⦗20–23⦘ “Those who believe say, ‘If only a surah were sent down!’ But when a definitive surah is sent down and fighting is mentioned in it, you see those in whose hearts is a disease looking at you like one overcome by death. More fitting for them would be— * obedience and honorable speech. Then, once the matter is resolved, if they were true to Allah, it would be better for them. * Were you, then, if you turned away, to spread corruption in the land and sever your ties of kinship? * Those are the ones whom Allah has cursed, rendering them deaf and blinding their sight.”
Allah Most High says, “Those who believe say,” out of eagerness and readiness to undertake demanding commands, “If only a surah were sent down!”—meaning, one containing the command to fight.
“But when a definitive surah is sent down”—meaning that compliance with it is binding—“and fighting is mentioned in it,” which is the hardest thing for souls, those whose faith is weak do not remain steadfast in carrying out these commands. Hence He says, “You see those in whose hearts is a disease looking at you like one overcome by death,” because of their aversion to it and how difficult it is for them.
This resembles the words of Allah Most High: “Have you not seen those who were told, ‘Restrain your hands, establish prayer, and give zakat’? Then, when fighting was prescribed for them, a group of them feared people as Allah should be feared, or with even greater fear.”
Allah Most High then urged them toward what was more appropriate to their condition, saying, “More fitting for them would be obedience and honorable speech.” That is, it would be more fitting for them to comply with the present command that is binding upon them, concentrate their efforts upon it, and not ask for something difficult to be prescribed for them. They should instead rejoice in the well-being and pardon granted by Allah Most High.
“Then, once the matter is resolved”—meaning that a serious and binding command comes to them—in that situation, had they been true to Allah by seeking His help and exerting every effort to comply with it, “it would have been better for them” than their former state. This is so for several reasons:
One is that the servant is deficient in every respect and has no ability unless Allah assists him. He should therefore not seek anything beyond the task presently before him.
Another is that when his soul becomes preoccupied with the future, he grows too weak to perform both the duty of his present time and that of the future. As for the present, his determination has shifted away from it to something else, while action follows determination. As for the future, it does not arrive until his determination has lost its vigor, and so he is not assisted in accomplishing it.
Another is that a servant who entertains hopes concerning future deeds while being too lazy to perform the work of the present resembles a presumptuous person who feels certain of his ability to handle whatever lies ahead. Such a person is all the more likely to be forsaken and to fail to accomplish what he intended and set his mind (1) upon. The servant should therefore concentrate his concern, thought, and energy upon his present time and fulfill its duty to the best of his ability. Then, whenever a new time arrives, he should meet it with vigor and lofty, focused determination, seeking his Lord’s help in doing so. Such a person is likely to be granted success and right guidance in all his affairs.
Allah Most High then describes the state of one who turns away from obedience to his Lord: he does not turn toward good, but toward evil. He says, “Were you, then, if you turned away, to spread corruption in the land and sever your ties of kinship?” That is, there are only two alternatives: either one adheres to obedience to Allah and carries out His commands—in which lie goodness, right guidance, and success—or one turns away from that and abandons obedience to Allah, in which case nothing remains but corruption in the land through committing sins and severing ties of kinship.
“Those are the ones” who spread corruption in the land and severed their ties of kinship. “Allah has cursed” them by banishing them from His mercy, and they have drawn near to Allah’s wrath.
“Rendering them deaf and blinding their sight.” That is, He made them unable to hear or see what benefits them. They have ears, but they do not hear with submission and acceptance; they hear only in a manner by which Allah’s proof is established against them. They also have eyes, but they do not perceive lessons and signs through them, nor do they turn their attention to proofs and clear evidence.