Tafseer of The Hypocrites · Al-Munaafiqoon · 63:2
They have taken their oaths as a cover, so they averted [people] from the way of Allah. Indeed, it was evil that they were doing.
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 Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: the hypocrites have made their oaths into a shield — and that is their swearing.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: اتَّخَذُوا أَيْمَانَهُمْ جُنَّةً ("They have made their oaths into a shield"): that is to say, their swearing is a shield.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid concerning the word of Allah: اتَّخَذُوا أَيْمَانَهُمْ جُنَّةً ("They have made their oaths into a shield"), he said: they protect themselves by it; he said that because they believed and thereafter became unbelievers.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His word: اتَّخَذُوا أَيْمَانَهُمْ جُنَّةً ("They have made their oaths into a shield"), he said: their swearing by Allah that they truly belong to you is a shield.
And His word: جُنَّةٍ ("a shield"): a covering with which they conceal themselves, just as one who protects himself takes cover behind his shield in war and battle; by it they protect themselves, their children, and their possessions, and with it they ward off [harm].
In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the scholars of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) also spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: جُنَّةٍ ("a shield"): so that by it they might protect their blood and their possessions.
And His word: فَصَدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ("and they turned away from the path of Allah") says: they turned away from the religion of Allah with which He sent His Prophet ﷺ, and from His law which He prescribed for His creatures. إِنَّهُمْ سَاءَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ("Truly, evil is what they used to do") says: truly, these hypocrites, who have made their oaths into a shield — evil is what they used to do by making their oaths into a shield, because of their lying, their hypocrisy, and other of their affairs.
