{أَنزَلَ} {sent down}: Means that it was descended from the sky, and it was not due to the usual cause of drowsiness. It was by a divine order that was revealed by Allah (swt), out of His kindness and compassion for them.
وَطَآئِفَةٌ قَدْ أَهَمَّتْهُمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ يَظُنُّونَ بِاللّهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ ظَنَّ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ {while another faction worried about themselves, thinking of Allah other than the truth – the thought of ignorance,}: Those who followed Abdullah bin Ubay bin Salul, who was the head of hypocrisy, consequently they became part of the group of hypocrites.
يَظُنُّونَ بِاللّهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ ظَنَّ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ{thinking of Allah other than the truth – the thought of ignorance}: Allah (swt) is the absolute Truth, and He revealed the Qur’an with the truth, however, the truth is the stable thing. Some said: Allah (swt) promised us victory and we were defeated, so they returned to the pre-Islamic way of thinking.
يَقُولُونَ هَل لَّنَا مِنَ الأَمْرِ مِن شَيْءٍ{saying, “Is there anything for us [to have done] in this matter?}: They said that the Prophet (saws) was the one who let made them leave their homes to fight, and that had not they leave, this would not have happened… and that they had nothing to do with the matter.
Knowing that the Prophet (saws), in the Battle of Uhud, wanted to stay in Medina, but he acted according to the consultation with his companions. However, the hypocrites wanted to make a confusion in the ranks, so they said: We have nothing of the matter, the matter was not ours, and we did not take this decision.
قُلْ إِنَّ الأَمْرَ كُلَّهُ لِلَّهِ {Say, “Indeed, the matter belongs completely to Allah.”}: As a result, everything that happens is from Allah (swt), but when you violate Allah’s commands, evil will befall you.
﴿يُخْفُونَ فِي أَنفُسِهِم مَّا لاَ يُبْدُونَ لَكَ﴾ {They conceal within themselves what they will not reveal to you.}: This is hypocrisy, to hide what is in yourself and show something else that contradicts it.
يَقُولُونَ لَوْ كَانَ لَنَا مِنَ الأَمْرِ شَيْءٌ مَّا قُتِلْنَا هَاهُنَا{They say, “If there was anything we could have done in the matter, some of us would not have been killed right here.”}: Meaning, we wanted to fight inside Al-Madinah, we didn’t want to go out anywhere.
قُل {Say,}: Allah (swt) gives the answer. Allah (swt) says to the Prophet (saws): “Say”, and if the Qur’an was from other than Allah (swt), he would have removed the word “Say.”
لَّوْ كُنتُمْ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ لَبَرَزَ الَّذِينَ كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقَتْلُ إِلَى مَضَاجِعِهِمْ {“Even if you had been inside your houses, those decreed to be killed would have come out to their death beds.”}: You will meet Allah’s written destination whether you are in your bed or anywhere, you will never escape your destiny. This is a settled matter, and in the verses that preceded, Allah (swt) said:
وَمَا كَانَ لِنَفْسٍ أَنْ تَمُوتَ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِ الله كِتَابًا مُّؤَجَّلاً
{And it is not [possible] for one to die except by permission of Allah at a decree determined.} (Aal-Imran: 145)
وَلِيُمَحَّصَ مَا فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ {It was] so that Allah might test what is in your breasts and purify what is in your hearts}: It is a trial and accurate search, so that Allah (swt) may distinguish the bad from the good, and it is for what is in the heart, As the Prophet (saws) said:
“In the body there is a piece of flesh, and the whole body is sound if it is sound, but the whole body is corrupt if it is corrupt. It is the heart.”[1]
وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ {And Allah is Knowing of that within the breasts.}: With everything that is hidden in the breasts; because you may say something other than what you hide in your heart, showing other than what is true to you, this is the definition of hypocrisy. Verily, there is hypocrisy of belief and hypocrisy of behavior, and the most dangerous disease that afflicts any society is the disease of hypocrisy; that is because you can see the real enemy in front of you and beware him, as for the one who is in your side and shows you one thing and hides another, and says other than what he believes, he is the hypocrite and he is more dangerous. The Holy Qur’an states two types of hypocrisy:
– Hypocrisy of belief: Of which its owner conceals disbelief and association with Allah (swt) but shows faith. This is what the Holy Qur’an said about:
إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ فِي الدَّرْكِ الأَسْفَلِ مِنَ النَّارِ وَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُمْ نَصِيرًا
{Indeed, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire – and never will you find for them a helper} (An-Nisaa: 145)
– Behavioral hypocrisy: It is when doings some behaviors such as lying and slandering in order to obtain a gain, position, or anything worldly, in this case you will be hypocrite for the sake of reaching your goals. This is the most dangerous disease because it destroys societies, since you do not know the honest from the liar, you don’t know the good from the bad, Indeed, the spread of hypocrisy leads to great corruption.
[1] Sahih al-Bukahri, Book of Belief, Hadith No. 52.