Rahbatan is the source of rahb, the passive form, as if it were said: the most fearful. And His saying, 'in their hearts,' indicates their hypocrisy. It means that they show you in public fear of Allah, while you are more fearful in their hearts than Allah. If you say: It seems that they were afraid of Allah, so their fear of you is greater. I say: Its meaning is that their fear in secret of you is greater than their fear of Allah that they show to you. They used to show them a great fear of Allah. It is possible that it means that the Jews fear you in their hearts more than they fear Allah, because they were a people of strength and valor. They would be brave towards you while harboring fear in their hearts. They do not understand Allah and His greatness to fear Him as He should be feared. They do not fight you; they are not able to fight you all together, united and supporting one another, meaning the Jews and the hypocrites, except in fortified villages with trenches and paths or from behind walls, without coming out to face you. Allah has cast terror into their hearts, and the support and victory of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is with you. And it has been read: jadr, with a lightening. And jidar. And jadr and jadr, which are: the wall. Their strength among themselves is severe, meaning that the severe strength they are described with is only among themselves when they fight. If they were to fight you, that strength and severity would not remain for them, because the brave becomes cowardly and the mighty is humiliated when fighting Allah and His Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him. You think they are all together, united, while their hearts are divided. It means that there is enmity and hatred among them, so they do not support one another as they should, nor do they shoot from one bow. This is a means of encouragement for the believers and a strengthening of their hearts to fight them. A people who do not understand that the scattering of hearts weakens their strength and aids their souls. Like those before them, meaning like the people of Badr in a recent time. If you say: What made 'recent' stand out? I say: By 'like,' as in: like the existence of the people of Badr recently. They tasted the consequences of their affair, the evil end of their disbelief and enmity towards the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. From their saying: 'bala' and 'wabil': a bad consequence, meaning they tasted the punishment of death in this world, and for them in the Hereafter is the punishment of the Fire. The example of the hypocrites in their inciting the Jews to fight and their promise of victory to them, then abandoning them and breaking their promise, is like the example of Satan when he misleads a person with his cunning, then disowns him in the end. The intended misguidance is of Quraysh on the day of Badr, and his saying to them: 'No one can defeat you today from among the people, and I am your protector,' until his saying: 'I am free from you.' And Ibn Mas'ud read: 'Khalidan fiha,' as a report that it is news of that, and 'wa fi al-nar' is a statement. And in the well-known reading: the place is settled, and 'Khalidin fiha' is a state. And it has been read: 'Ana bari.' And their consequence is in the nominative.