Tafsir of Al-Ahzab 33:20

Meaning: Due to the intensity of their cowardice and fear, they are so struck by panic and bewilderment that—even though Allah Almighty has defeated the confederates and they have departed—the hypocrites imagine that they have not departed. It is also said: The meaning is that, due to their cowardice, they think the confederates have not been defeated, and since they believe this, they withdraw from the trench and retreat back to Medina. If a narration confirms this, then so be it; otherwise, the manifest meaning is derived from His saying—Exalted is He—{and those who say to their brothers, "Come to us,"} for it indicates, in appearance, that they were outside the camp of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), urging their brothers to join them. That the intended meaning could be "come to our opinion" or "come to our place, which is at the edge where arrows cannot reach," is contrary to the apparent meaning. The same applies to His saying—Glorified is He—{And if they were among you}, according to the apparent meaning, since it is unlikely to be interpreted as being in the same place, even within the trench.

Meaning: A second time, {they would wish they were bedouins among the Arabs}. They would wish that they had gone out to the desert and were living with the Bedouins—the people of the tent-poles. Abdullah [ibn Mas'ud], Ibn Abbas, Ibn Ya'mur, and Talha recited it as badi, which is the plural of bad (desert-dweller), like ghazin (invader) and ghuzat (invaders). However, this is not the standard rule for words with a weak last letter; the standard form would be fa'ala, like qadin and qudat. In another narration from Ibn Abbas, it is badu (past tense), and in a narration by the author of al-Aqlid, it is badi on the pattern of adi.

Meaning: Every person coming from the direction of Medina asks, "What happened to you regarding the confederates?" They seek to learn of your conditions through inquiry rather than by witnessing it themselves, out of fear and cowardice, choosing desert life so they might be safe from the fighting. This sentence is in the position of a circumstantial qualifier (hal) for the subject of badun (those wishing to be in the desert). Ibn Atiyyah reported that Abu 'Amr, 'Asim, and al-A'mash recited it as yaslun without the hamza, similar to His saying—Exalted is He—{Ask the Children of Israel}. This is not established as standard for Abu 'Amr and 'Asim, and perhaps it belongs to their irregular (shadh) readings; the author of al-Lawai'ih attributes this reading to al-Hasan and al-A'mash. Zayd ibn 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both), Qatadah, al-Jahdari, al-Hasan, and Ya'qub (with a difference of opinion reported from him) recited it as yassa'alun with a shadda on the sin and an extension. Its origin is yatas'alun, where the ta was assimilated into the sin. That is, they ask one another, meaning some say to others: "What have you heard? What has reached you?" Or they ask the Bedouins; just as one says: "I saw the crescent (ra'aytu al-hilal) and I watched for it (tara'aytuhu)," and "I saw Zayd (absartu Zaydan) and I observed him (tabasartuhu)."

Meaning: In this hypothetical return—referred to by His saying, "And if the confederates should come"—or if they were among you during the first, previous encounter and had not retreated into the city, and if the fighting involved swords and the dueling of ranks, {they would not fight except a little}. That is, [they would fight] only a little, due to show, reputation, and fear of being disgraced. Muqatil, al-Jayyani, and al-Ba'labakki said: It is "little" in the sense that it is done for show; even if it were for the sake of Allah Almighty, it would have been considered "little."