Tafsir of Al-Mujadilah 58:14

"Have you not seen those who have taken as allies a people with whom Allah is angry..." The hypocrites used to take the Jews as allies—those whom Allah is angry with, as in His saying: "Those whom Allah has cursed and with whom He is angry"—offering them sincere advice and conveying the secrets of the believers to them.

"They are not of you, nor are they of them" O Muslims, they are neither with you nor with the Jews, similar to His saying: "Wavering between that, neither to these nor to those" (An-Nisa: 143).

"And they swear to lies" Meaning: They say, "By Allah, we are Muslims." They swear to a lie, which is their claim of Islam.

"While they know" That what they are swearing to is a pure lie. If you ask: What is the benefit of saying "while they know"? I reply: A lie is when a statement does not correspond to the reality of the one being spoken about, regardless of whether the speaker knows it or not. The meaning here is that they are people who report something contrary to the truth while being fully aware and intentional in doing so, like one who swears a Ghamus (perjured) oath.

It is said: Abdullah ibn Nabtal, the hypocrite, used to sit with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and then carry his words to the Jews. While the Messenger was in one of his chambers, he said to his companions: "A man will enter upon you now whose heart is the heart of a tyrant and who looks with the eyes of a devil." Ibn Nabtal entered, and he was blue-eyed. The Prophet (ﷺ) said to him: "Why do you and your companions insult me?" He swore by Allah that he had not done so. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "You did." He went and brought his companions, and they swore by Allah that they had not insulted him. Then this verse was revealed: "A severe punishment"—a type of punishment that is compounded.

"Indeed, it was evil that they were doing" Meaning: Throughout their long past, they persisted in evil deeds. Or, it is a narration of what will be said to them in the Hereafter.

"They have taken their oaths as a shield" It is read as aymanahum (oaths). They used the oaths they swore, or the faith they displayed, as a junnah—a shield—to protect themselves from the believers and from being killed.

"So they averted [people] from the way of Allah" During their time of safety and security, they would discourage those they met from entering Islam and weaken the position of the Muslims in their eyes. Allah promised them a humiliating, disgraceful punishment for their disbelief and their obstruction, as in His saying: "Those who disbelieved and averted [people] from the way of Allah - We will increase them in punishment over [and above] the punishment" (An-Nahl: 88).

"From Allah" From the punishment of Allah.

"Anything" Not even a little bit of protection. It is reported that one of them said: "We will surely be helped on the Day of Resurrection by ourselves, our wealth, and our children."

"They will swear to Him [as they swear to you]" They will swear to Allah in the Hereafter that they are Muslims, just as they swear to you in this world.

"And they think that they are on something" Of benefit. The wonder is not that they swear to you, for you are human and the secrets of hearts are hidden from you, and they derive worldly benefit from it in a place where they are not forced to know the truth of what they are promised. Rather, the wonder is their swearing to Allah, the Knower of the unseen and the seen, despite there being no benefit and despite being forced to know what the messengers warned them of. The intent is to describe their deep immersion in hypocrisy and their persistence in it, such that even after death and resurrection, it remains in them and does not vanish, as He said: "But if they were returned, they would return to that which they were forbidden" (Al-An'am: 28).

Scholars have differed regarding their lying in the Hereafter, but the Quran speaks of its occurrence clearly, as you see in this verse and in His saying: "By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists. See how they lied against themselves and how lost from them is what they used to invent" (Al-An'am: 23-24). Their thinking that they are "on something" of benefit when they swear is like their waiting for the believers to borrow from their light, thinking that outward faith is something that benefits them. It is said that at that point, their mouths will be sealed.

"Unquestionably, it is they who are the liars" Meaning: They are the ultimate limit beyond which there is no further point in lying, as their state is the same in both this world and the Hereafter.

"Satan has overcome them" He has taken control of them. It is derived from hadha al-himaru al-'anata (the donkey gathered the herd and drove them), meaning he possessed them.

"So he has made them forget the remembrance of Allah" So that they do not remember Allah at all, neither with their hearts nor with their tongues. Abu Ubaydah said: "The party of Satan" means his soldiers.