وَإِذَآ أُنزِلَتْ سُورَةٌ أَنْ ءَامِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَجَٰهِدُوا۟ مَعَ رَسُولِهِ ٱسْتَـْٔذَنَكَ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلطَّوْلِ مِنْهُمْ
Wa idhā unzilat sūratun an āminū bi'llāhi wa jāhidū maʿa rasūlihi'staʾdhanaka ulu'l-ṭawli minhum wa qālū dharnā nakun maʿa'l-qāʿidīn · Raḍū bi-an yakūnū maʿa'l-khawālifi wa ṭubiʿa ʿalā qulūbihim fa-hum lā yafqahūn
"And when a sūra is sent down, 'Believe in God and strive alongside His Messenger,' those of means among them ask your leave and say, 'Leave us; let us be with those who sit.' · They were content to be with those who stay behind, and their hearts were sealed; so they do not understand."
The lexicographers tie this sense to the root's idea of "reaching out": having a long arm, that is, being able to reach. I convey this derivation as the lexicographers give it.
I record this as an observation: those who ask leave are named not as those without means but as those of means. And this is the ground of the distinction in verses 91-93: the ninety-third verse will say wa hum aghniyāʾ (while they were rich).
| View | Who the khawālif are |
|---|---|
| A | Those who did not go out on the expedition and stayed at home |
| B | Women and children |
| C | Those who are of no use — from the word's sense of "what is left over" |
I convey the disagreement and impose no preference. And a note per the method (Method): no social ruling is drawn from view B; the verse uses a word, it does not make an assessment.
And the verb must be recorded: raḍū — "they were content." This is the opposite of the raḍū in verse 59: there contentment was the thing asked for (wa law annahum raḍū mā ātāhumu'llāh), here contentment is the thing censured. The same verb carries two different values with two different objects.