Surah Al-Munaafiqoon (63) — Ayah 8

(Ayah 8) ➊ {يَقُوْلُوْنَ لَىِٕنْ رَّجَعْنَاۤ اِلَى الْمَدِيْنَةِ لَيُخْرِجَنَّ الْاَعَزُّ مِنْهَا الْاَذَلَّ:} Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with both of them) narrates: [كُنَّا فِيْ غَزَاةٍ قَالَ سُفْيَانُ مَرَّةً فِيْ جَيْشٍ فَكَسَعَ رَجُلٌ مِّنَ الْمُهَاجِرِيْنَ رَجُلاً مِّنَ الْأَنْصَارِ فَقَالَ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ يَا لَلْأَنْصَارِ وَقَالَ الْمُهَاجِرِيُّ يَا لَلْمُهَاجِرِيْنَ فَسَمِعَ ذٰلِكَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ مَا بَالُ دَعْوٰی جَاهِلِيَّةٍ؟ قَالُوْا يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ ! كَسَعَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِيْنَ رَجُلاً مِّنَ الْأَنْصَارِ فَقَالَ دَعُوْهَا فَإِنَّهَا مُنْتِنَةٌ، فَسَمِعَ بِذٰلِكَ عَبْدُ اللّٰهِ بْنُ أُبَيٍّ فَقَالَ فَعَلُوْهَا؟ أَمَا وَاللّٰهِ ! لَئِنْ رَجَعْنَا إِلَی الْمَدِيْنَةِ لَيُخْرِجَنَّ الْأَعَزُّ مِنْهَا الْأَذَلَّ فَبَلَغَ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَامَ عُمَرُ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ ! دَعْنِيْ أَضْرِبْ عُنُقَ هٰذَا الْمُنَافِقِ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ دَعْهُ لاَ يَتَحَدَّثُ النَّاسُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا يَقْتُلُ أَصْحَابَهُ وَكَانَتِ الْأَنْصَارُ أَكْثَرَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِيْنَ حِيْنَ قَدِمُوا الْمَدِيْنَةَ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ الْمُهَاجِرِيْنَ كَثُرُوْا بَعْدُ ] [بخاري، التفسیر، باب قولہ : «سواء علیھم أستغفرت لھم » : ۴۹۰۵ ] "Once we were in an army, and a Muhajir man kicked an Ansari from behind." So the Ansari said: "O Ansar!" and the Muhajir said: "O Muhajirun!" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) heard this and said: "What is the matter with this call of ignorance?" People informed him that a Muhajir had kicked an Ansari from behind, so he said: "Leave this (call of ignorance), for it is very foul." Abdullah bin Ubayy heard this and said: "Have they done this? Remember! If we return to Madinah, the more honorable will surely expel the more humble from it." This reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said: "O Messenger of Allah! Allow me to strike the neck of this hypocrite." But the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Leave him, lest people say that Muhammad kills his companions." And the Ansar were more numerous than the Muhajirun when they came to Madinah, then later the Muhajirun became more numerous."

➋ { وَ لِلّٰهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَ لِرَسُوْلِهٖ وَ لِلْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ۠ وَ لٰكِنَّ الْمُنٰفِقِيْنَ لَا يَعْلَمُوْنَ:} That is, these hypocrites who are saying that the more honorable will expel the more humble, they do not know who the true owner of honor is, rather, who owns all honor. So they should know that the real owner of honor is Allah Almighty, then it is He who grants honor to whom He wills. (See Nisa: 139; Al Imran: 26) And He has decreed honor for His Messenger and believing servants. So they should consider that if the Honorable One decides to expel the more humble from Madinah, then this decision will also fall upon these very hypocrites, but these ignorant ones do not know.

➌ From the hadith of Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with both of them) mentioned above, at the end of it in Tirmidhi, these words are found: [ فَقَالَ لَهُ ابْنُهُ عَبْدُ اللّٰهِ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللّٰهِ : وَاللّٰهِ ! لاَ تَنْقَلِبُ حَتّٰی تُقِرَّ أَنَّكَ الذَّلِيْلُ وَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ الْعَزِيْزُ فَفَعَلَ ] [ترمذي، تفسیر القرآن، سورۃ المنافقون : ۳۳۱۵، وقال الألباني صحیح ] "So his (Abdullah bin Ubayy's) son, Abdullah bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), said to him: 'By Allah! You will not return until you admit that you are the one who is humble and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is the one who is honorable.'" So he did just that."

8. 1. Its speaker was the chief of the hypocrites, Abdullah bin Ubayy. By "the honorable one," he meant himself and his companions, and by "the lowly one" (Allah forbid), he meant the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Muslims.
8. 2. That is, honor and dominance belong only to the One Allah, and then He grants honor and dominance to whomever He wills from His side.
8. 3. Therefore, they do not do those things which are beneficial for them, nor do they avoid those things which are harmful for them.

They say, "If we return to Madinah, the more honorable will surely expel the more humble from it." Yet all honor belongs to Allah, His Messenger, and the believers, but the hypocrites do not know.

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What Punishment Did Abdullah bin Ubay Receive for Lying?

The punishment that this hypocrite received for denying his crimes by swearing false oaths was, firstly, that Allah Almighty exposed his hypocrisy and lies through revelation and disgraced him. The second punishment was that his own son, Abdullah, who was a true believer, stood at the gate of Madinah with his sword drawn and blocked his father's way, saying that until the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave permission, he could not enter Madinah, because the most honorable is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the most disgraced is you. After a while, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ arrived at the place where the son was blocking his father's way, and out of kindness, he allowed Abdullah bin Ubay to enter Madinah. Only then did the son step aside. At that moment, this hypocrite realized what he did not know before: that all honor belongs to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the believers, and in comparison to them, he is the most disgraced person. When Sayyiduna Umar ؓ sought permission to kill Abdullah bin Ubay, the Prophet ﷺ did not grant permission for his killing, and the only reason was to avoid giving the enemies a chance to rejoice. Otherwise, his crimes were such that he deserved to be killed and the earth to be cleansed of this embodiment of mischief. When such discussions began among the Companions, Abdullah bin Ubay’s son, Sayyiduna Abdullah ؓ, came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: "O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, if you intend to kill my father, then command me and I will bring his head to you. If someone else kills him, I fear that my sense of honor may be provoked." [ابن هشام، 12: 290 تا 292]