His saying, exalted is He: "Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book in truth so that you may judge between the people by what Allah has shown you. And do not be an advocate for the treacherous." "And seek forgiveness from Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." "And do not argue on behalf of those who deceive themselves. Indeed, Allah does not like the one who is treacherous and sinful."

In this verse, there is an honor for the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - and a delegation to him. There is also a correction on the right path in judgment and a reprimand regarding the acceptance of what was raised to him concerning the matter of Bani Ubayriq quickly.

And His saying, exalted is He: "by what Allah has shown you"; its meaning is: according to the laws of Shari'ah, either by revelation and text or by reasoning that follows the path of revelation. And Allah, exalted is He, has granted His prophets infallibility.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And do not be an advocate for the treacherous" and "And seek forgiveness from Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful"; the reason for this, according to the agreement of the interpreters, is the matter of Bani Ubayriq. They were brothers: Bishr, Bashir, and Mubashshir. And Bashir was a hypocritical man; he would insult the companions of the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - and attribute poetry to others. So the Muslims would say: "By Allah, it is nothing but the poetry of the vile." So he said poetry in which he distanced himself; hence his saying:

"So whenever the men recited a poem, it was attributed to him, and they said, 'The son of Ubayriq said it.'"

Qatadah ibn al-Nu'man said: "The Banu Ubayriq were people in need. My uncle, Rafi'ah ibn Zayd, purchased a load from Dawmak in Sham. He placed it in a storage place of his, and in the storage place were two suits of armor and two swords. One night, an attack occurred on the storage place, it was breached, and the food and weapons were taken. When morning came, my uncle Rafi'ah came to me and said: O my nephew, you know that we were attacked last night; our storage place was breached, and our food and weapons were taken. So we investigated in the house and asked around, and we were told: We saw the Banu Ubayriq lighting a fire on this night, and we do not see them except with some of your food. He said: And the Banu Ubayriq said - while we were asking -: By Allah, we do not see your companion except for Labid ibn Sahl - a man from us who has righteousness and Islam. Labid heard that; he drew his sword, then he went to the Banu Ubayriq and said: By Allah, this sword will mix with you; or you will clarify this theft. They said: Stay away from us, O man; by Allah, you are not one of us. So we asked in the house until we had no doubt that they were its owners. My uncle said to me: O my nephew, if you went to the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - and informed him of this story; so I went to him - may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him - and I narrated it to him; he said: 'I will look into that.' When the Banu Ubayriq heard that, they went to a man among them, called Asir ibn 'Urwah; they spoke to him about that, and a group from the people of the house gathered to him; they went to the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - and said: O Messenger of Allah, indeed Qatadah ibn al-Nu'man and his uncle have accused a household from us; a household of Islam and righteousness; they accuse them of theft without evidence. Qatadah said: So I went to the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - and spoke to him; he said: 'You have accused a household mentioned among them is Islam and righteousness; you have accused them of theft without evidence.' He said: So I returned, wishing that I had given up some of my wealth; and I did not speak to him; I went to my uncle; he said: What did you do? I informed him of what the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - said; he said: Allah is the One whose help is sought. We did not remain long until the Qur'an was revealed: 'Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book in truth' - the verses;" the traitors are the Banu Ubayriq; and the innocent one accused is Labid ibn Sahl; and the group that intended was Asir and his companions.

Qatadah said; and more than one of the interpreters said: "This story; and similar ones; indeed its owner was Tu'mah ibn Ubayriq, and it is said about him 'Tu'aymah.' And Al-Suddi said: "The story is about Tu'mah ibn Ubayriq; but because he entrusted a Jewish man with a suit of armor; he denied it; and he betrayed him regarding it; and he threw it in the house of Abu Mulayl al-Ansari; and he intended to accuse him of stealing it when he was exposed; and Abu Mulayl is the innocent one referred to." And 'Ikrimah said: "Tu'mah ibn Ubayriq stole a suit of armor from a storage place; and he accused a man from the Jews called Zayd ibn al-Samin of stealing it."

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: "The gist of this revolves around 'that the people of Tu'mah came to the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - and spoke to him about defending Tu'mah; and lifting the accusation against him; and they defended him; and among them were those who knew that he had stolen; so this was a sin from their believers; and a desired trait from their hypocrites; so Allah protected His Messenger from that; and He alerted him to his words to Qatadah ibn al-Nu'man by His saying: ﴿And do not be an advocate for those who betray themselves﴾."

(p-18) The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: "And Tu'mah ibn Ubayriq explicitly declared apostasy after that; and he fled to Mecca; and he stayed with Sulafah; so Hassan ibn Thabit threw poetry at her; and she took Tu'mah's belongings; and threw them in the Abtuh; and said: 'Get away from us; you have brought me the poetry of Hassan'; and it was narrated that he stayed with al-Hajjaj ibn 'Ilat; and stole from him; so he expelled him; and it was narrated that he dug into the wall of a house to steal it; and the wall collapsed on him and killed him; and it was narrated that he followed a group of Arabs; and stole from them; so they killed him."

And His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: ﴿And seek forgiveness from Allah﴾; al-Tabari went to the meaning: 'Seek forgiveness from Allah for your sin in your dispute with the betrayers.'

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: "And this is not a sin; because the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - only defended the apparent; while believing in their innocence; and the meaning is: 'Seek forgiveness for the sinners from your nation; and those who dispute in falsehood; not that you should be one who argues on their behalf; this is your limit; and your position among the people; that you listen to the disputants; and judge according to what you hear; and seek forgiveness for the sinner.'"

And His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: ﴿And do not argue on behalf of those who betray themselves﴾; is a general term that includes the people of the incident; and it establishes their reprimand.

And His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: ﴿Indeed, Allah does not love the one who is treacherous and sinful﴾; is gentle; and it is a retention; for the treacherous is one from whom betrayal is repeated; and the sinful is one who intends it; so from this strictness, the one who falls once is excluded; and likewise from what comes from betrayal without intent; or in negligence; and the betrayal of oneself is what returns to it from sin and punishment in this world and the Hereafter.