Al-Mujadilah: (8) Have you not seen...
(Have you not seen those who were forbidden from private conversation, then they return to that which they were forbidden from?) Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: It was revealed concerning the Jews and the hypocrites. They used to converse privately excluding the believers, looking at them and winking at one another, making them [the believers] believe that some evil had befallen their relatives, and they would continue in this manner until their relatives arrived. When this became frequent on their part, the believers complained to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), so he forbade them from conversing privately to the exclusion of the believers, yet they returned to their former behavior. Mujahid said: It was revealed concerning the Jews. Ibn al-Sa'ib said: It was concerning the hypocrites. The address is directed to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and the hamza is for expressing astonishment at their condition. The present tense form indicates the repetition and recurrence of their return, as well as the evoking of their astonishing state.
His saying: (And they converse privately about sin, aggression, and disobedience to the Messenger) is a conjunction linked to what precedes it, falling under its ruling. That is, they converse privately about what is in itself a sin and a burden upon them, a transgression against the believers, and mutual exhortation to disobey the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Mentioning him (peace and blessings be upon him) by the title of "the Messenger" between the two addresses directed at him (peace and blessings be upon him) is to increase the condemnation of their actions and to highlight the gravity of their disobedience. Hamza, Talha, al-A'mash, Yahya bin Wathab, Ruways, and others recited yantajun with a vowelless nun after the ya and a damma on the jim, which is the present tense of intaja. Abu Haywa recited al-'udwan (aggression) with a kasra on the 'ayn wherever it appears. It was also recited as ma'asiyat (in the plural), which was later attributed to al-Dahhak.
(And when they come to you, they greet you with that with which Allah has not greeted you.) It is authentic from the narration of al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others from Aisha that a group of Jews entered upon the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and said: Al-sam 'alayka (Death upon you), O Abu al-Qasim! The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: Wa 'alaykum (And upon you). Aisha said: I replied, "But upon you be death, the curse of Allah, and His wrath!" In another narration: "Upon you be death, vilification, and the curse." The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Aisha, Allah does not like those who are foul or who practice foul language." I said, "Do you not hear them saying 'Al-sam'?" He (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied, "Have you not heard that I say 'Wa 'alaykum'?" So Allah the Exalted revealed: (And when they come to you...) the verse.
Ahmad and al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman narrated with a good chain from Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Jews used to say to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): Sam 'alayka, intending by that to insult him, and then they would say to themselves, "If [only] Allah would punish us for what we say." Then this verse was revealed. Regarding al-sam, Ibn al-Athir said: The well-known usage is without the hamza, and they mean by it "death." It also came in a narration with the hamza (i.e., sa'am), meaning "you are weary of your religion." Al-Khafaji stated explicitly that it means "death" in Hebrew, and he did not mention the hamza nor its omission. Al-Tabarsi said: Whoever says al-sam means death—this is derived from sa'ama (weariness) of life through its departure, which refers it back to the version with the hamza.
Al-Baydawi categorized that which Allah did not greet him with as their greeting him with an'imu sabahan (May you have a blessed morning), which is a greeting of the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah), similar to na'im sabahan. We have not come across any report regarding this. His saying: (And they say to themselves), meaning among themselves. It is permissible to keep it to its literal meaning: (Why does Allah not punish us for what we say?), meaning: Why does Allah not punish us because of this if Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) were a Prophet? That is, if he were a Prophet, Allah would have punished us because of what we say. The interpretation of "the greeting" is more consistent with the first [view], because an'imu sabahan is a prayer for good, and turning away from the greeting of Islam—with which Allah greeted His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and which is pointed to by His saying: (Peace be upon the Messengers) and (Peace be upon His servants whom He has chosen)—is significant. What has come in the Tashahhud, "Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings," does not contain much sin that would warrant worldly punishment such that they would say this [only] if they were not punished. Unless it is coupled with the fact that they intended by it to belittle [him] and to announce their lack of concern. Perhaps the one who said this were the hypocrites among the polytheists, which is more apparent than that the speaker was the Jews. As for the ruling on using this as a greeting today, it is contrary to the Sunnah, and saying that it is merely disliked is not far-fetched. In Tuhfat al-Muhtaj, it is stated that someone who initiates a greeting like "May Allah make your morning good" or "May Allah strengthen you" is not entitled to a response, though praying for him in return is good, unless one intends by neglecting him to discipline him for abandoning the Sunnah of the greeting of Salam. An'imu sabahan is like "May Allah make your morning good"; the most that can be said is that it is a prayer that was used in the Jahiliyyah. Yes, their greeting him with it in the manner they intended is forbidden without dispute.
(Hell is sufficient for them) as a punishment, (they will enter it), meaning they will enter it, endure its heat, or be scorched by it.
(And wretched is the destination)
(meaning Hell).
