4.108
Abbas - Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs
(They seek to hide from) they are ashamed of (men and seek not to hide from Allah) but they feel no shame towards Allah. (He is with them) He is Aware of them (when by night they hold discourse displeasing unto Him) they utter that which displeases Allah and displeases people. (Allah ever surroundeth what they do) and say.
They the likes of Tu‘ma and his clan hide themselves in shame from people but they do not hide themselves from God; for He is with them in His knowledge of them while they plot they conspire at night with discourse displeasing to Him in their resolve to swear by God and deny the theft and accuse the Jew of it. God is ever Encompassing in knowledge of what they do.
They hide themselves from people, by concealing from them their vices and the attributes of their souls, which are the sources of their shame; but they do not hide themselves from God, by eliminating them and eradicating them, even though He is the witness over them, knowing their inner selves, while they contrive, [while] they lend weight to, in the world of the darkened soul and nature, what is displeasing to Him of suppositions, in the way of illusions and corrupt machinations which they string together in order to actualise what they desire of the transient things of this world and its pleasures. God is ever Encompassing of what they do, recompensing them in accordance with their attributes and their deeds.
The Necessity of Referring to What Allah has Revealed for Judgement
Allah says to His Messenger, Muhammad,
إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَـبَ بِالْحَقِّ
(Surely, We have sent down to you the Book in truth) meaning, it truly came from Allah and its narrations and commandments are true. Allah then said,
لِتَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِمَآ أَرَاكَ اللَّهُ
(that you might judge between men by that which Allah has shown you,) In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that Zaynab bint Umm Salamah said that Umm Salamah said that the Messenger of Allah heard the noise of disputing people close to the door of his room, and he went out to them saying,
(Verily, I am only human and I judge based on what I hear. Some of you might be more eloquent in presenting his case than others, so that I judge in his favor. If I judge in one's favor concerning the right of another Muslim, then it is a piece of the Fire. So let one take it or leave it.) Imam Ahmad recorded that Umm Salamah said, "Two men from the Ansar came to the Messenger of Allah with a dispute regarding some old inheritance, but they did not have evidence. The Messenger of Allah said,
(You bring your disputes to me, but I am only human. Some of you might be more persuasive in their arguments than others. I only judge between you according to what I hear. Therefore, whomever I judge in his favor and give him a part of his brother's right, let him not take it, for it is a part of the Fire that I am giving him and it will be tied around his neck on the Day of Resurrection.) The two men cried and each one of them said, `I forfeit my right to my brother.' The Messenger of Allah said,
(Since you said that, then go and divide the inheritance, and try to be just in your division. Then draw lots, and each one of you should forgive his brother thereafter (regardless of who got the best share).)'' Allah's statement,
(They may hide (their crimes) from men, but they cannot hide (them) from Allah;) chastises the hypocrites because they hide their evil works from the people so that they will not criticize them. Yet, the hypocrites disclose this evil with Allah, Who has perfect watch over their secrets and knows what is in their hearts. This is why Allah said,
(for He is with them (by His knowledge), when they plot by night in words that He does not approve. And Allah ever encompasses what they do) threatening and warning them. Allah then said,
(Lo! You are those who have argued for them in the life of this world,) meaning, suppose these people gain the verdict from the rulers in their favor in this life, since the rulers judge according to what is apparent to them. However, what will their condition be on the Day of Resurrection before Allah, Who knows the secret and what is even more hidden Who will be his advocate on that Day Verily, none will support them that Day. Hence, Allah's statement,
أَمْ مَّن يَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَكِيلاً
(or who will then be their defender)
4.105-112
Maududi - Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an
In vv. 105-115, very important issues concerning an event that occurred at that time have been discussed. There was in the Bani Zafar clan of the Ansar, a man known as Ta'mah or Bashir bin-Ubairiq. He stole the armor of another Ansari and hid it in the house of a Jew. When an investigation started into the theft, the owner of the armor placed the matter before the Holy Prophet and told him that he suspected Ta'mah of the theft. But the accused and his relatives and many other people of the Bani Zafar clan conspired and laid the guilt at the door of the Jew, who asserted that he was innocent of the thing. But Ta'mah's people went on pleading his case vehemently. They argued: "The statement of the Jew who is an enemy of the Truth and who disbelieves in Allah and His Messenger cannot be trusted; whereas we are Muslims, and, therefore, should be trusted." The Holy Prophet was naturally influenced by the seeming correctness of the argument and was about to acquit Ta'mah and give a warning to the plaintiff for bringing a false charge against a Muslim, and decide the case against the Jew, when this Revelation came and disclosed the reality of the matter. It is true that even if the Holy Prophet had, as a judge, decided the case in the light of the evidence produced before him, he would not have incurred any blame, for judges have to give their decision according to the evidence that is presented before them and sometimes people do succeed in getting wrong judgments in their favor by misrepresentation. But the matter had another side: if the Holy Prophet had decided the case against the Jew at that time, when a bitter convict was raging between Islam and kufr, the enemies of Islam would have got a strong moral weapon against him, nay, against the Islamic Community and the Islamic Mission. They would have carried on a bitter propaganda against Islam, saying, "There is no justice among the Muslims; they practice prejudices and partisanship inspire of the fact that they preach against them as has been shown by this decision against the Jew". That is why, Allah directly intervened in the case to save them from this danger. In this passage (vv. 105 - 115) on the one hand, those Muslims who tried to shield the guilty one of their own clan, have been strongly rebuked for their partisanship, and, on the other, the Muslims in general have been taught that they should not allow partisanship to stand in the way of justice. It is sheer dishonesty that one should plead the cause of one's own party man, even though he may he in the wrong, and oppose the man of the opposite party, even though he may he right.
He who is dishonest to others is in reality dishonest to himself because he forces all his faculties of head and heart, which have been given to him as a trust, to help him in his dishonesty. Moreover, he suppresses his conscience, which Allah has given him to safeguard his morality, so as to disable it from functioning rightly and preventing him from being dishonest. Thus a man is dishonest to others only when at first he becomes unjust to himself.
And do not dispute on behalf of those who betray themselves; surely God loves not one who is treacherous and sinful. They hide themselves from people but they do not hide themselves from God; for He is with them while they plot at night with discourse displeasing to Him. God is ever Encompassing of what they do. Those who prefer their worldly concerns ḥuẓūẓ over His rights ḥuqūq and are content to remain in the familiar territories of their whim without moving to the waystations of the [ultimate] contentment riḌāÌ -God does not love those who are treacherous. He will humble them and most assuredly will not honor them. They hide themselves from people: Their hearts are dominated by what created beings can see [or not see]. Those who have been branded with the mark of separation have no awareness that the Real views their hearts from on high.
