Transliteration:( Iny yasqafookum yakoonoo lakum a'daaa'anw wa yabsutooo ilaikum aydiyahum wa alsinatahum bissooo'i wa waddoo law takfuroon )
“If they get the upper hand on you, they will become your enemies [9] and will stretch out their hands and their tongues towards you with evil intent. And they long for you to disbelieve [10].”
This verse contains an indirect rebuke of Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah, reminding believers that:
Showing affection to disbelievers while ignoring their hostility is a form of betrayal.
Love based on tribalism, nationalism, or any non-religious bond that compromises faith is akin to disbelief.
Such emotional ties that affect religious loyalty are sinful and dangerous.
However, if affection is involuntary and rooted in natural human emotion—such as a parent’s concern for a disbelieving child—it is not sinful, as seen in the case of Hazrat Nuh (AS) [cf. Surah Hud 11:45–46].
No matter how kindly you treat them, if given the chance, they will:
Attack you physically (“stretch out their hands”),
Insult and mock you verbally (“and their tongues”),
And their ultimate goal is to turn you away from Islam: "that you become infidels."
It serves as a stern warning: trusting them blindly is like nourishing a venomous snake.
Just like a cobra fed by its master, when the opportunity comes, it will strike.
The tafsir of Surah As-Saff verse 2 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Saff ayat 1 which provides the complete commentary from verse 1 through 4.
(60:2) If they could overcome you, they would act as your foes and would hurt you by their hands and tongues, and would love to see you become unbelievers.[2]
2. Although what has been said up to here, and what follows in this regard, was revealed in connection with the incident relating to Hatib, Allah, instead of dwelling on his case only, has given the believers this lesson forever. It is contrary to the profession of the faith that a person should act, out of any motive or reason, in a way detrimental to the interests of Islam and subservient to the interests of disbelief when a conflict is going on between Islam and disbelief and some people have adopted a hostile attitude towards the Muslims only because they are Muslims. Even if a person be wholly free from any ill-will against Islam and acts thus not with an evil intention but for the sake of a dire personal need, the act anyhow is unbecoming of a believer, and whoever acts thus strays from the right way.
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