﴿ وَلِيَعْلَمَ ٱلَّذِينَ نَافَقُوا۟ ۚ وَقِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْا۟ قَٰتِلُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ أَوِ ٱدْفَعُوا۟ ۖ قَالُوا۟ لَوْ نَعْلَمُ قِتَالًۭا لَّٱتَّبَعْنَٰكُمْ ۗ هُمْ لِلْكُفْرِ يَوْمَئِذٍ أَقْرَبُ مِنْهُمْ لِلْإِيمَٰنِ ۚ يَقُولُونَ بِأَفْوَٰهِهِم مَّا لَيْسَ فِى قُلُوبِهِمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَكْتُمُونَ ﴾

“and mark out those who were tainted with hypocrisy and, when they were told, "Come, fight in God's cause" - or, "Defend yourselves" - answered, "If we but knew [that it would come to a] fight, we would indeed follow you." Unto apostasy were they nearer on that day than unto faith, uttering with their mouths something which was not in their hearts, the while God knew fully well what they were trying to conceal:”

And that He might also know the hypocrites and those who when it was said to them after they had fled the fighting namely ‘Abd Allāh b. Ubayy and his companions ‘Come now fight in the way of God His enemies or defend’ us against the enemy by increasing the multitude of our fighters if you are not going to fight; they said ‘If we knew how if we were skilled enough to fight we would follow you’. God then said showing them to be liars They that day were nearer to unbelief than to belief for what they manifested of their forsaking the believers whereas before they had been outwardly nearer to belief; saying with their mouths that which was not in their hearts for even if they had known how to fight they would not have followed you. And God knows best what they hide of hypocrisy.