فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ

5:53; 9:125; 74:32.

Important Words:

مرض (disease) is derived from مرض i.e. he fell ill; he lost his health. Thus مرض means, anything whereby a man loses his health (physical, moral or spiritual); disease or hypocrisy; doubt or darkness or loss; omission of any kind (Aqrab); any disease or any physical or moral weakness or defect of faith, in fact, anything that hinders man’s physical, moral or spiritual progress (Mufradat).

یكذبون (they lie) is derived from كذب which means, he lied; he said what was untrue while he knew the truth; he gave a wrong account of something, whether intentionally or unintentionally; it (the heart or the eye) felt or perceived wrongly (Aqrab); he said what was true but said it insincerely, i.e. he himself believed the thing to be untrue (the Quran 63:2). كذب(kadhdhaba) is the causative or transitive form from كذب. They say كذبه i.e. he accused him of lying; he attributed falsehood to him in his claim or statement; he pronounced him a liar. كذب به means, he rejected and disbelieved it. كاذبmeans a liar, and كذاب means a great and habitual liar. كذب (kadhib) and كذاب (kidhdhab) mean, falsehood, lie, untruth; also the act of uttering a lie. كذاب also means the act of accusing one of lying (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

God speaks of two diseases of the heart: (1) كفر i.e. disbelief; and (2) نفاق i.e. hypocrisy. The former has already been referred to in verses 7 and 8. The present verse refers to the disease of hypocrisy and points out that those suffering from it do not act as normal healthy persons do.

The Holy Prophet has mentioned the following signs of hypocrisy. Says he: "When a hypocrite speaks, he lies; and when he makes a promise, he does not fulfil it; and when he is entrusted with anything, he acts dishonestly and when he makes a contract, he breaks it; and when he engages in a dispute, he uses foul words" (Bukhari).

In the verse under comment the increase of hypocrisy is attributed to God, not because God increases it but because the increase results from disregard of His commands; also because it is God who finally dispenses the good and evil consequences of human actions. The Quran has only been revealed for healing diseases. Says Allah: O mankind! There has come to you an exhortation from your Lord and a cure for whatever disease there is in the hearts (10:58).

The increasing of disease also means that the expanding power of Islam was naturally increasing the disease of the hypocrites who were all the more forced to remain, against their will, in outward friendliness with the Muslims.

In the case of disbelievers the punishment mentioned is عذاب عظیم (great punishment), whereas in the case of hypocrites it is عذاب الیم(grievous punishment). This is because disbelievers express their disbelief and enmity openly, while hypocrites keep their feelings of hatred and malice concealed in their hearts, thinking that they are thereby deriving twofold pleasure—one of enmity towards Islam and the other, of befooling the Muslims. So the ret­ribution in store for the hypocrites is characterized by special pain and anguish—a fit recompense for their false pleasure.

32:30, 31.

Important Words:

دائرة (misfortune) is derived from دار meaning, he or it went or moved round; or he or it circled or revolved or returned to the place from which he or it began to move. داربالبیت means, he went round about the house; or he surrounded or encompassed it. They say دارت الایام meaning, the days came round in their turn, i.e. repeated themselves. The expression دارت به دوائرالزمان means, the revolutions of fortune or time made him turn around from one state or condition to another. They say: دارت علیھم الدوائر meaning, calamities befell them. دائرة therefore, means: (1) the circuit, ambit or circumference of a thing; (2) a ring, a circle; (3) a turn of fortune, especially an evil accident; a misfortune; a calamity; defeat or rout; slaughter or death (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verb سارع (he hastened) from which یسارعون (hastening) has been formed is generally followed by the preposition الی;but according to Arabic usage sometimes a verb takes after it a preposition which properly belongs to another verb mentioned or under­stood before it, thus retaining not only its own sense but also acquiring that of the verb whose preposition it takes. In the present verse the verb یسارعون (hastening) has been followed not by the preposition الی meaning, to or toward, but by the preposition فی which means in, among or into, thus adding to its own sense the further significance of the verb یدخلون (they enter). Hence the expression یسارعون فیھم (hastening towards them) would really mean "hastening towards them, they enter among them".

The word "victory" mentioned in the verse may either refer to the Fall of Mecca or to victory in general. The word امر (event) coming after victory evidently refers to something greater than victory. Obviously, it refers to the entry into Islam of the whole Arabian peninsula and the establishment of the power of Islam in it.

8:50.

33:13.

9:51; 12:68; 14:12; 33:4; 65:4.

Commentary:

The words, the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease, here refer to those men in the Meccan army who had embraced Islam in Mecca, but who, being weak, remained with disbelievers out of fear, and had now come forth with the Meccan army in order to fight the Muslims. There were four or five such men who, when they saw the small band of Muslims arrayed in battle-order against a well-equipped army of Meccan warriors, thought it foolhardy on the part of the former to take their stand against the overwhelming odds and made the remark mentioned in the verse. To this remark, the verse gives the reply that the small band of Muslims faced the heavy odds not because their religion had deluded them but because they had put their trust in God Who was both Mighty and Wise and Who had promised to help them. The last words of the verse are thus also intended to reprimand the weak-hearted Muslims of Mecca and to remind them that their hypocritical policy resulted from the fact that they had no trust in the power and might of God.

2:11.

Commentary:

Divine revelation is like rainwater. If the seed is good and the soil favourable, rain is sure to help in producing a good crop; but if the seed and the soil are bad, the crop is bound to be bad in spite of good rain. As the soil of the hearts of the hypocrites was unclean and corrupt, the water of Divine revelation only served to add to their filth; for with the coming down of heavenly rain the filth that lay hidden in the hearts of the disbelievers also came out.

Important Words:

مرجفون (who cause agitation) is the plural of مرجف which is active participle from أرجف which is the transitive form of رجفwhich means, it was or became in a state of commotion or agitation, or in a state of violent agitation. رجف القوم means, the people prepared themselves for war. أرجفوا فی الشیء means, they said what was false respecting the thing or they told many evil and false tales respecting the thing in order that the people might become in a state of commotion, agitation or disturbance in consequence thereof. أرجفوا alone means, they said what was false in relating tales of conflicts and factions or discords and the like. They say أرجفوا فی المدینة کذا i.e. they told in the town and country of such a matter, in order that they might cause commotion or agitation, etc. without there being anything thereof true in their estimation (Lane).

لنغرینک (We shall make thee take action against them) is formed from أغرا which is derived from غرا. They say غری به i.e. it adhered to it; he became attached to it; he loved it; he adhered, clung or clove to it. أغراہ به means, he made him to become attached to or fond of it, to adhere, cleave or cling to it; he incited, urged or instigated him to do it. أغریت الکلب بالصید means, I incited, or urged the dog against the game. أغراہ بھم means, he set him upon them or over them; or made him to have masterly dominion or authority over them. The Quranic expression أغری بینھم العداوة means, He cast enmity between them as though he made it cleave to them (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

As the present Surah deals with the vicissitudes through which Islam had to pass during the first few years of its life at Medina, some reference to the Hypocrites and Jews of Medina was called for, as they formed a substantial part of the population of Medina. They sought to put all sorts of obstacles and impediments in the way of Islam, lest it should gain political power and prestige. The main weapon in their armoury against Islam was the spreading of false news. The verse under comment foretold the doom of these people at a time when they thought that their plots and conspiracies against Islam would succeed. After the Battle of the Ditch Banu Quraizah, the last Jewish tribe living in Medina, were severely punished and Medina became completely rid of the Jews. The capacity of the Hypocrites to create mischief also received a severe setback, as the defeat and dispersion of the confederated armies added vastly to the political power and prestige of Islam.

Commentary:

This verse also supports the interpretation we have placed on the preceding verse. There is absolutely no warrant for such a baseless story as some ignorant commentators have taken into their heads to forge in connection with it, i.e. the preceding verse. The verse under comment means to say that satanic people seek to place all sorts of obstacles in the way of the mission of a Prophet, so that the progress of the faith may be retarded and "those in whose hearts is a disease" may be misled. But God removes all such obstacles and after initial and temporary setbacks truth marches on its course of uniform progress. Thus the Prophets of God are faced with trials and tribulations so that sincere believers may be differentiated and separated from insincere hypocrites.

The words, "in whose hearts is a disease," refer to the hypocrites, who always stand on an edge, as it were, between truth and falsehood (22:12). They are always on the lookout to join the party whose cause they see triumphing. The words, "those whose hearts are hardened," refer to those inveterate disbelievers whose hearts become hardened on account of persistent denial of truth.

Important Words:

أولٰی (ruin) is derived from ولی and means, nearer; more deserving; more competent; more fit. The expression أولٰی لک is used to give warning, and means mischief or trouble has approached near thee, so be on your guard. The expression also means, woe to thee; woe be thy lot (Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse means to say that whereas true believers avidly wait for a verse to be revealed which should embody a Divine commandment directing them to fight in the way of Allah, "those in whose heart is a disease," shudder at the very idea of being invited to fight.

Important Words:

أضغانھم (their malice) is the plural of ضغن (dighnun) which is inf. noun from ضغن (daghana). ضغن علیه means, he was or became affected with rancour, malice or spite against him. ضغن means, rancour, malice, spite; violent hatred, enmity; desire or yearning or longing of the soul, etc. (Lane & Aqrab).

13:28; 14:5.

33:10; 48:5.

Commentary:

The apparently enigmatic "nineteen" may concern some great Divine design or purpose which, when unfolded, will, on the one hand, greatly add to the faith of the believers and, on the other, to the embarrassment and mental confusion of the disbelievers and of "those in whose heart is disease." Otherwise the number of God’s angels is legion, beyond human count or computation, just as the stages of man’s spiritual progress in the Hereafter are number-less.