ﱒ ﱓ ﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ ﱜ ﱝ ﱞ ﱟ ﱠ ﱡ ﱢ ﱣ ﱤ ﱥ ﱦ ﱧ ﱨ ﱩ
Had it been an easy gain and a moderate trip, the hypocrites would have followed you, but distant to them was the journey. And they will swear by Allah, "If we were able, we would have gone forth with you," destroying themselves [through false oaths], and Allah knows that indeed they are liars.
Tafsir
Verse range: 9:42
"If it were an immediate gain..."
"Al-ʿaraḍ" (the gain): That which is presented to you of worldly benefits. It is said: "The world is a present gain from which both the righteous and the wicked eat."
Meaning: If what they were called to was a near, easily attainable booty, "and a moderate journey"—that is, a middle-ground, accessible path—"the distance would have been easy for them."
"Ash-shuqqa" (the distance): The arduous, difficult journey. ʿĪsā ibn ʿUmar read it as buʿidat ʿalayhim ash-shuqqa (the distance was made far for them), with a kasra on the ʿayn and the shīn. From this is the poet’s saying: They say, "Do not go far," while they are burying him, And there is no distance except that which the grave slabs conceal.
"By Allah" (billāh): This is connected to "they will swear," or it is part of their own speech. The act of speaking is intended in both interpretations.
Meaning: They—the ones who stayed behind—will swear when you return from the expedition of Tabūk, offering excuses, saying: "By Allah, 'if we had been able, we would have gone out with you.'" Or, they will swear by Allah and say: "If we had been able..."
The phrase "we would have gone out" serves as the response to both the oath and the "if" (law) combined. This is a report of what would happen after the return regarding their swearing and excuses, and it was among the miracles.
The meaning of "ability" (al-istiṭāʿah): Either the ability of equipment or the ability of the body, as if they were feigning illness.
It was read as law-stuṭiʿnā (if we were enabled), with a ḍamma on the wāw, by analogy to the wāw of the plural in His saying: "Then wish for death" (Al-Baqarah: 94).
"They destroy their own souls": This is either a substitute for "they will swear," or a state (ḥāl) meaning "while they are destroying." The meaning is that they cast themselves into destruction by their false swearing and by the act of staying behind which they swear upon.
It is also possible that it is a state from their saying "we would have gone out," meaning: "We would have gone out with you, even if we destroyed our souls and cast them into ruin by the travel we would have endured over that distance."
It is presented in the third-person form because He is reporting about them. Do you not see that if it were said: "They will swear by Allah that if they were able, they would have gone out," it would be correct? It is said: "He swore by Allah that he would do it," and "I swore that I would do it." The third-person is according to the rule of reporting, while the first-person is according to the rule of quoting.
"May Allah pardon you, why did you give them permission until it became clear to you who were truthful and you knew the liars?"
