His saying, exalted is He:

﴿O you who have believed, take your precaution and either go forth in companies or go forth all together.﴾ ﴿And indeed, among you is he who lags behind; and if disaster strikes you, he will say, 'Allah has favored me in that I was not present with them.'﴾ ﴿But if there comes to you a bounty from Allah, he will surely say, 'As if there had never been between you and him any affection. Oh, I wish I had been with them so I could have attained a great success.'﴾

This is a speech to the sincere among the nation of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. It is a command for them to strive against the disbelievers, to go forth in the way of Allah, and to protect the Shari'ah.

And "take your precaution" means: prepare and get ready with various preparations. Here, it includes taking weapons and others. And "go forth" means: go out diligently and determinedly. It is said: a man went forth (nafara) - with the first letter broken - and a beast went forth (nafarat) - with the first letter pronounced - in a fleeing manner. And "in companies" means: separate groups, as it is a metaphor for the detachments.

And "all together" means: the large army with the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Thus said Ibn Abbas and others. And "thubat" is reported to be more than ten men. Its form is fu'lah with a fatḥah on the 'ayn. Its origin is thubwah, and it is said: thubayyah, its lam was omitted after it moved and turned into an alif, an omission not based on measure. Therefore, it was pluralized as thiboon, with a waw and noon in place of the omitted letter, and its first letter was broken in the plural as an indication of its departure from its original form, as its original form is to be pluralized with a tā' always, so it is said: thubat. And it is diminutive: thubayyah, its origin is thubaywah. As for thubat al-hawd, which is its center to which the water returns, the omitted letter from it is the 'ayn, and its origin is thuwabah, and its diminutive is thuwbiyah, and it is from thāba yathūbu. Likewise, Abu Ali al-Farisi said in the poetry of Abu Dhuhayb:

When it was revealed by the days, it took on thubat, with its humiliation and sadness.

Indeed, it is a singular name, not plural, presented in its original form, as the original of thubat is thubawah. The waw moved and what preceded it opened, thus it turned into an alif, and Abu Dhuhayb presented it in this state.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And indeed, among you" is an affirmation, and the address is to the group of believers. The intended meaning of "among" is the hypocrites. He expressed them as "among you" since they are counted among the believers and claim their call. The lam that enters upon "who" is a lam of emphasis that has entered upon the noun of "indeed" because the news is advanced in the genitive. This is a common way in their speech, like saying: "Indeed, in the house is Zayd." The lam that enters upon "will certainly delay" is a lam of oath according to the majority, its estimation being: "And indeed, among you is one who, by Allah, will certainly delay." It is said that it is a lam of emphasis, and "will certainly delay" means: he delays others, meaning: he discourages him and leads him to refrain from the campaigns of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. Mujahid read: "will delay" with the lightening of the ت. And "calamity" means from killing and martyrdom. It is indeed a calamity according to the belief of the hypocrites and their corrupt view, or on the basis that death in all its forms is a calamity as Allah, glorified and exalted is He, willed. Indeed, martyrdom in reality is a blessing due to its good outcome. And "witness" means: one who observes. The meaning is that the hypocrite is pleased with his absence when there is hardship, and this indicates that his refraining is merely fear of fighting and reluctance from jihad.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And if a favor from Allah touches you" means: and if you are victorious and gain spoils, all of that is from the favor of Allah. The hypocrite regrets that he did not attend and obtain the spoils. He said: "Oh, I wish I had been with them so I could achieve a great success," wishing for something he had promised to do, then betrayed his promise. For the believer only wishes for such a thing if the reason preventing him from attending is a clear excuse, and a matter he has no power over. So he regrets after that for missing out on good. The hypocrite gives the believers affection and promises to adhere to all the obligations of Islam, then he refrains out of hypocrisy, doubt, and disbelief in Allah and His Messenger. Then he wishes when the unseen reveals victory for the believers. Thus comes His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "As if there had never been between you and him affection," a significant turn, and an interruption between the speaker and the spoken with a phrase that shows an increase in the ugliness of their actions. Al-Tabari narrated from Qatadah and Ibn Jurayj that they both interpreted the hypocrite's saying: "Oh, I wish I had been with them" as meaning envy from him towards the believers in obtaining a desirable outcome.

And Al-Hasan read: "They will certainly say" with a dammah on the lam, meaning "who." The dammah on the lam indicates the omitted waw.

The totality of these two verses indicates that the external hypocrites only intended the spoils, and their refraining was merely aimed at doubt and waiting for the turn of events against the believers.

And "as if" implies a meaning of comparison, but it is not like the heavy one in needing a subject and predicate; rather, sentences come after it. Ibn Kathir and Asim in the narration of Hafs read: "you will not be" with a ت, while others read: "he will not be" with a ي, and that is good for the separation that occurs between the verb and the subject.

(p-602) And His saying: "So I will succeed" is in the accusative case due to the 'fa' in response to the wish. Al-Hasan and Yazid the grammarian read: "So I succeed" in the nominative case as a statement and a new beginning. The intended meaning is: 'I succeed.' Ruh said: He did not make the 'if only' a response. Al-Zajjaj said: Indeed, His saying: ﴿As if there had never been between you and him affection﴾ is delayed, and its proper place is: ﴿So if a calamity befalls you﴾. Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is weak because it disrupts the eloquence of the speech.