وَيُعَذِّبَ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ وَٱلْمُنَـٰفِقَـٰتِ وَٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ وَٱلْمُشْرِكَـٰتِ ٱلظَّآنِّينَ بِٱللَّهِ ظَنَّ ٱلسَّوْءِ ۚ عَلَيْهِمْ دَآئِرَةُ ٱلسَّوْءِ ۖ وَغَضِبَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَنَهُمْ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَهَنَّمَ ۖ وَسَآءَتْ مَصِيرًا 6
Translations
And [that] He may punish the hypocrite men and hypocrite women, and the polytheist men and polytheist women - those who assume about Allāh an assumption of evil nature. Upon them is a misfortune of evil nature; and Allāh has become angry with them and has cursed them and prepared for them Hell, and evil it is as a destination.
Transliteration
Wa yuʿadhdhib al-munāfiqīn wa-al-munāfiqāt wa-al-mushrikīn wa-al-mushrikāt al-ẓānnīn bi-Allāh ẓann al-sūʾ ʿalayhim dāʾirat al-sūʾ wa-ghaḍib Allāh ʿalayhim wa-laʿanahum wa-aʿadda lahum jahannam wa-sāʾat maṣīrā
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the severe punishment Allah will inflict upon hypocrites (both male and female) and polytheists who harbor ill thoughts about Allah. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the 'evil supposition' (ẓann al-sūʾ) refers to doubting Allah's promise of victory and fearing He would not fulfill His covenant with His Messenger. The ayah employs powerful language—divine wrath, curse, and Hellfire—to emphasize the grave consequences of such spiritual corruption and disbelief.
Revelation Context
This ayah was revealed in the context of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (6 AH), when the hypocrites and polytheists of Mecca and Medina doubted whether Allah would grant the Muslims victory. Some Muslims also wavered in their faith, and this surah addresses their doubts and reaffirms Allah's promise of ultimate triumph.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The worst supposition is when a Muslim suspects his brother in Islam' (related to themes of ill-suspicion). Additionally, Surah Al-Fath addresses the situation at Hudaybiyyah, which is described extensively in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim regarding the Treaty's conclusion.
Themes
Key Lesson
Muslims should guard against harboring evil thoughts about Allah's wisdom, justice, and promises, for such spiritual disease leads to ruin in both worlds. This ayah teaches us to maintain unwavering faith in Allah's plans even when circumstances appear unfavorable, as doubt and suspicion about the Divine are grave spiritual illnesses.