Sūrat at-Tawbah
Section 5 of 20 · Surah Studies · Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
"He Is an Ear"
Then, on one occasion, when everything they said was being disclosed in the Qur'an, they began to say of the Prophet (peace be upon him):
وَمِنْهُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ ٱلنَّبِىَّ وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ أُذُنٌ ۚ قُلْ أُذُنُ خَيْرٍ لَّكُمْ يُؤْمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ وَيُؤْمِنُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مِنكُمْ ۚ وَٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
“And among them (the hypocrites) there are those who hurt the Prophet and say, “He is just an ear” (that is, he hears and believes everything). Say, “He gives ear to that which is good for you; he believes in Allah and trusts the believers and is a mercy for those of you who (pretend to) believe.” And those who hurt the Messenger of Allah, for them there is a painful punishment.” (9:61)
Wa-yaqūlūna huwa udhun: that he is the ear, that he hears everything. So they took to calling him "the ear". Allah says no: the fault is yours; he is not the ear in the sense you intend; this is from Allah (swt).
A further verse, the sixty-fourth, tells us of the munāfiqīn. One may observe that when a man's time draws to its close he grows more aggressive still, being no longer able to rest easy. Verse 64 tells us:
يَحْذَرُ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقُونَ أَن تُنَزَّلَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُورَةٌ تُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا فِى قُلُوبِهِمْ ۚ قُلِ ٱسْتَهْزِءُوٓا۟ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مُخْرِجٌ مَّا تَحْذَرُونَ
“The hypocrites are afraid that a Sūrah (a chapter of the Holy Qur’ān) may be sent down about them, which tells them what lies in their hearts. Say, “Go on mocking. Allah is surely to bring out what you are afraid of.”” (9:64)
Yaḥdharu al-munāfiqūna an tunazzala ʿalayhim sūratun tunabbiʾuhum bi-mā fī qulūbihim. This was the constant fear of the munāfiqīn: that since every small piece of intelligence was being conveyed to the Prophet (peace be upon him), there would soon be revealed a sūrah making entirely plain what lay in their hearts, and all their secrets would be laid bare. So Allah says: qul istahziʾū inna Allāha mukhrijun mā taḥdharūn. Make your jests and go on mocking; remain within your mockery — Allah (swt) will soon bring out the very thing you fear.
Another of their practices, found in verse 67, was that they constantly hindered people from doing good. The verse runs:
ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقُونَ وَٱلْمُنَـٰفِقَـٰتُ بَعْضُهُم مِّنۢ بَعْضٍ ۚ يَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمُنكَرِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَقْبِضُونَ أَيْدِيَهُمْ ۚ نَسُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ فَنَسِيَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ هُمُ ٱلْفَـٰسِقُونَ
“The hypocrites, males and females, are all alike. They bid vice and forbid virtue and withhold their hands (from spending in Allah’s way). They forgot Allah, so He forgot them. Surely, the hypocrites are the sinners.” (9:67)
Al-munāfiqūna wa-l-munāfiqātu baʿḍuhum min baʿḍ: they are all brothers and sisters to one another. Yaʾmurūna bi-l-munkar: they enjoin what is wrong. Wa-yanhawna ʿani al-maʿrūf: and they forbid what is good. Wa-yaqbiḍūna aydiyahum: and they withhold their hands, so as not to spend in the path of Allah. They have forgotten Allah, and Allah has forgotten them. There are many warnings for them, and the matter is plain enough.
Allah (swt) then gives certain examples:
كَٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ كَانُوٓا۟ أَشَدَّ مِنكُمْ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرَ أَمْوَٰلًا وَأَوْلَـٰدًا فَٱسْتَمْتَعُوا۟ بِخَلَـٰقِهِمْ فَٱسْتَمْتَعْتُم بِخَلَـٰقِكُمْ كَمَا ٱسْتَمْتَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُم بِخَلَـٰقِهِمْ وَخُضْتُمْ كَٱلَّذِى خَاضُوٓا۟ ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَـٰلُهُمْ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْخَـٰسِرُونَ
“(You are) like those who were before you. They were stronger than you in power, and richer in wealth and children. So, they enjoyed their share (from the pleasures of this world), then you enjoyed your share as those before you enjoyed their share, and you indulged (in evils) as they indulged. They are the ones whose deeds have gone to waste in this world and in the Hereafter, and they are the losers.” (9:69)
Ka-lladhīna min qablikum: these munāfiqīn are like certain peoples before them in history — who were stronger than they, for these had no strength at all, but only hid themselves among the Muslims. The peoples before them had great strength: kānū ashadda minkum quwwatan wa-akthara amwālan wa-awlādā, who had far more wealth, far more children, far more strength. And yet they came to nothing.
Then Allah (swt), setting the believers against the munāfiqīn by way of contrast, speaks of them thus:
وَٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍ ۚ يَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَيُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَيُطِيعُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥٓ ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ سَيَرْحَمُهُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
“The believers, male and female, are friends to each other. They bid virtue and forbid vice and establish Salāh and pay Zakāh and obey Allah and His Messenger. Those are the ones whom Allah will bless with mercy. Surely, Allah is Powerful, Wise.” (9:71)
Wa-l-muʾminūna wa-l-muʾminātu baʿḍuhum awliyāʾu baʿḍ: the believers are friends one to another. They enjoin what is right. They forbid what is wrong. They establish the prayer. They give zakāh. They obey Allah and His Messenger. These are they upon whom — sa-yarḥamuhumu Allāh — Allah will have mercy; and that is seen in verse 71.