Al-Tawbah (The Repentance): (64) The hypocrites fear that...

Know that they used to call Sūrat Barā’ah (The Repentance) Al-Hāfirah (The Digger), because it dug up what was in the hearts of the hypocrites.

Al-Hasan said: Twelve men among the hypocrites gathered concerning an act of hypocrisy. Jibrīl (Gabriel) informed the Messenger (peace be upon him) of their names. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Indeed, some people have gathered concerning such and such. Let them stand up, confess, and seek forgiveness from their Lord so that I may intercede for them." They did not stand up. After that, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Stand up, O so-and-so, and so-and-so," until he named them all. Then they said: "We confess and seek forgiveness." He replied: "Now, in the beginning, I was more inclined to intercede, and God was quicker in responding. Get away from me! Get away from me!" He kept saying this until they all left.

Al-Aṣamm narrated that upon the Messenger's (peace be upon him) return from Tabūk, twelve men stood on the mountain pass (al-'Aqabah) intending to assassinate him. Jibrīl informed him. They were veiled on a dark night, and he was commanded to send someone to strike the faces of their mounts. He ordered Ḥudhayfah to do so, and he struck them until they were driven away. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then asked: "Whom did you recognize among the people?" He replied: "I did not recognize any of them." The Prophet (peace be upon him) then mentioned their names and counted them for him, saying: "Jibrīl informed me of that." Ḥudhayfah asked: "Should you not send someone to kill them?" He replied: "I dislike that the Arabs should say, 'Muḥammad killed his companions until he gained victory, and then he started killing them.' God is sufficient for us in this matter."

Query: If the hypocrite is a disbeliever, how can he fear the revelation descending upon the Messenger?

Answer: There are several interpretations:

1. Al-Muslim's View: This fear was an expression of mockery shown by the hypocrites when they saw the Messenger (peace be upon him) mentioning everything and claiming it was from revelation. The hypocrites used to deny this among themselves. So, God informed His Messenger of this and commanded him to let them know that He would reveal the secret they feared being exposed. The phrase, {استهزئوا} (they mocked), indicates this interpretation.

2. Experiential Fear: Even though they disbelieved in the Prophet's religion, they witnessed that the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to inform them of what they concealed in their hearts. Due to this experience, fear settled in their hearts.

3. Al-Aṣamm's View: They knew the Messenger (peace be upon him) was a truthful messenger from God Almighty, but they disbelieved out of envy and obstinacy. Al-Qāḍī commented that it is unlikely for someone who knows God, His Messenger, and the truth of the religion to be hostile toward them. Al-Dā'ī ilā Allāh responded that this is not unlikely, because when envy becomes strong in the heart, it can lead one to dispute even evident realities.

4. Linguistic Meaning: The meaning of {يحذر} (they fear/warn) is an imperative command for caution, meaning: "Let the hypocrites beware of that."

5. Doubt: They were doubtful about the truthfulness of his prophethood and were not certain of its falsehood. A doubter is fearful. For this reason, they feared that something revealing their secrets might be revealed to him.

Then, the author of Al-Kashshāf said: The pronouns in {سواء عليهم} (whether it is the same for them) and {تنبئهم} (you inform them) refer to the believers. In {في قلوبهم} (in their hearts), the pronoun refers to the hypocrites. It is also possible that all the pronouns refer to the hypocrites, because if the Sūrah is revealed concerning their matter, it is revealed to them. The meaning of {تنبئهم بما في قلوبهم} (you inform them of what is in their hearts) is as if the Sūrah is saying to them in their hearts: "Such and such," meaning it publicizes their secrets so openly as if it is informing them directly.

Then He said: {قل} (Say), which is a command of threatening, like His saying: {وقل اعملوا} (And say, "Do [as you will]") (At-Tawbah: 105). {إن الله مخرج ما تحذرون} (Indeed, God will bring out that which you fear/warn against). This means that thing which you fear—God will bring it into existence. Since a thing comes into being after non-existence, its agent must have brought it out from non-existence into existence.

[65] {ولئن سألتهم ليقولن إنما كنا نخوض ونلعب قل أبالله وءاياته ورسوله كنتم تستهزءون}

[66] {لا تعتذروا قد كفرتم بعد إيمانكم إن نعف عن طآئفة منكم نعذب طآئفة بأنهم كانوا مجرمين}