Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 141

(Ayah 141) ➊ { الَّذِيْنَ يَتَرَبَّصُوْنَ بِكُمْ … : } That is, these hypocrites are always watching and waiting for you; if you gain victory from Allah, they say, "Were we not with you?" meaning, "We also have a share in this victory." And if at any time the disbelievers get a share, they say to them, "Did we not prevail over you? Then it was our doing that we adopted such means by which the morale of the Muslims was weakened, and we saved you from the Muslims." That is, the hypocrites kept claiming favor on both sides.
➋ { فَاللّٰهُ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيٰمَةِ:} That is, in this world, these hypocrites apparently saved themselves by reciting the kalimah, but in the Hereafter, their reality will be exposed and it will become clear who was a believer and who was a hypocrite.
➌ {وَ لَنْ يَّجْعَلَ اللّٰهُ … :} If someone says that Allah has promised that He will never make a way for the disbelievers over the believers, but at this time the matter is the opposite, then the answer is that history bears witness that the disbelievers never gained dominance over those believers who are mentioned here. Now, if the believers themselves do not remain true believers and abandon jihad, then how can Allah's promise be at fault for that?

141. 1 That is, we were about to overpower you, but considering you as our ally, we let you go, and by abandoning the Muslims, we saved you from the hands of the Muslims. The meaning is that you gained dominance as a result of our double-faced policy, which we adopted by outwardly joining the Muslims. But secretly, we did not fall short in causing them harm until you overpowered them. This is the statement of the hypocrites which they said to the disbelievers.

141. 1 That is, in the world, you achieved some temporary success through deception and fraud. But on the Day of Resurrection, Allah’s decision will be based on those inner feelings and states which you kept hidden in your hearts, because Allah knows well the secrets of the hearts. And then, the punishment He will give for that will make it clear that adopting hypocrisy in the world was a most ruinous bargain, for which the eternal punishment of Hell will have to be endured.

141. 2 That is, He will not grant dominance. Its various meanings have been stated: (1) The dominance of the people of Islam will be on the Day of Resurrection. (2) In terms of argument and evidence, the disbelievers cannot overpower the Muslims. (3) The dominance of the disbelievers will never be such that the wealth and glory of the Muslims will be completely wiped out and erased from the map of the world like a wrong letter. This meaning is also supported by an authentic hadith. (4) As long as the Muslims remain adherent to their religion, displeased with falsehood, and prevent evil, the disbelievers will not be able to overpower them. Imam Ibn al-Arabi says, 'This is the best meaning because Allah’s statement is (وَمَا اَصَابَکُمْ مُّصِیبَۃٍ فَبَمَا کَسَبَتْ اَیْدِیْکُمْ) 42:30 Whatever misfortune befalls you is because of what your own hands have earned (Fath al-Qadeer).' Thus, it is as if it is the result of the Muslims’ own shortcomings.

141. Those hypocrites who are always watching you—if you gain a victory by Allah’s grace, they say, “Were we not with you?” But if the disbelievers have the upper hand, they say, “Did we not have power [187] over you, and did we not protect you from the believers?” So Allah will judge between you all on the Day of Resurrection, and Allah will never [188] grant the disbelievers any way to prevail over the believers.

[187]
The Self-Interest of the Hypocrites:

The class of hypocrites existed during the Prophetic era ﷺ, has always existed in every era, and exists even today. They possess nothing of faith; rather, their faith is only to gain benefit, and their principles are lies, deceit, and trickery. Such people merely observe the direction of the wind. Wherever they expect to gain benefit, they immediately make excuses and lean in that direction. In this verse, the condition of the hypocrites of the Prophetic era ﷺ is described: if the Muslims are granted victory, they say, in order to receive a share of the spoils, that after all, we too are Muslims and your companions, so we should also receive a share. And if the disbelievers are victorious, they join them and say that it is only as a result of our sympathies with you that you have achieved victory. Otherwise, if we had wholeheartedly supported the Muslims, not only would you not have gained victory, but the Muslims would have crushed you. Therefore, how can you ignore us? In this way, they try to gain benefit from both sides. And nowadays, among us, there is a large group of self-interested people who keep moving between two political parties. As soon as they see the direction of the wind, they immediately change their party and join the one that is in power or is expected to come to power. For such people, the political term 'Lotā' has been coined, which is an abbreviation of the proverb 'bependa lotā' (a bowl without a base) that keeps rolling in every direction. The religion and faith of such people is only money and other benefits; wherever they get more, they go there.

[188] The same subject has been repeated in several verses in different words. The meaning is that these disbelievers and hypocrites may make every possible effort to extinguish the light of Allah, but let them try as much as they can—Allah will surely complete the light of His guidance. In the end, Allah’s religion will prevail over all other religions. It is impossible for the disbelievers to prevail over the Muslims.