Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:101

This initiates the explanation concerning the hypocrites of the people of Medina and the Bedouins surrounding it, following the explanation of the condition of the desert dwellers among them. It means: "And among those who are around your city, there are hypocrites."

The intended meaning of the relative pronoun, as Ibn al-Mundhir recorded from Ikrimah, is: Juhaynah, Muzaynah, Ashja', Aslam, and Ghifar. Their dwellings were around Medina. A group of exegetes, such as al-Baghawi, al-Wahidi, Ibn al-Jawzi, and others, held this view. This was contested on the grounds that the Prophet ﷺ praised these tribes and prayed for some of them. The two Shaykhs and others recorded from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet ﷺ, that he said: "Quraysh, the Ansar, Juhaynah, Muzaynah, Ashja', Aslam, and Ghifar are the allies (mawālī) of Allah, Most High, and His Messenger; they have no allies other than Him." It is also narrated from him ﷺ that he said: "Aslam, may Allah grant them peace (sālamahā), and Ghifar, may Allah forgive them (ghafara Allāhu lahā). As for me, I did not say it, but Allah, Most High, said it." The answer to this is that such praise applies to the majority among them.

"...and among the people of Medina..." is a conjunction connected to "among those around you," making it—like the one connected to it—a predicate for "hypocrites." It is as if it were said: "The hypocrites are from the people around you and from the people of Medina." This is the conjunction of a singular noun to another. His statement, the Exalted, "They have persisted in hypocrisy" is an initiating sentence with no grammatical status, brought forth to explain their excess in hypocrisy following the statement of their characterization by it, or it is an adjective for "hypocrites." Abu Hayyan deemed the latter unlikely, as it involves separating an adjective from its noun. He allowed that "and among the people of Medina" could be a fronted predicate, and the subject following it is omitted, its adjective having taken its place. The construction would be: "And among the people of Medina are a people who have persisted..." The omission of a noun and the elevation of its adjective to its position, when the noun is connected to a preposition, is a common and standard rule (e.g., "Among us are those who stood and among us are those who departed"). In other contexts, it is either a necessity or rare, as in the statement of Suhaym: "I am the son of Jala and the raiser of dust... when I remove my turban, you will recognize me," according to one of the interpretations thereof.

The root of marada (persisting/rebellion), as mentioned by Ali ibn Isa, is "smoothness." From this comes sarh mumarrad (a smooth palace), and amrad (a beardless person), and mardā' (sandy ground that grows nothing). Ibn Arafah said: "Its origin is exposure." From this is the saying: "A mardā' tree, when its leaves have fallen and its branches are exposed." In the Qamus: marada—like nasara and karuma—in terms of murūd and murūdah and marādah, means he is mārid, murīd, and mutamarrid (rebellious, obstinate, and defiant). It means to advance or transgress, or that he reaches the extreme limit by which he exits the class to which that category belongs. They interpreted it as habituation and training in an affair until one becomes skilled in it; this is close to what was mentioned in the Qamus regarding reaching the limit. It is almost never used except for evil.

Regarding the two aforementioned interpretations, it encompasses both groups according to the scope of hypocrisy. Regarding the latter interpretation, it is specific to the hypocrites of the people of Medina. This is considered more likely. It has been said: "It is more appropriate to mention the hypocrites of the desert dwellers first, then mention the neighboring Bedouin hypocrites, then mention the hypocrites of the people of Medina." The issue remaining in this view is that it does not clarify the rank of the neighbors in hypocrisy, unlike the view that it includes both groups. Furthermore, it is not hidden that if the persistence in hypocrisy implies severity therein, then their interpretation—preferring the city dwellers in the statement of the Exalted: "The Bedouins are stronger in disbelief and hypocrisy"—becomes problematic. Perhaps the intention is the superiority of the collective, or one must accept that it does not necessitate [severity].

His statement, the Exalted: "You do not know them" is an explanation of their persistence. It means: "You do not know them by the title of their hypocrisy." This means they have attained such skill in hypocrisy and such refinement in observing dissimulation (taqiyyah) and avoiding positions of suspicion, that their state is hidden from you despite your perfection of intelligence and truthfulness of insight. In suspending the negation of knowledge regarding them—even though it pertains to their state—there is an exaggeration, gesturing that the quality of hypocrisy they possess, due to their deep-rootedness and fixity in it, has become akin to their very essences or identifying traits, such that one who does not know them by that quality is not considered to know them at all. There is no need in this meaning to interpret "knowledge" as transitive to two objects and estimating a second object, i.e., "You do not know them as hypocrites." It is said: The meaning is that you do not know them by their individual identities, even if you know them in general. What we have mentioned, due to the exaggeration it contains, is superior. In sum: You do not know their hypocrisy.

"We know them" means: We know them by that title. Attributing knowledge—in the sense of awareness—to Him, the Exalted, is something that should not be paused over, even if those who erred have erred regarding it, especially when it is expressed in the form of mushākalah (concordance). Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) interpreted "knowledge" here as "awareness," as recorded from him by Abu al-Shaykh. Yes, it is not impossible to interpret it in its immediate sense, just as it is not impossible to interpret it as such in the preceding context, but it requires estimation, and the absence of estimation is better than estimation.

The sentence is a confirmation of what preceded regarding their skill in hypocrisy, meaning: "None grasps the secrets deeply rooted within them except He from whom no hidden thing is concealed," due to their intense preoccupation with invalidating disbelief and displaying sincerity. The matter of suspending knowledge here is like the matter of suspending its negation in what passed. The verse is used as evidence that one should not hasten to claim knowledge of hidden matters, such as the actions of the heart and the like. Abd al-Razzaq, Ibn al-Mundhir, and others recorded from Qatadah that he said: "What is the matter with people who burden themselves regarding others, saying, 'So-and-so is in Paradise, and so-and-so is in the Fire'? If you ask one of them about himself, he says, 'I do not know.' By my life, you are more knowledgeable of yourself than you are of the deeds of others! You have indeed burdened yourself with something that no prophet has burdened himself with." Noah (peace be upon him) said: "And what is my knowledge of what they used to do?" Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) said: "And I am not a guardian over you." And Allah, the Exalted, said to Muhammad ﷺ: "You do not know them; We know them." These verses and others like them are the strongest evidence in refuting those who claim unveiling and awareness of the unseen through mere purity of heart and the soul's detachment from distractions. Some are very lax in this chapter.

"We will punish them twice"—it is necessary for the realization of the requisite in their case according to custom— "then they will be returned" on the Day of the Great Resurrection "to a great punishment," which is the punishment of the Fire. The change in style, as has been said, by attributing their previous punishment to the "We" of majesty—as was the attribution of what preceded it regarding knowledge—and attributing their return to the subsequent punishment to themselves, is an indication that they differ in state. The first is specific to them in occurrence and time, which Allah, the Exalted, manages, while the second is for the generality of the disbelievers in occurrence and time, even if the tiers of their punishment differ. It is not hidden that if the "great punishment" is interpreted as the lowest level of the Fire, it would not include the generality of disbelievers. Yes, it includes only the generality of the hypocrites. It may be said that there is, in using the passive voice for "they will be returned" (yuraddūna), an exaltation that corresponds to the "great punishment," hence the construction was changed to it. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.