Al-Tawbah (The Repentance): (68 - 69) Allah's Warning to the Hypocrites...

Verse 68

{وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ وَالْكُفَّارَ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا هِيَ حَسْبُهُمْ وَلَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُقِيمٌ}

Know that when Allah previously mentioned the hypocrite men and women, He attributed (or punished) them for abandoning adherence to Allah's obedience. He then reinforced this warning and joined the hypocrites with the disbelievers, saying:

"Allah has promised the hypocrite men and women and the disbelievers the Fire of Hell, wherein they will abide eternally."

Undoubtedly, eternal fire is one of the greatest punishments.

"It is sufficient for them."

This means that this punishment is enough for them; nothing is more severe than it, and no addition is possible.

"And Allah has cursed them."

This means that in addition to that severe punishment, humiliation, condemnation, and cursing have been attached to them.

"And for them is an abiding punishment."

Someone might ask: Since the punishment is eternal (abiding) and the dwelling therein is eternal (khulūd), is this not a repetition?

The answer is: This is not a repetition. The distinction between the two can be understood in several ways:

1. First View: They have another type of permanent, continuous punishment besides the punishment of the fire and the eternity mentioned initially. The first statement does not necessarily imply that the punishment of the fire alone is eternal. The phrase "And for them is an abiding punishment" indicates that they have another type of torment alongside it.
   • Objection: This interpretation is problematic because regarding the eternal fire, Allah said, "It is sufficient for them" (hiya hasbuhum), and sufficiency prevents adding anything else to it.
   • Response: It is sufficient for them in terms of pain and affliction, yet another type of torment is added to it as an increase in their chastisement.
2. Second View: What is meant by "And for them is an abiding punishment" is the immediate punishment they cannot escape—the toil of hypocrisy, the fear of the Messenger discovering their inner secrets, and the constant apprehension of various disgraces.

Verse 69 (Continuation)

{كَالَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ}

Know that this is a shift from the third person (absent) to the second person (addressing them). The particle Kāf (ka) here implies comparison, which can have several meanings:

1. First View (Al-Farra'): "You have done as those before you did." This means Allah compares the hypocrites to the disbelievers who preceded them in commanding evil, forbidding good, and withholding their hands from good deeds. Allah then described those previous disbelievers as being stronger than these hypocrites, having more wealth and offspring. They enjoyed the world for a period, then perished, vanished, and returned to eternal punishment. Therefore, you, with your weakness and lesser worldly gains, are more deserving of being like them.
2. Second View: Allah compares the hypocrites in their deviation from obedience to Allah—for the sake of seeking worldly pleasures—to the previous disbelievers. Allah described those previous ones as having abundant wealth and children, and that "they enjoyed their portion" (istamta‘ū bi-khilāqihim). Al-Khilāq means the share or lot created for a person, i.e., what was decreed for them of good. It is called a qism (division) and nasīb (share) because it is established (nussiba). Thus, Allah mentioned that they enjoyed their portion, and you, O hypocrites, have enjoyed your portion just as those enjoyed theirs.

• Inquiry: What is the benefit of mentioning the enjoyment of the portion for the former group once, then mentioning it again for the hypocrites, and then mentioning it for the former group a third time?
• Answer: The benefit is that Allah condemned the former group for enjoying the worldly fortunes granted to them, leading to their deprivation of Hereafter happiness due to their immersion in these immediate fortunes. Once Allah established this condemnation, He returned to compare the state of these hypocrites to their state, which serves as the ultimate exaggeration. It is like when someone wants to warn a tyrant about the ugliness of his oppression, saying: "You are like Pharaoh; he used to kill without crime and torment without cause, and you do what he did." In summary, the repetition here is for emphasis.

When Allah clarified the similarity between these hypocrites and those predecessors in seeking the world and turning away from seeking the Hereafter, He then clarified the similarity between the two groups in:

{وَخُضْتُمْ كَالَّذِي خَاضُوا} "and you indulged in what they indulged in."

Al-Farra' said: This means "like the indulgence that they indulged in." The word alladhī (that which) is an adjective for an omitted verbal noun (maṣdar) implied by the verb.

{أُولَئِكَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ} "Those are the ones whose deeds have become worthless in this world and the Hereafter."

This means their good deeds in this world became void due to death, poverty, and the transition from honor to humiliation, and from strength to weakness. In the Hereafter, they will not be rewarded; rather, they will receive the severest punishment.

{وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ} "And those are the losers."

They exhausted themselves in refuting the Prophets and Messengers, only to find the loss of good in both worlds and the attainment of punishment in both worlds. The objective is that when Allah compared the state of these hypocrites to those disbelievers, He showed that those disbelievers only achieved the nullification of deeds, disgrace, and loss, even though they were stronger than these hypocrites and had more wealth and children. Therefore, these hypocrites, who share them in these vile actions, are more deserving of falling into the punishment of this world and the Hereafter, deprived of the good of both worlds.

Verse 70

{أَلَمْ يَأْتِهِمْ نَبَأُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ وَعَادٍ وَثَمُودَ وَقَوْمِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَأَصْحَابِ مَدْيَنَ وَالْمُؤْتَفِكَاتِ أَتَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيَظْلِمَهُمْ وَلَكِنْ كَانُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ}

"Has there not reached them the news of those before them: the people of Noah, 'Ad, Thamud, the people of Abraham, the people of Madyan, and the overthrown cities (Al-Mu'tafikat)?"

"Their Messengers came to them with clear proofs, but it was not Allah who wronged them, rather they used to wrong themselves."