His saying, exalted and glorified is He:

﴿Allah has forgiven you. Why did you grant them permission until it became clear to you who were truthful and you knew the liars?﴾ ﴿Those who believe in Allah and the Last Day do not seek your permission to strive with their wealth and their lives. And Allah is Knowing of the righteous.﴾

This verse is about a group that is extreme in hypocrisy. They sought permission without any excuse. Among them were Abdullah ibn Ubayy, [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-Jad ibn Qays], Rifa'ah ibn al-Taboot, and those who followed them. Some of them said: 'Grant me permission and do not put me to trial.' Others said: 'Grant us permission to stay.' So the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, granted them permission to keep them with him. He took the easier course of action and relied on Allah. Mujahid said: Some of them said: 'We will seek his permission, and if he grants us permission to sit, we will sit; otherwise, we will sit.' So the verse was revealed regarding that. A group said: The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, granted them permission without being commanded to do so, and he was forgiven for what followed from this. He mentioned forgiveness before reprimand as a mark of honor for him, blessings and peace be upon him. Amr ibn Maymun al-Awdi said: The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, expressed his opinion in two matters without being commanded in either of them: this one and the matter of the captives of Badr. Allah rebuked him regarding both. Another group said: Rather, His saying, glorified and exalted is He, in this verse: ﴿Allah has forgiven you﴾ is an opening statement, just as you say: 'May Allah rectify you,' and 'May Allah honor you.' There was no sin from him, blessings and peace be upon him, to be forgiven, because the nature of the call to arms and acceptance of excuses is directed towards his striving. As for His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿Why did you grant them permission?﴾ it is in the sense of confirmation.

And His saying: ﴿Those who were truthful﴾ means: in seeking your permission, and that if you had not granted them permission, they would have gone out with you. And His saying: ﴿And you knew the liars﴾ means: that they sought your permission while showing you that they were standing at your limit, while they were liars who had resolved to disobey, whether you granted them permission or not. Al-Tabari said: Its meaning is: until you know the truthful ones in that they have an excuse, and the disbelievers in that they have no excuse.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And on this interpretation, the excusers mix in, and we have previously stated that among them are believers like those who sought permission while they do not believe in Allah and the Last Day. The first is more correct, and Allah knows best. Al-Tabari also included in the interpretation of this verse from Qatadah that this verse was revealed after the other verse in Surah An-Nur: ﴿So when they seek your permission for some matter of theirs, then grant permission to whom you will of them﴾ [An-Nur: 62].

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this is incorrect, for the verse of An-Nur was revealed in the year four of the Hijrah during the Battle of the Trench regarding the permission of some believers to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, in some of their matters in their homes at certain times. Allah permitted him to grant permission, so the two verses differ in time and meaning.

And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿Those who do not seek your permission﴾ is a negation concerning the believers that they should not seek the permission of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, to remain behind without excuse, as the mentioned group of hypocrites did.

And His saying: ﴿that they should strive﴾ it is possible that "that" is in the accusative case meaning: they do not seek permission to refrain, disliking to strive. Sibawayh said: It is possible that it is in the genitive case.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Meaning: they do not need to seek permission to strive, rather they proceed forward. That is: they are more deserving not to seek permission to refrain. Then He informed, by His knowledge, glorified and exalted is He, about the righteous. In that is a reproach for the hypocrites and a clear rebuke against them.