Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:61

"And among them are those who annoy..."

"The Udhun (ear):" A man who believes everything he hears and accepts the word of everyone. He is named after the sensory organ which is the instrument of hearing, as if his entire being were a listening ear. Its counterpart is their saying for a scout: 'Ayn (an eye).

"And their annoying him:" This is their saying about him: "He is an ear."

"And an ear of good:" Like your saying: "A man of truth," intending goodness and righteousness. It is as if it were said: "Yes, he is an ear, but he is an ear of good." It is also possible that it means: He is an ear for goodness, truth, and what ought to be heard and accepted, and he is not an ear for anything else. This is indicated by the recitation of Hamza: wa rahmatin (and mercy) in the genitive case, as a conjunction to it—meaning: He is an ear of good and mercy; he hears nothing else and accepts nothing else.

Then, he explained his being an "ear of good" by the fact that he believes in Allah, due to the proofs established for him, and he accepts from the sincere believers among the Emigrants and the Helpers.

"And a mercy for those who believe among you:" Meaning: O hypocrites, he manifests faith [in your outward claims] when he hears from you and accepts your outward faith. He does not expose your secrets, nor does he disgrace you, nor does he treat you as he treats the polytheists, in consideration of the interest Allah has seen in sparing you. Thus, he is an "ear" as you said, but he is an ear of good for you, not an ear of evil. He conceded their statement about him, not that he interpreted it as praise and commendation for him, even though they intended by it disparagement and a deficiency in his intelligence and sharpness, implying he is of those with naive hearts and gullibility.

It is said: A group of them disparaged him—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—and this reached him, causing their hearts to be troubled. Some said: "Do not worry, for he is merely a listening ear; he has heard the words of the reporter and listened. We will come to him and apologize, and he will hear our excuse as well and be satisfied." So it was said: "He is an ear of good for you."

It is recited: Udhunun khayrun lakum (An ear of good for you), where udhun is the predicate of an omitted subject, and khayr is likewise; meaning: "He is an ear, he is good for you." That is: If he is as you say, then he is good for you, because he accepts your excuses and does not requite you for your evil intentions. Nafi' recited it with a light dhal (without shadda).

If you ask: Why is the verb "to believe" (imān) connected with the particle bi (in) to Allah, but with the particle li (to) for the believers? I say: Because the intention is "belief in Allah," which is the opposite of disbelief in Him, so it is connected with bi. And the intention is "listening to the believers" and accepting what they say and believing it because they are truthful in his estimation, so it is connected with li. Do you not see His saying: "And you will not believe us, even if we were truthful" (Yusuf: 17), which informs you about the bi? Similar to this is: "But no one believed Moses except some youths among his people" (Yunus: 83), "Should we believe you while the lowest follow you?" (Ash-Shu'ara: 111), and "He said: 'You believed him before I gave you permission'" (Ta-Ha: 71).

If you ask: What is the basis for the recitation of Ibn Abi 'Abla: wa rahmatan (and mercy) in the accusative case? I say: It is a cause whose governing verb is omitted. The estimation is: "And [he is] a mercy for you, he listens to you." It was omitted because his saying: "An ear of good for you" points to it.

"They swear by Allah to you to please you, but Allah and His Messenger are more worthy that they should please Him, if they are believers."