Surah 9

Surah 9:125

"But as for those in whose hearts is a sickness, it increases them in abomination (added) to their abomination, and they die while they are disbelievers."
Faith of the Believers increases, while Hypocrites increase in Doubts and Suspicion Verses 9:124-125
Show Full Scripture Context (9:124-125) — 2 Verses
Verse 124

وَإِذَا مَآ أُنزِلَتۡ سُورَةٞ فَمِنۡهُم مَّن يَقُولُ أَيُّكُمۡ زَادَتۡهُ هَٰذِهِۦٓ إِيمَٰنٗاۚ فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ فَزَادَتۡهُمۡ إِيمَٰنٗا وَهُمۡ يَسۡتَبۡشِرُونَ

Whenever a sūra is sent down, some of them say, ‘Which of you has this increased in belief?’ As for those who believe, it increases them in belief, and they welcome the good news.

Verse 125

وَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٞ فَزَادَتۡهُمۡ رِجۡسًا إِلَىٰ رِجۡسِهِمۡ وَمَاتُواْ وَهُمۡ كَٰفِرُونَ

But as for those in whose hearts is a sickness, it increases them in abomination (added) to their abomination, and they die while they are disbelievers.

Allah said, {And whenever there comes down a Surah}, then among the hypocrites are, {some who say : " Which of you has had his faith increased by it?"} They say to each other, who among you had his faith increased by this Surah from the Qur'an]? Allah the Exalted said, {As for those who believe, it has increased their faith, and they rejoice.} This Ayah is one of the mightiest evidences that faith increases and decreases, as is the belief of most of the Salaf and later generations of scholars and Imams. Many scholars said that there is a consensus on this ruling. We explained this subject in detail in the beginning of the explanation of Sahih Al-Bukhari, may Allah grant him His mercy. Allah said next, {But as for those in whose hearts is a disease, it will add Rijs to their Rijs} the Surah increases them in doubt, and brings more suspicion on top of the doubts and suspicion that they had before. Allah said in another Ayah, [{And We send down in the Qur'an that which is a healing} [17:82], and, {Say: "It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing. And as for those who disbelieve, there is heaviness (deafness) in their ears, and it (the Qur'an) is blindness for them. They are those who are called from a place far away (so they neither listen nor understand)".} [41:44]. This indicates the misery of the hypocrites and disbelievers, since, what should bring guidance to their hearts is instead a cause of misguidance and destruction for them. Similarly, those who get upset by a type of food, for instance, will be upset and anxious even more if they are fed that food!

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.