Study the Quran

Tafsir

Scholarly commentary explaining a verse — its context, its meaning and how the scholars have understood it.

Al-Ma'idah 5:61

Word by word

وَإِذَا جَآءُوكُمْ قَالُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا وَقَد دَّخَلُوا۟ بِٱلْكُفْرِ وَهُمْ قَدْ خَرَجُوا۟ بِهِۦ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْتُمُونَ

And when they come to you, they say, "We believe." But they have entered with disbelief [in their hearts], and they have certainly left with it. And Allāh is most knowing of what they were concealing.

Ibn Kathir (Abridged) English Ma'arif al-Qur'an English Tafsir Muyassar Arabic Tafsir Ibn Kathir Arabic All sources

Ma'arif al-Qur'an

Mufti Muhammad Shafi

Consideration of the Addressee : A Principle of Da'wah

The condition of a people who were under the curse and wrath of Allah has been introduced through a similitude in the next verse (60) which begins with: قُلْ هَلْ أُنَبِّئُكُم[ Should I (not) tell you...]. In fact, this condition applied to these very addressees. The occasion demanded that they should have been the ones to be directly charged with the blame. But, the Qur'an has changed the mode of direct address into the form of a similitude (to show consideration). This shows us a distinctive method of Da'wah (Call) as used by prophets, that is, never say things in a manner which makes the addressees angry.

Tafsir is provided for educational reference. Paragraph breaks are added for readability — the wording of each commentary is unchanged. For religious guidance, consult a qualified scholar.