who have not come to you. They distort words after they have been put in their proper places, saying, ‘If you are given this, accept it; but if you are not given it, beware.’”

He thus mentioned the hypocrites and the disbelievers who had made a truce, and stated that they listened to other people who had not come to you. This refers to the hypocrites and the disbelievers under a truce listening to the openly declared disbelievers who had made no truce. Likewise, among the believers there may be those who listen to the hypocrites, as He said:

“And among you are those who listen to them.”

Some people think this means that they listen on their behalf, like spies: they listen to what he says and convey it to them. Indeed, someone was asked, “Where in the Quran does it say, ‘Walls have ears’?” He replied, “In His words: ‘And among you are those who listen to them.’” Likewise, they interpret His words, “avid listeners to lies,” as meaning “so that they may lie,” taking the lām as indicating transitivity rather than following. But this is not the meaning of either verse. Rather, the meaning is that among you are those who listen to them—that is, respond to them and follow them.

Similarly, the expression:

“Allah hears whoever praises Him”

denotes Allah’s approval of whoever praises Him—that is, His acceptance of that person’s praise. One says, “So-and-so listens to so-and-so,” meaning that he responds to him and obeys him.

Although hearing originally denotes the act of hearing itself, which resembles perception, when what is heard is a request, its intended benefit and consequence are response and acceptance. When what is heard is a statement, its intended benefit is assent and belief. Thus, it came to encompass