Surah Al-Mujaadila (58) — Ayah 8

(Ayah 8) ➊ { اَلَمْ تَرَ اِلَى الَّذِيْنَ نُهُوْا عَنِ النَّجْوٰى …:} From here begins the reproach of the behavior of the Jews and hypocrites, which they had adopted. The Jews had made a peace treaty with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon us) and used to come and go in his gatherings, and the hypocrites had apparently accepted faith and were members of the Muslim community, but their friendship was only with the Jews. The hypocrites and Jews had secretly formed their own group, and whenever they got the chance, in secret gatherings, they would make plans to sow discord among the Muslims, create mischief, and, by joining with the polytheists, harm the Muslims. If they came to the gathering of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon us), they would keep whispering among themselves, which would diminish the value of the gathering and show that they had no interest in the words of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon us) and his companions. Sometimes, while whispering among themselves, they would look at a Muslim and wink at each other, so that he would think they were talking about him. The Muslims were greatly troubled by this behavior of theirs. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon us) forbade them from such gatherings in which they would secretly consult and conspire against Islam and the Muslims, and also forbade them from whispering separately in Muslim gatherings, but when they did not desist, Allah Almighty revealed these verses in the Noble Qur’an to express His displeasure with them.

➋ { وَ يَتَنٰجَوْنَ بِالْاِثْمِ وَ الْعُدْوَانِ وَ مَعْصِيَتِ الرَّسُوْلِ:} Allah Almighty explained that their secret consultations and whisperings were either about such sins that related to themselves, or about such sins in which others were wronged and oppressed, or their whisperings were about disobeying the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon us).

➌ { وَ اِذَا جَآءُوْكَ حَيَّوْكَ بِمَا لَمْ يُحَيِّكَ بِهِ اللّٰهُ: ’’حَيِيَ يَحْيٰ حَيَاةً‘‘} ({خَشِيَ يَخْشٰي}) To be alive. {’’ حَيّٰي يُحَيِّيْ تَحِيَّةً ‘‘} (taf‘īl) To give a prayer for life and safety, to say salam. (See Nisa: 86) That is, when these Jews and their hypocrite allies come to you (peace and blessings be upon us), they say salam to you with such words with which Allah Almighty has not said salam to you. The special mention of Allah Almighty sending salam to you (peace and blessings be upon us) is in this verse: « يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا صَلُّوْا عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلِّمُوْا تَسْلِيْمًا» [الأحزاب : ۵۶ ] “O you who have believed! Send blessings upon us and send salam, a thorough salam.” And the general mention is in this verse: « قُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ وَ سَلٰمٌ عَلٰى عِبَادِهِ الَّذِيْنَ اصْطَفٰى » [ النمل : ۵۹ ] “Say: All praise is for Allah, and salam is upon His servants whom He has chosen.” The Jews, instead of saying {’’اَلسَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ‘‘}, would say {’’اَلسَّامُ عَلَيْكُمْ‘‘} (death be upon you). From the verse, it is known that the hypocrites also started doing this after seeing the Jews, just as they learned from the Jews to use the word {’’ رَاعِنَا ‘‘}—which is used to address you (peace and blessings be upon us)—as an insult, which Allah Almighty forbade and instead commanded to say {’’ انْظُرْنَا ‘‘}. (See Baqarah: 104) Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that some Jews came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon us) and said: [ اَلسَّامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا أَبَا الْقَاسِمِ ! ] “O Abu al-Qasim! Death be upon you.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon us) replied: [ وَعَلَيْكُمْ ] “And upon you.” Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: [ بَلْ عَلَيْكُمُ السَّامُ وَالذَّامُ ] “Rather, death and curse be upon you.” So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon us) said: [ يَا عَائِشَةُ! لَا تَكُوْنِيْ فَاحِشَةً ] “O Aisha! Do not be one who uses foul language.” Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “Did you not hear what they said?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon us) replied: [ أَوَ لَيْسَ قَدْ رَدَدْتُ عَلَيْهِمُ الَّذِيْ قَالُوْا، قُلْتُ وَعَلَيْكُمْ ] “Did I not return to them what they said? I said {’’وَعَلَيْكُمْ ‘‘} ‘And upon you.’” So Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, revealed this verse: «وَ اِذَا جَآءُوْكَ حَيَّوْكَ بِمَا لَمْ يُحَيِّكَ بِهِ اللّٰهُ» “And when they come to you, they greet you with words with which Allah has not greeted you.” [ مسلم، السلام، باب النھي عن ابتداء أھل الکتاب بالسلام… : ۱۱ /۲۱۶۵۔ مسند أحمد : ۶ /۲۲۹، ۲۳۰، ح : ۲۵۹۷۸ ]

➍ {وَ يَقُوْلُوْنَ فِيْۤ اَنْفُسِهِمْ لَوْ لَا يُعَذِّبُنَا اللّٰهُ بِمَا نَقُوْلُ …:} And in their hearts or in their private gatherings, they would consider this as proof that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon us) was not a Messenger, saying that if he were a Messenger, punishment would have come upon us for saying these words. Whereas, the very fact that Allah Almighty informed you (peace and blessings be upon us) of their action was sufficient proof of your truthfulness. As for punishment, it is not Allah Almighty’s way to seize for a sin immediately; He has even given respite to those who curse Him, so that they cannot say they were not given a chance, and just as with every matter, He has fixed a time for their punishment as well. Thus, after death, the punishment of Hell is prepared for them, and that is sufficient for them; with that, there is no need for any other punishment.

8. 1. By this are meant the Jews and hypocrites of Madinah. When Muslims would pass by them, they would gather together and whisper among themselves in such a way that Muslims would think perhaps they were plotting something against them, or that an enemy had attacked a Muslim army and caused them harm, and news of this had reached them. Muslims would become fearful of these things. Therefore, the Prophet ﷺ forbade such whispering. But after a short while, they resumed this reprehensible practice. In this verse, their very behavior is being described.

8. 2. That is, their whispering is not about righteousness and piety, but is based on sin, transgression, and disobedience to the Messenger. For example, backbiting, slander, indecent talk, inciting one another to disobey the Messenger of Allah, etc.

8. 3. That is, Allah has taught the way of greeting as "as-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah," but when the Jews would come to the Prophet, instead of this, they would say "as-sam 'alaykum" or "alayk" (may death be upon you). Therefore, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would reply only with "wa 'alaykum" or "wa 'alayka" (and upon you as well), and he also instructed the Muslims that when any of the People of the Book greet you, reply with "wa 'alayk," meaning "upon you is what you said" (Sahih Bukhari).

8. 4. That is, they say among themselves or in their hearts that if he were a true Prophet, then Allah would certainly have seized us for this vile act.

8. 5. Allah said that if, according to His will and perfect wisdom, He has not seized them immediately in this world, will they also escape the punishment of Hell in the Hereafter? No, certainly not. Hell is awaiting them, into which they will enter.

8. Have you not seen those [9] who were forbidden from secret counsels, yet they return to what they were forbidden? They secretly confer about sin, transgression, and disobedience to the Messenger. And when they come to you, they greet you in a way that Allah has not greeted you, and they say to themselves, "Why does Allah not punish us for what we say?" Hell is sufficient for them, in which they will enter. What an evil destination it is!

[9]
The Whisperings of the Hypocrites:

By these people are meant the hypocrites of Madinah, who had become Muslims for certain personal reasons, but all their sympathies were with the disbelievers, whether they were the Jews of Madinah, the Quraysh of Makkah, or other Arab tribes who were polytheists and enemies of Islam. Their various actions were blameworthy and caused great distress to the Muslims. One was that they maintained secret relations with the anti-Islamic forces and kept them informed about the movements or intentions of the Muslims. Secondly, they would hold secret meetings among themselves against the Muslims and to weaken the strength of Islam. And often it would happen that when they saw a few Muslims, they would start whispering and murmuring among themselves right in front of them. The sole purpose of this was to cause mental distress to the Muslims. The third thing they did was that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would call the Muslims for consultation or some task, and the hypocrites, being called Muslims, were also reluctantly required to attend such gatherings, at that time they would say to you under their breath the same greeting they had learned from the Jews, that is, instead of "as-salamu alaik," they would say "as-samu alaik" (meaning: death be upon you), as is clear from the following hadith.

The Jews and Hypocrites Saying "As-Samu Alaik" to You:

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar ؓ narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said: "When the Jews greet you, they say 'sam' (meaning: death) instead of 'salam.' So in reply to them, you should only say 'wa alaikum' (and upon you)." [بخاری، کتاب الاستیذان، باب کیف یرد علٰی اھل الذمۃ السلام]
Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that some Jews came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, "As-samu alaik." I understood and said, "Alaikum as-sam wal-la'nah" (meaning: death and curse be upon you). The Prophet ﷺ said: "Aisha! Hold on! Allah loves gentleness in every matter." I said: "O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, did you not hear what they said?" The Prophet ﷺ replied: "I heard, and I replied to them with 'wa alaikum.'" [بخاري۔ كتاب الاستيذان۔ باب ايضاً]
Then they would think in their hearts or discuss among themselves that if he were truly Allah's Messenger, then as a result of our curse, destruction would have come upon us. But since nothing has happened to us despite our curse, how can we believe that he is truly a Messenger? Allah informed the Muslims of all these actions of the hypocrites and also mentioned their condemnation. But He did not send destruction upon them, because Allah Almighty did not create man for compelled and forced faith. However, after death, He informed them of their evil end.