Tafsir of Al-Munafiqun 63:5

"And when it is said to them, 'Come, the Messenger of Allah will ask forgiveness for you,' they turn their heads" — meaning they incline them. This is a metonymy for arrogance and turning away, according to what has been said. It is also said: it is in its literal sense, meaning they moved them in mockery. Ibn al-Mundhir recorded this from Ibn Jurayj.

"And you see them turning away" — shunning the speaker or shunning the seeking of forgiveness.

"While they are arrogant" — regarding that [act].

It is narrated that when Allah the Exalted verified the truthfulness of Zayd ibn Arqam in what he reported concerning Ibn Ubayy, the people detested Ibn Ubayy, and the believers among his people blamed him. Some of them said to him: "Go to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), confess your sin, and he will ask forgiveness for you." He turned his head away in denial of this opinion and said to them: "You signaled me to believe, so I believed; and you signaled me to pay the zakat of my wealth, so I did; and nothing remains for you except to order me to prostrate to Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)."

In a hadith recorded by 'Abd ibn Humayd and Ibn Abi Hatim from Ibn Jubayr, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said to him: "Repent," and he began turning his head away. Thus, Allah the Exalted revealed: "And when it is said to them..." etc. In a hadith recorded by Imam Ahmad, the two Shaykhs [Bukhari and Muslim], al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and others, it is narrated from Zayd, after recounting the story, that he said: "Until Allah the Exalted revealed my validation in [the Surah]: 'When the hypocrites come to you...' [the text states]: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) summoned them so that he might ask forgiveness for them, but they turned their heads away."

The plural pronoun is used either based on its apparent meaning or following the usage of [the idiom] "The tribe of Tamim killed such-and-such." The "when" (idha) is as previously discussed. "Will ask forgiveness" (yastaghfira) is jussive as a response to the imperative [command], and "the Messenger of Allah" is its subject. The construction, according to what is in al-Bahr, is a matter of "governance" (al-a'mal), because "the Messenger of Allah" is sought by two governors: "will ask forgiveness" and "come." The second is given governance according to the preferred view of the Basrans. Had the first been given governance, the structure would have been: "Come, [so that] he may ask forgiveness for you, O Messenger of Allah."

The clause "they turn away" (yasudduna) is in the position of a circumstantial state (hal), and it uses the present tense (mudari') to indicate continuous renewal. Similar to it in its circumstantial state is the clause "they are arrogant" (hum mustakbirun). Mujahid, Nafi', the people of Madinah, Abu Haywah, Ibn Abi 'Ablah, al-Mufaddal, Aban from 'Asim, al-Hasan, and Ya'qub (with a different narration from the latter two) read "lawaw" (they turned) with a light waw. The doubling (tashdid) in the reading of the rest of the seven [reciters] is for the sake of intensification.

When He—glory be to Him—denounced their refusal to come so that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) might ask forgiveness for them, and their turning away and arrogance, He—Mighty and Majestic is He—pointed to the lack of benefit in seeking forgiveness for them due to the evil of their disposition and choice, by His saying: [The following verse].