Quran Universe
9:56

وَيَحۡلِفُونَ بِٱللَّهِ إِنَّهُمۡ لَمِنكُمۡ وَمَا هُم مِّنكُمۡ وَلَٰكِنَّهُمۡ قَوۡمٞ يَفۡرَقُونَ

Wayahlifoona biAllahi innahum laminkum wama hum minkum walakinnahum qawmun yafraqoona

And they swear by Allah that they are from among you while they are not from among you; but they are a people who are afraid.

Word by word
  1. وَيَحۡلِفُونَAnd they swear
  2. بِٱللَّهِby Allah
  3. إِنَّهُمۡindeed,they
  4. لَمِنكُمۡsurely (are) of you
  5. وَمَاwhile not
  6. هُمthey
  7. مِّنكُمۡ(are) of you
  8. وَلَٰكِنَّهُمۡbut they
  9. قَوۡمٞ(are) a people
  10. يَفۡرَقُونَ(who) are afraid
At-Tawbah · 9:56Madinah

Swearing they belong, out of fear, not love.

Belonging that is only for safety

Why they swore
we are with yousworn by Allah
because
they were afraidnot because they cared
What holds them in
love for the believers
fear and necessitystaying unwillingly

The hypocrites of Madinah swore by Allah that they were part of the believers. The verse says they were not. Ibn Kathir explains they stayed with the believers unwillingly, out of fear and necessity, not from affection.

You stay in the circle, the group, even the marriage, but only because leaving would cost you. You say the right words at gatherings. Ask what keeps you there: fear, or real love for Allah and for these people?

Showing up and saying I belong is enough.

Belonging means my heart is there too, not just my fear.

Try this

Do one thing for your community this week that no one requires of you.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

They swear by Allah that they are truly of you while they are not of you, but they are a people (hypocrites) who are afraid (that you may kill them)(56)Should they find a refuge, or caves, or a place of concealment, they would turn straightway thereto with a swift rush (57)

Exposing Hypocrites' Fright and Fear

Allah describes to His Prophet ﷺ the fright, fear, anxiety and nervousness of the hypocrites,

يَحْلِفُونَ بِاللَّهِ إِنَّهُمْ لَمِنكُمْ

(They swear by Allah that they are truly of you), swearing a sure oath,

وَمَا هُم مِّنكُمْ 

(while they are not of you), in reality,

وَلَٰكِنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ يَفْرَقُونَ

(but they are a people who are afraid), and this is what made them swear.

لَوْ يَجِدُونَ مَلْجَأً

(Should they find a refuge), such as a fort in which they hide and fortify themselves,

أَوْ مَغَارَاتٍ

(or caves), in some mountains,

أَوْ مُدَّخَلًا

(or a place of concealment), a tunnel or a hole in the ground, according to the explanation given by Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah,

لَّوَلَّوْا إِلَيْهِ وَهُمْ يَجْمَحُونَ

(they would turn straightway thereto with a swift rush) away from you because they associate with you unwillingly, not because they are fond of you. They prefer that they do not have to mix with you, but necessity has its rules! It is because of this that they feel grief, sadness and sorrow, seeing Islam and its people enjoying ever more might, triumph and glory. Therefore, whatever pleases Muslims brings them grief, and this is why they prefer to disassociate themselves from the believers. Hence Allah's statement,

لَوْ يَجِدُونَ مَلْجَأً أَوْ مَغَارَاتٍ أَوْ مُدَّخَلًا لَّوَلَّوْا إِلَيْهِ وَهُمْ يَجْمَحُونَ

(Should they find a refuge, or caves, or a place of concealment, they would turn straightway thereto with a swift rush.)