(O Prophet), may Allah forgive you! Why did you give them leave to stay behind before it became clear to you as to who were truthful and who were liars?45
45. Allah did not approve of the exemption which the Prophet (peace be upon him) had granted to the hypocrites who had put forward lame excuses. Though he knew it well that they were inventing false excuses,
he gave them leave to stay behind because of his inherent kindness. But Allah warned him that such a leniency was not well placed as he gave them an opportunity of hiding their hypocrisy. Had they remained behind without getting an exemption, the false profession of their faith would have been exposed.
Those who believe in Allah and the Last Day will never ask your leave to be excused from striving (in the cause of Allah) with their belongings and their lives. Allah fully knows the God-fearing.
اِنَّمَا يَسۡتَاْذِنُكَ الَّذِيۡنَ لَا يُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ بِاللّٰهِ وَالۡيَوۡمِ الۡاٰخِرِ وَارۡتَابَتۡ قُلُوۡبُهُمۡ فَهُمۡ فِىۡ رَيۡبِهِمۡ يَتَرَدَّدُوۡنَ
[9:45] It is only those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day, and whose hearts are filled with doubt that seek exemption from striving (in the cause of Allah). They keep tossing to and fro in their doubt.46
46. This verse shows clearly that the conflict between Islam and kufr is the criterion to distinguish between a true believer and a hypocrite. The one who supports Islam in this conflict with the whole of his heart and expends all of his energies and resources in order to make
it victorious and does not hesitate in the least to make any sacrifices for this purpose, is a true believer. On the contrary, the one who hesitates to support Islam in this conflict and refrains from making sacrifices in its way, when he confronts the threat of the victory of kufr, is a hypocrite, for such an attitude is itself a proof of the fact that there is no faith in his heart.
