﴿ عَفَا ٱللَّهُ عَنكَ لِمَ أَذِنتَ لَهُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ وَتَعْلَمَ ٱلْكَٰذِبِينَ ﴾

“May God pardon thee [O Prophet]! Why didst thou grant them permission [to stay at home] ere it had become obvious to thee as to who was speaking the truth, and [ere] thou camest to know. [who were] the liars?”

A hypocrite is one who remains to the fore in the profitable and undemanding aspects of Islam, but who recoils when he feels that his interests are being affected. On such occasions, what such weaklings rely on is excuses. They try to hide their inaction by attractive explanations. In view of collective considerations, if the chief of believers accepts their excuses, they are very happy, thinking that they have successfully hidden their reluctance behind a veil of words. But they forget that their real dealings are not with a human being but with God, and He very well knows the truth about every man. God sometimes reveals the hidden aspects of such persons in this world, but in the Hereafter the truth about everyone is going to be laid bare.