Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:61

"And among them are those who harm the Prophet and say, 'He is an ear (Udhun).'"

Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from as-Suddi that this was revealed regarding a group of hypocrites, among them al-Hallas ibn Suwayd ibn Samit, Rifa'ah ibn al-Mundhir, Wadi'ah ibn Thabit, and others. They spoke things about him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that were not appropriate. One of them said: "Do not do this, for we fear that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) will hear what you are saying and take us to task." Al-Hallas replied: "Rather, we say whatever we wish, then we come to him and he will believe us in what we say, for Muhammad is an Udhun (ear)—in another narration: 'an attentive ear.'"

From Muhammad ibn Ishaq it is narrated that it was revealed regarding a hypocrite named Nabtal ibn al-Harith. He was a man with ruddy skin, red eyes, and dark cheeks, disfigured in appearance. He would report the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to the hypocrites. It was said to him: "Do not do this." He replied: "Muhammad is merely an ear; whoever tells him anything, he believes it. We say something, then we go to him and swear to him, and he believes us." He is the one of whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever wishes to look at Satan, let him look at Nabtal ibn al-Harith."

By their saying "an ear" (Udhun), may Allah blacken their faces, deafen them, and blind their sight, they meant that he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) hears what is said to him and believes it. Thus, the description "ear" in their speech acts as an unveiling of this intended meaning. Originally, it is the name of the organ; however, its application to a person in the aforementioned sense is—as supported by some narrations—a type of Majaz Mursal (synecdoche), as in al-Miftah, similar to the application of "eye" to mean a scout (rabi'ah) of a people, as the eye is the intended part of him.

More than one authority has stated that this is the application of a part to designate the whole for the sake of hyperbole, as in the verse: "If Layla appears, then all of me is eyes, and if she speaks to me, then all of me is ears."

It is said that it is a Majaz 'Aqli (rational trope), like "a man of justice" (rajul 'adl), but this is debatable. The hyperbole here—as has been said—is that he hears every statement with the implication that he believes it, not merely in the act of hearing. What has been said, that their intent in him being an "ear" is his belief in everything he hears without distinguishing between what is worthy of acceptance—due to accompanying signs of truth—and what is not, does not fall under the category of "eye" for a scout. Therefore, some have classified it as a simile for an ear in the sense that he possesses no discernment between truth and falsehood beyond the act of listening; this is not a view of any weight.

It is said: "It is on the estimation of a hidden addition, i.e., dhu udhun (possessor of an ear)." It is not hidden that this is a refined position. It is permissible that Udhun is a Sifah Mushabbahah (adjective) derived from adhina-ya'dhunu-idhnan (he listened). Al-Jawhari cited the poetry of Qa'nab: "If they hear suspicion, they fly with it in joy, but what they hear of goodness, they bury. They are deaf if they hear something good, but if evil is mentioned, they have ears." According to this, it is an adjective meaning "one who listens" (sami'), and there is no metaphor here.

What the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was harmed by may be the other false things they said about him, making the Almighty's saying "and they say..." a separate occurrence from that which caused him harm. It is also possible that it refers to their saying "He is an ear" itself, making it an explanatory apposition. Yu'dhuna is the imperfect tense of adhahu (he harmed him). The well-known verbal noun is adhah and adhah and adhiyyah; the form i'dha also occurs, as affirmed by al-Raghib. The author of al-Qamus saying "do not say i'dha" is an error on his part.

"Say, 'An ear of good for you'"

This is of the category "a man of truth" (rajul sidq), being the addition of the described to the attribute for the sake of hyperbole in goodness and righteousness. It is as if it were said: "Yes, he is an ear, but he is an excellent ear." It is also permissible for the genitive construction to denote "in"—i.e., he is an ear regarding goodness and truth, and in what must be heard and accepted, but not an ear regarding anything else. This is supported by the reading of Hamzah (and mercy) in the coming verse with the genitive case (jar), as a conjunction to "good," for it is not appropriate to describe "ear" as "mercy," but it is appropriate to say "an ear for goodness and mercy." As Ibn al-Munir said, this is the most eloquent style in refuting them, because it involves tempting them with agreement on their claim, then striking them by cutting off their greed and shattering their wishful thinking. It is like a "compelling statement" (qawl al-mujib).

Nafi' read it as udhun (with a light dhal) in both places. Others read it as udhun (with tanwin), where khayr is an attribute to it, meaning "better" (in the sense of the intensified form), or a superlative, or a verbal noun used as an attribute for hyperbole, or by the well-known interpretation.

The Almighty's saying: "He believes in Allah" is an explanation for his (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) being an "ear of good" for them—that is, he believes in Allah the Almighty due to the proofs and signs he possesses that necessitate it. The fact that this is an attribute of good for the addresses, just as it is good for the worlds, is not hidden. "And believes the believers"—meaning he believes them because of the sincerity he knows in them.

It is apparent that this falls under the interpretation, though most exegetes did not clarify how it is an attribute of good for the addresses. Indeed, our master ash-Shihab said: "The meaning is that he is an 'ear of good'; he hears the signs of Allah the Almighty and His proofs and believes them, and he hears the speech of the believers and submits to them and believes them in it." This is an insinuation that the hypocrites are an "ear of evil"; they hear the signs of Allah the Almighty but do not benefit from them, and they hear the speech of the believers but do not accept it. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) does not hear their speech except out of compassion for them, not because he accepts it due to an inability to discern, as they falsely claimed. Thus, the aspect of interpretation is sound. Consider this.

It is not hidden that intending this meaning from this amount of the verse is far-fetched. It may be said that the intent is that he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) hears the speech of the sincere believers and believes them, but does not believe the hypocrites even if he hears their speech. The fact that this is an attribute of good for the addressees is either because it may lead to their sincerity—since their rank is lower than the rank of the sincere—or because his (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) belief in the sincere believers regarding what they say of truth is among the completions of his belief in the signs of Allah the Almighty. There is no doubt in the goodness of that for the addressees, and indeed for others as well. Understand this.

Faith (Iman) in the Almighty's saying: "He believes in Allah" means acknowledgement and conviction, as we indicated, which is why it is connected with the preposition bi (in). As for his saying: "And he believes the believers" (yu'minu lil-mu'minin), it means he places them in a state of safety (amān) from being denied; the lam is added for strengthening, for with that meaning, the verb is transitive on its own. This is what was said.

Al-Zamakhshari said: "He intended for 'faith' in the first instance the conviction in Allah, which is the opposite of disbelief, so he used the preposition bi (with which 'disbelief' is also constructed) to treat the opposite as the opposite. He intended for 'faith' in the second instance listening to the believers and submitting to what they say, and believing them because they are truthful in his view, so he used the lam. Do you not see the Almighty's saying: 'And you will not believe us' (mu'minun lana)—where faith is constructed with lam because it means submission to them. It is apparent from this that the lam is not added for strengthening as in the first."

The Almighty's saying: "And a mercy" is a conjunction to "an ear of good"—that is, "and he is a mercy." It contains the reporting of the verbal noun. The Almighty's saying: "for those who believe among you"—meaning those who displayed faith, for he accepts it from them—not by affirming them in that (their state of belief), but out of gentleness and compassion for them, and he does not expose their secrets or tear their veils.

The apparent meaning of al-Khazin's words is that the intent of "from those who believe" is the sincere ones, and "among you" is mentioned considering that the hypocrites claimed to be believers. The truth is to carry this upon the hypocrites, and to attribute faith to them in the verb form—after attributing it to the sincere believers in the active participle form—denotes firmness and continuity, to signal that their faith is an accidental matter that has no foundation. Perhaps the shift from "a mercy to you" to what was mentioned is to point to that.

Ibn Abi 'Ablah read "mercy" in the accusative case (nasb) as a maf'ul lahu (causative object) for a hidden verb indicated by "an ear of good," i.e., "he listens for you and hears as a mercy." It is permissible for it to be a conjunction to a hidden end, i.e., "believing them and a mercy to you."

"And those who harm the Messenger of Allah"—meaning by any kind of harm. The use of the future tense form, signaling that the threat is contingent upon the continuation of what they are doing, is an indication that their repentance is acceptable.

"For them is a painful punishment"—that is, because of that, as the grounding of the judgment on the relative pronoun (al-ladhina) suggests. The relative clause and its predicate are set forth from the Almighty on the path of threatening, not included under the address. The repetition of the attribution by establishing the painful punishment for them, then making the sentence a predicate, involves a clear hyperbole. His (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) being mentioned with the title of "Messengership" along with the addition to the Majestic Name is for the sake of utmost exaltation, and to alert that harming him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) returns to His Majesty, causing the perfection of the wrath and anger of the Almighty. Some have mentioned that harm is not restricted to his lifetime, but occurs after his death as well, and they counted among that the speaking of his parents (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with things that are not appropriate, and similarly harming the members of his household (may Allah be pleased with them)—such as the harming of Yazid to them beyond what they deserve. This is not far-fetched.