طَاعَةٌۭ وَقَوْلٌۭ مَّعْرُوفٌۭ ۚ فَإِذَا عَزَمَ ٱلْأَمْرُ فَلَوْ صَدَقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ لَكَانَ خَيْرًۭا لَّهُمْ
Taa'atunw wa qawlum ma'roof; fa izaa 'azamal amru falaw sadaqul laaha lakaana khairal lahum
Obedience and good words. And when the matter [of fighting] was determined, if they had been true to Allah, it would have been better for them.
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47:21Ayah 138
5 ayahs in Muhammad are strongly about hypocrisy. This is one of them.
← Previous on Hypocrisy47:20Those who believe say, "Why has a surah not been sent down? But when a precise surah is revealed and fighting is mentioned therein,Next on Hypocrisy →47:26That is because they said to those who disliked what Allah sent down, "We will obey you in part of the matter." And Allah knows what they conceal.
Tafsir
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would be to offer obedience and honourable words that is words that are kind to you. Then when the matter has been resolved upon that is to say when fighting has been prescribed if they are loyal to God in faith and obedience it will be better for them the sentence beginning with law ‘if’ constitutes the response to idhā ‘when’.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The best fighting (jihad) in the path of Allah is (to speak) a word of justice to an oppressive ruler.
The Mersenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent an expeditionand appointed over the Mujahids a man from the Ansar. (While making the appointment), he ordered that his work should be listened to and obeyed. They made him angry in a matter. He said: Collect for me dry wood. They collected it for him. Then he said: Kindle a fire. They kindled (the fire). Then he said: Didn't the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) order you to listen to me and obey (my orders)? They said: Yes. He said: Enter the fire. The narrator says: (At this), they began to look at one another and said: We fled from the fire to (find refuge with) the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) (and now you order us to enter it). They stood quiet until his anger cooled down and the fire went out. When they returned, they related the incident to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said: If they had entered it, they would not have come out. Obedience (to the commander) is obligatory only in what is good.
Abu Bakr said, "By Allah! If they (pay me the Zakat and) withhold even a young (female) goat which they used to
pay during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), I will fight with them for it." `Umar said, "It was nothing
but Allah Who opened Abu Bakr's chest towards the decision to fight, and I came to know that his
decision was right."
The Prophet (ﷺ) sent an army unit (for some campaign) and appointed a man from the Ansar as its
commander and ordered them (the soldiers) to obey him. (During the campaign) he became angry
with them and said, "Didn't the Prophet (ﷺ) order you to obey me?" They said, "Yes." He said, "I order
you to collect wood and make a fire and then throw yourselves into it." So they collected wood and
made a fire, but when they were about to throw themselves into, it they started looking at each other,
and some of them said, "We followed the Prophet (ﷺ) to escape from the fire. How should we enter it
now?" So while they were in that state, the fire extinguished and their commander's anger abated. The
event was mentioned to the Prophet (ﷺ) and he said, "If they had entered it (the fire) they would never
have come out of it, for obedience is required only in what is good." (See Hadith No. 629. Vol. 5)
“The best of jihad is a just word spoken to an
unjust
ruler.”
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