The hypocrite men and hypocrite women are of one another. They enjoin what is wrong and forbid what is right and close their hands. They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them [accordingly]. Indeed, the hypocrites - it is they who are the defiantly disobedient.
{Some of them are from others}
This is intended to negate that they are among the believers, to belie their statement: *"And they swear by Allah that they are indeed among you"* (At-Tawbah: 56), and to confirm His statement: *"And they are not among you"* (At-Tawbah: 56).
{They enjoin the evil}
By disbelief and acts of disobedience.
{And forbid the good}
From faith and acts of obedience.
{And they close their hands}
Out of stinginess regarding righteousness, charity, and spending in the way of Allah.
{They have forgotten Allah}
They have neglected His remembrance.
{So He has forgotten them}
He has abandoned them from His mercy and grace.
{They are the defiantly disobedient (al-fāsiqūn)}
They are those who have reached the peak of *fisq* (defiance), which is rebellion in disbelief and stripping oneself of all good. It is sufficient as a deterrent for a Muslim to avoid anything that would earn him this vile title, which Allah used to describe the hypocrites when He exaggerated in condemning them. If the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) disliked for a Muslim to say "I am lazy" because the hypocrites were described with laziness in His saying: *{...lazy...}* (An-Nisa: 142), then what do you think of *fisq*?
{Abiding eternally therein}
Destined for eternity.
{It is sufficient for them}
An indication of the greatness of its torment, that nothing is more profound than it, and that it is such that nothing can be added to it. We seek refuge in Allah from His wrath and His torment.
{And Allah has cursed them}
He has humiliated them through torment, made them blameworthy, and joined them with the accursed devils, just as He honored the people of Paradise and joined them with the honored angels.
{And for them is an enduring punishment}
They have a type of punishment other than the burning in the Fire, which is as enduring as the punishment of the Fire. It is also possible that it means: they have an enduring punishment with them in this immediate life from which they are never free—which is the hardship they endure from hypocrisy and the outward appearance that contradicts the inward reality, out of fear of the Muslims and the constant dread of scandal and the descent of punishment should their secrets be uncovered.
{Like those before you, they were stronger than you in power and more abundant in wealth and children. So they enjoyed their portion, and you have enjoyed your portion as those before you enjoyed their portion, and you have engaged in idle talk like that in which they engaged. Those—their deeds have become worthless in this world and the Hereafter, and it is they who are the losers.}
