Surah At-Tawbah 9:57

Exposing Hypocrites' Fright and Fear

Allah describes to His Prophet the fright, fear, anxiety and nervousness of the hypocrites,

(They swear by Allah that they are truly of you), swearing a sure oath,

(while they are not of you), in reality,

(but they are a people who are afraid), and this is what made them swear.

(Should they find a refuge), such as a fort in which they hide and fortify themselves,

(or caves), in some mountains,

(or a place of concealment), a tunnel or a hole in the ground, according to the explanation given by Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah,

(they would turn straightway thereto with a swift rush) away from you because they associate with you unwillingly, not because they are fond of you. They prefer that they do not have to mix with you, but necessity has its rules! It is because of this that they feel grief, sadness and sorrow, seeing Islam and its people enjoying ever more might, triumph and glory. Therefore, whatever pleases Muslims brings them grief, and this is why they prefer to disassociate themselves from the believers. Hence Allah's statement,

(Should they find a refuge, or caves, or a place of concealment, they would turn straightway thereto with a swift rush.)

Ayat ini menerangkan bahwa orang-orang munafik itu tidak ingin bergaul dengan orang mukmin karena takut dan khawatir kemunafikan mereka akan diketahui, lebih-lebih lagi bilamana mereka diajak turut berperang bersama orang-orang mukmin. Oleh sebab itu, sekiranya mereka memperoleh tempat perlindungan berupa benteng gua-gua di bukit atau parit untuk melindungi diri mereka dari pembalasan orang-orang mukmin, tentulah mereka lari bersembunyi ke tempat-tempat itu karena mereka sadar bahwa kemunafikan mereka pada suatu saat akan diketahui juga.