لَوْ يَجِدُونَ مَلْجَـًٔا أَوْ مَغَـٰرَٰتٍ أَوْ مُدَّخَلًا لَّوَلَّوْا۟ إِلَيْهِ وَهُمْ يَجْمَحُونَ 57
Translations
If they could find a refuge or some caves or any place to enter [and hide], they would turn to it while they run heedlessly.
Transliteration
Law yajidoona maljaan aw magharatin aw muddalaan lawallaw ilayhi wa hum yajmahoon
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the hypocrites' desperation to escape from Allah and His Messenger if they could find any refuge, cave, or passage to hide in, rushing headlong toward it without restraint. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this illustrates the extreme aversion and hatred hypocrites harbored toward the truth and the Islamic community, demonstrating that their outward compliance was merely superficial while their hearts remained in rebellion. The imagery of 'yamjahoon' (rushing wildly) emphasizes their uncontrolled desire to flee, revealing the depth of their internal corruption.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah At-Tawbah's broader exposition of the hypocrites (munafiqun) of Madinah, particularly those who refused to join the expedition to Tabuk. The surah was revealed in the 9th year of Hijrah and extensively addresses the characteristics, deceptions, and ultimate fate of hypocrites who outwardly professed Islam while inwardly rejecting faith.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'The example of a hypocrite is like a sheep between two flocks—he goes to one, then to the other' (Sahih Muslim 2784). This hadith complements the ayah's description of the hypocrite's wavering and desperate nature.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah serves as a reminder that attempting to flee from truth and divine guidance is futile and reflects a corrupted heart; believers should examine their intentions and sincerity, ensuring their faith is rooted in genuine conviction rather than mere external conformity.
Related Ayahs
وَعَلَى ٱلثَّلَـٰثَةِ ٱلَّذِينَ خُلِّفُوا۟ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا ضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ وَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَن لَّا مَلْجَأَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَّآ إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
And [He also forgave] the three who were left alone [i.e., boycotted, regretting their error] to the point that the earth closed in on them in spite of its vastness and their souls confined [i.e., anguished] them and they were certain that there is no refuge from Allāh except in Him. Then He turned to them so they could repent. Indeed, Allāh is the Accepting of Repentance, the Merciful.
بَرَآءَةٌ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ عَـٰهَدتُّم مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ
[This is a declaration of] disassociation, from Allāh and His Messenger, to those with whom you had made a treaty among the polytheists.
وَعَدَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ وَٱلْمُنَـٰفِقَـٰتِ وَٱلْكُفَّارَ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ هِىَ حَسْبُهُمْ ۚ وَلَعَنَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّقِيمٌ
Allāh has promised the hypocrite men and hypocrite women and the disbelievers the fire of Hell, wherein they will abide eternally. It is sufficient for them. And Allāh has cursed them, and for them is an enduring punishment.
وَعَدَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا وَمَسَـٰكِنَ طَيِّبَةً فِى جَنَّـٰتِ عَدْنٍ ۚ وَرِضْوَٰنٌ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
Allāh has promised the believing men and believing women gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally, and pleasant dwellings in gardens of perpetual residence; but approval from Allāh is greater. It is that which is the great attainment.