49 Preface وَمِنهُم مَن يَقولُ ائذَن لي وَلا تَفتِنّي ۚ أَلا فِي الفِتنَةِ سَقَطوا ۗ وَإِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ لَمُحيطَةٌ بِالكافِرينَYusuf AliAmong them is (many) a man who says: “Grant me exemption and draw me not1 into trial.” Have they not fallen into trial already? and indeed Hell surrounds the Unbelievers (on all sides).Fitnah, as explained in n. 1198, 8:25, may mean either trial or temptation, or else tumult, turmoil, or sedition. The Commentators here take the former meaning, and explain that some Hypocrites claimed exemption from service in the Tabuk expedition in the direction of Syria on the plea that they could not withstand the charms of Syrian women and ought best to stay at home. The answer is: “But you have already fallen into temptation here by refusing service and disobeying the call.” But perhaps the other meaning of “turmoil” may also be permissible as a secondary echo: in that case they object to be drawn into the turmoil of war, but they are told that they are already in a moral turmoil in advancing a disingenuous plea. In using the English word “trial” in the translation, I have also had in my mind the two shades of meaning associated with that word in English.