Commentary
His saying, exalted and majestic is He:
"Indeed, those who oppose Allah and His Messenger have been humiliated as those before them were humiliated. And We have sent down clear signs, and for the disbelievers is a humiliating punishment." "On the Day Allah will resurrect them all, and He will inform them of what they did. Allah has enumerated it while they forgot it. And Allah is Witness over all things." "Have you not seen that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth? There is no whispering among three except He is their fourth, nor among five except He is their sixth. And He is with them wherever they are. Then He will inform them of what they did on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed, Allah is Knowing of all things."
These verses were revealed concerning the hypocrites and a group of Jews who were in Medina. They were plotting against the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and they were waiting for him to face misfortunes. They conspired against him and wished for harm to come to him, whispering about it. Thus, these verses were revealed until the end of the matter of their whispering.
"Al-Muhadadah": is when a person gives his companion the limit of his saying or his weapon and other actions. Some said it means that a person is in one limit and his companion is in a conflicting limit. "Kubit al-rajul" means when he remains sad, seeing what he dislikes and is unable to repel it. Some said - among them Abu Ubaidah - its origin is: Kabba, meaning: a disease afflicted them in their livers, and the dal was replaced with a ta, but this is not strong. "Those before them" refers to the hypocrites of past nations who opposed the messengers, blessings and peace be upon them, long ago. His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And We have sent down clear signs" means: in this Qur'an. So these hypocrites are not more excused than those who preceded them.
And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "On the Day Allah will resurrect them" - the operative word in "On the Day" is "humiliating," and it is possible that there is an implied verb meaning: remember. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "and they forgot it" is a forgetting in its proper sense; because the disbeliever does not retain the details of his actions. And when He informed that He is Witness over all things, Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, paused, sharing this with his nation.
'And His saying, the Most High: ﴿From the whispering of three﴾, 'whispering' can mean a source added to 'three', as if He, the Most High, said: from the secrets of three. 'Whispering' can also mean a gathering of people named by the source, as He, the Most High, said in another verse: ﴿And when they were whispering﴾ [Al-Isra: 47], meaning: those who whisper. So His saying, the Most High: 'three' - on this - is a substitute for 'whispering' or a description. There is consideration in this. And His saying, the Most High: ﴿Except He is their fourth﴾, meaning: by His knowledge, encompassing, and ability. The majority of people read: 'what will be', while Abu Ja'far the reader and Abu Haywah read: 'what will be' with the 'taa' dotted from above. In the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, it is written: 'and no four except Allah is their fifth', and likewise: 'except Allah is their fourth' and 'except Allah is their sixth'. The majority of readers read: 'and no more' as an addition to the word that is in the genitive case. Al-Hasan, Al-A'mash, and Ibn Abi Ishaq read: 'and no more' with the nominative case as an addition to the place; because the estimation is: what will be whispering. And whoever made whispering a mere source estimated before 'the least' a verb whose estimation is: and there will not be the least. Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad read: 'and no greater' with one 'baa' from below, and the rest of the verse is clear.
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