The Madinan Period, Part 3: The Covenant, the Qiblah, and the Meaning of Jihad
Section 25 of 26 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Madinan Period
The Sixth Objective: Exposing the Hypocrites
The sixth objective is the exposing of the hypocrites, which was touched on above. Allah (swt) says:
مَّا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيَذَرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَمِيزَ ٱلْخَبِيثَ مِنَ ٱلطَّيِّبِ ۗ وَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيُطْلِعَكُمْ عَلَى ٱلْغَيْبِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَجْتَبِى مِن رُّسُلِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ ۖ فَـَٔامِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِۦ ۚ وَإِن تُؤْمِنُوا۟ وَتَتَّقُوا۟ فَلَكُمْ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ
“Allah is not to leave the believers in the state you are in, unless He separates the impure from the pure. Allah is not to inform you of the Unseen. But Allah selects from His messengers whom He wills. So, believe in Allah and His messengers. If you believe, and fear Allah, you will deserve a great reward.” (3:179)
Allah would not leave the believers in the state you are in presently until He separates the evil from the good. So the way the separation happens is by fighting fī sabīlillāh. This āyah was revealed after Ghazwat Uḥud, because ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy withdrew with one third of the army, and it is verse 179 of Sūrah Āl ʿImrān.