Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:90

This begins the exposition of the states of the hypocrites among the Bedouins, following the exposition of the states of the hypocrites of the people of Medina. The mu‘adhdhirūn (excuse-makers) are derived from ‘adhara in a matter when one falls short, lags behind, and fails to exert effort. Its reality is for one to feign that he has an excuse for what he does when he has no excuse. It is also possible that it is derived from i‘tadhara (to offer an excuse); the original being mu‘tadhirūn, then the tā’ was assimilated into the dhāl after shifting its vowel to the ‘ayn. It is permissible to vocalize it with a kasrah due to the meeting of two vowelless letters, or with a damma as a follow-up to the mīm, though neither of these has been recited. Ya‘qūb recited it as mu‘dhirūn (with a light dhāl), and this is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās—may Allah be pleased with them both—meaning one who possesses a genuine excuse (a‘dhara). It is also narrated from Maslamah that he recited mu‘adhdhirūn with a shaddah on the ‘ayn and the dhāl, from ta‘adhdhara, in the sense of i‘tadhara (to offer an excuse).

Abū Ḥayyān critiqued this, saying: This recitation is either an error by the reciter or against him, because it is not permissible to assimilate the tā’ into the ‘ayn due to their opposition (in articulation). As for treating opposition as if it were conformity, no grammarian or reciter has ever stated such a thing, and preoccupation with the like of it is a flaw. Furthermore, these who came are liars according to the first of the two possibilities of the first recitation. It is possible they were liars, and it is possible they were truthful according to the second possibility, as well as according to the final recitation, and truthful according to the second recitation.

There is disagreement regarding who is meant by them. Al-Ḍaḥḥāk said they were the kin of ‘Āmir ibn al-Ṭufayl, who came to the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and said: "O Prophet of Allah, if we go out to battle with you, the tribe of Ṭayy will raid our families and our livestock." The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: "Allah has already informed me of your news, and Allah the Almighty will dispense with you." It is also said that they were the tribes of Asad and Ghaṭafān, who sought permission to lag behind, excusing themselves due to hardship and large families. Abū al-Shaykh extracted from Ibn Isḥāq that he said: It was mentioned to me that they were a group from the Banū Ghifār. Ibn Abī Ḥātim extracted from Ibn ‘Abbās—may Allah be pleased with them both—that they were people with a valid excuse, though he did not specify who they were.

From what we have mentioned, it is known that there is disagreement as to whether these who came were truthful in their excuses or not. According to the view of their truthfulness, the intended meaning of the relative pronoun (alladhīna) in His saying—the Almighty—{ And those who lied to Allah and His Messenger sat back } refers to others, who were also people from the Bedouin hypocrites, whereas the first group possessed no hypocrisy. According to the view of their lying, it refers to the first group, and the deviation from the pronominal to the explicit noun is to rebuke them via the title of the relative clause. The lie on the part of the first group is by claiming faith, and on the part of the second group, by fabricating excuses. Perhaps the "sitting back" is also different. Ubayy recited { kadhdhabū } (they lied) with a shaddah.

{ A painful punishment will strike those among them who disbelieved }—that is, among the Bedouins in general, meaning their hypocrites, or from those who offered excuses. The reasoning for this partiality is that among them were some who excused themselves due to laziness, not due to disbelief; meaning: it will strike those who excused themselves because of their disbelief with a { painful punishment }. This is the punishment of the Fire in the Hereafter. This does not contradict the fact that one who lagged behind out of laziness deserves it according to us, because we do not subscribe to the concept of mafhūm (implication of silence). As for those who do subscribe to it, they interpreted the painful punishment as the totality of killing and the Fire; the former is excluded in the case of the believer who lags out of laziness, thus the totality is negated. It is also said that the intended meaning of the relative pronoun is those who persisted in disbelief.