Transliteration:( Ashihhatan 'alaikum faizaa jaaa'al khawfu ra aytahum yanzuroona ilaika tadooru a'yunuhum kallazee yughshaa 'alaihi minal mawti fa izaa zahabal khawfu salqookum bi alsinatin hidaadin ashihhatan 'alal khayr; ulaaa'ika lam yu'minoo fa ahbatal laahu a'maalahum; wa kaana zaalika 'alal laahi yaseeraa )
"They are reluctant in helping you. But when the time of fear comes to them, you will see them looking at you. Their eyes are rolling [41] as if death [42] has approached them. Then when the time of fear has passed [43] away, they began to taunt you with a sharp tongue, being greedy of the booty [44]. These people have never believed [45], therefore Allah has nullified [46] their works, and this is an easy [47] thing for Allah."
During moments of extreme fear, such as the onset of battle, the eyes of the hypocrites shift nervously, resembling a drowning man or one nearing death.
Unlike the believers whose faces shine with calmness and trust in Allah, the hypocrites’ faces turn pale and distressed, exposing the terror within their hearts.
Once the danger is removed and victory or spoils of war appear, these same cowards turn bold. They claim a greater share of the spoils, insisting they contributed to the victory.
They falsely declare, "We fought bravely," only to demand more of the war booty, despite their earlier fear and inaction.
This verse reveals the true sign of hypocrisy: inaction in hardship and bold speech in comfort. The sincere believer, in contrast, acts more and speaks less.
All seemingly good actions of such hypocrites are invalid without true faith. Just as a building collapses with a weak foundation, good deeds without belief have no value in the sight of Allah.
Allah can erase a lifetime of good deeds in an instant, if done without faith. At the same time, He can forgive a lifetime of sins with sincere repentance. Such matters are easy for Allah.
The tafsir of Surah Ahzab verse 19 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Ahzab ayat 18 which provides the complete commentary from verse 18 through 19.
(33:19) They are utterly niggardly[30] (in coming to your aid). Whenever there is danger, you will see them looking at you, their eyes rolling as though they were on the verge of fainting at the approach of death. But when the danger passes away, their greed for wealth prompts them to greet you with their sharp, scissor-like tongues.[31] These are the ones who never truly believed, and so Allah has caused their deeds to be reduced to naught.[32] That is easy enough for Allah.[33]
30. “Being miserly”: Those who are not at all willing to spend their energies, their time, their wealth, etc. in any way in which the true believers are spending whatever they have. Not to speak of exerting themselves and braving the dangers, they do not want to cooperate with the believers in anything with an open heart.
31. Lexically, this verse has two meanings:
(1) When you return victorious from a war, they receive you warmly, and try to impress you with a sweet tongue that they too are sincere believers and they too have made their contribution to promote the cause of Islam, and therefore, they deserve a share from the booty.
(2) If victory is attained, these people show great powers of the tongue at the time of the division of the spoils and make great demands for their shares, recounting their services for the cause of Islam.
32. That is, Allah will make null and void all the prayers that they offered, all the fasts that they observed, the zakat that they paid, and other good works that they did after embracing Islam, and will give them no reward for these. For Allah does not judge actions and deeds according to their external form but on the basis of the faith and sincerity underlying them. When the actions are altogether devoid of this quality, there will be mere show and, therefore, meaningless. Here, one thing is especially noteworthy. A clear verdict has been given about the people who professed to believe in Allah and His Messenger, offered the Prayers, observed the fast, gave the Zakat and cooperated with the Muslims in other good works, to the effect that they did not believe at all. This verdict has been given because when they were put to the test during the conflict between Islam and un-Islam, they showed double standard, preferred selfish interests above the interests of the faith, and shirked offering their selves and their wealth and their energies for the protection of Islam. This shows that the real criterion of the judgment are not the apparent deeds but the loyalties of man. If a person is not loyal to God and His way, his profession of the faith and his worship and other good deeds are worthless.
33. That is, as their deeds and actions do not carry any value, Allah renders them fruitless without the slightest hesitation; and as they do not have any power to resist. Allah has no difficulty in destroying their deeds altogether.
[1190]- Literally, "stingy," i.e., unwilling to offer any help.
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