The Hypocrites: (7-8) They are the ones who say...

Allah, the Exalted, informed us of the ugliness of their saying: {They are the ones who say...}

...and so on.

{...and disperse} (or scatter). A variant reading is {until they disperse} (from anfaḍa al-qawm when their provisions run out).

The commentators narrated that the hired servant of Umar argued with the hired servant of 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy during one of the battles. The servant of Umar spoke harshly to 'Abdullah ibn Ubayy, who became angry while surrounded by some of his people. 'Abdullah said: "By Allah, if we return to Medina, the more honorable will surely expel the more abject from it," meaning by the "more honorable" himself, and by the "more abject" the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Then he turned to his people and said: "If you withhold sustenance from these [the Emigrants], they will soon leave your homes and lands, so do not spend on them until they disperse from around Muhammad." And so, this verse was revealed.

A variant reading for {li-yukhrijanna} is with an open yā’ (li-yukhrijanna). Al-Hasan and Ibn Abi 'Aylah read: {la-nukhrijanna} (with nūn), and they read al-a'azz and al-adhall with the accusative case.

And His saying, the Exalted: {And to Allah belong the treasuries of the heavens and the earth}. Muqatil said: This means the keys to sustenance, rain, and vegetation. The meaning is that Allah is the Provider: {Say, "Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth?"} (Jonah: 31). The scholars of meaning said: The treasuries of Allah, the Exalted, are His omnipotence, as they contain everything He wills to bring forth. Al-Junayd said: The treasuries of Allah in the heavens are the unseen matters (al-ghuyūb), and in the earth are the hearts. He is the Knower of all unseen things and the Turner of hearts.

And His saying, the Exalted: {but the hypocrites do not comprehend}. Meaning, they do not comprehend that: {His command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, "Be," and it is} (Ya-Sin: 82).

And their saying: {If we return}—meaning from that expedition (the Battle of Banu al-Mustaliq) to Medina—Allah responded to him and said: {but to Allah belongs all honor (al-'Izzah)}, meaning victory and power, and to whomever Allah honors and supports—His Messenger and the believers—and He honors them by His support and by making His religion prevail over all other religions. He informed His Messenger of this, but the hypocrites do not know this; if they knew it, they would not have uttered these words.

The author of Al-Kashshāf said: {And to Allah belongs all honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers}. They are the ones most deserving of this, just as humiliation and disgrace belong to Satan and his followers—the disbelievers and the hypocrites.

It is narrated from some pious women, who were in humble circumstances: "Am I not upon Islam, which is the honor that has no humiliation with it, and the wealth that has no poverty with it?"

It is narrated from Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a man said to him: "People claim that you possess arrogance (tīh)." He replied: "It is not arrogance, but rather honor ('Izzah), for this is the honor that has no humiliation with it, and the wealth that has no poverty with it," and he recited this verse.

Some Gnostics commented on the essence of this meaning: Honor ('Izzah) is not arrogance (kibr), and it is not permissible for a believer to humiliate himself. Honor is a person's knowledge of his true self and his honoring it from being placed for fleeting worldly gains. Arrogance, however, is a person's ignorance of himself and placing himself above his true station. Thus, honor resembles arrogance in form but differs in reality, just as humility resembles baseness (ḍi'ah): humility is praiseworthy, while baseness is blameworthy; arrogance is blameworthy, while honor is praiseworthy. Since honor is not blameworthy yet resembles arrogance, Allah said: {That is because you used to rejoice in the earth unjustly}. This also contains a subtle indication establishing honor through truth (al-haqq) and maintaining the limit of humility without deviating into baseness—this is standing on the path of honor established over the fire of arrogance.

If it is asked: Why did the verse use {do not comprehend} (lā yafqahūn) in the first instance, and {do not know} (lā ya'lamūn) in the second? We reply: The first indicates their lack of astuteness and understanding (kiyāsah), while the second indicates their abundance of foolishness and ignorance. Yafqahūn (comprehend) is derived from fiqh (understanding), just as ya'lamūn (know) is derived from ilm (knowledge). Yafqahūn implies understanding that requires effort (takalluf), whereas ya'lamūn does not require effort. Therefore, the first is acquired through effort (remedial), and the second is innate (natural disposition).

Then Allah, the Exalted, said:

! 7 < { O you who have believed, let not your wealth and your children divert you from remembrance of Allah. And whoever does that - then those are the losers. * And spend from what We have provided for you before death comes to one of you and he says, "My Lord, if only You would delay me for a short term so that I might give charity and become of the righteous." * But never will Allah delay a soul when its term has come. And Allah is Acquainted with what you do.) > 7 !

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