Surah 48

Surah 48:15

"The ones who stayed behind will say, when you set out to take spoils, ‘Let us follow you.’ They want to change the word of God. Say: ‘You will not follow us. So God has said before.’ They will say, ‘No! You are jealous of us.’ No! They have not understood, except for a little."
Tafsir Ibn Kathir Verses 48:15
Show Full Scripture Context (48:15) — 1 Verse
Verse 15

سَيَقُولُ ٱلۡمُخَلَّفُونَ إِذَا ٱنطَلَقۡتُمۡ إِلَىٰ مَغَانِمَ لِتَأۡخُذُوهَا ذَرُونَا نَتَّبِعۡكُمۡۖ يُرِيدُونَ أَن يُبَدِّلُواْ كَلَٰمَ ٱللَّهِۚ قُل لَّن تَتَّبِعُونَا كَذَٰلِكُمۡ قَالَ ٱللَّهُ مِن قَبۡلُۖ فَسَيَقُولُونَ بَلۡ تَحۡسُدُونَنَاۚ بَلۡ كَانُواْ لَا يَفۡقَهُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلٗا

The ones who stayed behind will say, when you set out to take spoils, ‘Let us follow you.’ They want to change the word of God. Say: ‘You will not follow us. So God has said before.’ They will say, ‘No! You are jealous of us.’ No! They have not understood, except for a little.

Allah characterizes the bedouins who lagged behind the Messenger of Allah during the ‘Umrah of Hudaybiyyah, saying that when the Prophet and his Companions later went on to conquer Khaybar, the bedouins asked them to take them along. They were hoping to collect war booty, having been absent when it was time to fight the enemy and enduring with patience therein. Allah the Exalted ordered His Messenger to refuse to give them permission to accompany him, being a punishment that is similar to their error. Allah has promised those who were present at Al-Hudaybiyyah to earn Khaybar’s war spoils alone, not shared in that with the bedouins who lagged behind. Therefore, the legislation that Allah gave in this regard was joined to the destiny that He decided, occurring just as He decided. Allah’s statement, {They want to change Allah's Words} which refers to the promise that Allah gave those who were present at Al-Hudaybiyyah, according to the explanation reported from Mujahid, Qatadah, Juwaybir and which Ibn Jarir preferred. Allah said, {Say: "You shall not follow us; thus Allah has said beforehand."} ‘when He promised the participants of Al-Hudaybiyyah before you asked to join them,’ {Then they will say: "Nay, you envy us."} you do not want us to share the war spoils with you,’ {Nay, but they understand not except a little.} the truth is nothing close to what they claimed, but they understand not.

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (batch_049)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.