Tafsir of Muhammad 47:25-28

• Sawwala lahum (سول لهم): He made the commission of grave sins easy for them. It is derived from al-sawl (الاسترخاء), meaning slackness. Those who lack knowledge of morphology and etymology incorrectly derive it from al-su’l (السؤل - desire/request).
• Wa amla lahum (وأملى لهم): He extended their hopes and aspirations.
  • It is recited as wa amla lahum (وأملى لهم), meaning: "Indeed, Satan misguides them, and I grant them respite," as in the Almighty’s saying: "We only grant them respite" (Al-Imran: 178).
  • It is also recited as wa umliya lahum (وأملى لهم) in the passive voice, meaning: "They were granted respite and their lives were extended."
  • It is also recited as sawwala lahum (سول لهم), where the meaning is: "Satan’s plot adorned [evil] for them," assuming the omission of the genitive noun (mudaf).

Question: Who are these people? Answer: They are the Jews who disbelieved in Muhammad (ﷺ) after the guidance had become clear to them, which is his description in the Torah. Others say they are the hypocrites.

• "Those who said to those who hate what Allah has revealed": These are the hypocrites.
• Another view: The opposite is true; it is the statement of the hypocrites to [the tribes of] Qurayza and Nadir: "If you are expelled, we will surely leave with you."
• "In some of the matter": It is said this refers to denying the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), or denying "There is no god but Allah," or refusing to fight alongside him.
• Another view: It is the statement of one of the two parties to the polytheists: "We will obey you in conspiring to show enmity toward the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and in refraining from Jihad with him."
• "In some of the matter": In some of what you command, or in some of the affair that concerns you.

"And Allah knows their secret speech": It is also recited as israrahum (إسرارهم) as a verbal noun. They said this secretly among themselves, but Allah exposed it to them. How, then, can they act, and what is their recourse at that point?

"How [will it be] when the angels take them in death": It is also recited as tawaffahum (توفاهم). It may be past tense, or present tense with one of the ta’s omitted, as in the Almighty’s saying: "Indeed, those whom the angels take in death" (An-Nisa: 97).

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: No one dies while in a state of disobedience to Allah without being struck by the angels on their face and their back.

"That is because they followed what angered Allah": This refers to the taking in death described. "What angered Allah" refers to concealing the description of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

"And [they hated] His pleasure": This refers to faith in the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).