87 Preface رَضوا بِأَن يَكونوا مَعَ الخَوالِفِ وَطُبِعَ عَلىٰ قُلوبِهِم فَهُم لا يَفقَهونَYusuf AliThey prefer to be with (the women), who remain behind (at home)1: their hearts are sealed and so they understand not.Khawalif, plural of Khalifah, those (feminine) who remain behind at home when the men go to war; women. There is a stinging taunt in this, a suggestion that such men were cowards, preferring to remain behind like women when stiff work was to be done by men in defending their homes. They were not only cowards, but fools; as they did not understand their own best interests. If the enemy got the better of their brethren, they would themselves be crushed. “Their hearts are sealed”: the habits of cowardice and hypocrisy which they have adopted have become their second nature.