Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:62

(They swear by Allah to you to please you) The address is to the believers. The hypocrites used to speak in a manner that was unseemly, then they would come to them, offer apologies, and confirm their excuses with oaths so that they might excuse them and be pleased with them. Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Qatadah that he said: It was mentioned to us that a man among the hypocrites said, "By Allah, these are the best and most noble among us; and if what Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) says is true, they are worse than donkeys." A Muslim man overheard this and said, "By Allah, what Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) says is true, and you are indeed worse than a donkey." The man then went to the Prophet of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and informed him. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) sent for the hypocrite and summoned him, asking, "What drove you to say what you said?" The man began swearing by Allah and denying that he had said it, while the Muslim man kept saying, "O Allah, confirm the truthful one and belie the liar." Thereupon, Allah, glory be to Him, revealed concerning this: (They swear)... meaning: they swear to you that they did not say what was reported of them, which would cause annoyance to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), so that they might please you thereby.

According to Muqatil and al-Kalbi, it was revealed regarding a group of hypocrites who stayed behind from the expedition of Tabuk. When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) returned from it, they came to the believers to excuse their absence, making excuses and swearing oaths.

Some have rejected this, restricting the interpretation to the first account, perhaps finding it more appropriate to the context. The reason only their attempt to please the believers is mentioned as the cause, even though their primary goal was to please the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), is to indicate that such swearing is far from being a valid means to please him. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) refrained from calling them liars only out of gentleness toward them and to veil their faults, not out of satisfaction with their deeds or inner acceptance of what they said.

(While Allah and His Messenger are more worthy that they should please Him) That is, more worthy of being pleased than others. This can only be achieved through obedience, adherence to His commands, and the fulfillment of the rights of the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) regarding reverence and glorification, both in his presence and absence. As for oaths, they are only accepted by those whose means of knowledge is limited to outward reports until the truth comes and falsehood vanishes. The sentence is in the position of a circumstantial clause (hal) regarding the pronoun in (they swear). The intent is to rebuke them for occupying themselves with what does not concern them and turning away from what truly matters and benefits them.

The singular pronoun in (please Him) — despite the appearance of a dual form being required after the conjunction 'and' — is used because pleasing the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) cannot be separated from pleasing Allah, as in the verse: "Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah." Due to this interdependence, they are treated as one entity, hence the singular pronoun returns to both. Alternatively, the pronoun is borrowed for the demonstrative noun which indicates the singular and plural by interpreting the referent as "what was mentioned."

It was not dualized out of etiquette, so as not to combine Allah, Exalted be He, and another in a dual pronoun—a matter concerning which there is scholarly discussion—or perhaps it returns to His Messenger, and the speech consists of two sentences where the predicate of the first is omitted due to the predicate of the second indicating it, as in the saying: "We are satisfied with what we have, and you are satisfied with what you have" (where the first predicate is implied). There is a difference of opinion: Sibawayh chose the first structure in such cases due to the proximity of what the mentioned predicate applies to, while avoiding the separation between the subject and the predicate. Al-Mubarrad chose the second due to the precedence of the mention.

It is also said that the pronoun is for the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the predicate applies only to him, with no omission in the speech, because the context is about the annoyance and pleasing of the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace); thus, the mention of Allah is for the exaltation of the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and as an introduction. Therefore, the predicate was not attributed to Him, and it was restricted to the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Its counterpart is the verse: "And when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them..." It is not hidden that considering the predicate for the conjoined element while ignoring a predicate for the primary subject—despite it being the initiator of the sentence—is highly strange, and the difference between the two verses is as clear as the sun.

(If they are believers) The response to the conditional clause is omitted, indicated by what precedes it: "If they are believers"—a true faith in both appearance and inward reality—"then let them please Allah and His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)" through what has been mentioned, for they are more worthy of being pleased. Do they not know?