| An-Nisa (The Women): (72-73) And verily, there is among you one who...

Issues Discussed:

It must refer to the believers mentioned previously (e.g., "O you who have believed, take your precautions..."). There are two main opinions regarding who this refers to:

Opinion 1: It refers to the Hypocrites (Munāfiqūn).

• Objection: If the one who hinders others ({li-yubatti'a}) is a hypocrite, how can a hypocrite be included in the address to the believers ({And verily, there is among you})?
• Responses:
  1. God includes the hypocrite among the believers in terms of lineage, kinship, and association.
  2. God includes them among the believers outwardly, as they outwardly resembled the people of faith.
  3. It is as if God is saying: "O you who claim faith," similar to the verse, "And they say, 'O you to whom the Reminder was sent down...'" (Al-Hijr: 6).

Opinion 2: It refers to the weak believers. This is the choice of a group of exegetes.

• They state that tabatti' (hindering) also means ibtā' (being slow/lagging). The emphasis (through repetition/form) indicates the action originates from them.
• Linguistically, Arabs say, "What made you slow/lag behind us, O so-and-so?" The inclusion of the preposition bā' suggests the verb is intransitive in this context.
• Meaning: Some among them lag behind this objective (Jihad) and are sluggish in it. If the Muslims are victorious, they wish they were with them to take the spoils. If a calamity befalls the Muslims, they are pleased that they stayed behind.
• This aligns with God's statement about them: "O you who have believed, what is [the matter] with you that when you are told, 'Go forth in the cause of Allah,' you become heavy toward the earth?" (referencing the context of the weak believers).
• Evidence for this interpretation: God recounts their statement upon victory: "O, I wish I had been with them and attained a great attainment." If the meaning were hindering others, this statement would be meaningless.
• Critique by Al-Qadi (Al-Fāriḍī): This view is flawed because God recounts that when a calamity befalls the believers, these individuals say: "Allah has conferred favor upon me, in that I was not with them as a witness." They consider their sitting out the fight a favor from God. Such speech is fitting for hypocrites, not believers. Furthermore, it is not fitting for believers to be told: "As if there had never been between you and him [the Prophet] any affection." Therefore, it cannot apply to believers; it must apply to the hypocrites.
• Reconciliation: If the meaning is interpreted as lagging/sluggishness, it fits the hypocrites, as they lagged behind Jihad and were not eager for it. If it means hindering others, it also fits them, as they used various deceptions to discourage many believers. Thus, both descriptions apply to the hypocrites. Most exegetes favor the meaning of hindering others, perhaps distinguishing between abta'a (to cause delay, transitive) and bata'a (to be slow, intransitive), similar to the distinction between aḥabba and ḥabba.

Al-Zajjāj said that the particle man (who) in {li-man la-yubatti'a} is connected to the circumstantial clause, as if the statement were, "If this were your speech, you would say: Verily, there is among you one who swore by God to hinder others."

Then God states: {And if a calamity befalls you}—meaning death, defeat, or hardship in livelihood—[he says] "I was not a witness present with them, so that the affliction and severity that struck them might strike me."

{And if a favor from Allah befalls you}—meaning victory and spoils—[he says] {As if there had never been between you and him any affection. O, I wish I had been with them, so I would have attained a great attainment!}

Sub-Issue 1: Reading of {k'anna}

Ibn Kathir and Ḥafṣ (from 'Āṣim) read it as {k'anna} (with a tā' dotted from above), referring to affection (mawaddah). The rest read it as {k'ayna} (with a yā'), due to the preceding verb.

• Al-Wāḥidī noted that both readings are attested in the Qur'an. He cites: "A warning has come to you from your Lord" (Yūnus: 57) and "So whoever receives an admonition from his Lord" (Al-Baqarah: 275). Feminine is the default, while masculine is acceptable when the femininity is not real, especially when a separation occurs between the verb and the subject.

Sub-Issue 2: Reading of {li-yaqūlan}

Al-Ḥasan read {li-yaqūlan} (with a ḍammah on the lām), returning the pronoun to the meaning of man (since {li-man la-yubatti'a} implies a group).

• This reading is weak because although man implies a group in meaning, it is singular in form. The singular aspect is reinforced by his subsequent statement: {He said, "Allah has conferred favor upon me..."} (72) and his statement: {O, I wish I had been with them and attained a great attainment}.

Sub-Issue 3: The Interruption {As if there had never been between you and him any affection}

Someone might ask: If the structure were simply: "And if a favor from Allah befalls you, he would say, 'O, I wish I had been with them and attained a great attainment,'" the composition would be perfectly sound. Why is the phrase {As if there had never been between you and him any affection} inserted in the middle?

• Answer: It is an interruption (i'tirāḍ) that is exquisitely beautiful.
• Explanation: God recounts that when the Muslims suffer a setback, this hypocrite shows extreme joy because he stayed behind. If they gain spoils and victory, he shows intense grief over the lost spoils. Such behavior is only exhibited toward a foreign enemy. A person who loves someone rejoices in their joy and grieves in their sorrow. When this pattern is reversed, it demonstrates enmity.
• Application: Having established this premise, God recounts the hypocrite's joy during the Muslims' setback. Then, He intends to recount his sorrow upon the Muslims' victory due to the missed spoils. Before completing this statement, He inserts: {As if there had never been between you and him any affection}.
• Meaning: This is an expression of astonishment. It is as if God is saying: "Look at what this hypocrite says! As if there was no affection or association between you (the believers) and him at all." This is the intended meaning. Although it is an inserted parenthetical statement, it is exceptionally eloquent.