Surah Al-Mujadila, Ayah 10

The Evil of the Jews

Ibn Abi Najih reported from Mujahid,

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ نُهُواْ عَنِ النَّجْوَى ثُمَّ يَعُودُونَ لِمَا نُهُواْ عَنْهُ

(Have you not seen those who were forbidden to hold secret counsels, and afterwards returned to that which they had been forbidden,) He said, "The Jews." Similar was said by Muqatil bin Hayyan, who added, "The Prophet had a peace treaty with the Jews. When one of the Prophet's Companions would pass by a gathering of Jews, they would speak among themselves in secret, prompting the believer to think that they were plotting to kill or harm him. When the believer saw this, he feared for his safety and changed the route he was taking. The Prophet advised them to abandon their evil secret talks, but they did not listen and kept on holding the Najwa. Allah the Exalted sent down this Ayah in their case,

Manners of the Secret Conference

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا تَنَاجَيْتُمْ فَلَا تَتَنَاجَوْا بِالْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ وَمَعْصِيَتِ الرَّ‌سُولِ وَتَنَاجَوْا بِالْبِرِّ‌ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ (0 those who believe, when you hold secret counsel, do not whisper for sinful act and wrongdoing and disobedience of the Messenger, and do whisper for righteousness and taqwa [ God-fearing ]... 58:9) In this and the preceding verses secret societies of the unbelievers have been condemned, but the condemnation is not unreserved or unqualified. The current verse guides the Muslims to be conscious of the fact that Allah is fully aware of their conversation and all of their conditions. Therefore, all their secret conferences must be held for good purposes. It is the object or motive of a particular conference that determines its nature. Thus in the present verse, as indicated earlier, the believers have been allowed to hold secret conferences only to promote good and righteous causes.

As a rule, secret whispering is an undesirable action. However, sometimes for some good reason, secret whispering has to be resorted to. In this case, the decisive factor is intention. If it is done with good intentions, it is legitimate but if it is done with evil intentions, it is sinful.