Commentary
In the first verse: يَحْلِفُونَ بِاللَّـهِ (They swear by Allah -74), the text reverts to the hypocrites who keep uttering words of infidelity in their gatherings but, should Muslims come to know about that, they would promptly declare on oath that they had nothing to do with it. Giving the background in which this verse was revealed, Al-Baghawi reports that the Holy Prophet ﷺ gave an address on the occasion of the battle of Tabuk. He talked about the sorry state of affairs the hypocrites were in and warned them of their sad end. Also present there was Jullas, a hypocrite. When he returned to his people, he said ` if whatever Muhammad says is true, then, we are worse than donkeys.' By chance, a Sahabi whose name was ` Amir ibn Qays heard the comment. He told him that ` there is no doubt about what the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said for it is true and you are really worse than donkeys.'
When the Holy Prophet ﷺ returned to Madinah back from his trip to Tabuk, ` Amir ibn Qays told him about this event. But, Jullas flatly disowned what he had said. On top of that, he charged ` Amir ibn Qays of having accused him falsely. The Holy Prophet ﷺ ordered both of them to stand close to the Mimbar of the Nabiyy (the stepped platform used to deliver khutbah in the masjid originally occupied by the Holy Prophet ﷺ and traditionally regarded as a symbol of his message) and take an oath. Jullas was quick to take a false oath to the effect that he never said that and that ` Amir was lying. When it was ` Amir's turn, he took his oath. Then, he raised his hands of prayer before Allah saying, ` 0 Allah, let Your Messenger know about the reality of this matter through a revelation to him.' The Holy Prophet ﷺ said 'Amin (amen) following his prayer and so did all Muslims present there. These people had yet to move from there when came Angel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) with the revelation which included this verse.
When Jullas heard this verse, he stood up immediately and started saying, ` ya rasulallah, now I confess that I was the one in the wrong and that which was said by ` Amir was the truth. But, this very verse has also given me the right of making Taubah (repentance). Hence, I seek forgiveness from Allah and repent for what I did earlier.' The Holy Prophet ﷺ accepted his Taubah after which he stayed firm in it and things turned towards the better in his life. (Mazhari)
Some commentators have referred to similar events as the back-ground of the revelation of this verse - especially as this verse includes the sentence: وَهَمُّوا بِمَا لَمْ يَنَالُوا (and had intended what they could not achieve -74). This sentence seems to suggest that the verse is connected with some event when the hypocrites had hatched some conspiracy against the Holy Prophet ﷺ and his Muslim followers in which they could not succeed. For example, there is a fairly well known incident that came to pass during the return from this very battle of Tabuk. Twelve men from among the hypocrites sat in ambush behind a mountain pass with the intention of taking the Holy Prophet ﷺ by surprise and kill him. Angel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) informed him of their intention. He took a different route and their conspiracy went to dust.
For that matter, several other events of this nature are also on record. But, there is no element of contradiction or improbability in the likelihood that all those events are being referred to through this verse.