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la-ʾin lam yantahi l-munāfiqūna wa-lladhīna fī qulūbihim maraḍun wa-l-murjifūna fī l-madīnati la-nughriyannaka bihim thumma lā yujāwirūnaka fīhā ʾillā qalīlan
If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a sickness, and the rumourmongers in the city do not desist, We will prompt you [to take action] against them; then they will not be your neighbours in it except briefly.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-’Ahzab – Verse 60
60. “If the hypocrites and those in whose heart is a disease and the agitators in the city do not desist, We shall certainly rouse you up against them, then they shall not be your neighbours in it, but a little while;”
Islam takes the security of society so important that it has issued the command of banishment of those who create terror among people. Next to the divine command which was given to the faithful women through the previous verse, this verse refers to another dimension of this subject, i.e. the insidious activities of some wicked persons, and says:
The Arabic term /murjifun/ is derived from /’irjaf/ in the sense of spreading lies or false rumors with the purpose of saddening others, and its root /’irjaf/ means: anxiety and agitation, and since spreading lies and rumours causes the common and general anxiety, this word has been used for it. The Qur’anic term /nuqriyannaka/ is derived from /’iqra’/ in the sense of inviting to do something accompanied with encouragement. From the tone of the verse, it is understood that there were three groups in Medina who were busy disturbing the affairs, and each group fulfilled their own evil aims in a way which had been formed as a current program, and had not a personal and individual aspect.
Hypocrites were the first group who worked for abolishing Islam by their anti-Islamic plots. The second group were the rascals and lewd persons about whom the Qur’an says:
“Those in whose hearts is a disease.”
This meaning is also used in the current Surah, verse 32 about the voluptuous persons, where it says:
“…then be not soft in speech lest he in whose heart is disease aspire (at you)…”
The third group were those who by spreading rumours in Medina specially when the Prophet (S) and the army of Islam went out for a war used to weaken the spirit of the remaining people. They often gave false news about the failure of the Prophet (S) and the believers to them. According to the statement of some commentators this group were the Jews. Thus, the Qur’an has intensively threatened all those three groups. There is another probability in the commentary of the holy verse, too, that the above mentioned three corruptive programs were wholly performed by the hypocrites and separating them into three groups is for separating their qualities, not the persons.
However, the Qur’an indicates that if they go on their ugly and shameful deeds Allah will issue the command of attack of general people to them so that the believers, with an attack, eradicate all of them from Medina in a manner that they can not live there any more.