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Surah At-Tawbah — 9:47

لَوْ خَرَجُوا۟ فِيكُم مَّا زَادُوكُمْ إِلَّا خَبَالًا وَلَأَوْضَعُوا۟ خِلَـٰلَكُمْ يَبْغُونَكُمُ ٱلْفِتْنَةَ وَفِيكُمْ سَمَّـٰعُونَ لَهُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌۢ بِٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ

Law kharajoo feekum maa zaadookum ilaa Khabaalanw wa la awda'oo khilaalakum yabghoona kumul fitnata wa feekum sammaa'oona lahum; wallaahu 'aleemum biz zaalimeen

Had they marched out with you, they would have added nothing but confusion and would have hurried about among you, stirring up discord — and there are some among you who would have listened to them. God knows the wrongdoers well.

Reflection

The last clause is the sharp one: among you are sammāʿūn lahum, and the phrase pulls two ways — people who would have believed what they heard, or people already reporting back to them. Either sense places the danger inside the camp. Awḍaʿū pictures riders driving their mounts at speed between the ranks, and the verse treats their staying behind as a relief.

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