His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Indeed, those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day seek your permission to be excused. Their hearts are filled with doubt, so they waver in their doubt." "And if they had intended to go out, they would have prepared for it. But Allah disliked their rising, so He caused them to lag behind. And it was said, 'Sit among those who sit.'" "If they had gone out among you, they would have increased you only in confusion, and they would have sought to cause you dissension among you. And among you are some who listen to them. And Allah is Knowing of the wrongdoers." This verse indicates that those seeking permission are truly sincere in their hypocrisy. "And their hearts are filled with doubt" means they doubt. Doubt is akin to uncertainty. "So they waver" means they are confused and do not find guidance. From this verse, the people of speech derived that the definition of doubt is wavering between two matters. The correct definition is that it is a pause between two matters. The wavering in the verse is indeed in the doubt of these hypocrites, as they sometimes consider the truth of the Prophet's matter, blessings and peace be upon him, and sometimes consider it untrue. They were not doubting in search of the truth; for it would have been clear to them had they sought it. Rather, they were fluctuating, neither here nor there, like a sheep wandering between two flocks. Also, there is a distinction between doubt and uncertainty. The essence of doubt is that the observer is uncertain about the matter, which confuses his belief. This may lead to doubt and confusion, and it may lead to knowledge of the situation he is in. Do you not see that the saying of Al-Hudhali: "As if I have made him doubtful" cannot be interpreted as doubt? Al-Tabari said: A group of scholars believe that these two verses are abrogated by the verse mentioned in Surah An-Nur. It is narrated from Al-Hasan and Ikrimah that they said regarding His saying, exalted is He: "Those who believe do not seek your permission" [At-Tawbah: 44] to His saying: "So they waver in their doubt": it is abrogated by the verse of An-Nur: "Indeed, the believers are those who have believed in Allah and His Messenger" [An-Nur: 62] to "Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful" [An-Nur: 62]. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is incorrect, and it has been previously mentioned. And His saying, exalted is He: "And if they had intended to go out" is a proof against the hypocrites, meaning: if they had intended to go out with their intentions, they would have considered it and prepared for it before it happened. The preparation is what is arranged for the matter and what is prepared for it from things.

And the majority of the people read: "‘Uddatan" with a dammah on the ‘ayn and a ta’ for femininity. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and his son Muawiyah ibn Muhammad read: "‘Uddahu" with a dammah on the ‘ayn and a ha’ of omission, meaning: "‘Uddatahu". The ta’ of femininity was omitted when it was added, as it is said: "wa iqamati al-salah" meaning: "wa iqamata al-salah". This is the saying of al-Farra’. Abu al-Fath weakened it and said: He only omitted the ta’ of femininity and made the ha’ of the pronoun a substitute for it. Abu Hatim said: It is the plural of "‘Uddatun" on "‘Uddin" like "Kubratan" and "Bur" and "Durrah" and "Dur". The correct form in it is "‘Uddad", but it does not agree with the script of the mushaf. And ‘Asim read in what was narrated from him by Aban and Zirr ibn Hubaysh: "‘Iddahu" with a kasrah on the ‘ayn and a ha’ of omission. And to me, it is a name for what is counted, like slaughter and killing, because the enemy is called killing when it is his right to be killed. This is in the belief of the Arabs when they named it.

And their emergence is their influence for this raid, and "al-tathbit" means: slackening and breaking the resolve. And His saying: "wa qila" may be taken to mean a narration from Allah, the Exalted, that is: Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said in His previous decree: "wa qila iq‘uduu ma‘a al-qa‘idin". It may also be taken to mean a narration from them, that is: this was the saying of some of them to each other, either in wording or in meaning. Thus, it was narrated in these words which imply blame for them, as the sitting ones are the women and children. And it may be taken as an expression of permission from Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, in sitting, that is: when Allah disliked their emergence, He facilitated that you say to them: "iq‘uduu ma‘a al-qa‘idin". And sitting here is an expression of staying behind and being lax, as in the saying of the poet:

............................... ∗∗∗ And sit, for you are the one who eats and clothes.

And there is no entry for the form in all of this. And Allah's dislike of their emergence is kindness to the believers.

And His saying, the Exalted: "Law kharajuu fikum"... is a report that if they had emerged, their emergence would have been harmful. And His saying: "illa khabalan" is an exception from the first. This is the saying of one who estimated that there was no khabal in the army of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, so that the hypocrites would increase in it. So it is as if the meaning is: they did not increase you in strength or might, but rather in khabal. And it may be that the exception is not disjointed, and that is because the army of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, in the raid of Tabuk had many hypocrites, and they certainly have khabal. So if these had emerged, they would have joined those who went out and increased the khabal. And khabal is corruption in the things that are united and intertwined, like affections and some bodies. And from it is the saying of the poet:

O sons of Lubayna, you are not in my hand ∗∗∗ except with a hand that is crazed in the arm.

And Ibn Abi ‘Ablah read: "ma zadakum" without a waw.

And the majority of the people read: "la’awda‘u" and its meaning is: they would hasten the march. And "khilalakum" means: in what is between you from here to here to fill the gap between the two men. And "al-‘awda‘" means: the speed of the march. And al-Zajjaj said: "khilalakum" means: in what disrupts you.

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

This is weak. And what does he say about His saying, the Most High: ﴿And they roamed through the houses﴾ [Al-Isra: 5]? Mujahid read, as narrated by Al-Naqqash about him: "And they would hasten," which means to hurry. From it is His saying, the Most High: ﴿To idols they hasten﴾ [Al-Ma'arij: 43]. It was reported from Al-Zubair that he read: "And they would hasten," Abu Al-Fath said: This is from "the camel hastened" when it hurried in its walking, hastening and rushing. From it is the saying of Hassan ibn Thabit:

With a bottle that hastened with what was in its bottom, Hastening the she-camel with an urgent rider.

And "And they would not stop" occurred with an alif after "no" in the Mushaf. Likewise, it occurred in His saying, the Most High: ﴿Or I will surely slaughter him﴾ [An-Naml: 21]. It was said that this is due to the roughness of the spelling of the ancients. Al-Zajjaj said: They fell into this because the fatha in Hebrew and many tongues write an alif.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is possible that the movement of the lam is prolonged, creating a gap between the lam and the hamzah from "to stop."

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿They desire for you temptation﴾ means: they seek temptation for you. And His saying: ﴿And among you are listeners﴾ Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah, Al-Hasan, Mujahid, and Ibn Zayd said: Its meaning is: spies who listen to the news and convey it to them. Al-Tabari favored this, and Al-Naqqash said: The form of exaggeration weakens this saying.

The majority of the interpreters said: Its meaning is: And among you are obedient ones who listen to them. And His saying: ﴿And Allah is Knowing of the wrongdoers﴾ is a warning to them and to those who are of the believers with this attribute.