Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 12

(Ayah 12) ➊ The verses from {وَ اِذْ يَقُوْلُ الْمُنٰفِقُوْنَ وَ الَّذِيْنَ …:’’ يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوا اذْكُرُوْا ‘‘} up to verse (27) were revealed after the Battle of Ahzab and the Battle of Banu Qurayzah. Both battles are mentioned in them. Up to the previous verse, the fear, trial, and severe shaking of the believers were mentioned, during which various thoughts came into their hearts, but no word of disbelief or despair came upon their tongues. Now, during this period, the attitude of the hypocrites and their hypocritical words are mentioned, through which their hypocrisy became openly apparent to everyone.

➋ In this verse, Allah Almighty has mentioned along with the hypocrites those people in whose hearts is a disease. The question is that the hypocrites also have a disease in their hearts, as stated in Surah Al-Baqarah: «{ فِيْ قُلُوْبِهِمْ مَّرَضٌ }» [ البقرۃ : ۱۰ ] "In their hearts is a disease." So here, after the hypocrites, who are meant by {’’ الَّذِيْنَ فِيْ قُلُوْبِهِمْ مَّرَضٌ ‘‘}? The answer is that here, by hypocrites are meant those who were confirmed hypocrites, such as Abdullah bin Ubayy and his companions. Regarding them, what is stated in Surah Al-Baqarah {’’ فِيْ قُلُوْبِهِمْ مَّرَضٌ ‘‘}, there the "tanween" of {’’ مَرَضٌ ‘‘} is for magnification and intensification, so there it means that in their hearts is a severe disease. In this verse, by {’’ الَّذِيْنَ فِيْ قُلُوْبِهِمْ مَّرَضٌ ‘‘} are meant those who had not yet become firm in hypocrisy, but in whose hearts there was some disease of doubt, suspicion, and hypocrisy. Thus, here the "tanween" in {’’ مَرَضٌ ‘‘} is for indefiniteness and partiality. These are the people whom Allah Almighty has mentioned in this verse: «{ وَ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَّعْبُدُ اللّٰهَ عَلٰى حَرْفٍ }» [ الحج : ۱۱ ] "And among the people is he who worships Allah on an edge." In short, at this occasion, only the firm believers remained steadfast. As for the hypocrites or those with shaky faith, their hypocrisy became openly apparent.

➌ During the Battle of the Trench, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave several glad tidings to the noble companions. While digging the trench, a rock that became an obstacle in the digging, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) struck it with a pickaxe, and it broke into three pieces with three strikes, and with each strike, a flash of light came out. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "With the first strike, the cities of Kisra and the cities around them and many cities were shown to me, which I saw with my own eyes." The companions present said: "O Messenger of Allah! Pray that Allah grants us victory over them, grants us their homes as spoils, and destroys their cities at our hands." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made this supplication and said: "Then I struck the second time, and the cities of Caesar and the surrounding settlements were brought before me, until I saw them with my own eyes." The people said: "O Messenger of Allah! Pray to Allah that He grants us victory over them, grants us their homes as spoils, and destroys their cities at our hands." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made this supplication and said: "Then I struck the third time, and the cities of Abyssinia and the surrounding settlements were brought before me, until I saw them with my own eyes." At that time, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Leave the Abyssinians to their state as long as they leave you to your state, and do not say anything to the Turks as long as they do not say anything to you." [ نسائي، الجہاد، باب غزوۃ الترک والحبشۃ : ۳۱۷۸، و قال الألباني حسن ]

When the disbelievers surrounded Madinah from all sides and, due to the treachery of the Jews, there was a constant threat of attack from within Madinah as well, at that time, what further increased the Muslims' distress was that the hypocrites and those with weak faith began to say such things that would break people's spirits and spread discouragement, such as: Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to give us glad tidings of the conquest of the cities of Caesar and Kisra, while now our condition is such that we cannot even go out to relieve ourselves. It became clear that all the promises Allah and His Messenger made to us were deception. In reality, the hypocrites thought that as soon as they claimed faith, angels would descend from the sky and they would achieve victory without having to lift a finger, whereas after faith, trial is the way of Allah Almighty, so that the genuine and the false may be distinguished. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: "Some hypocrites began to say, the Prophet says that his religion will reach the east and west, but here we cannot even go out to relieve ourselves. A Muslim should not utter words of disbelief even at a time of despair."

12-1. That is, they considered the promise of help from Allah to be a deception. These were about seventy hypocrites whose tongues uttered what was in their hearts.

12. When the hypocrites and those with sickness in their hearts were saying, “Allah and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusion [15].”

[15]
The Hypocrites Taunting the Muslims:

When Banu Qurayzah also became inclined towards breaking their covenant with the Muslims, then for the Muslims, there were enemies everywhere, both inside and outside. In this alarming situation, the hypocrites began to taunt the Muslims themselves, saying that you used to tell us that we would receive the treasures of Caesar and Chosroes, but here the situation is such that even going out to relieve oneself seems life-threatening. In reality, the hypocrites thought that as soon as they claimed faith, angels would descend from the sky and perform the ceremony of their coronation. They would not even have to lift a finger. They did not know that after embracing faith, they would have to pass through severe trials. Mountains of hardships would fall upon them, and they would have to risk their lives. Only then does Allah's help come. However, according to His promise, it certainly does come.