Tafsir Ibn Abbas: Al-Baqara, Ayah 9
Common Words
Other Scholars on This Ayah
Tafsir
They would deceive God and the believers by manifesting the opposite of the unbelief they hide so that they can avoid His rulings in this world; and only themselves they deceive yukhādi‘ūn for the evil consequences of their deception will rebound upon them as they are disgraced in this world when God makes known to His Prophet what they are hiding and they will be punished in the Hereafter; and they are not aware and they do not know that they are actually deceiving themselves mukhāda‘a although a third verbal form from khāda‘a actually denotes a one-way action such as when one says ‘āqabtu al-lissa ‘I punished the thief’ using the third verbal form ‘āqaba; the mention of ‘God’ in this statement is for rhetorical effect; a variant reading for wa-mā yukhādi‘ūna has wa-mā yakhda‘ūna.
Ibn Abbas Commentary
(They try to deceive Allah) contravene against Him and denying Him in secret. It is also said that this means that they were so daring with Allah to the extent that they thought they had deceived Him; (and those who believe), Abu Bakr and all the Companions of Muhammad Allah bless him and give him peace; (and they deceive) lie to (none save themselves; but they perceive not), they do not know that Allah informs His Prophet about that which lies secret in their hearts.