Tafseer of The Clans · Al-Ahzaab · 33:60
If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease and those who spread rumors in al-Madinah do not cease, We will surely incite you against them; then they will not remain your neighbors therein except for a little.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word, the Exalted: laʾin lam yantahi al-munāfiqūna wa-lladhīna fī qulūbihim maraḍun wa-l-murjifūna fī al-madīnati la-nughriyannaka bihim thumma lā yujāwirūnaka fīhā illā qalīlan ("If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease and the rumor-mongers in the city do not desist, We shall surely set you against them; thereafter they shall remain your neighbors therein only for a short time" (33:60)).
He, exalted is His mention, says: if the people of hypocrisy (nifāq), who conceal unbelief (kufr) within themselves and display faith (īmān), do not desist, wa-lladhīna fī qulūbihim maraḍun ("and those in whose hearts is a disease") — by this is meant: a doubting disposition arising from the desire for fornication (zinā) and the love of licentiousness.
And in agreement with what we have said concerning this, the interpreters (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū ʿAbd al-Ṣamad related to us, saying: Mālik ibn Dīnār related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His word laʾin lam yantahi al-munāfiqūna wa-lladhīna fī qulūbihim maraḍun ("If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease do not desist"), he said: they are the committers of fornication.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: wa-lladhīna fī qulūbihim maraḍun ("and those in whose hearts is a disease"), he said: the desire for fornication.
He said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī related to us, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ al-Tammār related to us, saying: I heard ʿIkrima concerning His word fī qulūbihim maraḍun ("in whose hearts is a disease"), he said: the desire for fornication.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of someone who related it to him, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ: wa-lladhīna fī qulūbihim maraḍun ("and those in whose hearts is a disease"), he said: the committers of fornication.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word laʾin lam yantahi al-munāfiqūna wa-lladhīna fī qulūbihim maraḍun... ("If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease do not desist...") — the verse — he said: these are a category of the hypocrites (munāfiqīn). wa-lladhīna fī qulūbihim maraḍun ("and those in whose hearts is a disease") — the people of fornication. He said: the people of fornication among the people of hypocrisy, who pursue women and desire fornication. And he recited: fa-lā takhḍaʿna bi-l-qawli fa-yaṭmaʿa alladhī fī qalbihi maraḍun ("Be not then submissive in speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease should desire"). He said: and the hypocrites are ten categories in (sūra) Barāʾa. He said: those in whose hearts is a disease are a category of them — a disease as regards the matter of women.
His word wa-l-murjifūna fī al-madīnati ("and the rumor-mongers in the city") — He says: and the people of rumor in the city, with falsehood and untruth.
And their rumor was, according to what has been transmitted, as that which Bishr related to me, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word laʾin lam yantahi al-munāfiqūna wa-lladhīna fī qulūbihim maraḍun wa-l-murjifūna fī al-madīnati... ("If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease and the rumor-mongers in the city do not desist...") — the verse — rumor-mongering (al-irjāf) is the falsehood with which the people of hypocrisy dissembled; they used to say: "An army and an armed force has come upon you." And it was transmitted to us that the hypocrites wished to make manifest that hypocrisy which was in their hearts, and Allah threatened them with this verse, His word: laʾin lam yantahi al-munāfiqūna wa-lladhīna fī qulūbihim maraḍun... ("If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease do not desist...") — the verse. So when Allah threatened them with this verse, they kept that silent and concealed it.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word wa-l-murjifūna fī al-madīnati ("and the rumor-mongers in the city"): they too are the people of hypocrisy, who spread rumors about the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and about the believers.
His word la-nughriyannaka bihim ("We shall surely set you against them") — He says: We shall surely give you power over them and incite you against them.
And in agreement with what we have said concerning this, the interpreters have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word la-nughriyannaka bihim ("We shall surely set you against them"), he says: We shall surely give you power over them.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: la-nughriyannaka bihim ("We shall surely set you against them") — that is to say: We shall surely urge you against them and incite you against them.
His word thumma lā yujāwirūnaka fīhā illā qalīlan ("thereafter they shall remain your neighbors therein only for a short time") — He says: thereafter We shall surely banish them from your city, so that they shall not dwell with you therein except for a short span of time and term, until you banish them from it and We drive them out of it.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: thumma lā yujāwirūnaka fīhā illā qalīlan ("thereafter they shall remain your neighbors therein only for a short time") — that is to say: in the city (Medina).
