Translation of the meanings Ayah 127 Surah At-Tawbah - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - The Noble Qur'an Encyclopedia

Ayah: 127

وَإِذَا مَآ أُنزِلَتۡ سُورَةٞ نَّظَرَ بَعۡضُهُمۡ إِلَىٰ بَعۡضٍ هَلۡ يَرَىٰكُم مِّنۡ أَحَدٖ ثُمَّ ٱنصَرَفُواْۚ صَرَفَ ٱللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُم بِأَنَّهُمۡ قَوۡمٞ لَّا يَفۡقَهُونَ

(127) ^[2267]Whenever a sura is sent down, they look at each other ˹as if to say˺: “Can anyone see you?” Then they turn away; may Allah turn away their hearts for them being folks who discern not.

[2267] This aya throws light on a very crafty subtlety of the hypocrites: whenever yet another a portion of the Qur’an comes down addressing them, they would exchange discreet knowing glances as if to say to each other: “Who is this person who sees you while you plot in secret and tells Muhammad [ﷺ] about it?” (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn ʿĀshūr). In fact, this aya in itself is sign enough for them that God knows what they reveal and what they hold in secret. Instead of paying heed and taking this sign for what it is, they turn away reverting to their ways: “…but the hypocrites comprehend not!” (63: 7); “Indeed the worst of the all creatures with Allah are the deaf and dumb—those who cannot heed. *Had Allah known any good in them, He would have made them listen; ˹even˺ had He made them listen, they would have turned away, looking the other way” (8: 22-23).