Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:140

"And He has already revealed to you..."

"That when you hear..." An (that) is the mukhaffafa (lightened) form of the muthaqqala (heavy) anna. The meaning is: "When you hear—that is, it has been revealed to you—that the situation is such-and-such." The "situation" is what is conveyed by the sentence with its condition and response. The an (that), along with what it governs, is in the nominative position as the subject of nazzala (He has revealed), or in the accusative position for those who read it as nuzzila (it has been revealed).

What was revealed to them in the Book is what was revealed in Mecca: "And when you see those who engage in [offensive] discourse concerning Our verses, then turn away from them until they enter into another conversation" (Al-Anʿām: 68). The polytheists used to engage in discourse about the Qurʾān in their gatherings, mocking it. Thus, the Muslims were forbidden from sitting with them as long as they were engaged in it.

The Jewish rabbis in Medina used to act similarly to the polytheists, so they were forbidden from sitting with them, just as they were forbidden from sitting with the polytheists in Mecca.

Those who sat with the rabbis engaging in discourse about the Qurʾān were the hypocrites. It was said to them: "You are, in that case, like the rabbis in disbelief."

"Indeed, Allah will gather the hypocrites and the disbelievers..." Meaning: those who sit and those with whom they sit.

If you ask: To whom does the pronoun in His saying "so do not sit with them" refer? I say: It refers to those indicated by "disbelieve in them and mock them." It is as if it were said: "Do not sit with those who disbelieve in them and mock them."

If you ask: Why would they be considered like them just by sitting with them during the time of their discourse? I say: Because if they do not denounce them, they are consenting. And one who consents to disbelief is a disbeliever.

If you ask: Why were the Muslims in Mecca not considered hypocrites when they sat with the polytheists who were engaging in such discourse? I say: Because they did not denounce them due to their inability (weakness), whereas these [hypocrites] did not denounce them despite their ability to do so. Thus, the failure to denounce was a sign of their consent.

"Those who wait [and watch] you..." This is either a substitute for "those who take," an adjective for the hypocrites, or in the accusative case as a form of disparagement.

"They wait [and watch] you..." Meaning: they await whatever happens to you, whether it be victory or failure.

"Were we not with you?" Supporting you, so give us a share of the spoils.

"Did we not protect you?" Did we not prevail over you and have the power to kill or capture you, yet we spared you?

"And defend you from the believers?" By discouraging them from you, making them imagine things that weakened their hearts and made them hesitant to fight you, and by our sluggishness in supporting them against you. So, bring us a share of what you have attained.

Wa-namnaʿakum (and defend you) is also read in the accusative case, implying an an (to). Al-Ḥuṭayʾah said: "Was I not your neighbor, and [would there not] be between me and you affection and brotherhood?"

If you ask: Why did He call the victory of the Muslims a fatḥ (opening/conquest) and the victory of the disbelievers a naṣīb (share/portion)? I say: To exalt the status of the Muslims and to belittle the portion of the disbelievers. The victory of the Muslims is a momentous affair; the gates of heaven open for them until [victory] descends upon His allies. As for the victory of the disbelievers, it is nothing but a worldly portion and a fleeting taste of this life that they attain.