Al-Fath (The Victory): (15) The Stay-at-homes will say...

Then the Almighty said: {The stay-at-homes will say, when you set out to take spoils, "Let us follow you."}

Allah clarified their falsehood by pointing out that when the journey was towards expected spoils, they would say of their own accord, {“Let us follow you.”} If their wealth and families preoccupied them on the day you called them to the people of Mecca, why were they not preoccupied with their wealth on the day of the spoils?

The intended spoils here refer to the spoils of Khaybar. The Muslims conquered it, and only those who were with the Prophet in Medina participated. In the phrase {The stay-at-homes will say}, there is a promise of spoils for the covenant-abiding ones and deprivation for the dissenting stay-at-homes.

And the Almighty's saying: {They wish to change the word of Allah. Say, "You will never follow us; thus has Allah said before."}

This has several possible interpretations:

1. The First Interpretation (Most Common): What Allah meant is what He stated: the spoils of Khaybar belong only to those who witnessed the Pledge of Hudaybiyyah and made the covenant with the Prophet. This is the most common view among the exegetes, and it seems more apparent given the subsequent phrase: {thus has Allah said before}.

2. The Second Interpretation: They wish to change the word of Allah, which is His statement: {and Allah has incurred His wrath upon them} (48:6). This is because if they had followed the Prophet, they would have been included under the ruling of the Pledge of the Tree (Bay'at al-Ridwan), promised the spoils, and thus would have been among those whom Allah was pleased with, as He said: {Allah was certainly pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you under the tree} (48:18). Consequently, they would not be among those upon whom Allah incurred His wrath, which would necessitate changing the word of Allah.

3. The Third Interpretation: When these people stayed behind, Allah informed the Prophet (PBUH) of their inner state (hypocrisy) and that He intended to punish them. Allah told the Prophet: {Say, "Never will you go out with me, nor will you ever fight an enemy with me"} (9:83). They wished to change this word by going out with him.

• Objection: Isn't the verse you mentioned related to the expedition of Tabuk, not this incident?
  • Response: We say that the meaning is present here through the phrase {You will never follow us} (لن تتبعونا), which is in the future negative form, instead of the prohibitive form (لا تتبعونا). There is a subtle point here: the Prophet (PBUH) based his statement on Allah’s prior notification about them, affirming its certainty and truthfulness. Thus, he stated definitively: {You will never follow us}, meaning: even if I permitted you, or if you desired and chose to, it would not happen because Allah has informed [that it will not happen].

Then the Almighty said: {They will say, "Rather, you envy us."}

This is a rebuttal to Allah’s statement: {thus has Allah said before}. It is as if they said: Allah did not say that before; rather, you envy us. The particle bal (rather) indicates a diversion, and the subject being diverted from is omitted in both instances. Here, it is understood as: "Allah did not say that, but rather you envy us."

• If it is asked: What was the basis for their envy, in their belief?
• We reply: It is as if they were saying: We were correct in not going out, as we returned from Hudaybiyyah without achieving anything, and we rested. If we go out with them now and there are spoils, they will say: They gained spoils with us without exerting the effort we did.

Then the Almighty responded to them, just as they responded: {Rather, they understood little, except a little.} Meaning, they only understood the superficial prohibition in the statement "Do not go out," and they grasped little of its underlying wisdom, so they attributed it to what they desired and justified it with envy.

{ Say to the stay-at-home Arabs of the desert, "You will soon be called to fight a people of great martial might. You will fight them or they will submit. If you obey, Allah will give you a good reward. But if you turn away, as you turned away before, He will punish you with a painful punishment." }