They won’t fight against you altogether except in places surrounded by fortresses or from behind the walls, distress in between them is severe, you think of them as united while their hearts are different, that is because they are a people who do not utilize the intelligence.
This verse describes the character of Banu Nadir, a Jewish tribe in Medina during the time of Messenger Muhammad. The different Jewish tribes lived without unity or mutual friendship but pretended to be united for the sake of communal interests. They were experts in deception and repeatedly violated agreements. Instead of facing their enemies directly in war, they fought from within fortresses, behind walls, or through deceit. The same hypocritical traits seen in the Jews and hypocrites of Medina during the Messenger’s time are now evident among the Fujjar who recite the Arabic Quran but have become worthless people by forgetting Adhikr, as stated in verses 25:17-18 and 48:12. They are the fuel of Hellfire—the house of the worthless—as described in verses 14:28-30.
Among these Fujjar, there is more division, greed, enmity, and conflict than among any other people. This is because they serve Satan by rejecting Adhikr—the Unbreakable Rope extended from Paradise to earth—as explained in verse 56:82. They fail to fulfill their covenant with Allah, as explained in verses 7:172-173, and they hide and reject the Splendid Book Adhikr, which comes from the Three-Time Knower, Allah, as stated in verses 41:41-42. These Mujrim, who are described as the worst creatures among the thousands of Lord’s communities, do not use their intelligence, as explained in verse 8:22. They will suffer disgrace in this world and severe punishment in the Hereafter, as explained in verses 2:85 and 5:33. When the other people from the Messenger’s community also become wrongdoers and transgressors like these Fujjar, the Doomsday will occur, as explained in verses 6:45 and 46:35. See explanations of 6:25-26, 48:6, and 58:19.