َ وَلَا تُطِعْ كُلَّ حَلَّافٍ مَهِينٍ ﴿۱۰﴾ هَمَّازٍ مَشَّاءٍ بِنَمِيمٍ ﴿۱۱﴾ مَنَّاعٍ لِلْخَيْرِ مُعْتَدٍ أَثِيمٍ ﴿۱۲﴾ عُتُلٍّ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ زَنِيمٍ ﴿۱۳﴾ أَنْ كَانَ ذَا مَالٍ وَبَنِينَ ﴿۱۴﴾

﴾10﴿ Wa laa tuti' kulla hallaa fim maheen
﴾11﴿ Hammaazim mash shaaa'im binameem
﴾12﴿ Mannaa'il lilkhairi mu'tadin aseem
﴾13﴿ Utullim ba'da zaalika zaneem
﴾14﴿ An kaana zaa maalinw-wa baneen

﴾10﴿ And do not accept the words of every worthless habitual swearer
﴾11﴿ A slanderer, constantly going about spreading gossip
﴾12﴿ One who excessively forbids good, transgresses all bounds, and is deeply sinful
﴾13﴿ Harsh-tongued, and moreover, utterly disgraceful
﴾14﴿ Because he possesses wealth and sons

[10,11,12,13] This is also a warning against obeying the opponents, and in it, ten evil traits of the disbelievers are mentioned:
1. (حَلَّافٍ) – One who swears oaths excessively without necessity, and falsely.
2. (مَهِينٍ) – One who does disgraceful and lowly actions, and is without honor in the sight of Allah the Exalted.
3. (هَمَّازٍ) – One who insults the monotheists, both to their face and behind their backs. This is general—it includes backbiting, defaming, slandering, and taunting.
4. (مَشَّاءٍ بِنَمِيمٍ) – A person who spreads tales between people to create corruption and ruin among them.
5. (مَنَّاعٍ لِلْخَيْرِ) – One who prevents good. Khair here is general—worldly and religious good. The object of mannā‘ is omitted to keep it general, meaning he prevents all forms of good—faith, the Qur’an, righteousness—for himself, his children, and others.
6. (مُعْتَدٍ) – One who transgresses the limits of the Shariah in belief and actions, and commits injustice against people.
7. (أَثِيمٍ) – One who argues harshly, uses foul language, eats and drinks excessively, and behaves like a glutton. These meanings have been reported by Ibn Kathir and Qurtubi.
8. (بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ زَنِيمٍ) – The ninth trait. Zanīm comes from zanamah—a piece of flesh hanging from a goat’s ear, which is known and seen on all goats, but it is useless and known for disturbance. Likewise, zanīm refers to someone notorious for evil, who commits vile actions, whose lineage is unknown (illegitimate), or one afflicted with the disgraceful act of being used (passively) in sin. These meanings have been mentioned by Qurtubi, Sharbinī, and other commentators.
[14,15] (أَنْ كَانَ ذَا مَالٍ وَبَنِينَ) – This means: ignorant people obey and follow someone with such vile traits merely because he has wealth and children. But you (O Prophet), refrain from obeying him.
(قَالَ أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ) – The polytheists would attribute this statement to the Qur’an, saying it was just “tales of the ancients.”
They said this because the Qur’an contains stories—which are indeed true, but they falsely labeled them as lies.
Or, because stories are often used simply for entertainment and passing time, they regarded the Qur’an in the same way—as idle talk or a book of distractions.
Or, they said it because the Qur’an mentions the stories and conditions of past nations, their punishments, and their evil traits—and they thought it had nothing to do with them.
This is similar to how some ignorant people today object to those who follow the Qur’an, saying: “This Qur’an is about the disbelievers of the past, the Jews, and the idolaters—so why do you apply it to us?”