من يطع الرسول فقد أطاع الله ومن تولى فما أرسلناك عليهم حفيظا · ويقولون طاعة فإذا برزوا من عندك بيت طائفة منهم غير الذي تقول والله يكتب ما يبيتون فأعرض عنهم وتوكل على الله وكفى بالله وكيلا
Man yuṭiʿi'l-rasūla fa-qad aṭāʿa'llāh, wa man tawallā fa-mā arsalnāka ʿalayhim ḥafīẓā · Wa yaqūlūna ṭāʿatun fa-idhā barazū min ʿindika bayyata ṭāʾifatun minhum ghayra'lladhī taqūl, wa'llāhu yaktubu mā yubayyitūn, fa-aʿriḍ ʿanhum wa tawakkal ʿala'llāh, wa kafā bi'llāhi Wakīlā
"Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed God. And whoever turns away — We did not send you as a keeper over them. They say 'we obey'; but when they leave your presence, a group of them plot by night something other than what you say. God records what they plot by night. So turn away from them and rely on God. God suffices as a trustee."
Ḥafīẓ — root ح-ف-ظ: to protect, to watch over; and to keep guard. The root had occurred at the thirty-fourth verse too (ḥāfiẓātun li'l-ghayb).
And the function of the sentence must be recorded: immediately after stating obedience, the verse sets a limit. The messenger's task is not to make people obey but to convey.
The same limit was treated at al-Anʿām 6/69 (wa mā ʿala'lladhīna yattaqūna min ḥisābihim min shayʾ) and it was recorded there: the burden of calling to account is lifted. I rely on that treatment.
The root ب-ي-ت: to pass the night, to spend the night. Bayt — the place where one passes the night, a house. And bayyata (Form II): to plan a thing by night, to devise it.
What the word carries is worth recording: the verb qualifies the devising by time — the difference between what is said by day and what is contrived by night.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| While with you | Yaqūlūna ṭāʿatun — "we obey" |
| Idhā barazū min ʿindik | Once they have left |
| By night | Bayyata … ghayra'lladhī taqūl — they contrive something else |
Barazū — root ب-ر-ز: to come out into the open, to appear. The choice of the word must also be recorded: the departure is given with the verb "to come out".
This field was treated in detail in al-Munāfiqūn, and I rely on that treatment: there too the matter was framed as the distance between the word and the one who speaks it.
And a record per the method (Method): what is described here is an attribute. The verse names a group (ṭāʾifatun minhum) and describes it by a behaviour. Whoever does that thing falls within the description; this is not a ruling about a group.