يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلَا تَوَلَّوْا عَنْهُ وَأَنْتُمْ تَسْمَعُونَ ﴿۲۰﴾ وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ ﴿۲۱﴾ إِنَّ شَرَّ الدَّوَابِّ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الصُّمُّ الْبُكْمُ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ ﴿۲۲﴾ وَلَوْ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ فِيهِمْ خَيْرًا لَأَسْمَعَهُمْ وَلَوْ أَسْمَعَهُمْ لَتَوَلَّوْا وَهُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ ﴿۲۳﴾

﴾20﴿ Yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanoo atee'ul laaha wa Rasoolahoo wa laa tawallaw 'anhu wa antum tasma'oon
﴾21﴿ Wa laa takoonoo kallazeena qaaloo sami'naa wa hum laa yasma'oon
﴾22﴿ Inna sharrad dawaaabbi 'indal laahis summul bukmul lazeena laa ya'qiloon
﴾23﴿ Wa law 'alimal laahu feehim khairal la asma'ahum; wa law asma'ahum latawallaw wa hum mu'ridoon

﴾20﴿ O you who believe: Obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not turn away from him while you hear (the Qur'an and Sunnah)
﴾21﴿ And do not be like those who say, We have heard, but they have not heard
﴾22﴿ Indeed, the worst of living beings in the sight of Allah are the deaf (from truth), the dumb, those who do not understand
﴾23﴿ And if you, O Allah, knew the truth in them, He would certainly have made them hear (by making them understand), but if they had heard them, they would certainly have turned away, and they will always be averse

[20] From here begins the second section of the surah, continuing until verse 40. In this section, four laws of jihad are mentioned, and within it, there is encouragement toward jihad. After the fifth law, the effects of piety (taqwa) are described—both in their presence and absence—and two reasons are given along with a warning for the rejecters. This also includes the second claim of the surah. In verse 20, the second law is stated:
The message is that it is obligatory upon the mujahid (warrior) to show complete obedience to Allah the Exalted and His Messenger. "Wa laa tawallaw ‘anhu" (Do not turn away from him):
The singular pronoun "‘anhu" (from him) is used because obedience to Allah and His Messenger is one and the same.
"Wa antum tasma‘ūn" (while you hear):
This phrase is added for strong emphasis—meaning, do not turn away despite having knowledge and awareness.
Here, “hearing” (sama‘) refers to hearing with understanding and acceptance, i.e., knowledge and confirmation.
[21] These three verses are a warning to the hypocrites, who show laziness in jihad, and they also serve as a prohibition for the believers—not to adopt the traits and character of the hypocrites.
This verse is evidence for the idea that anyone who verbally declares: “I am obedient and a follower,” but in reality, no effect of that claim is seen—then such a statement is useless, and this is a sign of hypocrisy.
"Lā yasma‘ūn" (they do not hear): The negation of hearing here refers to their lack of acceptance and confirmation, not physical deafness.
[22] This verse is a proof for the previous verse, emphasizing: do not be like the hypocrites, because they are worse—and from this verse it becomes clear that a stubborn disbeliever (kāfir ‘inādī) and polytheist (mushrik) are, in the sight of Allah the Exalted, the worst of all creation.
This also serves as the primary reason for fighting (qitāl), because it is necessary to eliminate anything that causes serious harm and corruption.
And this verse is general—applying to both hypocrites and open disbelievers.
[23] Knowledge (‘ilm) about Allah the Exalted here is a metaphor for the presence of goodness—because if any goodness truly existed in them, Allah would surely have known it. So, the meaning of the sentence is: If the pursuit of truth had been present in them, they would have listened with understanding and acceptance—because true guidance comes through turning back to Allah (inābah).
This sentence is structured as a rhetorical question. That is, if someone were to ask: "Even though they are deaf and dumb (ṣumm, bukm), can Allah not still grant them the ability to hear and understand?" Then the answer is given: Even if He caused them to hear in their current state of stubbornness, they would still turn away.
Thus, it becomes clear that this verse consists of two independent statements—they are not part of a logical minor and major premise (ṣughrā and kubrā), but rather two separate truths being stated.