Al-Qalam (The Pen): (9) They wish that you would compromise (or be pliant)...

Two Issues Here:

The First Issue: Al-Layth said: Idhān (compromise/pliancy) means softness, conciliation, and approaching others gently in speech. Al-Mubarrid said: A man compromises in his religion or compromises in his affair when he betrays it and shows the opposite of what he conceals internally. The meaning is that you abandon some of what you adhere to that displeases them, out of conciliation, so they do likewise, abandoning some of what displeases you. You become pliant to them, and they become pliant to you. It is narrated from ‘Aṭā’ on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbās: "If you were to disbelieve, they would disbelieve."

The Second Issue: The verb {فيدهنون} (so they compromise/are pliant) is in the indicative mood (raised/marfū‘) and is not in the subjunctive (mansūb) by the implied an (that), even though it is the response to the wish (tamanī). This is because the structure has been diverted to another path: making it the predicate of an omitted subject (mubtada’ mahdhūf). The meaning is: "They are compromising" (فهم يدهنون), similar to His saying: {فمن يؤمن بربه فلا يخاف} (And whoever believes in his Lord, he will not fear) (Al-Jinn: 13). In this case, the meaning is: They wish that you would compromise, so they compromise. Sibawayh said: Hārūn, who was among the reciters, claimed that in some Mushafs it was written: (ودوا لو تدهن فيدهنوا) (They wish that you would compromise, so they compromise [subjunctive]).

Know that when the Almighty forbade the Prophet (PBUH) from obeying the deniers, this includes forbidding obedience to all disbelievers. However, He reiterated the prohibition against obeying those disbelievers who are described with reprehensible characteristics beyond mere disbelief. These characteristics are as follows:

The First Characteristic: Being a great swearer (hallāf). A hallāf is one who swears frequently, whether truthfully or falsely. This is sufficient as a warning to one accustomed to swearing, similar to His saying: {ولا تجعلوا الله عرضة لايمانكم} (And do not make Allah an excuse in your oaths) (Al-Baqarah: 224).

The Second Characteristic: Being contemptible/despicable (mahīn). Al-Zajjāj said: It is a fa‘īl form derived from mahānah (contempt). There are two interpretations:

1. Contempt means being insignificant and base in opinion and discernment.
2. He was contemptible because the intended meaning of hallāf here is one who swears falsely. A liar is despicable in the eyes of people.

I say: Being a great swearer indicates that he does not recognize the majesty and glory of Allah. If he recognized that, he would not dare, at every moment and for every falsehood, to invoke Allah’s Name and Attributes. Whoever is not aware of Allah’s greatness and whose heart is attached to worldly pursuits is contemptible. This indicates that self-respect (izzat al-nafs) is only achieved by one who knows himself through servitude (ubūdiyyah), and that its opposite (contempt) only occurs when one is heedless of the secret of servitude.

The Third Characteristic: Being a slanderer/backbiter (hammaz). This means one who finds fault and criticizes. Al-Mubarrid said: He is one who yahmiz (pokes/taunts) people, meaning he mentions things they dislike, and the effect of this is the manifestation of fault. From Al-Hasan: He twists the corners of his mouth against people behind their backs. We have already detailed the discussion on this in the exegesis of {ويل لكل همزة} (Woe to every slanderer) (Al-Humazah: 1).

The Fourth Characteristic: Being a spreader of slander/tale-bearer (mashshā’ binamīm). Meaning he walks around spreading gossip among people to cause corruption between them. It is said: namā yanummu wa yanummu namā wa namīmatan wa namīmah.

The Fifth Characteristic: Being a preventer of good (mannā‘ lil-khayr). There are two opinions regarding this:

1. That it means he is miserly, and "good" refers to wealth.
2. That he used to prevent his family from the good, which is Islam. This verse was revealed concerning Al-Walīd ibn Al-Mughīrah, who had ten sons. He used to tell them and those close to them: "If any of you follows the religion of Muhammad, I will never benefit him with anything." Thus, he prevented them from Islam, and that is the good he withheld. It is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās that it refers to Abū Jahl, from Mujāhid that it refers to Al-Aswad ibn ‘Abd Yaghūth, and from Al-Suddī that it refers to Al-Akhnas ibn Sharīq.

The Sixth Characteristic: Being an aggressor/transgressor (mu‘tadī). Muqātil said: It means he is unjust, exceeding the truth and going beyond it, thus committing oppression. It can be interpreted to encompass all blameworthy morals, meaning he is the extreme in all ugliness and disgrace.

The Seventh Characteristic: Being a great sinner (athīm). This is an intensification of sinfulness.

The Eighth Characteristic: The coarse/rough one (al-‘utull). The sayings of the exegetes regarding this are numerous, summarized into two categories:

1. A condemnation of his physical creation/form.
2. A condemnation of his character/disposition. It is derived from your saying: ‘atalahu (he dragged him) when one leads someone with force and harshness. Hence His saying: {فاعتلوه} (So seize him) (Ad-Dukhān: 47).

As for those who interpreted it as a condemnation of his physical creation: Ibn ‘Abbās, in the narration of ‘Aṭā’, said: It means strong and bulky. Muqātil said: Wide-bellied, thick-set in build. Al-Hasan said: Foul in character, base in soul. ‘Ubaydah ibn ‘Umayr said: He is the gluttonous drinker, strong and severe. Al-Zajjāj said: He is coarse and harsh.

As for those who interpreted it as a condemnation of his character: They said: He is severe in dispute, harsh, and violent.

The Ninth Characteristic: His saying: {zanīm} (of dubious lineage/bastard). There are two issues concerning this:

The First Issue: Opinions on Zanīm

1. Al-Farrā’ said: Al-Zanīm is the adopted one attached to a people but not truly one of them. Ḥassān said:

And you are zanīm, attached to the Banū Hāshim, Like the single arrow attached behind the rider. The zanmah of anything is the addition. A sheep’s ear is zunimat when its ear is split, hangs loose, dries, and remains like something suspended. Thus, the zanīm is the illegitimate child attached to the lineage but not truly belonging to them. Al-Walīd was adopted among Quraysh and not of their essence; he was claimed eighteen nights after his birth. It is also said his mother was unchaste, and this was not known until this verse was revealed. 2. Al-Sha‘bī said: He is the man known for evil and baseness, just as a sheep is known by its zanmah (ear mark). 3. It is narrated from ‘Ikrimah on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbās: The meaning of his being zanīm is that he had a zanmah on his neck by which he was recognized. Muqātil said: There was something like the zanmah of a sheep at the base of his ear.

The Second Issue: The meaning of {ba‘da dhālik} (after that). This means that after enumerating these faults and deficiencies, he is coarse (‘utull) and of dubious lineage (zanīm). This indicates that these two descriptions—being coarse and of dubious lineage—are the most severe of his faults. This is because if he is harsh in temperament, his heart becomes hard, and he dares to commit every sin. Furthermore, generally, if the seminal fluid is corrupt, the offspring will be corrupt. This is why the Prophet (PBUH) said: (The child of fornication will not enter Paradise, nor his child, nor his grandchild). It is also suggested that {ba‘da dhālik} here is analogous to {thumma} (then) in His saying: {Thumma kāna min alladhīna āmanū} (Then he was one of those who believed) (Al-Balad: 17). Al-Hasan recited (‘utull) in the indicative mood (raised) as a form of condemnation.

Then, after enumerating these characteristics, the Almighty said: