Transliteration:( Wa jaaa'al mu'az ziroona minal A'raabi liyu'zana lahum wa qa'adal lazeena kazabul laaha wa Rasoolah; sayuseebul lazeena kafaroo minhum 'azaabun aleem )
“And there came excuse [243] makers from the villagers in order that leave may be granted to them. And those [244] who lied to Allah and His Messenger sat behind. Soon, a painful punishment shall befall the infidels [245] among them.”
This refers to Amir ibn Tufail and the people of his group, who came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ during the Battle of Tabuk. They claimed that if they accompanied the Messenger ﷺ, the people of the Tai tribe would loot their homes. The Prophet ﷺ responded that Allah would make him free of need, and that Allah had already informed him of their true condition. These individuals had lied to the Holy Prophet ﷺ, trying to avoid participation in the battle under false pretenses.
This teaches us that lying to the Holy Prophet ﷺ is equivalent to lying to Allah Almighty. The hypocrites who lied to the Prophet ﷺ were also considered to have lied to Allah, as stated in the verse. Their deception had a severe spiritual consequence, as they failed to uphold the truth.
This verse clarifies that those among the hypocrites who would openly become infidels would face death and destruction in this world. Those who remained infidels until their death would receive painful punishment in the Hereafter. The verse emphasizes that every hypocrite, even if they did not openly display their infidelity, was secretly an infidel. Therefore, their punishment is inevitable, whether in this world or the Hereafter.
90. And those who made excuses from the bedouins came asking your permission to exempt them (from the battle), and those who had lied to Allah and His Messenger sat at home (without asking the permission for it); a painful torment will seize those of them who disbelieve.) Allah describes here the condition of the bedouins who lived around Al-Madinah, who asked for permission to remain behind from Jihad when they came to the Messenger to explain to him their weakness and inability to join the fighting. Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn `Abbas said that they were those who had valid excuses, for Allah said next,
(and those who had lied to Allah and His Messenger sat at home), and did not ask for permission for it; and Allah warned them of painful punishment,
(a painful torment will seize those of them who disbelieve.)
(9:90) Many of the bedouin Arabs[90] came with excuses, seeking leave to stay behind. Thus those who were false to Allah and His Messenger in their covenant remained behind. A painful chastisement shall befall those of them that disbelieved.[91]
90. Here the word Bedouins refers to those Arabs who lived in the desert near Al-Madinah.
91. The hypocritical profession of Islam has been called the way of unbelief, because that profession of faith which lacks practical proof, surrender, sincerity and obedience is in fact unbelief. As such persons prefer their own interests and worldly desires to Allah and His Way, they shall be dealt with by Allah as unbelievers and rebels, even if they could not be legally treated as such in this world but were considered Muslims due to their profession of faith. This is because in the life of this world, the Islamic law treats as unbelievers only such hypocrites as are guilty of open unbelief, rebellion, treachery, or infidelity. That is why there are many cases of hypocrisy that do not come under kufr in the Islamic shariah. However, this does not mean that if one escaped the penalty according to the Islamic code, one will escape punishment according to the divine judgment also.
[496]- i.e., claimed faith.
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