Al-Ahzaab (The Clans)

14. “And if an entry had been made upon them from all sides of the city. Then they had been asked to apostatise, they would certainly have done it, and they would not have stayed in it but a little while.”

In order to create sedition, enemy often takes help from the interior hypocrites.

Hypocrites easily turn away from the truth and go toward the enemy and cause disturbance.

This verse points to the weakness of the faith of this group implying that they are so weak in expressing Islam that if enemies come into Medina from its all sides and martially occupy this city and suggest the hypocrites to return to the belief of polytheism and infidelity, they quickly accept it and do not wait much time for choosing this way.

The noble verse says:

“And if an entry had been made upon them from all sides of the city. Then they had been asked to apostatise, they would certainly have done it, and they would not have stayed in it but a little while.”

It is clear that, such people, who are so weak in their faith neither are ready to fight against the enemy, nor do they entertain martyrdom in the way of Allah (s.w.t.), soon will they surrender and change their way.

Thus, the objective meaning of the Qur’anic word /fitnah/ here is ‘polytheism’ and disbelief.¹

But some other commentators offer another probability, saying that the objective meaning of the word /fitnah/ here is fight against the Muslims, in a manner that if this group of hypocrites are suggested to, they will accept this invitation soon and will cooperate with seditious ones.

But this commentary does not agree with the apparent of the sentence which says:

“And if an entry had been made upon them from all sides of the city…”,

and perhaps it is for this very reason that the majority of commentators have chosen the first meaning.