Allah the Exalted states about the hypocrites, may Allah curse them,
[وَإِذَا قِيلَ
لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْاْ يَسْتَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ لَوَّوْاْ
رُءُوسَهُمْ]
(And when it is said to them: "Come, so that the Messenger of Allah may ask
forgiveness from Allah for you,'' they twist their heads,) meaning, they turn
away, ignoring this call in arrogance, belitt- ling what they are invited to.
This is why Allah the Exalted said,
[وَرَأَيْتَهُمْ
يَصُدُّونَ وَهُم مُّسْتَكْبِرُونَ]
(and you would see them turning away their faces in pride.) Allah punished
them for this behavior, saying,
[سَوَآءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ
أَسْتَغْفَرْتَ لَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ لَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَهْدِى الْقَوْمَ الْفَـسِقِينَ ]
(It is equal to them whether you ask forgiveness or ask not forgiveness for
them, Allah will never forgive them. Verily, Allah guides not the people who are
the rebellious.) As Allah said in Surat Bara'ah, and a discussion preceded
there, and here we will present some of the Hadiths reported that are related to
it. Several of the Salaf mentioned that this entire passage was revealed in the
case of `Abdullah bin Ubay bin Salul, as we will soon mention, Allah willing and
our trust and reliance are on Him. In his book, As-Sirah, Muhammad bin Ishaq
said, "After the battle of Uhud ended, the Prophet returned to Al-Madinah.
`Abdullah bin Ubay bin Salul -- as Ibn Shihab narrated to me -- would stand up
every Friday, without objection from anyone because he was a chief of his
people, when the Prophet would sit on the Minbar, just before he delivered the
Jumu`ah Khutbah to the people. `Abdullah bin Ubay would say, `O people! This is
the Messenger of Allah with you. Allah has honored us by sending him and gave
you might through him. Support him, honor him and listen to and obey him.' He
would then sit down. So after the battle of Uhud, even after he did what he did,
that is, returning to Al-Madinah with a third of the army, he stood up to say
the same words. But the Muslims held on to his clothes and said to him, `Sit
down, O enemy of Allah! You are not worthy to stand after you did what you did.'
`Abdullah went out of the Masjid crossing people's lines and saying, `By Allah,
it is as if I said something awful when I wanted to support him.' Some men from
Al-Ansar met him at the gate of the Masjid and asked him what happened. He said,
`I just stood up to support him and some men, his Companions, jumped at me,
pulled me back and admonished me, as if what I said was an awful thing; I merely
wanted to support him.' They said to him, `Woe to you! Go back so that Allah's
Messenger asks Allah to forgive you.' He said, `By Allah, I do not wish that he
ask Allah to forgive me.''' Qatadah and As-Suddi said, "This Ayah was revealed
about `Abdullah bin Ubay. A young relative of his went to Allah's Messenger and
conveyed to him an awful statement that `Abdullah said. The Messenger called
`Abdullah, who swore by Allah that he did not say anything. The Ansar went to
that boy and admonished him. However, Allah sent down what you hear about
`Abdullah's case and Allah's enemy was told, `Go to Allah's Messenger,' but he
turned his head away, saying that he will not do it.'' Muhammad bin Ishaq said
that Muhammad bin Yahya bin Hibban, `Abdullah bin Abi Bakr and `Asim bin `Umar
bin Qatadah narrated to him the story of Bani Al-Mustaliq. They said that while
the Messenger of Allah was in that area, Jahjah bin Sa`id Al-Ghifari, a hired
hand for `Umar, and Sinan bin Wabr fought over the water source. Sinan called
out, "O Ansar'', while Al-Jahjah called, "O Muhajirin!'' Zayd bin Arqam and
several Ansar men were sitting with `Abdullah bin Ubay bin Salul at that time.
When `Abdullah heard what happened, he said, "They are bothering us in our land.
By Allah, the parable of us and these foolish Quraysh men, is the parable that
goes, `Feed your dog until it becomes strong, and it will eat you.' By Allah,
when we go back to Al-Madinah, the most mighty will expel the weak from it.'' He
then addressed his people who were sitting with him, saying to them, "What have
you done to yourselves You let them settle in your land and shared your wealth
with them. By Allah, if you abandon them, they will have to move to another area
other than yours.'' Zayd bin Arqam heard these words and conveyed them to
Allah's Messenger . Zayd was a young boy then. `Umar bin Al-Khattab was with the
Messenger and he said, "O Allah's Messenger! Order `Abbad bin Bishr to cut off
his head at his neck.'' The Prophet replied,
«فَكَيْفَ إِذَا
تَحَدَّثَ النَّاسُ يَا عُمَرُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا يَقْتُلُ أَصْحَابَهُ، لَا،
وَلَكِنْ نَادِ يَا عُمَرُ الرَّحِيل»
(What if people started saying that Muhammad kills his companions, O `Umar
No. However, order the people to start the journey (back to Al-Madinah).) When
`Abdullah bin Ubay bin Salul was told that his statement reached Allah's Prophet
, he went to him and denied saying it. He swore by Allah that he did not utter
the statement that Zayd bin Arqam conveyed. `Abdullah bin Ubay was a chief of
his people and they said, "O Allah's Messenger! May be the young boy merely
guessed and did not hear what was said correctly.'' Allah's Messenger started
the journey at an unusual hour of the day and was met by Usayd bin Al-Hudayr,
who greeted him acknowledging his prophethood. Usayd said, "By Allah! You are
about to begin the journey at an unusual time.'' The Prophet said,
«أَمَا بَلَغَكَ مَا
قَالَ صَاحِبُكَ ابْنُ أُبَيَ؟ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ إِذَا قَدِمَ الْمَدِينَةَ
سَيُخْرِجُ الْأَعَزُّ مِنْهَا الْأَذَل»
(Did not the statement of your friend, Ibn Ubay reach you He claimed that
when he returns to Al-Madinah, the mighty one will expel the weak one out of
it.) Usayd said, "Indeed, you are the mighty one, O Allah's Messenger, and he is
the disgraced one.'' Usayd said, "Take it easy with him, O Allah's Messenger! By
Allah, when Allah brought you to us, we were about to gather the pearls (of a
crown) so that we appoint him king over us. He thinks that you have rid him of
his kingship.'' The Messenger of Allah traveled with the people until the night
fell, then the rest of the night until the beginning of the next day and then
set camp with the people. He wanted to busy them from talking about what had
happened. The minute people felt the ground under their feet, they went to sleep
and Surat Al-Munafiqin was revealed. Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Al-Bayhaqi recorded that
Jabir bin `Abdullah said, "We were in a battle with Allah's Messenger and a man
from the Emigrants kicked an Ansari man. The Ansari man called out, `O Ansar!'
and the Emigrant called out, `O Emigrants!' Allah's Messenger heard that and
said,
«مَا بَالُ دَعْوَى
الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ؟ دَعُوهَا فَإِنَّهَا مُنْتِنَة»
(What is this call of Jahiliyyah Abandon it because it is offensive.)
`Abdullah bin Ubay heard that and said, `Have they (the Emigrants) done so By
Allah, if we return to Al-Madinah, surely, the more honorable will expel
therefrom the meaner.' The Ansar at that time, were more numerous that the
Emigrants when the Messenger of Allah came to Al-Madinah, but later on the
Emigrants imcreased in number. When this statement reached the Prophet , `Umar
got up and said, `O Allah's Messenger! Let me chop off the head of this
hypocrite!' The Prophet said:
«دَعْهُ، لَا
يَتَحَدَّثُ النَّاسُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا يَقْتُلُ أَصْحَابَه»
(Leave him, lest the people say that Muhammad kills his companions.)'' Imam
Ahmad, Al-Bukhari and Muslim collected this Hadith. `Ikrimah and Ibn Zayd and
others said that when the Prophet and his Companions went back to
Al-Madinah,`Abdullah, the son of `Abdullah bin Ubay bin Salul, remained by the
gate of Al-Madinah holding his sword. People passed by him as they returned to
Al-Madinah, and then his father came. `Abdullah, son of `Abdullah, said to his
father, "Stay where you are,'' and his father asked what the matter was His son
said, "By Allah! You will enter through here until the Messenger of Allah allows
you to do so, for he is the honorable one and you are the disgraced.'' When the
Messenger of Allah came by, and he used to be in the last lines, `Abdullah bin
Ubay complained to him about his son and his son said, "By Allah, O Allah's
Messenger! He will not enter it until you say so.'' The Messenger gave his
permission to `Abdullah bin Ubay and his son said, "Enter, now that the
Messenger of Allah gave you his permission.'' In his Musnad, Abu Bakr `Abdullah
bin Az-Zubayr Al-Humaydi recorded from Abu Harun Al-Madani that `Abdullah, the
son of `Abdullah bin Ubay bin Salul, said to his father, "You will never enter
Al-Madinah unless and until you say, `Allah's Messenger is the honorable one and
I am the disgraced.'' When the Prophet came, `Abdullah, son of `Abdullah bin
Ubay bin Salul said to him, "O Allah's Messenger! I was told that you have
decided to have my father executed. By He Who has sent you with Truth, I never
looked straight to his face out of respect for him. But if you wish, I will
bring you his head, because I would hate to see the killer of my father.''
[يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ
ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَلُكُمْ وَلاَ أَوْلَـدُكُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ
وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْخَـسِرُونَ - وَأَنفِقُواْ مِن مَّا
رَزَقْنَـكُمْ مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِىَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ فَيَقُولُ رَبِّ
لَوْلا أَخَّرْتَنِى إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ فَأَصَّدَّقَ وَأَكُن مِّنَ
الصَّـلِحِينَ - وَلَن يُؤَخِّرَ اللَّهُ نَفْساً إِذَا جَآءَ أَجَلُهَآ وَاللَّهُ
خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ ]
(9. O you who believe! Let not your properties or your children divert you
from the remembrance of Allah. And whosoever does that, then they are the
losers.) (10. And spend of that with which We have provided you before death
comes to one of you, and he says: "My Lord! If only You would give me respite
for a little while, then I should give Sadaqah from my wealth, and be among the
righteous.) (11. And Allah grants respite to none when his appointed time comes.
And Allah is All-Aware of what you do.)