يَقولونَ لَئِن رَجَعنا إِلَى المَدينَةِ لَيُخرِجَنَّ الأَعَزُّ مِنهَا الأَذَلَّ ۚ وَلِلَّهِ العِزَّةُ وَلِرَسولِهِ وَلِلمُؤمِنينَ وَلٰكِنَّ المُنافِقينَ لا يَعلَمونَ

They say: ‘When we return to the city, the mighty will surely expel the abased from it.’ Yet all might belongs to Allah and His Apostle, and the faithful, but the hypocrites do not know.

EXEGESIS

ʿIzzah lexically derives from the root ʿizz, meaning power, severity, and victory.^{‎[1]Lisan, under ʿ-z-z.} According to Rāghib, ʿizzah signifies the state in a person which prevents him from being defeated. ʿAzāz is an adjective used for the earth when it gets hard and impenetrable.^{‎[2]Raghib, under ʿ-z.} The word ʿazīz in Arabic originally means someone who cannot be influenced.^{‎[3]Lisan, under ʿ-z-z.} Hence, the root noun generally denotes the impassive state of a thing in relation to external influence, while concepts like power, strength, and severity used in the definition of the word are, in fact, the result of the state of not being easily affected.

EXPOSITION

This verse continues to expose the evil plan of the hypocrites to create dissension in the Muslim community and to try to persuade the Anṣār and the people of Medina to rupture their tie of faith with the Muhājirūn. They endeavoured to manipulate the tribal sentiments of the community of Anṣār and incite them to expel the Prophet and the Muhājirūn from the city of Medina, thus overthrowing the Islamic government and putting an end to it.^{‎[4]Qaraati, 10/60.}

The hypocrites erroneously believed that they are the mighty ones and the Messenger of God and his followers are the abased. This belief was the result of their patriotic mentality, in that they enjoyed the political and financial backing of their tribal members and their allies in the city of Medina, whilst the Prophet of God did not enjoy such a support as he was a stranger in the city with no family or tribal members.^{‎[5]Fadlallah, 22/236.}

The reason they waited to return to the city to be able to implement their conspiracy was, firstly, due to their anticipation that they would be able to secure wider support from the people of Medina as a result of manipulating the patriotic sentiments in them against the Prophet and his followers, regarding them to be foreigners in the city. Secondly, since this conspiracy unfolded when they were away from the city and the Muslim army comprised devoted followers of the Messenger of God, any attempt to revolt against him would not have borne fruit. Hence, they were waiting to return to Medina to be able to mobilise the larger community of hypocrites in the city against the Holy Prophet and his followers.

However, this was a grave miscalculation on their side which originated in their incorrect analysis of the profound spiritual transformation the Medinan society had undergone as a result of embracing Islam and the divinely inspired training they received from the Prophet of God. The community brought up by Prophet Muhammad (s) no longer perceived tribal status or affluence to be the source of might and honour, rather his divine personality had introduced them to new horizons of aspirations and ideals based on which belief in God and submission to His Messenger were the sole criterion of true human might, dignity, and brotherhood: but the hypocrites do not know. What the hypocrites failed to comprehend was that the Medinan community around the Prophet was now revolving around the light of revelation and divine values, whilst the hypocrites were drenched in the darkness of the tribal values of the Age of Ignorance.^{‎[6]Mudarrisi, 15/424-425.}   

True might and power is only to be found with God, His Messenger, and the believers. Although the believers are mighty, this might is not absolute; rather, it is conditional to their being steadfast in their faith in God and in siding by His Messenger; for in other than this case they will be stripped of the robe of might and destined to utmost disgrace in this world and the hereafter.

As mentioned in the Exposition of verse 4 of this surah, the prudent leadership of the Holy Prophet in handling the mischief of the hypocrites is indeed praiseworthy. Similarly, the stance of the Anṣār on the issue is also worthy of applause as they did not allow themselves to be carried away by tribal fanaticism incited by Ibn Ubayy against the Muhājirūn.

Nonetheless, the courageous stance of Zayd ibn Arqam, despite his young age, in confronting Ibn Ubayy, represents the intolerant spirit of faith against any hypocritical move targeting the Muslim ummah. History reports that when Zayd ibn Arqam heard Ibn Ubayy say what he said, he addressed him, saying: ‘By God, you are the abased, inferior, and the one who is hated amongst his community, while Muhammad (s) enjoys might from the All-Beneficent and the love of the Muslims. By God, I shall never like you after what you have said.’^{‎[7]Fadlallah, 22/236-237.}

Furthermore, a very interesting stand on the issue came from Ibn Ubayy’s own son, also named ʿAbd-Allāh. When he heard of the revelation of this verse, he told his father: ‘You, O my father, are the abased, and the Messenger of God is the mighty!’ Moreover, he stood outside his house as Ibn Ubayy returned to Medina, unsheathed his sword, and said to him: ‘By God, you shall not enter your house unless the Messenger of God permits you.’ Ibn Ubayy was placed in a humiliating position as the news reached the Holy Prophet. As he received the message from the Prophet to allow his father to enter, ʿAbd-Allāh said: ‘As for now, you can enter.’ Ibn Ubayy was alive for a few days after this and then became ill and died.^{‎[8]Thaalabi, 5/436; Ibn Kathir, 8/157; Fadlallah, 22/238.} According to some reports, his son forced him to admit that he is the abased and that the Prophet of God is the mighty, and he did so.^{‎[9]Suyuti, 6/22.}

According to other reports, his son came to see the Holy Prophet after he came to know of the incident and said to him: ‘You are indeed aware of my father’s issue. If you are intending to kill him then instruct me and I shall kill him, for if somebody other than me kills him then I am apprehensive that I may not bear to see the killer of my father, thus I may end up entering the hellfire due to murdering a believer because of an unbeliever.’ The Holy Prophet replied: ‘We shall treat your father with kindness and be good to him so long as he is amidst us.’^{‎[10]Kashif, 7/334; Fadlallah, 22/237. See also Ibn Kathir, 8/157.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) says in a narration: ‘Verily, God, the blessed, the exalted, has given a believer the charge of all his affairs, but He has not granted him the authority to put himself to humiliation. Do you not see the word of God, the glorious, the exalted, in this regard: Yet all might belongs to Allah and His Apostle, and the faithful? A believer ought to be mighty and not abased.’^{‎[11]Kafi, 5/64.} According to some other reports, the Imam thereafter said: ‘God makes him mighty through faith and Islam,’^{‎[12]Nur, 5/336.} and: ‘Indeed a believer is harder than a mountain. A mountain could be reduced by a pickaxe, but a believer can never be dissuaded [to turn away] from his religion.’^{‎[13]Wasail, 16/157.}
2. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘A believer ought not to humiliate himself.’ He was asked: ‘How does he humiliate himself?’ He replied: ‘When he undertakes that which he is not capable of doing.’^{‎[14]Kafi, 5/64.}
3. Imam al-Hādī (a) said: ‘Disobedience to parents results in scarcity [in provision] and humiliation.’^{‎[15]Bihar, 71/84.}
4. Imam al-Bāqir (a) is reported to have said: ‘Verily, God, the all-mighty, the majestic, has conferred three things on a believer: might in this world with regard to his religion, felicity in the hereafter, and reverence in the hearts of the believers.’^{‎[16]Khisal, 1/139.}
5. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘The honour of a believer is in his prayer at night, and his might lies in not giving trouble to people.’^{‎[17]Nur, 5/337.}
6. Imam al-Hasan (a) was once told: ‘There is greatness (ʿaẓamah) in you.’ He replied: ‘Rather, there is might (ʿizzah) in me. God, the exalted, says: Yet all might belongs to Allah and His Apostle, and the faithful.’^{‎[18]Manaqib, 4/9.}

Notes: 1. This narration has also been reported in some Sunni works with a slight difference; according to these reports, the Imam was asked: ‘People think that there is pride (tīh) in you.’^{‎[19]Razi, 30/549; Zamakhshari, 4/543; Alusi, 14/311.} 2. The ‘might’ mentioned in the above narration is best interpreted as self-esteem. Self-esteem is other than pride (kibr), as it is not permitted for man to abase himself in front of anyone other than God. Self-esteem is the result of the realisation of man of his own identity, thus protecting it from all that it does not deserve. On the contrary, pride is the outcome of the ignorance of man about his own self, hence according it a position that does not befit it. Therefore, self-esteem resembles pride in form, as humbleness bears resemblance to humiliation, although they differ in essence.^{‎[20]Razi, 30/549; Alusi, 14/311; Tantawi, 14/411-412.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Based on the occasion of revelation of this verse, there is consensus amongst all exegetes that the statement, When we return to the city, the mighty will surely expel the abased from it, as in the case of the statement in the previous verse, was uttered by ʿAbd-Allāh ibn Ubayy.^{‎[21]Mizan, 19/282; Ibn Ashur, 28/223; Alusi, 14/31; Nemuneh, 24/162.} However, the statement has been attributed to them all: They say, either because Ibn Ubayy was the head of the hypocrites and thus he represents the community of hypocrites,^{‎[22]Shawkani, 5/277.} or because his statement spread amongst them all and they were, in turn, spreading it amongst the believers;^{‎[23]Ibn Ashur, 28/223.} or because the community of the hypocrites agreed with Ibn Ubayy and gave their consent to it.^{‎[24]Tantawi, 14/410; Nemuneh, 24/162; Alusi, 14/31.}

Some exegetes report that when the Holy Prophet advanced against the Banī al-Muṣṭaliq, a branch of the Banī Khuzāʿah residing around the city of Mecca, Ibn Ubayy joined the Muslim army anticipating to have a share in the war booty. However, after the battle, the Messenger of God distributed the booty acquired among the needy from the Muhājirūn to ease their difficulties and close the financial gap between the rich and the poor. Seeing this, Ibn Ubayy became extremely furious and started inciting a group of Anṣār by telling them, When we return to the city, the mighty will surely expel the abased from it.^{‎[25]Kashif, 7/333-334.}

By mighty, Ibn Ubayy meant himself; and by abased, he meant the Holy Prophet;^{‎[26]Alusi, 14/31; Kashif, 7/334; Mizan, 19/282; Fadlallah, 22/236; Ahsan al-Hadith, 11/179.} or he meant the hypocrites and himself by the former, and the Prophet and the believers by the latter;^{‎[27]Tibyan, 10/15; Alusi, 14/31; Shawkani, 5/277; Tabrisi, 10/444.} or he meant the Anṣār by the former and the Muhājirūn by the latter;^{‎[28]Ibn Ashur, 28/223.} or he meant mighty as the people of Medina, and abased as the Prophet and the Muhājirūn.^{‎[29]Nemuneh, 24/162.}

Yet all might belongs to Allah and His Apostle, and the faithful is the response from God to what the hypocrites said.^{‎[30]Tabrisi 10/445; Razi, 30/54; Tibyan, 10/15; Kashif, 7/334; Tantawi, 14/411; Nemuneh, 24/162-163; Alusi, 14/311; Shawkani, 5/277; Mizan, 19/282; Ahsan al-Hadith, 11/179.} Some exegetes maintain that this phrase implies that if it is so that the mighty shall expel the abased then the believers are certainly the mighty, since the Messenger of God is amidst them, and both enjoy divine support. Consequently, if anyone is to be expelled from the city then it shall undoubtedly be the hypocrites.^{‎[31]Ibn Ashur, 28/223.}

The precedence of the predicate (lil-lāh) over the subject (al-ʿizzah) signifies confinement in the science of rhetoric; that is, might is exclusive of God, His Messenger, and the believers, and not of the hypocrites as they have been assuming. Moreover, the repetition of the preposition lām in li-rasūlihi (His Apostle) is meant to insist upon the might of the Messenger of God as well as allude to the fact that whatever he possesses of might is from God. Likewise, its appearance for a third time in lil-muʾminīn (and the faithful) is again to lay stress on the dignity of the believers so that it may not be overlooked due to their being needy and in minority.^{‎[32]Ibn Ashur, 28/223; Tantawi, 14/411.}

Might, essentially, is exclusive of God alone; and it is He who bestows it upon the Holy Prophet and the believers. However, this bestowal is the result of:

1. The endeavours of the Holy Prophet in making Islam prevail over other religions and defeat the enemies of God, whilst the might of the believers results from their supporting the truth and its followers,^{‎[33]Tabrisi, 10/444; Kashif, 7/334.} or because of the divine help extended to them in this world and God making them enter heaven in the hereafter.^{‎[34]Tabrisi, 10/444.}
2. The divine help extended to the Prophet and the believers, and of making their religion prevail over other religions.^{‎[35]Razi, 30/54.}
3. The might of the Prophet is in extension to the divine might, as it belongs to the believers as well, so long as they live with a sense of sovereignty due to their reliance on God and putting their trust in Him, which subsequently prevents them from being subjected to any form of humiliation.^{‎[36]Fadlallah, 22/240.}

But the hypocrites do not know: a number of explanations have been given by different exegetes as to what exactly the hypocrites are unable to comprehend:

1. They are ignorant of the fact that this attribute belongs to God alone, as they are unaware of what God confers upon His friends.^{‎[37]Tibyan, 10/15; Tabrisi, 10/445.}
2. They are incapable of comprehending the subtle realities. Besides, here the Quran attributes lack of understanding to them as they have not been able to properly examine such a manifest reality like the rapid growth of Islam and the Muslims as opposed to the receding of its enemies. As such, how could the hypocrites assume that they are more powerful than the other Arab tribes who were subjected to defeat by the Muslims?!^{‎[38]Ibn Ashur, 28/224; Tantawi, 14/411.}
3. They do not perceive the strength, freedom, and dignity embedded in the Islamic beliefs, as they are unaware of the spiritual depth in the personality of a believer. Thus they limit themselves to the earthly aspect of the reality, anticipating the defeat of the Muslims through inflicting material pressure on them, heedless of the solid determination in them to confront diverse challenges.^{‎[39]Fadlallah, 22/242.}
4. They are unable to distinguish what is detrimental to them from what is in their favour. They are like animals in their ignorance and bewilderment.^{‎[40]Shawkani, 5/277.}
5. The hypocrites are unaware of the fact that God is helping His Messenger and the believers, as He will make their religion triumph over all other religions.^{‎[41]Razi, 30/54.}
6. They are ignorant that might is the result of faith and God-consciousness.^{‎[42]Kashif, 7/334.}

The previous verse of this surah ended by attributing lack of understanding (fiqh) to the hypocrites, while this verse closes with ascribing lack of knowledge (ʿilm) to them. A group of exegetes have tried to explain the wisdom behind this difference:

1. It could be because the repetition of the same word two times in a row defies eloquence in speech; or due to the fact that the ownership of God in relation to the entire universe is a reality more obscure to comprehend than the fact that might, in its totality, belongs to Him, His Prophet, and the believers.^{‎[43]Nemuneh, 24/163-164.}
2. The use of the word fiqh in the previous verse is meant to show their inability to fathom profound realities, while the use of ʿilm in this verse implies their excessive ignorance, for they are unable to comprehend even the simple realities surrounding them.^{‎[44]Razi, 30/54; Mudarrisi, 15/426.}

[1] Lisan, under ʿ-z-z.
[2] Raghib, under ʿ-z.
[3] Lisan, under ʿ-z-z.
[4] Qaraati, 10/60.
[5] Fadlallah, 22/236.
[6] Mudarrisi, 15/424-425.
[7] Fadlallah, 22/236-237.
[8] Thaalabi, 5/436; Ibn Kathir, 8/157; Fadlallah, 22/238.
[9] Suyuti, 6/22.
[10] Kashif, 7/334; Fadlallah, 22/237. See also Ibn Kathir, 8/157.
[11] Kafi, 5/64.
[12] Nur, 5/336.
[13] Wasail, 16/157.
[14] Kafi, 5/64.
[15] Bihar, 71/84.
[16] Khisal, 1/139.
[17] Nur, 5/337.
[18] Manaqib, 4/9.
[19] Razi, 30/549; Zamakhshari, 4/543; Alusi, 14/311.
[20] Razi, 30/549; Alusi, 14/311; Tantawi, 14/411-412.
[21] Mizan, 19/282; Ibn Ashur, 28/223; Alusi, 14/31; Nemuneh, 24/162.
[22] Shawkani, 5/277.
[23] Ibn Ashur, 28/223.
[24] Tantawi, 14/410; Nemuneh, 24/162; Alusi, 14/31.
[25] Kashif, 7/333-334.
[26] Alusi, 14/31; Kashif, 7/334; Mizan, 19/282; Fadlallah, 22/236; Ahsan al-Hadith, 11/179.
[27] Tibyan, 10/15; Alusi, 14/31; Shawkani, 5/277; Tabrisi, 10/444.
[28] Ibn Ashur, 28/223.
[29] Nemuneh, 24/162.
[30] Tabrisi 10/445; Razi, 30/54; Tibyan, 10/15; Kashif, 7/334; Tantawi, 14/411; Nemuneh, 24/162-163; Alusi, 14/311; Shawkani, 5/277; Mizan, 19/282; Ahsan al-Hadith, 11/179.
[31] Ibn Ashur, 28/223.
[32] Ibn Ashur, 28/223; Tantawi, 14/411.
[33] Tabrisi, 10/444; Kashif, 7/334.
[34] Tabrisi, 10/444.
[35] Razi, 30/54.
[36] Fadlallah, 22/240.
[37] Tibyan, 10/15; Tabrisi, 10/445.
[38] Ibn Ashur, 28/224; Tantawi, 14/411.
[39] Fadlallah, 22/242.
[40] Shawkani, 5/277.
[41] Razi, 30/54.
[42] Kashif, 7/334.
[43] Nemuneh, 24/163-164.
[44] Razi, 30/54; Mudarrisi, 15/426.