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Surah 63 · Madinah · 11 āyāt
Phase 05 · Hijrah and the building of Madinah(1–5 AH) — view in timelineAl-MunāfiqūnThe Hypocrites
المنافقون
Revealed after the expedition against Banū al-Muṣṭaliq, this short surah exposes the hypocrites who testify to the Prophet's ﷺ messengership with their tongues while denying it in their hearts. It centres on ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy's threat to expel the Prophet ﷺ from Madinah, and closes with a general warning to all believers that wealth and children can distract from the remembrance of Allah until death arrives too late for regret.
Why it was revealed
On the return march from al-Muraysīʿ, a dispute over water between a Muhājir and an Anṣārī ally of ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy escalated. Ibn Ubayy, the chief of the hypocrites, remarked that once back in Madinah 'the more honoured will expel the more humble from it', meaning himself and the Muhājirūn.
Drawn fromṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4900; Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4905; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2772; Ibn Kathīr on 63:8
Zayd ibn Arqam heard Ibn Ubayy's remark and reported it to the Prophet ﷺ. Ibn Ubayy denied it under oath before the Prophet ﷺ, and some doubted Zayd until this surah confirmed his report and named the hypocrites as liars. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb offered to kill Ibn Ubayy, but the Prophet ﷺ refused, saying people would say Muḥammad kills his companions.
Cited toṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4900; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2772
In the Prophet's ﷺ life
Dispute over water at al-Muraysīʿ
A quarrel between a Muhājir and an Anṣārī ally of Ibn Ubayy over access to water sparked tribal tension on the return march.
Recalled in āyah 1
إِذَا جَآءَكَ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقُونَ قَالُوا۟ نَشْهَدُ إِنَّكَ لَرَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ إِنَّكَ لَرَسُولُهُۥ وَٱللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ إِنَّ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ لَكَـٰذِبُونَ
When the hypocrites come to you, [O Muḥammad], they say, "We testify that you are the Messenger of Allāh." And Allāh knows that you are His Messenger, and Allāh testifies that the hypocrites are liars.
Cited toṢaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 4905
- Madd — 2 vowels
- Madd — 2, 4 or 6 vowels
- Madd — 6 vowels (lāzim)
- Madd — 4 or 5 vowels (wājib)
- Ghunnah — 2 vowels
- Qalqalah
- Ikhfāʾ
- Ikhfāʾ shafawī
- Idghām shafawī
- Idghām with ghunnah
- Idghām without ghunnah
- Idghām mutajānisayn
- Idghām mutaqāribayn
- Iqlāb
- Hamzat al-waṣl
- Lām shamsiyyah
- Silent letter
Tajwīd markup and colour convention: Quran.com API (v4) — text_uthmani_tajweed. Recitation audio: Quran.com / Quran Foundation Audio API (v4).
A testimony without belief
The surah opens by quoting the hypocrites' own words — 'we testify that you are the Messenger of Allah' — only to immediately expose the gap between their speech and their hearts: Allah already knows the Prophet ﷺ is His Messenger, so their oath adds nothing; it is their sincerity, not the content of the statement, that is condemned as false.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī; Ibn Kathīr
إِذَا جَآءَكَ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقُونَ قَالُوا۟ نَشْهَدُ إِنَّكَ لَرَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ إِنَّكَ لَرَسُولُهُۥ وَٱللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ إِنَّ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ لَكَـٰذِبُونَ
Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured
When the hypocrites come to you, [O Muḥammad], they say, "We testify that you are the Messenger of Allāh." And Allāh knows that you are His Messenger, and Allāh testifies that the hypocrites are liars.
From the tafsīr
The hypocrites' words were factually true, yet Allah calls them liars — because a true statement uttered without inner conviction is itself a form of lying, a lie about one's own heart.
Cited toIbn Kathīr
'They have made their oaths a cover' (āyah 2) means they used the appearance of religious commitment to shield themselves from consequences while working against the believers privately.
Cited toAl-Ṭabarī
Key takeaways
- Correct words do not guarantee sincerity — the heart is the real site of testimony.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī; Ibn Kathīr
- Using outward religiosity as a shield for a hidden agenda is precisely what is exposed here.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī; Ibn Kathīr
- Allah's knowledge of the Prophet's ﷺ truthfulness does not depend on anyone's testimony.
Drawn fromAl-Ṭabarī; Ibn Kathīr
Reflect
Do you ever say the right religious words while your heart is somewhere else entirely?
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Question 1 of 2
How does the surah describe the function of their oaths?
Question 2 of 2
What makes the hypocrites 'liars' if what they said was true?
The threat at al-Muraysīʿ
The surah describes the hypocrites' impressive appearance and articulate speech, which mask cowardice and inner emptiness — 'as if they were pieces of wood propped up', mistaking every shout for a threat against themselves. It records Ibn Ubayy's boast that the powerful would expel the humble from Madinah, and answers that honour (al-ʿizzah) truly belongs to Allah, His Messenger ﷺ, and the believers.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
۞ وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَهُمْ تُعْجِبُكَ أَجْسَامُهُمْ ۖ وَإِن يَقُولُوا۟ تَسْمَعْ لِقَوْلِهِمْ ۖ كَأَنَّهُمْ خُشُبٌ مُّسَنَّدَةٌ ۖ يَحْسَبُونَ كُلَّ صَيْحَةٍ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ هُمُ ٱلْعَدُوُّ فَٱحْذَرْهُمْ ۚ قَـٰتَلَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۖ أَنَّىٰ يُؤْفَكُونَ
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And when you see them, their forms please you, and if they speak, you listen to their speech. [They are] as if they were pieces of wood propped up - they think that every shout is against them. They are the enemy, so beware of them. May Allāh destroy them; how are they deluded?
يَقُولُونَ لَئِن رَّجَعْنَآ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ لَيُخْرِجَنَّ ٱلْأَعَزُّ مِنْهَا ٱلْأَذَلَّ ۚ وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِۦ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured
They say, "If we return to al-Madīnah, the more honored [for power] will surely expel therefrom the more humble." And to Allāh belongs [all] honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites do not know.
From the tafsīr
'As if they were pieces of wood propped up' describes handsome, imposing figures with nothing of substance inside — impressive to look at, hollow when tested.
Cited toIbn Kathīr
Ibn Ubayy's claim of honour through numbers and tribal standing is directly answered by āyah 8: true ʿizzah belongs only to Allah, His Messenger ﷺ, and the believers — not to worldly position.
Cited toAl-Qurṭubī
Key takeaways
- Impressive appearance and eloquent speech are not evidence of inner conviction.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
- Chronic guilt makes a person suspicious of every ordinary event around them.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
- Real honour belongs to Allah, His Messenger ﷺ, and the believers — not to tribal numbers or wealth.
Drawn fromAl-Qurṭubī; Ibn Kathīr
Reflect
Do you measure people's worth by how they present themselves, or by what actually sustains them inwardly?
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Question 1 of 2
According to āyah 8, to whom does true honour (al-ʿizzah) belong?
Question 2 of 2
How does āyah 4 describe the hypocrites' state of mind?
Wealth, children and remembrance
The surah closes with a warning addressed to all believers, not only hypocrites: wealth and children must not distract from the remembrance of Allah, for whoever lets that happen is truly among the losers. It ends with the regret of death — a plea to be granted a little more time to give charity and become righteous — met with the sobering reply that no soul is given respite once its appointed term arrives.
Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī; Ibn Kathīr
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَٰلُكُمْ وَلَآ أَوْلَـٰدُكُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْخَـٰسِرُونَ
Tajwīd markup unavailable for this āyah — text shown uncoloured
O you who have believed, let not your wealth and your children divert you from the remembrance of Allāh. And whoever does that - then those are the losers.
From the tafsīr
The warning in āyah 9 is general, addressed to the believers themselves, showing that the danger of distraction by wealth and children is not confined to hypocrites but is a universal human vulnerability.
Cited toIbn Kathīr
The dying person's request to be sent back to give charity (āyah 10) shows that regret at death typically centres on missed opportunities for good, particularly charity — a lesson meant to be acted on now, not then.
Cited toAl-Saʿdī
Key takeaways
- Distraction from remembrance of Allah by wealth or family is called 'loss' in explicit terms.
Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī; Ibn Kathīr
- The regret voiced at death is almost always about charity not given and good not done in time.
Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī; Ibn Kathīr
- No soul is granted an extension once its appointed term has arrived — the time to act is now.
Drawn fromAl-Saʿdī; Ibn Kathīr
Reflect
If you knew your term were near, what specific good deed would you rush to do today?
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Question 1 of 2
What does āyah 9 caution against?
Question 2 of 2
What request does the surah describe near its end?
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Roots from this surah
Learn the three-letter root and you unlock every word built from it — across the whole Qur'an, not just this surah.
ن ف ق
āyāt 1, 7, 8hypocrisy, to spend/tunnel through
- ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقُونَthe hypocrites
- نِفَاقhypocrisy
- أَنفَقُوا۟they spent
ك ذ ب
āyāt 1to lie
- لَكَـٰذِبُونَsurely liars
- كَذِبa lie
- تَكْذِيبdenial, calling a lie
ع ز ز
āyāt 8might, honour
- ٱلْأَعَزُّthe mightier/more honoured
- ٱلْعِزَّةُhonour/might
- عَزِيزMighty (a name of Allah)
ذ ل ل
āyāt 8lowliness, humility
- ٱلْأَذَلَّthe more humbled
- ذُلّlowliness
- ذَلِيلlowly, humbled
ل ه و
āyāt 9to be diverted, distracted
- لَا تُلْهِكُمْlet it not divert you
- لَهْوdiversion, idle amusement
- لَاهٍone distracted/heedless
خ س ر
āyāt 9loss
- ٱلْخَـٰسِرُونَthe losers
- خَسَارَةloss
- خَسِرَhe lost
Carry this with you
- A true statement said without conviction is still, in the sight of Allah, a form of lying.
- Outward religiosity can be used as a cover for private hostility toward the believers.
- Impressive appearance and speech are not evidence of inner substance.
- Chronic guilt breeds suspicion of every ordinary event.
- Real honour belongs to Allah, His Messenger ﷺ, and the believers — not tribal numbers.
- Wealth and children left unchecked can distract even sincere believers from remembrance of Allah.
- Death-bed regret almost always centres on charity and good deeds delayed too long.
- No soul is granted an extension once its appointed term arrives — act now.
Where this surah connects
Cross-surah threads
Parts of the Qurʾān explain other parts. Each thread below opens the same subject as it is argued across every other surah you have studied, in revelation order.
All threads →Sources behind Sūrah Al-Munāfiqūn
Every line of context, tafsīr and takeaway on this page traces back to one of these references. Ḥadīth numbers open on sunnah.com and āyah references open on quran.com, so you can check the claim rather than take it on trust. The Arabic text itself is fetched live from a verified public corpus.
Tafsīr11
- Al-Qurṭubī
- Al-Qurṭubī on 63:8
- Al-Saʿdī
- Al-Saʿdī on 63:10–11
- Al-Ṭabarī
- Al-Ṭabarī on 63:2
- Ibn Kathīr
- Ibn Kathīr on 63:1
- Ibn Kathīr on 63:4
- Ibn Kathīr on 63:8
- Ibn Kathīr on 63:9
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Al-Munāfiqūn · Wealth, children and remembrance
What request does the surah describe near its end?
Arabic (Uthmānī script) and the Ṣaḥīḥ International translation are fetched live from the Quran.com API (v4), sourced from the King Fahd Complex muṣḥaf — api.quran.com API docs · Translation: Ṣaḥīḥ International · Integrity & testing protocol