Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:77

(So He caused hypocrisy to follow) i.e., Allah, the Exalted, made the consequence of their action (hypocrisy), meaning an evil creed and hidden disbelief, (in their hearts until the day they meet Him), i.e., Allah, the Exalted. The intended meaning of "that day" is the time of death. The hidden pronoun in "caused to follow" refers to Allah, the Exalted, as does the pronoun in the object position in "meet Him." The phrasing involves an omitted genitive addition (idafa). Hypocrisy here intends some, not all, of its meaning—the external manifestation of Islam and the inward concealment of disbelief—which is not the intended meaning in full, as we have indicated.

Al-Zamakhshari narrated from al-Hasan and Qatadah that the first pronoun refers back to "stinginess," which is contrary to the apparent meaning. Indeed, some researchers have stated: The verse (because they broke the promise they made to Allah and because they were lying) rejects this. For if we were to say "stinginess caused them hypocrisy because of their breaking of promises, etc.," it would hold little meaning. Furthermore, it is not conceivable, as has been said, to attribute the cause of hypocrisy first to stinginess and then to two other things without a conjunction. Do you not see that if you were to say, "His knowledge caused me to honor Zayd because he is brave and generous," it would be flawed; you would instead have to say, "His knowledge, bravery, and generosity caused me to honor Zayd."

The Imam said: Furthermore, the ultimate end of stinginess is the omission of some obligations, which does not necessitate the occurrence of hypocrisy—which is disbelief and ignorance in the heart—as is the case with many sinners. The fact that this specific stinginess leads to hypocrisy and disbelief due to its inherent lack of obedience to Allah and His Messenger—peace and blessings be upon him—and the breaking of His promise, as is said, does not imply preferential validity, but rather mere correctness, and perhaps that is not denied. Al-Zamakhshari’s preference was driven by a Mu'tazilite tendency: that the Exalted does not decree hypocrisy or create it, based on his rule of "beautification and repulsion" (al-tahsin wa al-taqbih).

It is permissible that the object pronoun also refers to stinginess, and the "day" refers to the Day of Resurrection, with an omitted genitive: "they meet the recompense of it," and "ma" (in "what they promised") is an infinitive particle.

The combination of the past and present tense forms is to signal continuity; i.e., because of their breaking the promise they made to Allah regarding charity and righteousness, and because of their persistence in lying in all statements, among which is the aforementioned promise. It has been said: The meaning is their lying in what the breaking of the promise entailed. For a promise, although it is an initiation of an act, contains a report; thus, when it is broken, it is ugly from two aspects: the breaking and the implicit lying. There is a critique of this, as restricting lying to that would strip the combination of the two tenses of its merit.

The verse has encompassed two traits of the hypocrites. The Two Shaykhs and others narrated from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—that he said: "The signs of the hypocrite are three: when he speaks, he lies; when he promises, he breaks it; and when he is entrusted, he betrays." From the authentic collections, another sign is added for him: "When he disputes, he acts immorally (fajara)."

This is considered problematic because these traits may be found in a Muslim in whom there is no doubt or suspicion; indeed, many of our scholars today are characterized by most or all of them. The answer is that the meaning is that these traits are "traits of hypocrisy," and their possessor resembles the hypocrites in adopting them. The intent of his—peace and blessings be upon him—saying, according to some authentic narrations, "Four traits, whoever possesses them is a pure hypocrite," is that he is highly similar to the hypocrites, not that he is a hypocrite in reality.

It is also said: The reports on this subject concern only those for whom these traits are dominant, who are indifferent to them, and who feel no remorse for committing them; for such a person, it is not far-fetched that he is a hypocrite in reality.

It is also said: It refers to the hypocrites who were present in the time of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—for they spoke in their oaths and lied, were entrusted with their religion and betrayed, promised to support the truth and broke it, and disputed and acted immorally. This has been narrated from Ibn Abbas and Ibn Umar, and it is the view of Sa'id ibn Jubayr and 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah; al-Hasan also returned to this view after having held the contrary. Judge 'Iyad said: Most of our Imams leaned toward this.

It is also said: This was regarding a specific man, and it is framed like his—peace and blessings be upon him—saying: "What is the matter with some people who do such and such?" regarding specific individuals; his nobility—peace and blessings be upon him—prevented him from confronting them with explicit speech. Al-Khattabi narrated from some that the intent of these reports is to warn the Muslim against accustoming himself to these traits, and this perhaps returns to the first response.

In sum, it is obligatory for the believer to avoid these traits, for they are at the height of ugliness in the estimation of those of perfection.

(They lie) was read with a stressed 'dhal' (yudhathibun).