Overall meaning : The Almighty makes mention of a type of people—the hypocrites, who feign faith and conceal unbelief: The glib talk and eloquence of some of these was as impressive as to excite the admiration of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, but their speech was related only to worldly matters but never to matters concerning the hereafter; or it could well be that he would admire their apparent speech on matters of religion, but such speech would avail these hypocrites only in this life. To make matters worse, some of them would not only content themselves with fake, polished words but would also go as far as emphasising their truthfulness by claiming that Allah knows that what is in their hearts is entirely consistent with what they say. However, they are only lying; indeed, they are the most zealous in using vain fallacious arguments and they are the worst belligerent quarrellers to argue against the truth. When they leave the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, they set out to spread corruption in the land through unbelief, injustice and sins—such as by terrorising innocent travellers, engaging in disorder and highway robbery and pillaging good and property—and destroy crops and animals. Allah abhors all forms of corruption.
And when these hypocrites are admonished to fear Allah and abandon all forms of corruption they strive hard to spread in the land, they become pompous and conceited and fly into a rage that is motivated by sin and pride, causing them to commit even more sins. Sufficient is Hell for them—an evil bed indeed to lie on and the worst resting-place!
There is another type of people who sacrifice their very lives in an effort to seek Allah’s good pleasure. Allah is very compassionate to His servants, especially those who lay down their lives for His sake, and part of His compassion to them lies in helping them do so and being well-pleased with them.