tongue; whenever he spoke, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would listen to what he said.

“Yet they are like propped-up logs”: mere forms without souls, and bodies without minds. Abu Amr and al-Kisa'i recited it as khushb, with the shin unvowelled, while the rest recited it with a dammah on the shin.

“Propped up” means leaned against a wall, derived from the expression, “I leaned the thing,” meaning, “I inclined it.” The intensified form indicates abundance. What is meant is that they are not fruit-bearing trees; rather, they are timbers propped against a wall. “Thinking every cry is against them”: whenever they hear a sound in the camp—whether a caller makes an announcement, an animal breaks loose, or a lost item is proclaimed—they assume, out of cowardice and their evil suspicions, that they are the intended target, and that they have been overtaken, because of the terror within their hearts.

It was also said that this was because they feared that Allah would send down concerning them a command that would expose their secrets and make their blood lawful. Then He said, “They are the enemy.” This is a nominal clause consisting of a subject and predicate. “So beware of them,” and do not trust them. “May Allah destroy them!” means: may Allah curse them. “How are they turned away!” means: how they are diverted from the truth.