The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 728
CH. 9 AT-TAUBAH PT. 10 وَيَحْلِفُوْنَ بِاللَّهِ إِنَّهُمْ لَمِنْكُمْ وَمَا And they swear by Allah. 56 that they are indeed of you, while they are not of you, but they are a people who are timorous. 1212 هُمْ مِنْكُمْ وَلَكِنَّهُمْ قَوْمُ يَفْرَقُونَ لَوْ يَجِدُونَ مَلْجَاً أو ما If they could find a place of. 57 مُدَّ خَلًا تَوَلَّوْا إِلَيْهِ وَهُمْ يَجْمَعُونَ refuge, or caves, or even a hole to enter, they would surely turn thereto, rushing uncontroll- ably. 1213 1212. Important Words: (are timorous) is derived from which means, he feared or was afraid or he became frightened. They sayi. e. I feared thee or I was in fear of thee. means, he feared for him. also means, he entered into a wave and dived therein (Lane). Commentary: As the Muslims predominated at Medina, the hypocrites who lacked moral courage had to conceal their infidelity and even outwardly became Muslims to secure worldly advantages. They had no faith in their hearts, but they did not possess the courage to openly give vent to their real feelings. 1213. Important Words: (rushing uncontrollably) is derived from. They say i. e. the horse broke loose or ran way and went at random so as not to be turned by anything; or it ran so as to have the mastery over its rider. means, the man went at random without consideration or aim and not obeying a guide to the right course. 1168 means, the object of his desire baffled his efforts to attain it. The words mean, they hasten or go quickly so that nothing turns them back, like horses that become ungovernable by their riders (Lane & Aqrab). Commentary: The preceding verse speaks of the extreme fear of the hypocrites. As one, who is in a state of fear, generally takes to one of the three possible places of rescue, the present verse refers to all those three places, whether real or supposed. These are (1) i. e. place of refuge; (2) i. e. caves; and (3) i. e. a hole or a burrow. The first idea of a man in fright is to go to his friends and seek refuge with them. This is referred to in the word (place of refuge). If, however, one has no friend to go to, one seeks the shelter of nature in a cave, etc. This is spoken of in the word (caves). But there may be occasions when even a cave is not available for shelter. In such a case, a frightened man tries to hide his head in any hole or burrow that may