Surah An-Nur, Ayah 50

The Treachery of the Hypocrites and the Attitude of the Believers

Allah tells us about the characteristics of the hypocrites who show one thing while hiding another, and who say with their tongues,

آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَبِالرَّسُولِ وَأَطَعْنَا ثُمَّ يَتَوَلَّى فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُمْ مِّن بَعْدِ ذلِكَ

("We have believed in Allah and in the Messenger, and we obey," then a party of them turn away thereafter,) meaning, their actions contradict their deeds, and they say that which they do not do. Allah says:

وَمَآ أُوْلَـئِكَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(such are not believers.)

وَإِذَا دُعُواْ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَهُمْ

(And when they are called to Allah and His Messenger, to judge between them...) means, when they are asked to follow the guidance which Allah has revealed to His Messenger , they turn away and are too arrogantly proud of themselves to follow him. This is like the Ayah:

Commentary

These verses were revealed on a special occasion. Tabari and others have related the incident saying that there was a hypocrite by the name Bishr, who had some dispute and enmity with a Jew over a piece of land. The Jew suggested to him to take their dispute before the Holy Prophet ﷺ for the judgment, but Bishr, the hypocrite knew well that he was on the wrong and if the dispute was taken to the Holy Prophet ﷺ he will definitely decide the case on merit, and he will lose the case. So, he did not agree with the suggestion and instead asked the Jew to take it to Ka'b Ibn Ashraf, another Jew. On this point these verses were revealed. In verse; أَفِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَ‌ضٌ (Is there any malady in their hearts - 50) the disease of firm infidelity or the doubt on prophethood have been negated to point out that this doubt and infidelity were not the real cause of evasion to take the dispute in the court of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Although the infidelity and doubt on prophethood among the hypocrites is obvious and proven, but the underlying cause was that he (Bishr) knew well that if the case was placed before the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، he would definitely lose it, because he would decide the case on merit.

While the Prophet was in Madinah, there was a group which had apparently accepted Islam, but which was not really sincere about religion. This group was called the hypocrites (munafiqun). These people mouthed their obedience to God and His Prophet, but in practice, at the time of need, their actions would belie their pretensions. At that time, due to prevailing circumstances, a regular Islamic Court had not yet been established. The Jewish chiefs had been deciding cases as a matter of convention for centuries. But now the Prophet Muhammad had migrated to Madinah and established himself there. It was typical of the half-hearted hypocritical Muslims to agree to have their disputes (with other Muslims) settled by the Prophet Muhammad, provided they were sure that it would be decided in their favour. But when it seemed that the outcome might be unfavourable to them, these hypocrites (munafiqun) preferred going to a Jewish chief to have the matter decided. To all appearances this was an act of great cleverness, but in actuality they were just wronging themselves. Such apparent winners shall have lost their case even before reaching the court of God.