the process of holding a wrongdoer accountable for his misdeed, greater turmoil and corruption are likely to arise, then one should exercise patience over the lesser evil and harm. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), for the sake of spreading the call to Islam and bringing people closer, would endure the unpleasant and hurtful words of Bedouins, hypocrites (munafiqun), and those with weak faith, in order to win their hearts. This was so that others would be attracted to Islam through good treatment of these people, the Muslims would be strengthened, and faith would become firmly rooted in the hearts of those whose hearts were being reconciled (mu’allafatu al-qulub). Even now, if it is necessary to overlook a lesser evil in order to avoid a greater evil, then it should be borne with patience.

You (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) did not permit the steadfastly believing son of this hypocrite to kill his father, but rather commanded him to adopt good conduct and a gentle attitude.

Benefit:
Even after embracing Islam, there remained some traces of ignorance (jahiliyyah) among the noble Companions (radi Allahu anhum ajma'in), but in every aspect, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would train and nurture them. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had great love for his Companions. On account of some expediency, leaving a good deed is Sunnah, provided that the deed is not obligatory (fard).