'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' And His saying, exalted and glorious is He: "The laggards among the Bedouins will say to you, 'Our wealth and our families occupied us, so ask forgiveness for us.' They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts. Say, 'Who can protect you from Allah if He intends for you harm or intends for you benefit? Rather, Allah is All-Aware of what you do.'" "Rather, you thought that the Messenger and the believers would never return to their families. And this was made pleasing in your hearts, and you thought an evil thought, and you were a doomed people." The laggards among the Bedouins, Mujahid and others said: They are the tribes of Juhayna and Muzayna and those who were around Medina from the tribes. For when the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, set out for his Umrah in the year of Hudaybiyyah, they saw that he was facing a great enemy from Quraysh, Thaqif, Kinana, and the neighboring tribes, who are the Ahabis. The faith of those neighbors of Medina was not strong, so they stayed back from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and they lagged behind. They said: 'Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and his companions will not return from this journey.' So Allah exposed them in this verse and informed Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, of their words and their excuses before they reached him. It was as they said: 'Our wealth and our families occupied us, so ask forgiveness for us.' This is from them malice and nullification. Therefore, He, exalted is He, said: "They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts." Al-Rummani said: A Bedouin is only said of the people of the desert specifically. Then Allah, exalted is He, said to His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: Say to them: "Who can protect you from Allah if He intends for you harm?" That is: Who will protect your wealth and your families from Him if He intends for you evil in it? The majority of the readers recited: "If He intends for you harm" with a fathah on the dhad, while Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: "harm" with a dammah. Abu Ali preferred it. Both are valid languages. In the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud, it is written: "If He intends for you evil." Then Allah, exalted is He, responded to them with His saying: "Rather, Allah is All-Aware of what you do." Then He explained to them the reason for which they lagged behind with His saying: "Rather, you thought..." The verse. And in the reading of Abdullah: "to their families" without a ya. And "doomed" means: corrupt, perished because of their corruption. Al-Bawar means: destruction. "The goods became bār" is derived from this. And "bār" can be used to describe both singular and plural. From it is the saying of Ibn Al-Zab'ari: O Messenger of the King, indeed my tongue is a patch that I have not torn when I am bār. And bār in the language of Azd 'Amman means: corrupt. From it is the saying of Abu Al-Dardā: "So what they gathered became bār," meaning: corrupt and gone. From it is the saying of Hassan ibn Thabit: Length does not benefit from the hearts of the people, and indeed Allah guides the way of the doomed. And Al-Tabari said regarding His saying, exalted is He: "They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts": meaning their saying: "So ask forgiveness for us;" for they said that as a form of flattery without repentance or regret. He said: And His saying, exalted is He: "Say, who can protect you..." means: And my asking forgiveness will not benefit you. Can I protect you from anything while Allah has intended harm for you because of your disobedience? Just as I cannot protect you if He intends for you benefit in your wealth and families.