Explanation

What he meant by the more honorable was himself and his people, and by that Zayd ibn Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) recounts that he was traveling with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and there were believers and hypocrites with him. During the journey, the people were suffering severe distress due to a lack of provisions. ‘Abdullāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl (the head of disbelief and hypocrisy) spoke to the people, saying: {Do not spend on those with the Messenger of Allah until they disband} [Sūrat al-Munāfiqūn: 7]. What he meant was: do not give them any money, so they would suffer hunger and therefore disband and leave the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). He also said: {If we return to Madīnah, surely the more honorable will expel therefrom the more humble} [Sūrat al-Munāfiqūn: 8], meaning the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). When Zayd ibn Arqam heard what Ibn Salūl said: He went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him of what ‘Abdullāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl had said to warn him of his evil. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) summoned Ibn Salūl, who swore emphatically that he had not said those things. This is the habit of the hypocrites; they can swear a false oath knowing that they are lying. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to accept their overt (deeds) and leave their covert (intentions) to Allah to judge. When Zayd ibn Arqam heard that Ibn Salūl had sworn that he had never made those statements, he was deeply distressed, because the man had sworn and taken an oath before the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). The people said: "Zayd ibn Arqam lied to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him)." However, soon Allah, the Almighty, exonerated Zayd and showed him to have been truthful through the verses of Sūrat al-Munāfiqūn. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then invited the hypocrites and their chief, ‘Abdullāh ibn Ubayy, to ask Allah for forgiveness for them for the foul statements they had made. They rejected his invitation in arrogance and in contempt of the fact that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was seeking forgiveness for them from Allah, the Almighty.