Tafsir of Al-Ahzab 33:19

"Ashihhatan 'alaykum" (Stingy towards you): Meaning, they are stingy towards you regarding expenditure and support, as narrated from Mujahid and Qatada. It is said: [stingy] with their own selves; it is said: with the spoils of war at the time of distribution; and it is said: with everything that contains benefit for you. Abu Hayyan considered this latter view to be correct. Al-Zamakhshari took the position that the meaning is "precious/attached to you," fluttering over you as a man does for one whom he defends and protects in times of fear. This is because they fear for themselves if the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the believers with him are defeated, since they would have no one to prevent the confederates (Al-Ahzab) from reaching them or to protect their territory other than them. It is also said: they were doing that out of hypocrisy. Most scholars have leaned towards what you heard earlier [i.e., stinginess], and the abridgers of the Kashshaf also inclined towards it. This is—as it is said—because what he [Al-Zamakhshari] chose is the meaning found in the subsequent clause, so it is necessary to interpret it [differently]. Some distinguished scholars preferred [Al-Zamakhshari's view] over the majority, saying: "He only chose it to correspond with and be parallel to His saying, 'Exalted is He': (Ashihhatan 'ala al-khayr) [Stingy towards wealth/good]." Furthermore, linguistic usage requires it, for shuh (stinginess) over a thing is the desire for its preservation, as stated in al-Sihah, and he indicated this by his words: "precious to you." What others mentioned is not supported by linguistic usage. End quote.

Al-Khafaji said: "If what was mentioned regarding the usage is accepted, then it is definite; otherwise, every [interpretation] has its merit, as is not hidden from one knowledgeable of the styles of speech."

"Ashihhatan" is the plural of shahih (stingy), formed in a manner that deviates from the standard rule (qiyas). For the standard rule for the fa'il form (the descriptor) that doubles its middle and final letters is to be pluralized as af'ila—such as dhanin to adhna’ (precious/niggardly) and khalil to akhilla’ (friends). Thus, the standard [rule-based] plural would be ashihha’, which is also heard [in usage]. Its accusative case, according to al-Zajjaj and Abu al-Baqa’, is as a circumstantial qualifier (hal) from the doer of "ya’tun" (they come), meaning: they refrained from coming while being stingy. Al-Farra’ said: it is for condemnation. It is also said: it is a circumstantial qualifier from the pronoun in "hulum ilayna" (come to us) or from the implied pronoun of "ya'uqqun" (they hinder). The first of these two was narrated from al-Tabari, and it is as you see [i.e., weak]. It is said: it is from "al-mu'awwiqin" (the hinderers) or from the speakers [of the previous verse], but this was refuted because in both cases there is a separation between the parts of the relative clause (silah). This was countered by saying that the separator is from the attachments of the relative clause, and the refutation is only valid regarding it being a circumstantial qualifier from "al-mu'awwiqin," because it was linked to the relative noun before the completion of its relative clause.

Ibn Abi 'Abla read "ashihhatun" in the nominative, implying an omitted subject, meaning: "They are stingy."

"Fa-idha ja’a al-khawf" (Then when fear comes): From the enemy, and the expectation arises that the people of Medina might be uprooted, "ra’aytahum yanzuruna ilayka taduru a'yunuhum" (you see them looking at you, their eyes revolving): Meaning their pupils, or [they look] with their pupils, given that the ba is for transitivity, the meaning being: they make their eyes revolve their pupils. The sentence is in the position of a circumstantial qualifier, i.e., their eyes revolving due to the intensity of fear.

"Kalladhi yughsha 'alayhi min al-mawt" (Like one who faints from death): This is an attribute for the verbal noun of "yanzuruna," or a circumstantial qualifier for its doer, or for the verbal noun of "tadurru," or a circumstantial qualifier of "a'yunuhum." It means: they look with a look like the look of one fainting from the throes of death, out of caution, fear, and seeking refuge in you; or they look, being like the one who... etc.; or their eyes revolve with a revolution like the revolution of the eye of the one who... etc. It is said: the meaning of the verse is that when fear of fighting comes and the Muslims prevail over their enemies, you see them looking at you, their eyes revolving in their sockets, agitated and restless in the hope that a strike might manifest for them, because they attend with the intention of evil, not the intention of good. The first view is the most apparent.

"Fa-idha dhahaba al-khawf salaqukum bi-alsinatin hidad" (But when fear departs, they lash you with sharp tongues): Meaning, they hurt you with speech and quarrel with you with sharp, biting tongues; this was said by al-Farra’. From Qatada: they stretched their tongues against you during the division of the spoils, saying: "Give us, give us, for you are not more entitled to them than us." Yazid ibn Ruman said: they stretched their tongues in harming you, insulting you, and belittling the religion you are upon.

Some distinguished scholars said: the root of salq is the stretching and extending of a limb for the purpose of oppression, whether it is a hand or a tongue. Thus, salq of the tongue is by announcing defamation and censure. Salq here is interpreted as "striking" metaphorically, just as censure is called "striking." What led to this is the description of the tongues as "sharp." It is possible that the tongue is compared to a sword or the like via isti'ara makniyya (implicit metaphor), and salq in the sense of striking is affirmed for it for the sake of imagination. Nafi' ibn al-Azraq asked Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) about al-salq in the verse, and he said: "It is striking with the tongue." He asked, "Do the Arabs know that?" He replied: "Yes, have you not heard the saying of al-A'sha: 'Among them is fertility, generosity, and chivalry; among them is the sharp-tongued orator (al-khatib al-mislaq)'?" Al-Zajjaj interpreted it as intense speech, saying: "The meaning of salaqukum is: they addressed you with the most intense and eloquent speech regarding the spoils of war. It is said: a speaker is mislaq and sallaq if he is eloquent in his speech." Some considered salq to imply raising the voice; upon this comes the saying of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): "He is not of us who yusliqu (laments loudly) or yahlqu (shaves hair)." He said in al-Nihaya: "Meaning, he raises his voice at the time of calamity." It is also said to mean a woman striking her face and scratching it. The first [interpretation] is more correct. Some claimed that the meaning in the verse is that they stretched their tongues in deceiving you with whatever pleases you of speech, by way of flattery and courtesy, but the weakness in that is not hidden. Ibn Abi 'Abla read "salaqukum" with a sad [instead of sin].

"Ashihhatan 'ala al-khayr" (Stingy towards the "good"): Meaning, stingy and greedy for the wealth of the spoils of war, as narrated from Qatada. It is said: [stingy] towards their wealth which they spend. Al-Jubba'i said: meaning, stingy in speaking any speech that contains good. Abu Hayyan inclined towards the generality of "good." Ashihhatan is in the accusative as a circumstantial qualifier from the doer of "salaqukum," or for condemnation. This is supported by the reading of Ibn Abi 'Abla, "ashihhatun" with the nominative, because it is the predicate of an omitted subject, i.e., "They are stingy," and the sentence is an initiation, not a circumstantial qualifier, just as it is [a predicate] for condemnation. Some differentiated between the shuh (stinginess) here and the one that passed before, by saying that the shuh here is restricted to the "good," intended by which is the wealth of the spoils, while the previous one is restricted to the aiding of the believers and their support, or to spending in the way of Allah; thus, this does not repeat what has passed. Al-Zamakhshari, when he went to what he went to there, said here: "So when the fear departs, the spoils are gathered, and the division occurs, they transfer that stinginess, that niggardliness, and that fluttering over you to 'the good'—which is the wealth and spoils—and they forget that first state and grow bold against you and strike you with their tongues..." and you have heard what some distinguished scholars said regarding that.

It is possible to say regarding the difference between this and the previous: that the intention of what preceded is to condemn them for stinginess regarding everything that contains benefit, or a type of it, towards the believers. From this is condemning them for greed towards wealth, or what contains benefit absolutely, without looking at whether that is towards the believers or others; this is more emphatic in their condemnation than the first.

"Ula'ika" (Those): Described by what has been mentioned of the traits of evil, "lam yu’minu" (have not believed): with sincerity, for they are the hypocrites who manifested belief and hid disbelief in their hearts. "Fa-ahbata Allahu a'malahum" (So Allah has rendered their deeds void): Meaning, He exposed their nullity, for they have been void since they were performed, as their validity is conditioned upon sincere belief, and they were concealing disbelief. In al-Bahr, it means He did not accept them, so they were as if nullified. In both interpretations, the intent of "deeds" is the acts of worship that were commanded. It is permissible that the intent is what they did out of hypocrisy and pretension, even if it were not an act of worship. The meaning is: He, the Almighty, nullified their efforts and hypocrisy, leaving no worldly benefit to be followed at all.

Some carried "deeds" to mean acts of worship and "nullification" to its literal meaning, based on what was narrated from Ibn Zayd from his father, who said: "The verse was revealed concerning a man from [those who fought at] Badr who became a hypocrite after righteousness, and what happened, happened; so Allah Almighty nullified his deeds in Badr and others." But the plural form makes this unlikely, as does His saying: "lam yu’minu" (they have not believed), for as the apparent meaning of this narration suggests, he had believed before. Also, the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "And perhaps Allah looked at the people of Badr and said, 'Do what you wish, for I have forgiven you,'" refutes that. Thus, the apparent, and Allah knows best, is that this narration is not authentic.

"Wa kana dhalika 'ala Allahi yasiran" (And that was easy for Allah): Meaning, insignificant, He does not care about it, nor does He, Exalted is He, fear any objection regarding it. It is also said: meaning, easy and light for Him, the Almighty. Specifying its "easiness" while everything is easy for Him, Exalted is He, is to clarify that their deeds were nullified due to the perfection of the confluence of the rulings necessitating it, and there being absolutely no obstacle to it. It is also said: "that" refers to their state of stinginess and the like, and the meaning is: that state was for Him, the Almighty, insignificant; He does not care about it, nor does He, Exalted is He, make it a cause for the believers' abandonment. But that is not it; the purpose of what was mentioned is warning and intimidation.