۞ أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ تَوَلَّوْا۟ قَوْمًا غَضِبَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مَّا هُم مِّنكُمْ وَلَا مِنْهُمْ وَيَحْلِفُونَ عَلَى ٱلْكَذِبِ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ 14
Translations
Have you not considered those who make allies of a people with whom Allāh has become angry? They are neither of you nor of them, and they swear to untruth while they know [they are lying].
Transliteration
Alam tara ilal-ladhina tawallaw qawman ghadiba Allahu alayhim ma hum minkum wa la minhum wa yahlifun ala al-kadhibi wa hum ya'lamun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah rebukes those who ally themselves with people upon whom Allah's wrath has descended (the Jews and Christians who rejected the Prophet), clarifying that such people are neither truly part of the Muslim community nor part of the disbelievers' community—they occupy a hypocritical middle ground. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the ayah specifically condemns their deliberate falsehood and oath-taking while fully aware of their deceit, highlighting the severity of conscious dishonesty in matters of faith and allegiance.
Revelation Context
This ayah was revealed in Medina during a period of heightened tension between the Muslim community and the hypocrites (munafiqun) who maintained dubious relationships with Jewish tribes. The surah's broader context addresses the case of Khawlah bint Tha'labah but extends to condemn hypocritical conduct generally, particularly the dangerous practice of Muslims secretly aligning with those hostile to Islam.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Whoever loves a people will be with them on the Day of Judgment' (Sahih Bukhari 3612). Additionally, the Quranic principle in 5:51 about not taking Jews and Christians as allies complements this ayah's warning against such destructive allegiances.
Themes
Key Lesson
Muslims must be clear and consistent in their faith commitments and allegiances, rejecting the spiritual disease of hypocrisy that attempts to straddle both belief and disbelief. This ayah serves as a timeless reminder that integrity in faith cannot be compromised through dishonest dealings or concealed allegiances, as such duplicity ultimately distances one from both communities and incurs divine displeasure.
Related Ayahs
إِنَّمَا ٱلنَّجْوَىٰ مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ لِيَحْزُنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَلَيْسَ بِضَآرِّهِمْ شَيْـًٔا إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ
Private conversation is only from Satan that he may grieve those who have believed, but he will not harm them at all except by permission of Allāh. And upon Allāh let the believers rely.
ٱتَّخَذُوٓا۟ أَيْمَـٰنَهُمْ جُنَّةً فَصَدُّوا۟ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ فَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ
They took their [false] oaths as a cover, so they averted [people] from the way of Allāh, and for them is a humiliating punishment.
وَٱلَّذِينَ يُظَـٰهِرُونَ مِن نِّسَآئِهِمْ ثُمَّ يَعُودُونَ لِمَا قَالُوا۟ فَتَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَتَمَآسَّا ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ تُوعَظُونَ بِهِۦ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ
And those who pronounce ẓihār from their wives and then [wish to] go back on what they said - then [there must be] the freeing of a slave before they touch one another. That is what you are admonished thereby; and Allāh is Aware of what you do.
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ مَا يَكُونُ مِن نَّجْوَىٰ ثَلَـٰثَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ وَلَا خَمْسَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ سَادِسُهُمْ وَلَآ أَدْنَىٰ مِن ذَٰلِكَ وَلَآ أَكْثَرَ إِلَّا هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كَانُوا۟ ۖ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا عَمِلُوا۟ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
Have you not considered that Allāh knows what is in the heavens and what is on the earth? There are not three in a private conversation but that He is the fourth of them, nor are there five but that He is the sixth of them - and no less than that and no more except that He is with them [in knowledge] wherever they are. Then He will inform them of what they did, on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed Allāh is, of all things, Knowing.