2:13

Wa izaa qeela lahum aaminoo kamaaa aamanan naasu qaalooo anu'minu kamaaa aamanas
sufahaaa'; alaaa innahum humus sufahaaa'u wa laakil laa ya'lamoon

And when it is said to them, "Believe as the people have believed," they say,
"Shall we believe as the fools have believed?" In fact, it is they who are the
fools, but they do not know.

And when it is said to them: Believe as the people believe, They say: "Shall we
believe as the fools have believed. Verily, they are the fools, but they do not
know.

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ASBAB AL NUZUL

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- Allah said that if the hypocrites are told,

"Believe as the people believe"

meaning, 'Believe just as the believers believe in Allah, His

angels, His Books, His Messengers, Resurrection after death, Paradise and Hellfire,
etc. And obey Allah and His Messenger by heeding the commandments and avoiding the
prohibitions. Yet
the hypocrites answer by saying,

"Shall we believe as the fools have believed" they meant the

Companions of the Messenger of Allah.

- The hypocrites said,

"Us and them having the same status, following the same path, while they are fools"

- The fool is the ignorant, simple-minded person who has little knowledge in areas
of benefit and harm. This is why, according to the majority of the scholars, Allah
used the term foolish to include children, when He said,

"And do not give your property, which Allah has made a means of support for you, to
the foolish" 4:5

- Allah answered the hypocrites in all of these instances. For instance, Allah said
here

- Verily, they are the fools. Allah thus affirmed that the hypocrites are indeed
the fools, yet

"But they know not"

Since they are so thoroughly ignorant , the hypocrites are unaware of their degree
of deviation and ignorance, and such situation is more dangerous, a severer case of
blindness, and further from the truth than one who is aware.
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TAFSIR AL TUSTARI
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Decoding the Quran

And when it is said to them, “Believe as the believers have believed,” they say,
“Should we believe as the foolish (the limited in intellect; those who live
recklessly without thinking) have believed?” Most definitely, it is they who are
the foolish (limited in intellect and unable to contemplate) but they do not
realize, they can not comprehend!

...
[2:13] When it is said to them, ‘Believe as the people believe’, that is, as the
Companions of the Prophet (ṣ), They say, ‘Shall we believe as fools believe?’, that
is, as the ignorant do? No we do not follow their way. The exalted One refutes
them, saying: Truly, they are the foolish ones, but they know, this, not.