An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 138 of 176

An-Nisa 4:138

بَشِّرِ ٱلْمُنَـٰفِقِينَ بِأَنَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا

“Give tidings to the hypocrites that there is for them a painful punishment -”

Saheeh International

Essence

Those who wear faith outwardly and hide denial within are handed 'good news' of a painful punishment, delivered while there is still time to turn.

A reflection

Good news, of a kind

Bashshiri l-munāfiqīna bi-anna lahum ʿadhāban alīmā: give the hypocrites the good news that a painful punishment awaits them.

'Good news' is the jarring word. The verb bashshir normally means bringing news that delights. Commentators explain the choice. The word for glad tidings stands where 'warn' or 'tell' would be expected, in mockery of them. The Arabs had a way of speaking like this. 'Your greeting is a beating,' they would say, 'and your reproach is the sword.' A pleasant word frames something that is anything but.

Why address hypocrites this way? Recall who they are. Commentators define them simply: people who show faith outwardly and hide disbelief within. A hypocrite's whole life is a gap between what is said and what is meant. 'We believe,' to the believers. 'We were only mocking,' in private (2:14).

So one reflection is that the ayah answers them in their own register. They used fair words to cover a foul meaning. Now they receive a fair word covering a hard one. The form of the message is part of the message.

Picture a man who for years has written warm, smooth emails to his colleagues while quietly copying them to a rival firm. One morning the company's lawyer writes to him. 'Good news. We have recovered all of your correspondence.' He reads the first two words and his stomach drops. He knows that tone. He has used it himself for years.

There is a lesson here for ordinary speech. Language can be used to hide and to mock, and both can come back on the speaker. Words carry more than their dictionary meaning. Tone can carry a verdict.

So let your own words mean what they say. When you say 'good', mean good. When you agree, agree. A tongue that never says one thing while meaning another has nothing to fear from being taken at its word.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.