9:1. An annulment by Allah and His Messenger [is hereby announced] to those of the polytheists with whom you have made treaties.

9:2. Therefore move about safely in the land for four months, but know that you can never escape Allah, and Allah will surely humiliate the disbelievers.

This is an annulment by Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) announced to all the polytheists with whom there were treaties, that they would have four months during which they might travel through the land as they chose and they would be safe from the believers, but after those four months, there would be no treaty or covenant with them.

This applied to those who had an open-ended treaty, or a treaty for a duration of four months or less. As for those who had a treaty longer than four months, that treaty remained valid until the end ofits term, so long as there was no fear of treachery and they did not break the treaty first.

Then Allah warned those who had treaties that even if they felt safe during the term of their treaty, they could never escape Allah and that whoever among them persisted in ascribing partners to Allah, Allah would inevitably humiliate him. This was something that induced them to enter Islam, except for those who stubbornly persisted and did not care about Allah’s warning to them.

9:3. And an announcement from Allah and His Messenger, to the people on the greatest day of the Hajj, that Allah and His Messenger have annulled the [treaties] with the polytheists. So i f you repent, it is better for you, but if you turn away, then know that you can never escape Allah. And give those who disbelieve tidings of a painful punishment.

This is what Allah promises to the believers, that He will grant victory to His religion, make His word supreme and will humiliate their enemies among the polytheists who expelled their Messenger (ﷺ) and his Companions from Makkah, from the sacred House of Allah, and banished them because they had control over the land of the Hejaz.

Allah indeed granted victory to His Messenger (ﷺ) and the believers, as He enabled them to conquer Makkah and humiliate the polytheists, and the believers gained power over that land.

The Prophet (ﷺ) instructed his caller to announce on the greatest day of the Hajj, which was the Day of Sacrifice, the time when all the people, both Muslims and disbelievers, had assembled from all parts of the Arabian Peninsula, telling them that Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) had annulled the treaties with the polytheists, who no longer had any treaty or covenant with them; wherever they were found they were to be executed, and it was said to them: Do not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of yours. This occurred in 9 AH.

The people were led in Hajj by Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq (رضي الله عنه), and the annulment of the treaties was announced, on the Day of Sacrifice, by ‘Ali ibn Abi Tahb (رضي الله عنه). Then Allah encouraged the polytheists to repent, and warned them against persisting in their ascription of partners to Him, as He said:

﴾So if you repent, it is better for you, but if you turn away, then know that you can never escape Allahthat is, you can never escape Him for you are in His grasp, and He is able to give power to His believing slaves over you.

﴾And give those who disbelieve tidings of a painful punishment jj that is, painful and terrifying in this world, in the form of being killed, taken captive and expelled, and in the hereafter in the form of the hellfire, which is a most wretched journey’s end.

9:4. Except those of the polytheists with whom you have made treaties and who have not broken their treaties with you in any way or supported anyone against you. Fulfil your treaties with them until the end of their term, for Allah loves those who fear Him.

This is a complete disavowal of all treaties with all the polytheists, ﴾Except those of the polytheists with whom you have made treaties﴿ and they have upheld the treaties, and none of them have done anything detrimental to the upholding of the treaty; they have not broken any of the terms of the treaty or helped anyone against you. So in the case of these people, you must uphold the treaty with them until the end of its term, whether it is short or long, because Islam does not enjoin treachery; rather it enjoins upholding of treaties.

﴾for Allah loves those who fear Him﴿, those who do what is enjoined and avoid ascribing partners to Allah and treachery, and other sins.

9:5. Then when the sacred months are over, slay the polytheists^{1This refers only to the polytheists who had broken their treaty with the Muslims and supported their enemies against them.} wherever you find them, and seize them, besiege them and lie in wait for them on every route. But if they repent, establish prayer and give zakah, then let them be, for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

﴾Then when the sacred months are over﴿ that is, the months in which it is prohibited to fight the polytheists with whom you have treaties - which was four months’ grace in the case of open-ended treaties, and the end of the stated term in the case of longer treaties - then the Muslims are free of any treaty obligations towards the disbelievers, once the treaty has expired.﴾slay the polytheists wherever you find them﴿ in any place and at any time

﴾and seize them﴿ and take them captive

﴾besiege them﴿ that is, put pressure on them and do not let them expand their territory in the land of Allah that He has ordained as a place of worship for His slaves, for these people are not qualified to dwell there and they do not deserve even a hand span of that land, for it is the land of Allah and they are His enemies who are opposing Him and His Messenger (ﷺ); they are in a state of war, as they want to rid the earth of His religion, but Allah insists on perfecting His light, even though the disbelievers hate it (cf 9: 32).

﴾and lie in wait for them on every route﴿ that is, in every mountain pass and every place they pass through; keep a lookout for them, strive against them and do your utmost, and carry on doing that until they repent from their ascribing partners to Allah.

﴾But if they repent﴿ from ascribing partners to Allah ﴾establish prayer﴿ that is, perform the prayers properly ﴾and give zakah﴿ to those who are deserving of it ﴾then let them bep that is, leave them alone and let them be like you, with the same rights and duties as you.

﴾for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿ - He forgives ascription of partners to Him and lesser sins to those who repent, and He bestows mercy upon them by enabling them to repent, then accepting it from them.

This verse indicates that whoever refuses to pray and give zakah is to be fought until he does fulfil these two duties; this verse was quoted as evidence for that by Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq (رضي الله عنه).

9:6. If any of the polytheists asks you for protection, grant it to him, so that he may hear the word of Allah, then convey him to his place of safety, for they are people who do not know.

Because Allah had previously said: ﴾Then when the sacred months are over, slay the polytheists wherever you find them, and seize them, besiege them and lie in wait for them on every routed (9: 5), which constituted general instructions that were applicable in all circumstances and to all individuals among the polytheists, He points out here that if there is a purpose to be served by bringing some of them close, then it is permissible - and in fact obligatory - to do that. Hence He says here: ﴾If any of the polytheists asks you for protection﴿ that is, if he asks you to protect him from harm so that he may hear the word of Allah and think about Islam,

﴾grant it to him, so that he may hear the word of Allah﴿. Then if he becomes Muslim, all well and good; otherwise, convey him to a place where he will be safe. The reason for that is that the disbelievers are people who do not know, so perhaps their persisting in disbelief is due to their ignorance, and if that ignorance is dispelled, they may choose Islam. Therefore Allah instructed His Messenger (ﷺ) - and his Ummah who followed his example with regard to the rulings - to give protection to anyone who asked to hear the word of Allah.

This verse provides clear proof for the view of ahl as-Sunnah wal-jama'ah, who say that the Qur’an is the uncreated word of Allah, because He is the One Who spoke it and attributed it to Himself, and it highlights the falseness of the view of the Mutazilites and those who followed their view that the Qur’an is created.

There is a great deal of evidence to show that this view is false, but this is not the place to discuss it.

(v ) 4^

9:7. How can the polytheists have a treaty with Allah and His Messenger? But as for those with whom you made a treaty at the Sacred Mosque, so long as they uphold the treaty with you, uphold the treaty with them, for Allah loves those who fear Him.

This explains the reason why Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) annulled the treaty with the polytheists:

﴾How can the polytheists have a treaty with Allah and His Messenger?Have they embraced faith as they should have done, or have they refrained from harming the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and the believers? Did they not fight the truth and support falsehood? Did they not strive to spread mischief in the land?

Therefore they deserve that Allah should disavow them and that they should not have any treaty with Him or His Messenger (ﷺ).

﴾But as for those﴿among the polytheists ﴾with whom you made a treaty at the Sacred Mosque﴿, for their treaty, by virtue of the sacred place in which it was made, deserves to be upheld ﴾so long as they uphold the treaty with you, uphold the treaty with them, for Allah loves those who fear Him﴿.

Hence Allah says:

9:8. How [can there be a treaty] when, if they gain the upper hand over you, they will not respect the ties of kinship or the treaty with you? They please you with their [flattering] words, while at heart they remain adamantly hostile, and most of them are wicked.

9:9. They have sold the revelations of Allah for a small price and barred people from His way. Evil indeed is what they have done.

9:10. They do not respect the ties of kinship or treaties with regard to believers. It is they who are the transgressors.

9:11. Yet if they repent, establish prayer and give zakah, then they are your brothers in faith. We explain the revelations in detail for people who have knowledge.

﴾How [can there be a treaty]﴿ that is, how can the polytheists have a treaty and covenant with Allah

﴾when﴿ it is the case that ﴾if they gain the upper hand over you﴿ and they have power over you, they will not show you any mercy and ﴾they will not respect the ties of kinship or the treaty with you﴿ that is, there will be no treaty and no kinship, and they will not fear Allah with regard to you; rather they will subject you to grievous torment. This will be your situation if they prevail over you.

So do not be deceived by the way they act towards you at the time when they are afraid of you, for ﴾They please you with their [flattering] words, while at heart﴿ they do not love you; rather they are truly hostile towards you and they indeed hate you ﴾and most of them are wicked﴿; they have no fear of Allah and no decency or dignity.

﴾They have sold the revelations of Allah fora small price﴿ that is, they have chosen worthless, immediate gain in this world over belief in Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) and submission to the revelations of Allah.

﴾and barred﴿ themselves and others ﴾from His way. Evil indeed is what they have done. They do not respect the ties of kinship or treaties with regard to believers﴿ that is, because of their enmity towards faith and its people.

The reason why they are described as hostile towards you and as hating you is the issue of faith, so defend your faith and support it; take those who oppose it as your enemies and take those who support it as your allies and friends, basing your relationships with others on that criteria, and do not base the issue of friendship or enmity on personal inclinations and whims and desires, following the self that is inclined towards evil with regard to this matter.

﴾Yet if they repent﴿ from their ascription of partners to Allah, and they come back to faith

﴾establish prayer and give zakah, then they are your brothers in faith﴿, and you should forget about that enmity that existed at the time when they were polytheists, so that you may all be the chosen slaves of Allah. Thus the individual may attain true servitude to Him.

After explaining these important rulings and clarifying and discussing the rulings and the wisdom behind them, Allah says:

﴾We explain the revelations in detail﴿ that is. We clarify them ﴾for people who have knowledge﴿, and through them we learn the rulings and teachings of Islam.

O Allah, make us among the people who have knowledge and act upon what they know, by Your mercy, kindness and grace, O Lord of the worlds.

9:12. But if they break their oaths after making a treaty, and revile your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief, whose oaths mean nothing to them, so that they may desist.

9:13. Will you not fight people who broke their oaths, wanted to expel the Messenger and attacked you first? Do you fear them? Rather it is Allah Whom you should fear, if you are [truly] believers.

9:14. Fight them, and Allah will punish them at your hands, bring disgrace upon them, grant you victory over them, and will grant heartfelt satisfaction to people who believe,

9:15. and will remove rage from their hearts. Allah turns in mercy to whomever He wills. Allah is All-Knowing, Most Wise.

After mentioning those among the polytheists who had treaties, and saying that if they adhere to the treaty, then the Muslims were to uphold the treaty with them, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) then says:

﴾But if they break their oaths after making a treaty﴿ that is, if they break the treaty, and fight you or help others to fight you, or they do something contrary to the terms of the treaty﴾and revile your religion﴿ that is, criticise and ridicule it. This includes all kinds of criticism that may be directed against Islam or the Qur’an.

﴾then fight the leaders of disbelief﴿ that is, the prominent figures who revile the religion of the Most Gracious, and support the way of the Shaytan. They are singled out for mention because of the seriousness of their offence, and because others follow them. This also highlights the fact that whoever reviles Islam and takes it upon himself to oppose it is one of the leaders of disbelief.

c-(whose oaths mean nothing to them﴿ that is, there is no treaty or covenant or oath that they fulfil; rather they are always treacherous and break their covenants, so they cannot be trusted.

﴾so that they may﴿ as a result of your fighting them ﴾desist﴿ and stop reviling your religion, and perhaps they may enter it.

Then Allah encourages the believers to fight them, by mentioning the deeds that the enemy did, which were characteristic of them and which made it justifiable to fight them:

﴾Will you not fight people who broke their oaths, wanted to expel the Messenger﴿, whom they should have respected, honoured and venerated. They are the ones who wanted to expel him and strove their utmost to do that

﴾and attacked you first﴿ when they broke the treaty and helped others against you. That was when Quraysh - at the time when they had a treaty with the Prophet (ﷺ) - helped their allies Banu Bakr against Banu Khuza’ah, who were allies of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and fought alongside them as is mentioned in detail in the seerah (Prophet’s biography).

﴾Do you fear them﴿ so that you refrain from fighting them? ﴾Rather it is Allah Whom you should fear, if you are [truly] believers﴿ for He has commanded you to fight them and has emphatically confirmed that command.

If you are truly believers, then comply with the command of Allah, and do not fear them to the extent that you refrain from obeying His command.

Then Allah instructs them to fight them and mentions the benefits that will result from fighting them. All of that serves to encourage the believers to fight them.

﴾Fight them, and Allah will punish them at your hands﴿ by your killing them,

﴾bring disgrace upon them﴿ when Allah grants you victory over them, for they are the enemy who should be disgraced and the believers should be eager for that.

﴾grant you victory over them﴿ - this is a promise from Allah and glad tidings that He fulfilled.

﴾and will grant heartfelt satisfaction to people who believe, and will remove rage from their hearts﴿, for they harbour resentment and rage towards them in their hearts, so that fighting and killing them will bring heartfelt satisfaction to the believers, and relief from distress and worry, when they see the defeat of these enemies, who waged war against Allah and His Messenger and strove to extinguish the light of Allah, and the rage that was in their hearts will recede. This is indicative of Allah’s love and care for the believers, as He made one of the aims of Sharia this heartfelt satisfaction and causing their rage to recede.

Then He says: ﴾Allah turns in mercy to whomever He wills﴿ among those who oppose Him, as He guides them to enter Islam, and He makes it fair-seeming in their hearts and makes disbelief, evildoing and disobedience hateful to them.

f(AUah is All-Knowing, Most Wise﴿ and does what is appropriate. He knows who is fit to believe, so He guides him, and He knows who is not fit for that, so He leaves him in his error and misguidance.

9:16. Or do you think that you will be left untested, when Allah has not yet made known which of you will strive in jihad and take none but Allah, His Messenger and the believers as trusted allies and friends? Allah is well aware of all that you do.

Here Allah O&g) says to His believing slaves, after commanding them to engage in jihad:

﴾Or do you think that you will be left untested﴿, without being tried and tested, and instructed to do that which will distinguish the sincere from the insincere?

t-fwhen Allah has not yet made known which of you will strive in jihad﴿ that is, knowledge that is based on what He knows they will actually do, so that reward and punishment may be based on that, and thus it will be known who will strive in jihad for His sake, to make His word supreme c-fand take none but Allah, His Messenger and the believers as trusted allies and friends﴿ that is, they will not take allies among the disbelievers; rather they will take Allah, His Messenger (ﷺ) and the believers as allies.

Allah has prescribed jihad to fulfil this great purpose, which is to distinguish the sincere, who do not side with anyone except for the sake of Allah’s religion, from the insincere who claim to be believers when in fact they take other than Allah, His Messenger (ﷺ) and the believers as trusted allies and friends.﴾Allah is well aware of all that you do﴿ that is, He knows what you will actually do, so He tests you with that which will expose what you really are, and He will requite you for your deeds, both good and bad.

9:17. It is not fitting for those who ascribe partners to Allah to visit or tend the mosques of Allah when they are self-confessed disbelievers. Their deeds will come to nothing and in the fire they will abide forever.

9:18. The mosques of Allah are only to be visited and tended by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, establish prayer, give zakah and fear none but Allah. It is those who are expected to be rightly guided.

﴾It is not fitting﴿ that is, it is not appropriate ﴾for those who ascribe partners to Allah to visit or tend the mosques of Allah﴿ for the purpose of worship, prayer or other acts of devotion, when they affirm and testify that they are disbelievers on the basis of the way they are and the way they act, and the fact that many of them are aware of their disbelief and falsehood.

If they are ﴾self-confessed disbelievers﴿ and themselves attest to their lack of faith, which is a condition for acceptability of good deeds, then how can they claim to be caretakers of the mosques of Allah, when the basic requirement is lacking in them and their deeds are null and void?

Hence Allah says: ﴾Their deeds will come to nothing﴿ that is, they will be deemed invalid and will avail them naught, ﴾fand in the fire they will abide forever﴿.

Then He tells us who the rightful caretakers of the mosques of Allah are: ﴾The mosques of Allah are only to be visited and tended by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, establish prayer﴿ both obligatory and supererogatory, in the proper manner, both outwardly and inwardly ﴾give zakah﴿ to those who are entitled to receive it t﴾and fear none but Allah﴿ that is, their fear is focused on their Lord, so they refrain from that which Allah has prohibited and they do not fall short in their obligatory duties towards Allah.

He describes them as having beneficial faith and doing righteous deeds, the most important of which are prayer and zakah, and as fearing Allah, which is the foundation of all good. These are the true keepers of the mosques and their people to whom they belong.

﴾lt is those who are expected to be rightly guided﴿. The word translated here as ﴾expected﴿ ('asd, literally, perhaps or maybe), when it refers to Allah, indicates that something is definite or inevitable. As for the one who does not believe in Allah or the Last Day, and does not fear Allah, he is not one of the keepers of the mosques of Allah, nor is he one of their people to whom they belong, even if he claims to be such.

9:19. Do you regard giving water to the pilgrims and tending the Sacred Mosque as equal to the deeds of those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and strive and fight in Allah’s cause? They are not equal before Allah, and Allah does not guide people who are wrongdoers.

9:20. Those who believe, migrate, and strive and fight in Allah’s cause, offering their wealth and their lives, are of a higher rank before Allah. It is they who will triumph.

9:21. Their Lord gives them glad tidings of mercy from Him and His good pleasure, and of gardens in which eternal bliss will be theirs,

9:22. To abide therein forever. Verily with Allah there is an immense reward.

When some of the Muslims, or some of the Muslims and some of the polytheists, disagreed as to whether tending and visiting the Sacred Mosque, by maintaining the structure, praying and worshipping in it and providing water for the pilgrims, is to be regarded as superior to believing in Allah and striving in jihad for His sake, Allah stated (سبحانه وتعالى) that there is indeed a difference between them, as He said:

﴾Do you regard giving water to the pilgrims﴿ that is, giving them Zamzam water, as it is the custom that when this is mentioned in general terms, what it refers to is Zamzam

﴾fand tending the Sacred Mosque as equal to the deeds of those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and strive and fight in Allah’s cause? They are not equal before Allah﴿.

Jihad and faith in Allah are superior by many degrees to providing water for the pilgrims and tending the Sacred Mosque, because faith is the foundation of the religion, and it is on that basis that deeds are accepted and one’s soul is purified.

As for jihad in Allah’s cause, it is the pinnacle of religion, for by means of it the Islamic religion is protected and expands, the truth is supported and falsehood is suppressed. As for tending the Sacred Mosque and providing water for the pilgrims, even though these are righteous deeds, the acceptability thereof is dependent on faith, and they do not achieve the same interests as faith and jihad. Therefore Allah says: ﴾They are not equal before Allah, and Allah does not guide people who are wrongdoers﴿, that is, those whose defining characteristic is wrongdoing and who are not fit to accept anything good; rather nothing befits them but evil.

Then Allah clearly states the superiority of faith and jihad: ﴾Those who believe, migrate, and strive and fight in Allah’s cause, offering their wealth﴿ by spending on jihad and equipping the fighters fjand their lives﴿ by going out themselves to fight ﴾are of a higher rank before Allah. It is they who will triumph﴿ that is, none will attain what is sought or be saved from what is feared except the one who has these characteristics.

﴾Their Lord gives them glad tidings﴿ by His generosity, grace, kindness, care and love for them c-(of mercy from Him﴿ by means of which He will protect them from all ills and cause them to attain all that is good tjand His good pleasure﴿, which is the greatest blessing of paradise, where He will bestow His good pleasure upon them and will never be angry with them.

﴾and of gardens in which eternal bliss will be theirs﴿, with all that their hearts may desire and all that may delight their eyes, the nature and extent of which no one knows except Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). Among that, Allah has prepared for those who strive in jihad for His sake one hundred levels, the distance between each two of which is like the distance between heaven and earth, and if all of creation were to be gathered in one of these levels, it would encompass them all.

﴾To abide therein forever﴿ and never leave it or want to leave﴾Verily with Allah there is an immense reward﴿. The abundance of His reward is nothing strange in light of the bounty of Allah, and its greatness and beauty are nothing to be wondered at from the One Who has the ability to say to a thing, ‘Be!’ and it is.

9:23. O you who believe, do not take as allies your fathers and brothers, if they prefer disbelief to faith; whoever among you takes them as allies, such are wrongdoers.

9:24. Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your spouses, your clan, the wealth that you have acquired, the merchandise which you fear will not be sold, and the dwellings in which you delight, are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and striving and fighting in His cause, then wait until Allah brings about His decree [of punishment]. For Allah does not guide disobedient people.

f(0 you who believe﴿, act in accordance with the requirements of your faith, by taking as allies those who adhere to it and regarding as enemies those who do not do so;

﴾do not take as allies your fathers and brothers﴿ who are the closest of people to you, so it is even more appropriate that you should nottake as allies other people ﴾if they prefer disbelief to faith﴿ that is, they willingly choose disbelief over faith.

﴾whoever among you takes them as allies, such are wrongdoers﴿ because they have transgressed and disobeyed Allah, by taking His enemies as allies. The basis of alliance is love and support; by taking them as allies, this implies giving precedence to obeying them over obedience to Allah and giving precedence to loving them over loving Allah and His Messenger

The reason why they are wrongdoers is that love of Allah and His Messenger should be given precedence over love of all others, and everything else should be secondary to them. Hence Allah says: ﴾Say: If your fathers﴿ and, by the same token, mothers ﴾your sons, your brothers﴿ in lineage and kinship dyour spouses, your clan﴿ that is, your relatives in general ﴾the wealth that you have acquired﴿ that is, that you have earned and toiled for. This is singled out for mention because people are more attached to it and more careful with it than wealth that comes to them without effort or striving.

﴾the merchandise which you fear will not be sold﴿ that is, you fear that its price will drop or that it will be lost. This includes all kinds of trade and earnings, such as trade goods, vessels, weapons, furniture, grains, farmland, livestock and so on.

﴾and the dwellings in which you delight﴿ because of their beauty and adornment, and because they suit your desires.

If these things ﴾are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and striving and fighting in His cause﴿, then you are transgressors and wrongdoers.

﴾then wait﴿ and watch out for that which will befall you of punishment

﴾until Allah brings about His decree [of punishment]﴿ which cannot be put back﴾For Allah does not guide disobedient people﴿ that is, those who fail to obey Him and give precedence to any of the things mentioned above over love of Allah.

This verse provides the greatest evidence for the obligation to love Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), and to give them precedence over love of anything else. It also provides evidence for the stem warning and certain wrath for the one to whom any of these things is dearer than Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), and jihad in His cause.

The sign of that is that if a person is presented with two options, one of which is loved by Allah and His Messenger but he has no inclination towards it, and the other option is something that he loves and desires, but it will cause him to miss out on or will detract from the thing that is loved by Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ); if he gives precedence to that which he himself desires over that which Allah loves, this indicates that he is a wrongdoer who is not doing what he should do.

9:25. Allah indeed helped you in many battles. But on the day of Hunayn, when you were pleased with your great number it availed you nothing; the land, despite its vastness, seemed'to close in on you, and you turned and fled.

9:26. But then Allah sent down His reassurance to the Messenger and to the believers; He sent down troops that you did not see, and punished those who disbelieved. Thus does He requite the disbelievers.

9:27. Then after that, Allah will turn in mercy to whomever He wills, for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) reminds His believing slaves of the support He gave them on many occasions and in many battles; on the day of Hunayn, when the situation was critical and they saw some troops let them down and flee, and the land, despite its vastness, seemed to close in on them.

The story behind this verse is that when the Prophet (ﷺ) conquered Makkah, he heard that Hawazin had gathered to fight him, so he marched to them with his Companions who had conquered Makkah, and with those of the people of Makkah who had become Muslim. The Muslims numbered twelve thousand whereas the polytheists numbered four thousand, so some of the Muslims were impressed with their own great numbers and some of them said: We will never be defeated today because of our small numbers.

When they and Hawazin met in battle, the enemy attacked the Muslims as one and they fled, no one caring about anyone else. No one stayed with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) except approximately one hundred men, who stood firm with him; they began fighting the polytheists and the Prophet (ﷺ) urged his mule on towards the polytheists, saying:

«I am the Prophet and no lie; I am the son of ‘Abdul-Muttalib.» (Bukhari and at-Tirmidhi)

When he saw what the Muslims had done, the Prophet (ﷺ) instructed al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib, who had a loud voice, tocall out to the Ansar and the rest of the Muslims: O people of the tree!^{1This refers to the tree under which they had sworn allegiance to the Prophet (jig) (Bay'at ar-Ridwan).} O people of Soorat al-Baqarah!

When they heard his voice, they turned back as one and fought against the polytheists, then Allah inflicted a harsh defeat on the polytheists and the Muslims captured their camp, their women and their wealth. This is what Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) refers to in the words:

﴾Allah indeed helped you in many battles. But on the day of Hunayn﴿ - Hunayn is the name of the place where the battle took place, between Makkah and Taif.

﴾when you were pleased with your great number, it availed you nothing﴿ that is, it did not help you to any extent, small or great ﴾the land, despite its vastness﴿ that is, although it was so spacious ﴾seemed to close in on you﴿ because of the worry and distress that befell you when you fled tfand you turned and fled﴿.

﴾But then Allah sent down His reassurance to the Messenger and to the believers﴿. Reassurance (sakeenah) is what Allah instils in people’s hearts at times of turmoil, calamity and trouble, which makes them steadfast and calms them down, and gives them peace and assurance. It is one of the great blessings that Allah bestows upon people.

﴾)He sent down troops that you did not see﴿ namely the angels, whom Allah sent down to help the Muslims on the day of Hunayn, to make them steadfast and give them glad tidings of victory.

﴾)and punished those who disbelieved﴿ with defeat and killing, and the Muslims’ capture of their women, children and wealth.

﴾Thus does He requite the disbelievers﴿ - Allah punishes them in this world, then in the hereafter they will receive a grievous punishment.

﴾Then after that, Allah will turn in mercy to whomever He wills﴿. Allah accepted the repentance of many of those who were defeated, who came to the Prophet (ﷺ) announcing their Islam and repentance, so he returned their women and children to them.

﴾for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿ that is. He forgives abundantly and bestows abundant mercy; He forgives grave sins for those who repent. He grants mercy to them by guiding and enabling them to repent and obey Him, and He pardons their sins and accepts their repentance. So no one should despair of His forgiveness and mercy, no matter what sins he has committed.

9:28. O you who believe, truly the polytheists are impure, so do not let them come near the Sacred Mosque after this [final] year of theirs. If you fear poverty, Allah will soon enrich you out of His bounty, if He so wills, for Allah is All-Knowing, Most Wise.

﴾0 you who believe, truly the polytheists﴿ who ascribe partners to Allah and worship others besides Him ﴾are impure﴿ that is, they are evil in their beliefs and actions, for what impurity could be worse than that of one who worships besides Allah other gods who can neither bring benefit nor cause harm, and cannot avail him anything?

Their deeds vary between opposing Allah, barring people from the path of Allah, supporting falsehood, rejecting truth, and spreading mischief in the land, and they make no effort to set things straight.So you must cleanse the noblest and purest of houses (namely the Kaaba) of their presence.

﴾so do not let them come near the Sacred Mosque after this [final] year of theirs﴿. That was 9 AH, when Abu Bakr as-Ṣiddeeq led the people in Hajj, and the Prophet (ﷺ) sent his cousin ‘Ali to announce on the greatest day of the Hajj that all treaties with the polytheists were annulled. So he announced that after that year no polytheist should perform Hajj and no one should circumambulate the Kaaba naked.

What is meant here is not physical impurity, for the disbeliever - like anyone else - is pure in body, based on the fact that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has made it permissible to have intercourse with and touch a Jewish or Christian woman (within the framework of marriage), and has not instructed the Muslim to wash himself after physical contact with her.

So the Muslims continued to touch the bodies of the disbelievers, and there is no report to suggest that they found it off-putting. Rather what is meant - as stated above - is that they are impure in metaphorical terms because of their ascription of partners to Allah. Just as affirmation of Allah’s oneness (tawheed) and faith are pure, ascription of partners to Him is impure.

﴾lf you﴿ O Muslims ﴾fear poverty﴿ that is, you fear need and want as a result of preventing the polytheists from coming near the Sacred Mosque, because this would cut off a means of worldly gains and the trade between you and them

﴾Allah will soon enrich you out of His bounty﴿, for His bounty is not limited to one type or one place; rather no door closes but many others open. Allah’s bounty is vast and His generosity is immense, especially for the one who gives up something for His sake, for Allah is the most generous of those who show generosity.

Allah indeed fulfilled His promise, for He enriched the Muslims out of His bounty and granted them abundant provision, to the extent that they became the richest of people and the greatest of rulers.

﴾if He so wills﴿ that is, this is conditional upon His will, because being enriched in this world is not necessarily one of the outcomes of faith and it does not indicate that Allah loves a person. Hence Allah connected this matter to His will, for Allah may give worldly gain to one whom He loves and one whom He does not love, but He does not grant faith and religious commitment except to one whom He loves. ﴾for Allah is All-Knowing, Most Wise﴿ that is. His knowledge is immense and He knows for whom richness is appropriate and for whom it is not appropriate, and He puts things in the right place.

The words «fso do not let them come near the Sacred Mosque after this [final] year of theirs﴿ indicate that after the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and the believers conquered Makkah and took charge of the Kaaba, the polytheists who had been in charge of it were still staying around the Sacred House and in Makkah, then this verse was revealed.

But before the Prophet (ﷺ) died, he issued instructions that the polytheists should be expelled from the Hejaz, so that no two religions would be left in it. All of that was in order to keep all the disbelievers away from the Sacred Mosque. All of this is included in the words ﴾so do not let them come near the Sacred Mosque after this [final] year of theirs﴿.

9:29. Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day, and do not regard as forbidden that which Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and do not follow the religion of truth, among those who were given the scripture, until they pay the jizyah readily and feel themselves subdued.

This verse contains instructions to fight the disbelievers among the Jews and Christians, ﴾those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day﴿ in the sense of sound belief that is confirmed by deeds and actions

﴾and do not regard as forbidden that which Allah and His Messenger have forbidden﴿, so they do not follow His law with regard to what was forbidden

﴾and do not follow the religion of truth﴿ that is, they do not follow the true religion. Even if they do claim to follow a religion, then it is not the correct religion because either it is a false religion that Allah did not prescribe in the first place, or it is an abrogated religion that Allah did prescribe, but He superseded it with the religion of Muhammad (ﷺ), therefore adhering to it after it has been abrogated is not permissible.

Hence Allah instructed the Muslims to fight these people and encouraged them to do so, because they call people to the religion that they follow and cause a great deal of harm to people, as people may be deceived by them, because of their being People of the Book.

Then Allah defines the aim of that fighting: ﴾until they pay the jizyah﴿ that is, wealth that is given in return for the Muslims not fighting them and allowing them to stay among the Muslims, granting them safety for their lives and their property. The jizyah is to be taken from them every year, each according to his situation, and is to be taken from rich and poor and everyone in between, as was done by Ameer al-Mu’mineen 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and other caliphs.

﴾readily﴿ that is, until they give it when they are subdued and have no power to resist, and they give it themselves, not sending it with a servant or anyone else; rather it can only be accepted from their own hands

﴾and feel themselves subdued﴿.

If they are like this, and they ask the Muslims to let them give the jizyah and live under Muslim rule and control, and there is no fearof their evil or turmoil, and they agree to the conditions stipulated by the Muslims, then it is obligatory for the Muslim ruler or his deputy to give them this deal.

This verse is quoted as evidence by the majority of scholars who say that the jizyah can only be accepted from the People of the Book, because Allah did not mention taking the jizyah from anyone except them.

The Magians are included with the People of the Book with regard to taking the jizyah from them and allowing them to live in the Muslim lands, because the Prophet (ﷺ) took the jizyah from the Magians of Hajar, then Ameer al-Mu’mineen ‘Umar took it from the Persian Magians.

It was also said that jizyah may be taken from all the disbelievers, People of the Book and others, because this verse was revealed after the Muslims had finished fighting with the polytheist Arabs and had begun to fight the People of the Book and their ilk, so this condition is describing the real situation and is not meant to impose a restriction on accepting jizyah from the People of the Book only.

This is supported by the fact that the jizyah was taken from the Magians, who were not People of the Book, and the fact that it is narrated in mutawatir reports from the Sahabah and those who came after them that they called those whom they were about to fight to choose one of three options: either to become Muslim or to give the jizyah or to fight, without differentiating between those who were People of the Book and others.

9:30. The Jews say that ‘Uzayr is the son of Allah and the Christians say that the Messiah is the son of Allah. These are mere words that they utter, resembling the words uttered by the disbelievers who came before them. May Allah destroy them; how could they have gone so far astray?

9:31. They take their rabbis and monks, and the Messiah son of Maryam, as lords besides Allah, even though they were commanded to worship only One God. There is no god but He; glory be to Him, [far exalted is He] above having the partners they ascribe to Him.

9:32. They want to extinguish Allah’s light with their utterances, but Allah insists on perfecting His light, even though the disbelievers hate it.

9:33. It is He Who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, so that He may cause it to prevail over all other religions, even though the polytheists hate it.

When Allah issued the command to fight the People of the Book, He mentioned some of their evil notions so as to encourage the believers who care about their Lord and His religion to fight them, striving and doing their utmost.

﴾The Jews say that ‘Uzayr is the son of Allah﴿. Even though this belief was not held by all of them, it was the belief of a group amongthem. This indicates that among them there was an element of evil that led them to hold this view that was a transgression against Allah, by which they impugned His greatness and majesty.

It was said that the reason why they claimed that ‘Uzayr was a son of Allah was that when Allah sent the kings against the Israelites and they utterly destroyed them and killed the bearers of the Torah, after that they found that ‘Uzayr had memorised it or most of it, and he dictated it to them from memory and they wrote it down, then they made this abhorrent claim about him.

t*(and the Christians say that the Messiah﴿ namely ‘Eesa ibn Maryam ﴾is the son of Allah﴿. Allah says: ﴾-(These﴿ things that they say {(are mere words that they utter﴿; they have no proof or evidence for them.

If a person does not care what he says, we should not be surprised at anything he says, for he has no religion or reason to deter him from saying whatever he wants. Hence Allah says:

﴾resembling the words uttered by the disbelievers who came before them﴿ that is, these words that they say resemble the words of the polytheists who said that the angels were the daughters of Allah; their words resemble one another in falsehood.

﴾May Allah destroy them; how could they have gone so far astray?﴿ That is, how could they go astray from the plain and clear truth and believe something that is so clearly false?

Even though one may feel that it is very strange for a large nation of great numbers all to hold a belief that is clearly wrong and false, as will be quite clear with a little thought and examination, there is a reason for that which is that ﴾They take their rabbis'﴿ that is, their scholars

﴾and monks﴿ that is, devoted worshippers

﴾as lords besides Allah﴿. They permit to them that which Allah has prohibited, so they regard it as permissible, and they prohibit to them that which Allah has permitted, so they regard it as prohibited.and they prescribe for them laws and beliefs that are contrary to the religion of the Messengers, and they followed them in that.

They also used to exaggerate about their scholars and worshippers, venerating them too much, taking their graves as idols to be worshipped besides Allah, offering sacrifices to them, and directing supplication and pleas for help to them.

﴾and the Messiah son of Maryam﴿ - they took him as a god besides Allah and by doing so they went against the command that Allah sent to them on the lips of His Messengers ﴾they were commanded to worship only One God. There is no god but He﴿ so they should devote their worship and obedience only to Him and direct their love and supplication to Him alone. But they went against the command of Allah and ascribed partners to Him for which He had not sent down any authority.

﴾glory be to Him, [far exalted is He] above having the partners they ascribe to Him﴿ that is, He is too exalted, too holy and too great to have the partners they ascribe to Him, and is far above whatever they fabricate, for by doing so they are showing disrespect to Him and ascribing to Him that which is not appropriate to His majesty. For Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is the most sublime in attributes and actions, far above what is attributed to Him of anything that is contrary to His perfection.

Once it is clear that they have no proof or evidence for the words they utter and the beliefs they hold, and that they are mere words that they have fabricated, Allah then tells us that ﴾They want﴿ thereby ﴾fto extinguish Allah’s light with their utterances﴿.

The light of Allah is His religion with which He sent His Messengers and sent down His Books. Allah calls it light because He illuminates thereby the darkness of ignorance and false religions. It is knowledge of the truth and acting upon it, and everything other than it is its opposite. These Jews and Christians, like the polytheists,want to extinguish Allah’s light with mere words that they utter, for which they have no proof or evidence at all.

﴾but Allah insists on perfecting His light﴿, for it is clear light which all of humankind, even if they came together to extinguish it, will never be able to extinguish, for the One Who sent it down is the One Who controls ali people, and He has guaranteed to protect it from everyone who intends ill towards it. Hence He says: ﴾but Allah insists on perfecting His light, even though the disbelievers hate it﴿ and they strive their utmost to undermine and defeat it. But their efforts will not harm the truth in the slightest.

Then Allah describes this light that He has guaranteed to perfect and protect:

﴾flt is He Who has sent His Messenger with guidance﴿-) which is beneficial knowledge f(and the religion of truth﴿ which is righteous deeds. Therefore the message with which Allah sent Muhammad (ﷺ) includes: differentiating between truth and falsehood with regard to the names, attributes and actions of Allah, His rulings and the stories He tells us; enjoining all that is in the best interests of people’s hearts, souls and bodies, such as sincere devotion to Allah alone, and loving and worshipping Allah; enjoining noble attitudes, good conduct, righteous deeds and proper etiquette; prohibiting the opposite of that and everything that detracts from it, such as bad attitudes and evil deeds that harm people’s hearts, souls and bodies in this world and the hereafter.

Allah sent him with guidance and the true religion, «jso that He may cause it to prevail over all other religions, even though the polytheists hate it﴿ that is, so that He may make it prevail over all religions, by means of proof and evidence, and by means of fighting, even though the polytheists hate it and try to defeat it and plot against it, for evil plots harm no one but their authors. Allah will inevitably fulfil His promise and do that which He has guaranteed to do.

9:34. O you who believe, indeed many of the rabbis and monks devour people’s wealth wrongfully and bar them from the path of Allah. And as for those who hoard up gold and silver, and do not spend it in the cause of Allah, give them the tidings of a painful punishment.

9:35. On the day when it [that hoarded wealth] will be heated in the fire of hell, and with it their foreheads, sides and backs will be branded. [It will be said to them]: This is what you hoarded up for yourselves; now taste what you used to hoard up.

This is a warning from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) to His believing slaves against many of the rabbis and monks, namely the scholars and devoted worshippers who devour people’s wealth unlawfully and bar people from the path of Allah. If they have a regular income from people’s wealth, or people give them wealth, that is because of their knowledge and worship, and because people want their help to be guided to follow the path of guidance, and they take it but they bar people from the path of Allah, then in that case their taking it in this manner is unlawful and wrong. For people give them what they give only so that they may show them the straight path.

Part of their taking people’s wealth unlawfully is that people give them wealth so that they will give them an edict that they like or will judge in their favour on the basis of something other than that whichAllah has revealed. In that case these rabbis and monks are committing wrong in both of these cases: taking people’s wealth unlawfully and barring people from the path of Allah.

﴾And as for those who hoard up﴿ that is, withhold ﴾gold and silver, and do not spend it in the cause of Allah﴿ that is, good causes that bring one closer to Allah. This refers to the prohibited kind of hoarding, which is withholding wealth and not spending it on obligatory expenses, such as withholding zakah or failing to spend on obligatory maintenance of wives or relatives, or failing to spend it in Allah’s cause if that becomes obligatory ﴾give them the tidings of a painful punishment﴿.

Then Allah explains that by saying: ﴾On the day when it [that hoarded wealth] will be heated﴿ that is, their wealth will be heated ﴾in the fire of hell)﴿. That is, each individual dinar or dirham will be heated on its own.

﴾and with it their foreheads, sides and backs will be branded﴿ on the Day of Resurrection. Every time it cools down, it will be reheated, on a day the length of which will be fifty thousand years, and it will be said to them by way of rebuke and blame: ﴾This is what you hoarded up for yourselves; now taste what you used to hoard up﴿; Allah has not wronged you; rather you wronged yourselves and brought this punishment upon yourselves.

Allah mentions two ways in which a person may go astray with regard to disposal of his wealth:

either he spends it on wrong causes that bring him no benefit; rather he gains nothing from that except pure harm, such as spending his wealth on sins and desires that do not help him to obey Allah, or spending it to bar others from the path of Allah; or he withholds his wealth and does not spend it on that which is obligatory. And the prohibition of a thing is implicitly enjoining its opposite.

9:36. Verily the number of months with Allah is twelve, as ordained by Allah on the day He created the heavens and the earth, of which four are sacred. This is the correct calculation. So do not wrong yourselves during them, and fight the polytheists all together, as they fight you all together. And know that Allah is with those who fear Him.

﴾Verily the number of months with Allah﴿ that is, according to His will and decree ﴾is twelve)-﴿ - these are the well-known months f(as ordained by Allah﴿ that is, as decreed by Him ﴾on the day He created the heavens and the earth﴿; He initiated the alternation of night and day, decreed their timescales, and divided them into these twelve months.

﴾of which four are sacred﴿ namely Rajab on its own, and (the consecutive months of) Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah and Muharram. They are called sacred as a sign of their special nature and sanctity, and the prohibition of fighting during them.

f(So do not wrong yourselves during them﴿. It may be that the pronoun (them) refers to the twelve months, and Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) stated that He has made them a means of measuring time, so time should be filled with acts of obedience and thanks should be given to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) for this blessing and making the months a means of serving people’s interests, so let them beware of wronging themselves during these (twelve) months;

Or it may be that the pronoun refers to the four sacred months, and that this is a prohibition on wronging themselves during them, especially when this prohibition applies at all times, because these months are extra special and wrongdoing at that time is more serious than at other times.

Part of that is the prohibition on fighting during these months, according to the view of those scholars who say that the prohibition on fighting during the sacred months was not abrogated by the general texts that speak of the prohibition of fighting therein.

Other scholars say that the prohibition on fighting during the sacred months was abrogated, based on the general meaning of texts such as the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾fand fight the polytheists all together, as they fight you all together﴿ (9:36). That is, fight all types of polytheists and those who disbelieve in the Lord of the worlds.

(What this view implies is:) Do not single out any of the disbelievers for fighting, to the exclusion of others; rather take them all as enemies to you, as they regard you as enemies. For they have taken all the believers as their enemies and will not spare any effort to cause them harm.

It may be that the word translated here as ﴾all together﴿ (kaffatan) means that all should fight together as a group, in which case the meaning is: all of you should fight the polytheists. This would imply that mobilisation is obligatory upon all the believers. If we interpret it in this manner, we may say that it was abrogated by the verse in which Allah says: ﴾lt is not right for all the believers to go out tf And know that Allah is with those who fear Him﴿ by His help, support and aid. So let them strive to fear Allah in secret and in public, and to obey Him, especially when fighting the disbelievers, for in that situation a believer may abandon fear of Allah when dealing with the enemy disbelievers who are waging war.

9:37. Verily the postponing of sacred months is but another act of disbelief, because of which those who disbelieve are led further astray. They regard it as profane one year and as sacred the next, so as to match the number of months that Allah has made sacred, thus making lawful what Allah has forbidden. The evil of their actions has been made fair seeming to them. And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.

Postponing refers to what the people of the jahiliyah used to do with regard to the sacred months, which was one of their false innovations. When they felt that they needed to fight at some time during the sacred months, they decided - on the basis of their corrupt thinking - to preserve the number of sacred months during which Allah had prohibited fighting, but they would postpone some of the sacred months, or bring them forward, and they would replace it after shifting it, with whatever they wanted of non-sacred months. Once they had made this substitution, they would permit fighting during it and they would make another month sacred instead. This, as Allah tells us, was an increase in their disbelief and misguidance, because of what it involved of transgressions, such as the following:

• They introduced it on the basis of their own ideas and made it equal to the laws prescribed by Allah, but Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) had nothing to do with it.

• They tampered with the religion, making what was lawful prohibited and what was prohibited lawful.

• They thought that they could deceive Allah and the people by their claim, and they confused the people concerning their religion, resorting to trickery with regard to the religion of Allah.

• If people persist in matters that are contrary to the laws of Allah, their ugliness becomes no longer noticeable, and people may think that these are good matters, which results in error and misguidance. Hence Allah says:

﴾... because of which those who disbelieve are led further astray. They regard it as profane one year and as sacred the next, so as to match the number of months that Allah has made sacred, thus making lawful what Allah has forbidden﴿) they make the numbers match, so they regard as profane that which Allah has made sacred.

﴾The evil of their actions has been made fair seeming to them:-) that is, the devils have made their bad deeds fair seeming to them, so they think that they are good, because of the idea that was made attractive to their minds.

﴾And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people!) that is, those whose hearts became immersed in disbelief and lies; even if every sign were to come to them, they would not believe.

9:38. O you who believe, what is the matter with you that, when you are told to go forth in the cause of Allah, you cling heavily to the earth? Do you prefer the life of this world to the hereafter? But the enjoyment of the life of this world, as compared with that of the hereafter, is but little.

9:39. Unless you go forth. He will afflict you with a painful punishment, and will replace you with another people, and not the least harm will you do to Him. For Allah has power over all things.

It should be noted that much of this soorah was revealed concerning the campaign of Tabook, when the Prophet (ﷺ) mobilised the Muslims to go on campaign against the Byzantines. At that time it was very hot, provisions were few and life was hard, so some of the Muslims were reluctant, which necessitated a rebuke from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) to them, and urging them to go forth.

﴾0 you who believe﴿ why do you not act upon what is required by your faith, namely hastening to obey the command of Allah, seek His pleasure, strive against His enemies and support your religion? ﴾what is the matter with you that, when you are told to go forth in the cause of Allah, you cling heavily to the earth?﴿ That is, you behave in a lazy manner, clinging to the earth and a life of ease and comfort.

6(Do you prefer the life of this world to the hereafter?﴿ That is, your reaction is but that of one who is content with this world and focuses mainly on it, and does not care about the hereafter, so it is as if he does not believe in it.

﴾But the enjoyment of the life of this worlds that has hindered you and to which you have given precedence over the hereafter ﴾as compared with that of the hereafter, is but little﴿. Has Allah not given you reason with which to weigh up matters and determine which is more deserving of being given precedence?

Is it not the case that this world - from beginning to end - is as nothing in comparison to the hereafter?

Man’s life in this world is very short, so why should he make it his only goal and focus all his efforts, striving, aspirations and concern only on this short worldly life that is filled with troubles, problems and calamities?

On what basis did you decide to give it precedence over the hereafter that is filled with all kinds of delights, everything that people long for and that delights the eyes, and you will abide therein forever? By Allah, no one could give precedence to this world over the hereafter who has faith established in his heart, or is of sound mind, or could be regarded as a person of mature thinking.

Then Allah warned them against not mobilising: ﴾Unless you go forth, He will afflict you with a painful punishment﴿ in this world and the hereafter, for failing to mobilise at a time when the command goes forth is a major sin that deserves the severest punishment, because of the great harm to which it leads. The one who fails to mobilise has disobeyed Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and is not helping to support the religion of Allah or defend the Book and law of Allah. He is also failing to help his Muslim brothers against their enemy who wants to eradicate them and destroy their religion. Moreover, those who are weak in faith may follow his example and, what is worse, he may weaken the resolve of those who have mobilised to fight in jihad against the enemies of Allah. So the one who is like this deserves this stern warning of punishment from Allah.

f﴾Unless you go forth, He will afflict you with a painful punishment, and will replace you with another people﴿, then they will not be like you t-fand not the least harm will you do to Him﴿ for Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) has guaranteed to cause His religion to prevail and His word to be supreme, whether you comply with the command of Allah or throw it behind your backs.

﴾For Allah has power over all things﴿. Nothing that He wills is beyond Him, and no one can try to overcome Him.

9:40. If you do not help him [the Prophet (ﷺ)], Allah indeed helped him, when the disbelievers drove him out, and he was one of two, and when they were in the cave, as he said to his Companion: Do not worry; verily Allah is with us. Thereupon Allah sent down His reassurance to him, supported him with troops that you did not see, and made the word of those who disbelieve the lowest. And it is the word of Allah that is supreme. And Allah is Almighty, Most Wise.

That is, if you do not support His Messenger Muhammad (ﷺ), then Allah has no need of you. You cannot harm him in the slightest, for He helped His Prophet (ﷺ) when he had the smallest number of followers and was most vulnerable, ﴾when the disbelievers drove him out﴿ from Makkah, when they decided to kill him, and tried hard, with all keenness, to do that. Thus they compelled him to leave.

﴾and he was one of two﴿ that is, he and Abu Bakr as-Ṣiddeeq ﴾and when they were in the cave﴿ that is, when they fled from Makkah and hid in the cave of Thawr on the outskirts of the city, and they stayed there until the pursuit cooled off.

In that critical situation, when their enemies had spread out in all directions looking for them in order to kill them, Allah sent down to them His support, such as had never crossed their minds.

﴾as he﴿ that is, the Prophet (ﷺ)

﴾said to his Companion﴿ Abu Bakr, when he was upset and very anxious

Do not worry; verily Allah is with us﴿ with His help, support and aid. ﴾Thereupon Allah sent down His reassurance to him﴿ that is, steadfastness, comfort and tranquillity, that made your hearts steady. Hence when his Companion became anxious, he comforted him and said: ﴾Do not worry; verily Allah is with us﴿.

﴾supported him with troops that you did not see﴿, namely the noble angels whom Allah sent to guard him

﴾fand made the word of those who disbelieve the lowest﴿ that is, brought low and humiliated. For those who disbelieved had gone forth with strong resolve, thinking that they had the power to fulfil their goals and believing that they would be able to catch the Messenger (ﷺ) and kill him. They were filled with resentment towards him, so they did their utmost to carry out their plan, but Allah foiled their scheme and they did not achieve their goal; rather they were unable to harm him in the least.

Allah supported His Messenger (ﷺ) by protecting him; this is the support that is mentioned here. Divine support is of two types: the first type is support of the Muslims when they go after their enemy, whereby Allah helps them to attain the goal, thus they gain the upper hand over their enemy and defeat them.

The second type of divine support is support for the one who is oppressed and vulnerable, whose enemy is after him and is in a position of strength. Allah’s support in that case is by protecting him and defending him from his enemy, and perhaps this is the more beneficial of the two types of support. Allah’s support of His Messenger (ﷺ) when the disbelievers drove him out is of this second type.

﴾And it is the word of Allah that is supreme﴿ that is, His decree, whether it is His universal decree or His religious injunctions, is supreme over all others. That includes the words:﴾...Thus it is incumbent upon Us to save the believers.﴿ (Yoonus 10: 103)

﴾We will surely cause Our Messengers and those who believe to prevail in the life of this world and on the day when the witnesses come forward.﴿ (Ghdfir 40: 51)

﴾And it is surely Our troops who will be the victors.﴿ (as-Saffat 37’• 173) It is the religion of Allah that will prevail and be superior over all other religions, by means of clear proof and evidence and by means of overwhelming force.

﴾And Allah is Almighty﴿ and no one can overcome Him or escape Him.

﴾Most Wise﴿ - He does what is appropriate, and He may delay victory for His party until a later time, in accordance with His divine wisdom.

This verse highlights the superiority of Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq and his unique virtue that was shared by no one else of this Ummah, which is that he attained great virtue and sublime companionship with the Prophet The Muslims are unanimously agreed that this is what is meant in this verse. Hence they regard anyone who denies that Abu Bakr was a Companion of the Prophet (ﷺ) as a disbeliever, because he is denying the Qur’an which stated that.

This verse also highlights the virtue of divine reassurance, and tells us that it is a blessing that Allah bestows upon His slaves at times of hardship and fear that make people lose their nerve. The sense of reassurance is commensurate with a person’s knowledge of his Lord and trust in His promise, and with his level of faith and courage.

This verse also tells us that worry may affect the sincerest of Allah’s slaves, even though it is more appropriate, if a person is faced with worry, to try to dispel it, because it causes one to lose courage and weakens one’s resolve.

9:41. Go forth, whether it be easy or difficult for you, and strive and fight, offering your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah. That is better for you, if only you knew.

9:42. If there had been easy gains and a short journey, they would certainly have followed you, but the distance seemed too far to them. They will swear by Allah: If we had been able, we would have gone forth with you. They destroy their own souls; and Allah knows that they are indeed lying.

Here Allah says to His believing slaves, urging them to mobilise in His cause: ﴾Go forth, whether it be easy or difficult for you﴿ that is, at times of hardship and of ease, whether you go willingly or reluctantly, whether it is hot or cold, in all circumstances.

ffand strive and fight, offering your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah﴿ that is, do your utmost and try your best by offering your wealth and your lives. This indicates that just as it is obligatory to offer yourself in jihad, it is also obligatory to offer your wealth in jihad, as dictated by need.

﴾That is better for you, if only you knew﴿ that is, engaging in jihad, offering your lives and your wealth, is better for you than staying behind and not engaging in that, because by doing that you may attain the pleasure of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and a lofty status before Him, supporting the religion of Allah and being listed among His troops and His party.

﴾flf there had been easy gains﴿ in your going out, that is if there had been worldly benefits that were easily obtained ﴾and a short journey﴿ that is, if the place had been nearby and easy to reach

﴾they would certainly have followed you﴿ because of the lack of many difficulties

﴾but the distance seemed too far to them﴿ that is, it was too far away for them and travel was difficult for them, so they were reluctant to go with you. This is not a sign of being a true slave of Allah; rather the true slave follows the instructions of his Lord in all circumstances, and does all acts of worship, whether they are easy or difficult. Such is the one who is a true slave of Allah in all situations.

﴾They will swear by Allah: If we had been able, we would have gone forth with you﴿ that is, they will swear that they stayed behind because they had an excuse and that they were not able to go.

﴾They destroy their own souls﴿ by staying behind, telling lies and saying things that are not true ﴾and Allah knows that they are indeed lying﴿.

This rebuke is only addressed to the hypocrites who stayed behind and did not go with the Prophet (ﷺ) on the campaign to Tabook. They offered false excuses, and the Prophet (ﷺ) pardoned them on the basis of their mere excuses, without testing them to find out who was telling the truth and who was lying. Hence Allah rebuked him for hastening to accept their excuses, as He said:

9:43. May Allah pardon you! Why did you give them permission [to stay behind] before it became clear to you which of them were telling the truth, and which were lying?

9:44. Those who believe in Allah and the Last Day will never ask your leave to be excused from striving and fighting, offering their wealth and their lives in the cause of Allah. And Allah knows well those who are conscious of Him.

9:45. Only those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day ask your leave to be excused. Their hearts are full of doubt, so in their doubt they waver.

Here Allah says to His Messenger (ﷺ): ﴾May Allah pardon you﴿ that is, may He forgive you for what you did.

﴾Why did you give them permission [to stay behind] before it became clear to you which of them were telling the truth, and which were lying﴿, by testing them to find out who was telling the truth and who was lying, so that you could excuse those who deserved to be excused, and not those who did not deserve that?

Then Allah tells us that those who believe in Allah and the Last Day do not ask for permission to stay behind from jihad and avoid offering their wealth and their lives, because the desire that they have for good and their faith motivates them to strive in jihad without anyone urging them, let alone asking to stay behind without an excuse.

﴾And Allah knows well those who are conscious of Him﴿ and He will reward them for what they did of fearing Him. As He knows well those who are conscious of and fear Him, He tells us that one of their signs is that they do not seek permission to stay behind from jihad.

﴾Only those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day ask your leave to be excused. Their hearts are full of doubt﴿ that is, they do not have perfect faith or real certainty, hence they have little desire for good and they are too cowardly to fight; they needed to seek permission to refrain from fighting.

﴾fso in their doubt they waver﴿ that is, they are still unsure and confused.

9:46. If they had truly wanted to go forth, they would surely have made preparations to do so, but Allah disliked their going forth, so He made them lag behind, and it was said to them: Stay behind with those who are staying behind.

9:47. If they had gone forth with you, they would only have contributed mischief, and they would have scurried to and fro in your midst, sowing discord among you, and among you there are some who would have listened to them. And Allah is fully aware of the wrongdoers.

9:48. Indeed they have tried to sow discord before, and they devised plots against you, until the truth [victory] came and the decree [religion] of Allah prevailed, even though they hated it.

Here Allah explains that in the case of those hypocrites who stayed behind, there appeared circumstantial evidence from their attitude orconduct that proved that they never intended to engage in jihad at all, and that the excuses they made were false, because the real excuse is an impediment that arises when one tries one’s best and takes all possible measures to go out, then a legitimate impediment prevents one from doing so. That is the valid excuse.

As for these hypocrites, ﴾If they had truly wanted to go forth, they would surely have made preparations to do so﴿ that is, they would have prepared themselves and taken whatever measures they could, but because they did not make any preparations, it was known that they never intended to go out.

﴾but Allah disliked their going forth﴿ with you on campaign ﴾so He made them lag behind﴿ as dictated by His will and decree, even though He had enjoined them and urged them to go out, and had given them the ability to do so. But by His wisdom, He did not want to help them; rather He forsook them and discouraged them ﴾and it was said to them: Stay behind with those who are staying behind﴿, with the women and those who have excuses.

Then Allah tells us the wisdom behind that: ﴾If they had gone forth with you, they would only have contributed mischief﴿ that is, they would have caused trouble tfand they would have scurried to and fro in your midst﴿ that is, they would have striven to cause division and evil among you, and they would have divided you when you had been united *

﴾sowing discord among you﴿ that is, they would have been keen to divide you and create enmity among you tjand among you﴿ are some weak-minded people ﴾who would have listened to them﴿ that is, they would have responded to their call and been deceived by them. The hypocrites are keen to cause trouble for you and spread evil among you, and to discourage you from meeting your enemies in battle, and among you are some who would have been influenced by them and would have asked them for advice. So what evil do you think would have resulted fromtheir going out with the believers, and what great trouble they may have caused?

Allah, in His great wisdom, caused them to lag behind and prevented them from going out with His believing slaves, out of mercy and kindness towards the latter, lest there mingle with them those who would not help them, and would in fact harm them.

i﴾And Allah is fully aware of the wrongdoers﴿, so He teaches His slaves how to beware of them, and explains to them the problems that result from mixing with them.

Then Allah explains that these people already had a precedent of causing trouble:

﴾Indeed they have tried to sow discord before﴿ that is, when you migrated to Madinah, they did their utmost

﴾and they devised plots against you﴿ and thought hard, and they used to cause mischief in their attempts to undermine your call and harm your religion, and they did not spare any effort to do so,

﴾until the truth [victory] came and the decree [religion] of Allah prevailed, even though they hated it﴿. Thus their plot was foiled and their falsehood diminished. Such people deserve that Allah should warn His believing slaves against them, and that the believers should not care if they stay behind.

9:49. Among them there are some who say: Give me leave to be excused and do not expose me to temptation. They have already fallen prey to temptation. Verily hell encompasses the disbelievers.

That is, among these hypocrites are some who ask leave to stay behind and give another weird excuse, as they say: ﴾Give me leave to be excused﴿ and allowed to stay behind

﴾and do not expose me to temptation﴿ by going out, for if I go out and I see the Byzantine women, I will not be able to resist temptation. This was said by al-Jadd ibn Qays, but what he meant - may Allah curse him - was to show off in a hypocritical manner. It was as if he were saying: My intention is good, for if I go out, I will be exposing myself to temptation and evil, but if I do not go out, I will be safe and will refrain from evil.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) said, highlighting the falseness of this claim: ﴾They have already fallen prey to temptation﴿.

Even if we assume that the one who said this was sincere in his intention, staying behind would cause a greater evil and would definitely lead to greater mischief, namely disobedience towards Allah and towards His Messenger (ﷺ), and having the audacity to commit this great sin and tell this great lie. As for going out, the negative consequences thereof are small in comparison to staying behind, and they are not real. Moreover, the aim of the one who said this was to stay behind, and nothing else. Hence Allah warned them by saying: ﴾Verily hell encompasses the disbelievers﴿ and they will have no escape or way out from it.

9:50. If anything good happens to you, it grieves them; but if some misfortune overtakes you, they say: We took our precautions beforehand, and they turn away rejoicing.

9:51. Say: Nothing will ever happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us; He is our Master. And in Allah let the believers put their trust.

Here Allah explains that the hypocrites are the true enemies who are filled with utter hatred towards the religion.

﴾jlf anything good happens to you﴿, such as victory and gaining the upper hand over the enemy, f(it grieves them﴿ that is, it upsets and worries them

﴾but if some misfortune overtakes you﴿ such as the enemy gaining the upper hand over you

﴾they say﴿, rejoicing that they remained safe by not going out with you s﴾We took our precautions beforehand﴿ and did that which saved us from falling into such a calamity.

﴾and they turn away rejoicing﴿ in your misfortune, and the fact that they did not share in it with you.

But Allah says, refuting them:

﴾Say: Nothing will ever happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us﴿ that is, what He decreed and wrote in al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh. ﴾He is our Master﴿ that is. He is in charge of our affairs both religious and worldly, so we must accept His decree, for we have no control over anything.

﴾And in Allah﴿ alone ﴾let the believers put their trust﴿ that is, let them rely on Him to bring that which is in their best interests and ward off harm from them, and let them trust Him to help them attain what they want, for the one who puts his trust in Him will never be disappointed. As for the one who puts his trust in anyone other than Him, he will indeed be disappointed and will not attain what he hopes for.

9:52. Say: Are you waiting for anything to happen to us except one of the two good things [victory or martyrdom]? But we are waiting for Allah to afflict you with a punishment, either from Himself or at our hands. So wait; we too are waiting.

That is, say to the hypocrites who are watching and hoping for some misfortune to befall you: What are you expecting to happen to us? For what you expect to happen to us can only be something that will be of great benefit to us. It can only be one of two things: either we will prevail over the enemy and defeat them, and attain reward in the hereafter and in this world; or we will attain martyrdom which is the highest level any person may reach and the loftiest status before Allah.

As for what we expect to happen to you - O hypocrites - we are waiting for Allah to inflict punishment upon you from Him, a punishment which has nothing to do with us or a punishment at our hands, by giving us power over you and authority to kill you.

So you are waiting for something good to happen to us, and we are waiting with you, for something bad to happen to you.

(Ol-or

9:53. Say: Whether you spend willingly or unwillingly, it will never be accepted from you, for you are indeed a rebellious and wicked people.

9:54. Nothing prevents their spending from being accepted from them but that they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, they only come to prayer half-heartedly and they only spend reluctantly.

Here Allah points out that the spending of the hypocrites is invalid, and He states the reason for that.

﴾Whether you spend willingly﴿ that is, by your choice ﴾or unwillingly﴿ this is, not by your choice

﴾it will never be accepted from you﴿ that is, none of your good deeds will be accepted from you

﴾for you are indeed a rebellious and wicked people﴿ who fail to obey Allah. Then Allah describes their wickedness and their deeds:

﴾Nothing prevents their spending from being accepted from them but that they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger﴿. Faith is the condition of a deed being acceptable, so these people have no faith and no righteous deeds to their credit, not even prayer which is the best of physical actions, because they do it half-heartedly.

﴾they only come to prayer half-heartedly﴿ that is, reluctantly, and they almost fail to do it because they find it so burdensome.

﴾and they only spend reluctantly﴿ that is, unwillingly and hesitantly. This is the utmost criticism of anyone who acts like they did. It also indicates that one should only come to prayer with enthusiasm and energy, and one should only spend willingly and readily, hoping to store up its reward with Allah alone, so that one does not resemble the hypocrites.

9:55. So do not let their wealth and their children impress you; Allah intends only to punish them thereby in the life of this world, so that their souls will depart while they are still disbelievers.

9:56. They swear by Allah that they are indeed of you, but they are not of you; rather they are people who are afraid of you.

9:57. If they could find a refuge, or caves, or any place to hide, they would run there with great haste.

Here Allah says: do not be impressed by the wealth or children of these hypocrites, for there is no blessing in that. The first misfortune that befell them because of these things is that they gave precedence to them over seeking the pleasure of their Lord, and they disobeyed Allah for the sake of these things.

﴾Allah intends only to punish them thereby in the life of this world﴿. What is meant by punishment here is what they encounter of difficulty in obtaining these things, the great effort that they had to put into that, and the stress and physical exhaustion that that entailed. If you compare what they get of pleasure from it with the hardship they go through to obtain it, you will find that there is no comparison. When it distracted them from Allah and remembering Him, it became a disaster for them, even in this world. One ot the serious evil consequences of it is that their hearts get attached to it and their aspirations do not go beyond it, thus it becomes their ultimate goal and there is no room left in their hearts for any thought of thehereafter. This dictates that when they leave this world, ﴾their souls will depart while they are still disbelievers﴿.

What punishment could be greater than this, which leads to eternal misery and abiding remorse?

﴾They swear by Allah that they are indeed of you, but they are not of you; rather﴿ what this oath of theirs means is that ﴾they are people who are afraid of you﴿ that is, they fear bad consequences, but they have no courage in their hearts that might enable them to state what they really have in mind. So they are afraid to show you their real nature, and they are afraid that you may disavow them, then their enemies would snatch them from all sides.

As for the one who is strong at heart and steadfast, that makes him show his real nature, good or bad. But the hypocrites are characterised by cowardice and the propensity to tell lies.

Then Allah describes the severity of their cowardice, as He says: ﴾If they could find a refuge﴿ to which they could go when hardship befell them

﴾or caves﴿ in which they could stay

﴾for any place to hide﴿ that is, any place in which they could fortify themselves,

﴾they would run there with great haste﴿ that is, they would hasten and rush to it, for they have no power that would help them to be steadfast.

-oa

9:58. Among them are some who find fault with you [O Prophet] concerning the [distribution of] zakah [alms]; if they are given a share of it, they are pleased, but if they are not given anything, they become resentful.

9:59. If only they had been content with what Allah and His Messenger gave them, and said: Allah is sufficient for us; Allah will give us of His bounty, and so will His Messenger; to Allah alone do we tum in hope!

That is, among these hypocrites are some who criticise you with regard to the distribution of zakah, but their criticism is not for any good reason and it is not based on any sound opinion; rather their aim is to state that they should be given some of it.

﴾if they are given a share of it, they are pleased, but if they are not given anything, they become resentful﴿. It is not appropriate for a person to be pleased or resentful on the basis of his own whims and desires, or for the sake of worldly matters and corrupt aims; rather his inclinations should be in accordance with what pleases his Lord, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

«None of you truly believes until his inclinations are in accordance with what I have brought.)) (Recorded by Ibn Rajab and Ibn Hajar; an-Nawawi graded it as authentic)

t﴾If only they had been content with what Allah and His Messenger gave them﴿ that is, with what they were given, whether it was a small or great amount

﴾fand said: Allah is sufficient for us﴿ that is, Allah will suffice us, so we are pleased with what He allocates to us. And let them hope for His generosity and kindness by saying: ﴾Allah will give us of His bounty, and so will His Messenger; to Allah alone do we tum in hope﴿ that is, we ask Him to bring that which will benefit us and ward off that which will harm us. Thus they will be safe from hypocrisy and will be guided to faith and sublime attitudes.Then Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) explains how the obligatory zakah is to be divided:

9:60. Zakah [alms] is only for the poor and those in need; those who work to collect it; those whose hearts are to be won over; for the freeing of slaves; for debtors; for the cause of Allah; and for wayfarers. [Thus it is] ordained by Allah, and Allah is All- Knowing, Most Wise.

﴾Zakah [aims]﴿ This refers to obligatory charity, based on the fact that charity may be given to everyone, and is not to be given only to some in exclusion of others. What is meant here is that zakah (obligatory charity) is only for the categories mentioned in this verse, and is not for others, because Allah has limited it to these categories, of which there are eight.

The first and second categories are the poor and those in need. In this context, these words refer to two different categories. Those who are ﴾poor﴿ are in greater need than those who are ﴾in need﴿, because Allah started with them, and He only starts with the most important, then the next most important. So the word translated here as ﴾poor﴿ refers to those who cannot find anything, or who can only find less than half of what they need. The word translated here as ﴾those in need﴿ refers to those who can find half or more of what they need, but they cannot find everything they need, because if they could do that, they would be independent of means. These people are to be given zakah so that they will no longer be poor or in need.

The third category is ﴾those who work to collect it﴿. This refers to everyone who is involved in that, such as those who work it out, collect it from those who give it, take care of it, carry it, write it down and so on. They are to be given a share of it because of their work; this is a payment for the work they do with regard to it.

The fourth category is ﴾those whose hearts are to be won over﴿. The one whose heart is to be won over is a leader who is obeyed among his people, who it is hoped will become Muslim, or whose evil is feared, or it is hoped that by giving to him his faith will become stronger or others of similar standing will become Muslim. Such people may be given whatever will achieve the purpose of winning them over.

The fifth category is ﴾the freeing of slaves﴿. This refers to the mukatibs, who are slaves who want to buy their freedom from their masters, so they are striving to acquire enough wealth to ransom themselves. They may be given zakah for that purpose. This also includes ransoming Muslim slaves who are held captive by the disbelievers; in fact that is even more important. The freeing of slaves does not necessarily have to be done in this exact manner; it may be done in other ways too.

The sixth category is ﴾debtors﴿, who are of two types:

1 - Those who go into debt as a result of their efforts to bring about reconciliation. This refers to situations where there is trouble between two groups of people, so a man intervenes to bring about reconciliation between them, by offering money to one of them or to all of them. He may be given a share of zakah, by way of encouraging him and making him more steadfast. He may be given zakah even if he is rich.

2- Those who go into debt then fall on hard times. Such a person may be given zakah to pay off his debt.

The seventh category is those who fight for ﴾the cause of Allah﴿. This refers to voluntary fighters who are not listed in the officialarmy rolls. They may be given zakah to help them prepare for their campaign, to purchase weapons and mounts, or to cover the maintenance of themselves and their families, so that they can focus on jihad and be reassured (of their families’ welfare in their absence).

Many of the fuqaha ’ said that if a person is able to earn a living but he devotes all his time to seeking knowledge, he may be given zakah, because seeking knowledge comes under the heading of jihad in Allah’s cause.

They also said that it is permissible to give zakah to the poor so that they may perform the obligatory Hajj, but this is subject to further discussion.

The eighth category is ﴾wayfarers﴿. This refers to the stranger who is cut off in a foreign land. He may be given zakah to enable him to reach his homeland.

These eight categories are the only ones to whom zakah may be given.

﴾[Thus it is] ordained by Allah﴿ that is. He has decreed it and imposed it on the basis of His knowledge and wisdom ﴾and Allah is All-Knowing, Most Wise﴿.

It should be noted that these eight categories may be reduced to two:

1- People who are given for their own needs and benefit, such as the poor, those in need, and so on.

2- People who are given because there is a need for them and Islam can benefit from them.

Allah has enjoined this share of the wealth of the rich, in order to meet individual and public needs of Islam and the Muslims. If the rich were to give the zakah of their wealth in the prescribed manner, there would be no poor people left among the Muslims, and enough money would be collected to support those who guard the borders and strive in jihad against the disbelievers, and all religious interests would thus be met.(ir-it

9:61. Among them are some who offend the Prophet and say: He listens to everyone. Say: His listening to everyone is good for you; he believes in Allah, trusts the believers, and is a mercy to those among you who believe. But those who offend the Messenger of Allah will have a painful punishment.

9:62. They swear to you [O Muslims] by Allah in order to please you, but it is more fitting that they should please Allah and His Messenger, if they are [truly] believers.

9:63. Do they not know that for whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger there will be the fire of hell, in which he will abide forever? That is the ultimate disgrace.

That is, among these hypocrites ﴾are some who offend the Prophet﴿ with their bad words and criticism of him and his religion ﴾f[they] say: He listens to everyone﴿) that is, they do not care what they say of offensive words to the Prophet and they say: If any of that reaches him, we will come and apologise to him, and he will accept it from us because he listens to everyone; in other words, he accepts everything that is said to him and does not differentiate between those who speak the truth and those who tell lies. What they meant - may Allah curse them - is that among themselves they didnot care about that and were not worried about it, because if he did not hear about it, that is what they wanted, but if he did hear about it, all they had to do was offer an invalid excuse.

They misbehaved in many ways, the worst of which was offending their Prophet (ﷺ) who had come to guide them and bring them forth from misery and doom to guidance and happiness.

Another example of their misbehaviour was that they did not care about that, which made the offence even worse.

They also cast aspersions on the Prophet’s reasoning, saying that he was not smart and could not differentiate between one who spoke the truth and one who told lies, at the time when he was the most perfect of creation in terms of reasoning and understanding, and he had the deepest insight and intuition.

Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) said: ﴾Say: His listening to everyone is good for you﴿ that is, he accepts whoever says something good and truthful to him. As for his turning away and not rebuking many of the hypocrites who offered false excuses, that was because of his patience and because he was not concerned about their affairs, and because he obeyed the command of Allah, Who said: ﴾They will swear to you by Allah, when you return to them, so that you will leave them alone. So leave them alone, for they are an abomination﴿ (9: 95).

As for what was really in his heart and mind, Allah said concerning him: ﴾he believes in Allah [and] trusts the believers﴿ namely those who are sincere and are believers, and he knows who is speaking the truth and who is telling lies, even though he often turns away from those who he knows are lying and are not speaking the truth.

(fand is a mercy to those among you who believe﴿, so they are guided by him and they emulate him in his attitude and manners.

As for the non-believers, they do not accept this mercy; rather they rejected it and thus they lose out in this world and in the hereafter.

t-(But those who offend the Messenger of Allah﴿ in word or deed ﴾will have a painful punishment﴿ in this world and the hereafter. Part of that painful punishment is that it is a must to execute the one who says offensive things about him or impugns him.

﴾They swear to you [O Muslims] by Allah in order to please you﴿, thus seeking to absolve themselves of the offence that they have caused and other actions, but all they are trying to achieve is that you will be pleased with them.

﴾but it is more fitting that they should please Allah and His Messenger, if they are [truly] believers﴿ because the believer does not give precedence to anything over pleasing his Lord and pleasing His Messenger (jig). This indicates that they are not believers when they give precedence to pleasing anyone other than Allah and His Messenger

This is a kind of opposition to Allah, and Allah warns those who oppose Him: ﴾Do they not know that for whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger﴿ that is, those who are on the opposite side and further from Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), because they take the commands of Allah lightly and transgress His sacred limits ﴾there will be the fire of hell, in which he will abide forever? That is the ultimate disgrace﴿ and there is no worse disgrace than that and none more terrifying, for they will have missed out on eternal bliss and will have incurred the punishment of hell - may Allah protect us from their fate.

9:64. The hypocrites are afraid lest a soorah be sent down concerning them, informing the [believers] of what is really in their hearts. Say: Carry on with your mockery! Verily Allah will bring forth that which you are afraid of.

9:65. If you question them, they will surely say: We were only indulging in idle talk and joking. Say: Was it Allah, His revelations and His Messenger that you were ridiculing?

9:66. Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after having believed. If We pardon some of you. We will punish others, because they are evildoers.

This soorah is sometimes called al-fdtfihah (the exposer), because it exposed the secrets of the hypocrites and brought them to light. Allah kept saying “among them... among them..." mentioning their characteristics and attributes, without naming specific individuals among them, for two reasons:

1- That Allah is the Concealer; He likes to conceal the sins of His slaves;

2- This criticism of those who have these hypocritical characteristics is addressed to them and to others until the Day of Resurrection. Therefore it was more appropriate to mention their characteristics in general terms, and that instilled greater fear in their hearts.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾If the hypocrites, those in whose hearts is a disease and the rumour-mongers in Madinah do not desist. We will surely instruct you to take action against them. Then they will not remain with you in the city for much longer. They are cursed; wherever they are found, they should be captured and killed outright.﴿ (al-Abzab 33: 60-61)

Here Allah says: ﴾The hypocrites are afraid lest a soorah be sent down concerning them, informing the [believers] of what is really in their hearts﴿ that is, it will tell all about them and expose them, highlighting their secrets, so that they will become known to His slaves and they will become a lesson to those who pay heed.

﴾Say: Carry on with your mockery!﴿ That is, continue with what you are doing of mockery and ridicule

﴾Verily Allah will bring forth that which you are afraid of﴿. And Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) did indeed fulfil His promise; He revealed this soorah which exposed them and highlighted their secrets.

﴾If you question them﴿ about what they said of slandering the Muslims and their religion. A group of them said during the campaign to Tabook: “We have not seen anything like these reciters of ours - referring to the Prophet (ﷺ) and his Companions - they love to eat, are the falsest in speech and the most cowardly when meeting the enemy” and so on.

When they heard that the Prophet (ﷺ) knew what they were saying, they came and apologised to him, and said ﴾We were only indulging in idle talk and joking﴿ that is, we were just saying words that do not mean anything; we did not intend any insult or criticism.

But Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) said - explaining that this excuse was not acceptable and that they were lying: {(Say ﴿ to them: ﴾Was it Allah, His revelations and His Messenger that you were ridiculing? Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after having believed﴿ for verily ridiculing Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) constitutes disbelief that puts one beyond the pale of Islam, because the foundation of Islam is built on veneration of Allah and respect for His religion and His Messenger (ﷺ), and any mockery thereof is contrary to this principle and is in sharp contrast to it.

Hence, when they came to the Messenger (jig), apologising for what they had said, the Messenger (ﷺ) did not say anything moreto them than: Was it Allah, His revelations and His Messenger that you were ridiculing? Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after having believed﴿.

﴾If We pardon some of you﴿ because they repent, seek forgiveness and express remorse,

﴾We will punish others﴿ among you

﴾because they are evildoers﴿ who persist in their evildoing and hypocrisy.

These verses indicate that whoever has something hidden in his heart, especially if what is hidden is plotting against and ridiculing His religion, His revelations and His Messenger (ﷺ), then Allah will expose it and make him known, and will punish him severely. The one who ridicules, mocks or undermines anything of the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger (ﷺ) that is proven from him, or ridicules or undermines the Messenger (ﷺ), is a disbeliever in Allah the Almighty. These verses also indicate that repentance may be accepted from any sin, even if it is great.

9:67. The hypocrites, men and women, are all alike. They enjoin what is wrong and forbid what is right, and they are tight-fisted. They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them. Verily the hypocrites are the wicked.

9:68. Allah has promised the hypocrites, men and women, and the disbelievers the fire of hell, to abide therein forever. It is sufficient for them; Allah has cursed them and theirs will be an everlasting punishment.

﴾The hypocrites, men and women, are all alike﴿ because they have something in common, namely hypocrisy; therefore they are allies of one another. This is a categorical statement that the believers cannot be their allies.

Then Allah gives a general description of the hypocrites, that is typical of them whether they are ordinary people or prominent figures: ﴾They enjoin what is wrong﴿ namely disbelief, evildoing and sin ﴾fand forbid what is rights namely faith, good characteristics, righteous deeds and good manners

﴾and they are tight-fisted﴿ that is, they are reluctant to give charity and spend on good causes, so they are described as being miserly.

tfThey have forgotten Allah﴿ and they do not remember Him but little

﴾so He has forgotten them﴿ and excluded them from His mercy, so He does not enable them to do good and will not admit them to paradise; rather He will leave them in the lowest level of hell, to abide therein forever.

﴾Verily the hypocrites are the wicked﴿ in this verse, wickedness is limited to them, because their wickedness is greater than that of others. The evidence for that is the fact that their punishment will be worse than that of others and that the believers are tested by means of them, because they live among them, so it is essential to take precautions against them.

Allah has promised the hypocrites, men and women, and the disbelievers the fire of hell, to abide therein forever. It is sufficient for them; Allah has cursed them and theirs will be an everlasting punishment﴿. The hypocrites and the disbelievers will share the fateof hell and the divine curse, which they will endure for all eternity, because in this world they shared the attitudes of disbelief, opposition to Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), and disbelief in His revelations.

9:69. [0 hypocrites, you are] like those who came before you, who were more powerful than you and more abundant in wealth and children. They enjoyed their share fof worldly pleasures], and you have been enjoying your share just as those who came before you enjoyed their share; and you have been indulging in idle talk just as they did. Such are the ones whose deeds will come to nothing in this world and in the hereafter; such are the ones who are the losers.

9:70. Have the stories not reached them of those who came before them - the people of Nooh, ‘Ad and Thamood; the people of Ibraheem, and the people of Madyan and the cities overthrown? Their Messengers came to them with clear signs. It was not Allah Who wronged them, but it was they who wronged themselves.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) warns the hypocrites lest there befall them that which befell the disbelieving nations who came before them: ﴾thepeople of Nooh, ‘Ad and Thamood; the people of Ibraheem, and the people of Madyan and the cities overthrown﴿ namely the cities of the people of Loot.

In the case of all these peoples: ﴾Their Messengers came to them with clear signs﴿ that is, with the clear truth that shows the reality of things, but they disbelieved in it, then there happened to them what Allah has told us of. Your deeds are like theirs, and you are enjoying your share (of worldly pleasures), using it to fulfil your desires and turning away from the purpose for which it was given; you are using it for sinful purposes and your aspirations do not go beyond what you were given of worldly pleasures, as was the case with those who came before you.

﴾)and you have been indulging in idle talk just as they did﴿ that is, you have been indulging in falsehood and arguing on the basis of falsehood so as to ward off the truth. This is what they did and it was all they knew, namely enjoying their share of worldly pleasures and indulging in falsehood. Thus they deserved punishment and doom, as did those who came before them, who did the same as they did.

As for the believers, even though they may enjoy their share (of worldly pleasures) and whatever they are granted in this world, they do so in a way that helps them to obey Allah.

With regard to the knowledge they have, it is knowledge that they learned from the Messengers; this is the type of knowledge that helps them to attain certain faith in all that they try to achieve, and it helps them to argue on the basis of truth in order to refute falsehood.

﴾flt was not Allah Who wronged them﴿ by sending what He sent of His punishment upon them ﴾but it was they who wronged themselves﴿ when they dared to disobey Him and their Messengers, and they followed the commands of every stubborn tyrant.(vr-v\

9:71. The believers, men and women, are allies of one another; they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong; they establish prayer, give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Such are the ones on whom Allah will have mercy, for Allah is Almighty, Most Wise.

9:72. Allah has promised the believers, men and women, gardens through which rivers flow, to abide therein forever, and fine dwellings in gardens of perpetual abode, and the good pleasure of Allah, which is the greatest of all; that is the supreme triumph.

Having stated that the hypocrites are allies of one another, Allah then tells us that the believers are allies of one another, and He describes them in terms opposite to those in which He described the hypocrites.

﴾The believers, men and women﴿ that is, both male and female ﴾5fare allies of one another﴿ in terms of their mutual love, help, belonging and support tfthey enjoin what is right﴿ - this refers to everything that is known to be good, whether it is sound beliefs, righteous deeds or proper conduct; this is to be applied to themselves first of all.

﴾and forbid what is wrong﴿ that is, everything that is contrary and opposed to what is right, whether it is false beliefs, evil deeds or immoral conduct.﴾[they] obey Allah and His Messenger﴿ that is, they constantly obey Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ).

﴾Such are the ones on whom Allah will have mercy﴿ that is, He will include them in His mercy and encompass them with His grace, ﴾for Allah is Almighty, Most Wise﴿ that is. He is powerful and strong, but alongside His power and strength He is also Most Wise, and does things appropriately; He is to be praised for what He creates and commands.

Then Allah mentions what He has prepared for them of reward:

﴾Allah has promised the believers, men and women, gardens through which rivers flow﴿, that include all kinds of delights and joys, and are free of all kinds of annoyance and stress. There flow between its palaces, houses and trees abundant rivers that irrigate the beautiful gardens, in which there are good things and blessings such as no one knows except Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

﴾to abide therein forever﴿ they will never want to leave f(and fine dwellings in gardens of perpetual abode﴿ that have been adorned, beautified and prepared for the pious slaves of Allah, a joy to behold and a delight to reside therein, in which there are lofty dwellings so beautiful that no one could wish for anything more; Allah has even prepared for them chambers that are so transparent and beautiful that the inside may be seen from the outside and vice versa.

These dwellings are so splendid that it is no wonder that souls incline towards them and hearts are attached to them and long for them, because they are located in gardens of perpetual abode, which they will never want to leave.

?(and the good pleasure of Allah﴿ that He will bestow upon the people of paradise

﴾which is the greatest of all﴿, greater than all the delights that they are enjoying, for they cannot enjoy those delights except by seeing their Lord and by His being pleased with them, because this is the ultimate good that worshippers seek, and the end goal for which lovers strive.Hence the good pleasure of the Lord of the earth and the heavens is greater than the delights of paradise.

﴾that is the supreme triumph﴿ when they will attain all that they wanted and be protected from all that they feared, and all their circumstances will be good. We ask Allah to make us among them, by His grace.

9:73. O Prophet, strive and fight against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be harsh with them. Their abode will be hell, a hapless journey’s end.

9:74. They swear by Allah that they said nothing [wrong], but they did indeed utter the word of disbelief, and thus disbelieved after having accepted Islam; and they planned something that they could not achieve. They had no grievance except that Allah and His Messenger had enriched them out of His bounty. If they repent, it will be better for them, but if they turn away, Allah will afflict them with a painful punishment in this world and in the hereafter, and they will have neither protector nor helper on earth.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says to His Prophet (ﷺ): ﴾0 Prophet, strive and fight against the disbelievers and the hypocrites﴿ that is, go to extremes in striving against them and be harsh with them whenever necessary.

This jihad includes physical jihad, and verbal jihad, by debating, so that whoever among them decides to take the Muslims on may be fought physically and verbally, by the sword and by debate.

Whoever chooses to submit to Islam, such as living under Muslim rule or by means of a covenant, may be striven against by means of debate and proof, explaining to him the beauty of Islam and the evil of ascribing partners to Allah and of disbelief. This is how they are to be dealt with in this world.

And in the hereafter ﴾Their abode will be hellthat is, this is where they will end up and will never come out of it. c-(a hapless journey’s end﴿ ﴾They swear by Allah that they said nothing [wrong], but they did indeed utter the word of disbelief﴿ that is, when they said something similar to that which some of them said -

﴾...When we return to Madinah, the mightier will surely drive out therefrom the weaker...﴿ (al-Munafiqoon 63: 8)

- and the words of mockery spoken by one after another of them, ridiculing the religion and the Messenger (ﷺ).

Whenever they realised that the Prophet (ﷺ) had heard about that, they would come to him, swearing by Allah that they had said nothing wrong. So Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) said, showing them to be liars: ﴾but they did indeed utter the word of disbelief, and thus disbelieved after having accepted Islam﴿. Although their previous outward acceptance of Islam appeared to have brought them forth from disbelief, the words that they subsequently spoke nullified their Islam and brought them back to disbelief.

﴾and they planned something that they could not achieve﴿ - that was when they planned to kill the Messenger of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) during the campaign to Tabook. But Allah informed him of that, so he instructed some people to foil their plot.

﴾They had no grievance﴿ that is, they had no reason to criticise the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)

﴾except that Allah and His Messenger had enriched them out of His bounty﴿, after they had been poor and needy. This was something very odd, that they would look down on the one who had been the means of their emerging from darkness to light, and of their being enriched after having been poor. Did he not deserve that they should respect him, believe in him and venerate him on the basis of both religious motives and human decency?

Then Allah suggests to them that they should repent: ﴾If they repent, it will be better for them﴿, because repentance is the foundation of happiness in this world and the hereafter.

﴾but if they turn away﴿ from repentance ﴾Allah will afflict them with a painful punishment in this world and in the hereafter﴿ - in this world by means of what will befall them of worry, distress and grief because of Allah supporting His religion and granting victory to His Prophet (ﷺ), and their not attaining what they wanted, and in the hereafter because of the punishment of hell.

﴾and they will have neither protector﴿ to take care of their affairs and help them achieve their goals

﴾nor helper﴿ to ward off harm from them; if they are cut off from the support of Allah, they will suffer all kinds of loss, misery and deprivation

9:75. Among them are some who made a covenant with Allah: If He gives us of His bounty, we will surely give in charity and we will surely be among the righteous.

9:76. But when He did give them of His bounty, they became stingy with it, and turned away in aversion.

9:77. So as a consequence He planted hypocrisy in their hearts, to remain until the day when they will meet Him, because they broke their promise to Allah, and because of their persistent lying.

9:78. Do they not realise that Allah knows what they conceal and what they talk about in secret, and that Allah is Knower of the unseen?

That is, among these hypocrites are some who gave a promise and covenant to Allah:

﴾flf He gives us of His bounty﴿ in this world, and grants us a life of ease and plenty

﴾fwe will surely give in charity and we will surely be among the righteous﴿, so we will uphold ties of kinship, honour guests, help those who are stricken by calamity and do good and righteous deeds.

﴾But when He did give them of His bounty﴿, they did not keep their word; rather tfthey became stingy with it, and turned away﴿ from obedience and submission

﴾in aversion﴿ that is, not paying any attention to doing good.

As they did not fulfil the promise they had made to Allah, He punished them:

﴾)So as a consequence He planted hypocrisy in their hearts﴿ on a permanent basis﴾to remain until the day when they will meet Him, because they broke their promise to Allah, and because of their persistent lying﴿.

So the believer should beware of this abhorrent attitude, whereby a person gives a promise to his Lord that if he gets some of what he wants, he will do such and such, but then he does not fulfil that, for perhaps Allah will punish him with hypocrisy as He punished these people.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, in the hadith that is proven in as-Saheehayn (the two authentic Hadith collections of Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim):

«The sign of the hypocrite is threefold, when he speaks he lies, when he makes a covenant he betrays it, and when he makes a promise he breaks it.» (Bukhari and Muslim)

This hypocrite, who made a promise and solemn pledge to Allah that if Allah gave him of His bounty, he would surely give in charity and he would surely be among the righteous, spoke then lied, made a covenant then betrayed it, and made a promise then broke it.

Hence Allah warns those who do such a thing: ﴾Do they not realise that Allah knows what they conceal and what they talk about in secret, and that Allah is Knower of the unseen?﴿ And He will requite them for what they do of deeds, which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) knows full well.

These verses were revealed concerning a man among the hypocrites who was called ThaTabah. He came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and asked him to pray to Allah for him, to give him from His bounty, and he said that if He gave him, he would surely give in charity, uphold ties of kinship and help people stricken by calamity. So the Prophet (ﷺ) prayed for him. He had sheep, and they kept increasing in number until he took them outside Madinah. After that, he only attended some of the five daily prayers. Then he moved further away, after which he only attended Jumu ‘ah prayer. Then his sheep increased even more in number, so he took them far away, and he no longer attended Jumu‘ah or any prayer in congregation.

The Prophet (ﷺ) noticed his absence, and was told about his situation. He sent out people to collect zakah from those from whom it was due, but when they came to Tha'labah he said: This is nothing but a jizyah; this is akin to jizyah. When he did not give it to them, they came and told the Prophet (ﷺ) about that, and he said: «Woe to Tha'labah, woe to Tha'labah» three times.

When this verse was revealed concerning him and others like him, some of his family went and told him about it, so he brought his zakah, but the Prophet (ﷺ) did not accept it. Then he brought it to Abu Bakr after the death of the Prophet (ﷺ), but he did not accept it. Then after the death of Abu Bakr he brought it to ‘Umar, but he did not accept it, and it was said that he died during the time of ‘Uthman.^{1This story of Tha'labah was mentioned by many of the commentators, but it was classed as da'eef (weak) by the prominent scholars of Hadith such as Ibn Hazm, al-Bayhaqi, al-Qurtubi, al-Haythami, al-‘Iraqi, Ibn Hajar. as-Suyooti, al-Manawi and others (may Allah have mercy on them). They explained that its isnad includes ‘Ali ibn Yazeed, who is da'eef. Other narrators of this report include Ma'an ibn Rifa'ah and al-Qasim ibn 'Abdur-Rahman, who are also da'eef. Moreover Ibn Hazm said that the report was also da'eef in terms of its text (main). See: al-Muhalld. 11:208; al-Isabah, biography of Tha'labah; Majma' a:-Zawa 'id, 7:32; al-Jdmi' li Ahkam al-Qur 'art, 8:210; Faydal-Qadeer, 4:257; Fath al-Bari, 3:8; as-Suyooti, Lubab an-Nuqool, 121; al-‘lraqi. Takhreej al-lhvd3:338.}

9:79. It is those hypocrites who find fault with those believers who give freely in charity and with those who give according to their means, and they ridicule them. Allah will cause their ridicule to rebound on them and theirs will be a painful punishment.

9:80. Whether you [O Prophet] seek forgiveness for them, or do not seek forgiveness for them, even if you seek forgiveness for them seventy times, never will Allah forgive them, because they have disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger. Allah does not guide the wicked people.

This is another example of the disgraceful conduct of the hypocrites who - may Allah curse them - did not miss any opportunity to say something bad about Islam and the Muslims and criticise the faith, out of enmity and spite. When Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) encouraged the giving of charity, the Muslims hastened to give, and they spent from their wealth, each according to his means; some gave a great deal and some gave a little. The hypocrites would find fault with the one who gave a great deal, saying that his aim was only to show off and enhance his reputation. And they would say to the poor man who gave little: Allah has no need of the charity of this one. So Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) revealed the words:

﴾It is those hypocrites who find fault with﴿ that is, they criticise and impugn ﴾those believers who give freely in charity﴿, and they say: They are showing off; all they are seeking is status and pride, tfand﴿ they find fault with ﴾those who give according to their means﴿ and give what they can afford, and they (the hypocrites) say that Allah has no need of their charity ﴾and they ridicule them﴿.

But Allah requited them for their deeds, as He says: Allah will cause their ridicule to rebound on them and theirs will be a painful punishment﴿, for in these words of theirs they combine a number of prohibited actions:

• Seeking out news of the believers’ situation in hopes of finding something bad to say about them, when Allah says:

﴾Verily, those who like to see indecency spread among the believers will have a painful punishment...(an-Noor 24: 19/

• Impugning the believers because of their faith constitutes disbelief in Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and reflects hatred of the religion.

• Finding faults with others is prohibited; in fact if it has to do with worldly matters, it is one of the major sins; if it has to do with matters of worship, it is even worse.

• If a person obeys Allah and does voluntary good deeds, then what we should do is help him and support him in his action, but these people intended to discourage them by speaking negatively of them and criticising them.

• Their judgement of one who spent a lot of wealth as showing off was a serious mistake and a false judgement that was made on the basis of speculation, and what evil can be greater than that?

• Their comment regarding the one who gave little, saying that Allah had no need of his charity, was a comment that would lead to a wrong notion. For Allah has no need of the charity of anyone, whether the amount is small or great; indeed He has no need of the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, but He has commanded His slaves to do that of which they themselves are in need. Even though Allah has no need of them, they need Him,and:

﴾So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it.﴿) (az-Zalzalah 99: 7)

• But these words of the hypocrites are clearly discouragement from doing good, hence their punishment was that Allah ridiculed them and theirs was a painful punishment.

﴾Whether you [O Prophet] seek forgiveness for them, or do not seek forgiveness for them, even if you seek forgiveness for them seventy times﴿ - this number is mentioned by way of exaggeration and is not meant literally.

﴾never will Allah forgive them﴿ as He says elsewhere:

﴾flt is the same to them whether you pray for their forgiveness or do not pray for their forgiveness; Allah will never forgive them...﴿ (al-Munafiqoon 63: 6)

Then Allah mentions the reason why He will not forgive them: ﴾because they have disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger﴿. No prayer for forgiveness or good deeds will benefit the disbeliever so long as he remains a disbeliever.

﴾Allah does not guide the wicked people﴿ that is, those for whom wickedness has become characteristic in the sense that they do not choose anything else over it and they do not wish for any alternative; the truth comes to them but they reject it, so Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will punish them by not guiding them to it after that.

9:81. Those who were left behind [from the campaign to Tabook] rejoiced in their staying behind after the departure of the Messenger of Allah. They were unwilling to strive and fight in the cause of Allah, offering their wealth and their lives, andthey said: Do not go forth in the heat. Say: The fire of hell is far hotter. If only they could understand.

9:82. Let them laugh a little; they will weep much as a recompense for what they used to eam.

9:83. If Allah brings you back safely and some of them ask your permission to go forth with you, say: You will never go forth with me, and you will never fight an enemy with me. You were content to stay behind the first time, so now stay behind with those who lag behind.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) highlights the boasting of the hypocrites for having stayed behind, and the fact that they did not care about that, which is indicative of lack of faith and of choosing disbelief over faith:

﴾Those who were left behind [from the campaign to Tabook] rejoiced in their staying behind after the departure of the Messenger of Allah﴿. This is worse than merely staying behind, because staying behind was prohibited, but what made it worse was being pleased with having done an act of disobedience, and rejoicing in it.

﴾They were unwilling to strive and fight in the cause of Allah﴿. This is in contrast to the believers who, if they stayed behind - even if that was with a valid excuse - would feel sad and be filled with sorrow for staying behind, and they would love to strive, offering their wealth and their lives, in Allah’s cause, because of the faith in their heart and because of what they hoped for of the bounty, kindness and blessing of Allah.

﴾fand they﴿ namely the hypocrites ﴾said: Do not go forth in the heat﴿ that is, they said: It is too difficult for us to go forth in the heat. Thus they gave precedence to brief and temporary comfort over complete and eternal comfort.

They were afraid of the heat from which one may protect oneself by seeking shade, and which disappears in the early morning and lateafternoon, yet they did not fear the intense heat, the severity of which cannot be estimated, namely the fire of hell.

Hence Allah said: ﴾Say: The fire of hell is far hotter. If only they could understand﴿. (That will be their punishment) for having preferred that which is temporary to that which is eternal; they tried to flee from hardship that is light and temporary, but they will be faced with severe and eternal hardship.

﴾Let them laugh a little; they will weep much﴿ that is, let them enjoy this temporary realm, rejoice in its pleasures and amuse themselves with its fun; they will weep much when they are faced with a painful punishment

﴾as a recompense for what they used to earn﴿ of disbelief and hypocrisy, and their failure to submit to the commands of their Lord.

﴾flf Allah brings you back safely and some of them﴿ namely those who stayed behind with no excuse, and did not regret doing so,

﴾ask your permission to go forth with you﴿ on another campaign, if they think it will be easy ﴾say﴿) to them, as a punishment:

﴾You will never go forth with me, and you will never fight an enemy with me]i, for Allah will suffice me so that I will have no need of you. ﴾You were content to stay behind the first time, so now stay behind with those who lag behind﴿. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾fWe will turn their hearts and eyes away [from the truth], since they refused to believe in it the first time...﴿ (al-Anam 6:110)

The one who is reluctant and stays behind from something that has been enjoined when the opportunity arises to do it will not be helped after that, and will be prevented from doing it on subsequent occasions.

This is also a rebuke to them, for once the Muslims realised that these people were among those who were prevented from going outfor jihad because of their sins, that would serve as a rebuke and source of disgrace for them, and as a deterrent against anyone else doing what they had done.

9:84. Never [O Muhammad] offer the funeral prayer for any of them who dies, or stand by his grave, for they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, and they died as evildoers.

﴾Never [O Muhammad] offer the funeral prayer for any of them﴿ that is, the hypocrites

﴾who dies, or stand by his grave﴿ after he has been buried, to offer supplication for him. That is because the Prophet’s offering the funeral prayer or standing by their graves was a kind of intercession for them, but intercession will not benefit them.

﴾for they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, and they died as evildoers﴿. Whoever is a disbeliever and dies in that state, no intercession will benefit him. In that there is a lesson for others and a rebuke for them. Similarly, for anyone who is known to be a disbeliever and hypocrite, no funeral prayer is to be offered for him.

This verse indicates that it is prescribed to offer the funeral prayer for the believers, and to stand by their graves to offer supplication for them, as the Prophet (ﷺ) used to do for the believers. The fact that this prohibition is limited to the hypocrites indicates that these acts are confirmed and valid in the case of believers.

9:85. So do not let their wealth and their children impress you; Allah intends only to punish them thereby in this world, so that their souls will depart while they are still disbelievers.

That is, do not be deceived by what Allah has given them in this world of wealth and children, for that is not because they are dear to Him; rather it is by way of bringing them low.

﴾Allah intends only to punish them thereby in this world﴿ so that they will strive hard to acquire those things, and they will worry lest they lose them. Thus they will not enjoy them; rather they will constantly suffer hardship and trouble in acquiring and keeping them, and that will distract them from Allah and the hereafter, until they depart this world and ﴾their souls will depart while they are still disbelievers﴿. Love of these things will take everything away from them and they will die when their hearts are still attached to these things, infatuated with them and in a state of distress because of them.

9:86. When a soorah is revealed, enjoining them to believe in Allah and to strive and fight along with His Messenger, the affluent among them ask you for leave to be excused, and say: Let us stay with those who stay behind.

9:87. They are content to be with those who stay behind; their hearts have been sealed up, so that they do not understand.

Here Allah explains how the hypocrites were persistently slow and reluctant to do acts of obedience, and the soorahs and verses of the Qur’an had no impact on them.

tf When a soorah is revealed﴿ in which they are enjoined to believe in Allah and strive in jihad in Allah’s cause

﴾the affluent among them ask you for leave to be excused﴿ that is, the wealthy ones who have no excuse, for Allah has bestowed upon them wealth and sons. So why do they not give thanks to Allah and praise Him. and do what He has enjoined upon them and made it easy for them to do? But they insist on being lazy and seeking permission to stay behind.

f(and say: Let us stay with those who stay behind﴿.

﴾They are content to be with those who stay behind﴿ that is, how can they be content to be with the women who stay behind from jihad? Is their action based on some interpretation or rational evidence, or has Allah placed a seal on their hearts so that they cannot recognise what is good and they have no willpower to do that which leads to good and success? For they do not understand what is in their best interests. If they truly understood that, they would not accept for themselves this state which causes them to be less than men.

9:88. But the Messenger and those who believe with him strive and fight, offering their wealth and their lives. It is they who will have all good things, and it is they who will prosper.

9:89. Allah has prepared for them gardens through which rivers flow, to abide therein forever; that is the supreme triumph.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: As these hypocrites stayed behind from jihad, Allah has no need of them, for He has special slaves whom He has selected from among His creation for His bounty and who will carry out this task. They are {(the Messenger﴿ Muhammad (ﷺ) {(and those who believe with him strive and fight, offering their wealth and their lives﴿. They are not reluctant or lazy; rather they are joyful and cheerful.

﴾It is they who will have all good things﴿ that is, many good things in this world and the hereafter

﴾and it is they who will prosper﴿ and attain the highest goals and the most one could desire.

﴾Allah has prepared for them gardens through which rivers flow, to abide therein forever; that is the supreme triumph﴿. May he perish, the one who does not aspire to that to which they aspire, for he is a loser in terms of religion, this world and the hereafter. This is like the verses in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾Say: Believe in it, or do not believe. Verily, those who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in prostration.﴿ tul-Isra' 17: 107)

- and:

﴾...If these people [the Makkans] disbelieve therein, then We have entrusted it to a people who do not disbelieve therein.﴿ (al-An'am 6:89)

Namely the People of the Book (Jews and Christians).

9:90. Some of the Bedouin who had excuses came and asked to be exempted, while those who lied to Allah and His Messenger [merely] stayed behind. Those among them who disbelieved will be afflicted by a painful punishment.

9:91. There is no blame on the weak, the sick, and those who have no means [of equipping themselves], so long as they are sincere to Allah and His Messenger. There is no reason to reproach those who do good; and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

9:92. Nor is there any blame on those who came to you to be provided with mounts, and to whom you said: I can find no mounts for you; they turned away with their eyes overflowing with tears of sorrow, because they could not find the means to contribute.

9:93. But there is reason to reproach those who ask you for leave to be excused even though they are rich. They are content to be with those who stay behind; Allah has sealed up their hearts, so that they do not know.

﴾Some of the Bedouin who had excuses came and asked to be exempted﴿ that is, those who were negligent and did not try hard togo out came so that they might be given permission to refrain from participating in jihad, and they did not care about asking to be excused because of their rough nature and lack of shame, and because their faith was weak.

As for those who lied to Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), and stayed behind without giving any excuses at all, it may be that what is meant by ﴾[those] who had excuses﴿ is those who had a genuine reason; they came to the Messenger (ﷺ) to be given leave to stay behind, because it was his habit to accept the excuses of anyone who had an excuse.

﴾while those who lied to Allah and His Messenger﴿ in their claim to be believers, as faith would oblige them to go out, but they did not do what was expected of them, and they [merely] stayed behind﴿. Then Allah warned them by saying: ﴾Those among them who disbelieved will be afflicted by a painful punishment﴿ in this world and the hereafter.

Allah mentioned those who had excuses, who were of two types, those who had legitimate excuses and those who had no valid excuse. This is reflected in the words:

﴾There is no blame on the weak﴿ that is, the physically weak and visually impaired who had no strength to go out and fight ﴾the sick﴿ this includes all types of sickness that make a person unable to go out and engage in jihad, including lameness, blindness, fever, pleurisy, paralysis and so on ffand those who have no means [of equipping themselves]﴿ that is, they were not able to find provisions or mounts that could help them to reach the destination. There is no blame on such people, so long as they are sincere towards Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), in the sense that they are true in faith and that they have the sincere intention and resolve that if they were able to, they would have gone out for jihad, and that they do whatever they can to support and encourage jihad. ﴾There is no reason to reproach those who do good﴿ and carry out their duties towards Allah and His slaves. There should be no blameon them. If a person does what he is able to, then what he cannot do is waived for him.

This verse is quoted as evidence for the principle which says that the one who does good to another person (with good intentions) by taking care of him and his wealth, and the like, but his attempt to do good leads to some damage or loss, then he is not liable, because he sought to do good and there is no reason to reproach those who do good. This verse also indicates that the one who does not do good, or does not do things properly, such as one who is negligent, is liable.

﴾fand Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿. By His forgiveness and mercy He pardons those who are not able and for their sincere and firm intentions He grants them the reward of those who are able and actually do it.

﴾Nor is there any blame on those who came to you to be provided with mounts﴿ but they did not find anything with you to help them to get mounts f)and to whom you said﴿, apologising, ﴾I can find no mounts for you; they turned away with their eyes overflowing with tears of sorrow, because they could not find the means to contribute﴿. For they were incapable, although they were willing to contribute, and expressed grief and distress, as Allah describes them.

There is no blame on these people, and as there is no blame on them, the matter reverts to the original principle, which is that whoever intends good, accompanied by firm resolve in the sense that he tries to do whatever he can, but is not able to achieve that, is regarded as being like the one who did it completely and achieved results.

﴾But there is reason to reproach﴿ that is, there is cause to blame those who asked permission to stay behind even though they were rich and able to go out, and they had no excuse. These people ﴾are content﴿ and accepted for themselves ﴾to be with those who stay behind﴿, such as the women, children and the like.

They were only content with that because Allah had sealed up their hearts so that no goodness could enter them and they could not see what was in their best interests in both religious and worldly terms ﴾so that they do not know﴿, as a punishment for what they did.

9:94. They will make their excuses to you when you return to them. Say: Make no excuse; we will never believe you. Allah has already informed us about you. Allah will see how you act, and so will His Messenger, then in the end you will be brought back to the Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He will inform you about what you used to do.

9:95. They will swear to you by Allah, when you return to them, so that you will leave them alone. So leave them alone, for they are an abomination. Their abode will be hell, as a recompense for what they used to earn.

9:96. They will swear to you so that you may be pleased with them. But even if you are pleased with them, Allah is not pleased with rebellious and wicked people.

After mentioning the rich hypocrites who stayed behind, and stating that they had no excuse, Allah then tells us that they ﴾will make their excuses to you when you return to them﴿ from your campaign.

﴾﴾Say﴿﴿ to them: ﴾Make no excuse; we will never believe you﴿ that is, we will never accept your false excuses.

Allah has already informed us about you﴿ and He speaks the truth. Hence there was no longer any benefit in making excuses, because the excuses they gave were contrary to what Allah had told His Messenger (ﷺ) about them, and it was impossible that they could be telling the truth by saying something contrary to what Allah had said, for His word is the highest degree of truth.

f﴾Allah will see how you act, and so will His Messenger﴿ in this world, for deeds are the criterion that distinguishes between sincerity and insincerity. As for mere words, they do not indicate anything.

﴾then in the end you will be brought back to the Knower of the unseen and the seen﴿ from Whom nothing is hidden ﴾and He will inform you about what you used to do﴿ of good or evil, and He will requite you by His justice and grace, without wronging you in the slightest. It should be noted that the evildoer and sinner will have one of three outcomes: either his excuses will be fully accepted and he will be pardoned, so that he will become as if he never sinned; or the punishment will be carried out on him for his sin; or he will be ignored, and his action will not be punished.

The third option is what Allah enjoined in the case of the hypocrites. Hence He said: fp'hey will swear to you by Allah, when you return to them, so that you will leave them alone. So leave them alone﴿ that is, do not rebuke them or flog them or kill them, ﴾for they are an abomination﴿ that is, they are evil and too insignificant to care about, and rebuking or punishing them will not be of any benefit. The punishment of the hereafter will be sufficient for them, f(as a recompense for what they used to earn﴿.

﴾They will swear to you so that you may be pleased with them﴿ that is, another thing that they will try to achieve with you is that they will not just want you to leave them alone; rather they want you to be pleased with them, as if they did nothing wrong.﴾But even if you are pleased with them, Allah is not pleased with rebellious and wicked people﴿ that is, you - O believers - should not be pleased with those with whom Allah is not pleased; rather you should go along with your Lord in whatever He is pleased with or angry with.

Reflect on how Allah says: ﴾Allah is not pleased with rebellious and wicked people﴿ and He did not say “Allah is not pleased with them”, in order to highlight the fact that the gate of repentance is still open, and once they or any other people repent, Allah will accept their repentance and be pleased with them.

But if they persist in rebelliousness and wickedness, then Allah will not be pleased with them because there is an impediment to His good pleasure, which is their rejection of what Allah wants for them of faith and obedience, in favour of that which angers Him of ascribing partners to Him, hypocrisy and sin.

To sum up, Allah tells us that when the hypocrites who had stayed behind from jihad with no excuse made their excuses to the believers, claiming to have legitimate reasons for staying behind, the aim behind that was that the believers should leave them alone, be pleased with them and accept their excuses.

As for accepting their excuses and being pleased with them, that should never happen. As for leaving them alone, the believers should leave them alone as they leave alone and turn away from any other bad thing or abomination.

These verses are an affirmation that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) speaks, as He said (in 9: 94): ﴾Allah has already informed us about you﴿ and an affirmation that Allah does whatever He wills and decrees. In these verses and in the words ﴾Allah will see how you act, and so will His Messenger﴿ <9: 94), Allah tells us that He will see it after it happens. These verses also confirm that Allah is pleased with those who do good and is angry with those who are rebellious and wicked.

9:97. The Bedouin are more stubborn in disbelief and hypocrisy, and are more likely to be unaware of the limits prescribed by Allah in what He has revealed to His Messenger. And Allah is All- Knowing, Most Wise.

9:98. Some of the Bedouin regard what they spend [in the cause of Allah] as a penalty, and they wait for some misfortune to befall you. May ill fortune befall them! And Allah is All-Hearing, All- Knowing.

9:99. But some of the Bedouin believe in Allah and the Last Day, and regard what they spend [in the cause of Allah] as a means of drawing closer to Him and of deserving the prayers of the Messenger. Indeed, it will be a means for them to draw closer to Him. Allah will admit them to His mercy, for verily Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

﴾The Bedouin﴿) that is, those who dwell in the desert and the wilderness ﴾are more stubborn in disbelief and hypocrisy﴿ than the city-dwellers, among whom disbelief and hypocrisy also exist. That is for a number of reasons, including the following:

• Their lack of knowledge of religious teachings, righteous deeds and Islamic rulings. Hence they are more likely ﴾tobe unaware of the limits prescribed by Allah in what He has revealed to His Messenger﴿, such as the fundamentals of faith and rulings on commands and prohibitions, in contrast to the city-dwellers, who are more likely to be aware of the limits prescribed by Allah in what He has revealed to His Messenger (ﷺ). Thus the city-dwellers - because of this knowledge - will develop proper understanding and will be more motivated to do righteous deeds of which they are more aware. None of this is available in the desert. City-dwellers have a gentle nature and willingness to follow the one who calls to good that is not found among the desert-dwellers; they sit with people of faith and mix with them more than the desert-dwellers do. Therefore they are more likely to do good than the desert-dwellers. Even though there are disbelievers and hypocrites among both the desert-dwellers and the city-dwellers, there is more harshness and roughness among the desert-dwellers than among the city-dwellers.

• The Bedouin are more concerned about wealth and are stingier with it. Some of them ﴾regard what they spend﴿ of zakah and giving in Allah’s cause and the like ﴾as a penalty﴿ that is, they see it as a loss and detrimental to their interests. They do not seek reward thereby, or intend it for the sake of Allah, and they only give it with great reluctance.

﴾and they wait for some misfortune to befall you﴿ that is, because of their enmity and resentment towards the believers, they wish and hope for misfortune and the vicissitudes of time to befall them. But this will backfire on them; may ill fortune befall them!

As for the believers, they will have the good fortune of seeing their enemies defeated, and the good consequences will be in their favour. ﴾And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing﴿ - He knows people’s intentions and the deeds they do, whether they are sincere or otherwise.

Not all the Bedouin are blameworthy; rather among them are some who ﴾believe in Allah and the Last Day﴿, thus they are free of disbelief and hypocrisy, and they act as faith requires.

﴾and regard what they spend [in the cause of Allah] as a means of drawing closer to Him﴿; they seek the reward for spending and intend it for the sake of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and as a means of drawing closer to Him and ﴾of deserving the prayers of the Messenger﴿, that is, his supplication and prayers for blessing for them. Allah says, explaining the benefit of the prayers of the Messenger (ﷺ): ﴾Indeed, it will be a means for them to draw closer to Him﴿ that will bring them nearer to Allah, and will cause their wealth to increase and bring blessing to it.

﴾Allah will admit them to His mercy﴿ among His righteous slaves ﴾for verily Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿; He will forgive the major sins of those who repent to Him. And He encompasses His slaves in His mercy, which encompasses all things, but He singles out His believing slaves for mercy that enables them to do good deeds and protects them from falling into sin, and by means of which He will grant them all kinds of reward in abundance.

This verse indicates that among the Bedouin, just as in the case of the city-dwellers, there are some who are praiseworthy and some who are blameworthy. Hence Allah does not criticise them just for being Bedouin; rather He criticises them for failing to obey the commands of Allah.

Other things we learn from this verse include the following:

• Disbelief and hypocrisy may increase and decrease, recede and grow, according to circumstances.

• The virtue of knowledge; the one who lacks knowledge is closer to evil than the one who has knowledge, because Allah criticised the Bedouin and stated that they are more stubborn in disbelief and hypocrisy, and He said that the reason for that is that they are more likely to be unaware of the limits prescribed by Allah in what He has revealed to His Messenger (ﷺ).• That beneficial knowledge which is most useful is to know the limits prescribed by Allah in what He has revealed to His Messenger (ﷺ), namely the fundamentals and minor issues of the religion, such as the definitions of faith, Islam, ihsan, piety, prosperity, obedience, righteousness, upholding ties of kinship, disbelief, hypocrisy, wickedness, disobedience, adultery, alcohol, usury, and so on. Knowing these things enables one to do them if they are enjoined or to refrain from them if they are prohibited.

• The believer should do the duties that are required of him willingly and with peace of mind, and he should regard that as an opportunity, not as a penalty.

9:100. As for the first and foremost to believe, the Muhajiroon and Ansar* and those who follow them in doing righteous deeds, Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. He has prepared for them gardens through which rivers flow, to abide therein forever. That is the supreme triumph.

The first and foremost to believe are the first generation of this Ummah, who hastened to believe, migrate, strive in jihad and establish the religion of Allah﴾the Muhajiroon﴿ who:

﴾...who have been driven from their homes and property, seeking grace from Allah and His good pleasure, and helping the cause of Allah and His Messenger. It is they whose faith is true.﴿ (al-Hashr59 8)

﴾t(...were already settled in the land [of Madinah] before them, and were sincere in faith, love the Muhajiroon who came to them, and find no covetous desire in their hearts for what they have been given. Rather they give them preference over themselves, even if they too f(and those who follow them in doing righteous deeds﴿ that is, in terms of beliefs, words and actions. These are the ones who are free of blame and who deserved to attain the best praise and honour from Allah.

Allah is pleased with them﴿ and His pleasure is greater than the delights of paradise ffand they are pleased with Him. He has prepared for them gardens through which rivers flow﴿ to irrigate the lush and beautiful gardens. f(to abide therein forever﴿ - they will never want to leave and they will never ask for any change, because whatever they wish for they will get and whatever they want they will find. ﴾That is the supreme triumph﴿ whereby they will attain everything they hope for and everything that will bring them delight and pleasure, and all harms will be warded off from them.

9:101. Some of the Bedouin around you are hypocrites, as are some of the people of Madinah; they have become adamant in their hypocrisy. You do not know them, but We know them. We will punish them twice, then they will be given over to a grievous punishment.

﴾Some of the Bedouin around you are hypocrites, as are some of the people of Madinah; they have become adamant in their hypocrisy﴿ that is, they have persisted in it and thus increased in stubbornness and arrogance.

﴾You do not know them﴿ by name, such that you could punish them or treat them as they deserve because of their hypocrisy, for reasons of great wisdom that Allah has decreed.

﴾but We know them. We will punish them twice﴿. It may be that what is meant by twice is what it appears to mean, and that they will be punished once in this world and again in the hereafter.

In this world, that was what befell them of distress, grief and resentment when the believers achieved victory, and in the hereafter they will face the punishment of hell, what a wretched resting-place.

Or it may be that what is meant is that the punishment will be intensified in the sense that it will be doubled and repeated.

9:102. And there are others who have admitted their sins; they have mixed righteous deeds with others that were evil. Perhaps Allah will turn to them in mercy, for verily Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

9:103. Take charity from their wealth so that you may cleanse and purify them thereby, and pray for them. Verily your prayers are a source of comfort for them. And Allah is All-Hearing, All- Knowing.

﴾And there are others﴿ that is, other than those who are in and around Madinah; rather they are in other Muslim lands ﴾who have admitted their sins﴿ that is, they have acknowledged them and they regret them and are striving to repent from them and purify themselves from their stain

﴾they have mixed righteous deeds with others that were evil﴿. For a deed cannot be described as righteous, unless a person has a foundation of belief in Allah’s oneness and faith that brings him out of disbelief and polytheism, for this is the condition for acceptance of any righteous deeds. Thus these people mixed righteous deeds with others that were evil, by transgressing the limits and committing some prohibited actions, or falling short in some obligatory duties, whilst admitting it and hoping that Allah would forgive them. In their case ﴾Perhaps Allah will turn to them in mercy﴿ for His turning in mercy to His slaves is of two types: the first is by enabling them to repent and the second is by accepting it after they do it. ﴾for verily Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful﴿ that is, He has the attributes of forgiveness and mercy from which no created being is excluded; rather the upper and lower realms could not continue to exist except by virtue of these two attributes. If Allah were to bring people to account for their wrongdoing, no creature would be left on the face of the earth.

﴾Verily, Allah sustains the heavens and the earth, lest they decline, and if they were to decline, there is no one who could sustain them other than Him. Verily, He is Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving.﴿ (Fatir35. 41) By His forgiveness, those transgressors who wrong themselves and spend their lives in doing evil, if they turn to Him and repent, evenif that is just before their death by a few moments, He will forgive them and pardon their evil deeds. This verse indicates that the one who mixes his deeds but recognises that and is remorseful but does not repent sincerely is subject to both fear (of punishment) and hope (of protection therefrom), but he is closer to salvation.

As for the one who mixes his deeds but does not acknowledge it or feel any remorse for what he has done in the past, and he persists in sin, there is the great fear that punishment will reach him.

Allah Js) says to His Messenger (ﷺ) and to anyone who is in a position of leadership after he is gone, instructing him to do that which will purify the believers and complete their faith:

﴾Take charity﴿ that is, the obligatory alms (zakah)

f(so that you may cleanse﴿ that is, so you may cleanse them of sins and bad characteristics ﴾and purify them thereby﴿ that is, so that they may develop and increase in good characteristics and righteous deeds, and in reward both in this world and in the hereafter, and so that their wealth may grow

﴾and pray for them﴿ that is, offer supplication for them, meaning the believers in general, and especially when they give you the zakah of their wealth.

﴾Verily your prayers are a source of comfort for them﴿ that is, reassurance to their hearts and glad tidings for them ﴾And Allah is All-Hearing﴿ and He hears your supplication, and responds to it c﴾All-Knowing﴿ that is. He knows the situations and intentions of His slaves, and He requites each person for his actions, in accordance with his intention.

The Prophet (ﷺ) obeyed the command of Allah and instructed them to give zakah; he would send out his workers to collect it, and when anyone brought his zakah to him, he would offer supplication for him and pray for blessing.

This verse indicates that zakah is obligatory on all kinds of wealth. This applies if that wealth is clearly intended for trade, for that is wealth that usually grows and one gains more by means of it. Hence it is only just and fair that some of it should be given to help the poor, by giving that which Allah has enjoined from it of zakah.

Other than trade goods, if wealth is of a type that grows, such as grains and crops, or livestock that one keeps so that it may grow and give more, and so that it may give milk and offspring, then it is obligatory to give zakah on it. Otherwise, zakah is not obligatory because if it is meant to be kept (without it growing or being for trade) then it is not like the kinds of wealth that people usually acquire so that it will grow and so that they can seek financial gain from it; rather it is no longer regarded as wealth if it is kept for personal use.

From this verse we also learn that a person cannot be purified and cleansed until he gives zakah from his wealth, and that nothing can make up for it except giving it, because purification and cleansing depend on giving zakah.

We also learn that it is encouraged for the ruler or his deputy to offer supplication for blessing for the one who gives his zakah, and that it should be done out loud so that the giver can hear it, so that he may be quiet and listen.

From this we may understand that it is good to try to make the believer happy by saying gentle words, offering supplication for him, and other things that bring reassurance and comfort to his heart.

It is also good to encourage those who give of their wealth and do righteous deeds, by offering supplication for them, praising them and the like.

9:104. Do they not know that Allah accepts repentance from His slaves and accepts their charity, and that verily Allah is the Accepter of repentance, the Most Merciful?

That is, do they not realise the vastness of Allah’s mercy, and the all-encompassing nature of His generosity? For He ﴾accepts repentance from His slaves﴿ who repent, no matter what their sin was. Indeed He rejoices greatly over the repentance of His slave when he repents.

﴾and accepts their charity﴿ from them, and He takes it in His Right Hand and tends it for one of them as a man tends his colt, to such an extent that a single date given in charity becomes like a huge mountain; so how about charity that is greater than that?

﴾and that verily Allah is the Accepter of repentance﴿ that is, He accepts a great deal of repentance from those who repent. Whoever repents to Him, He accepts his repentance, even if he sins repeatedly (and repents each time). Allah never tires of accepting repentance from His slaves, until they themselves grow tired and turn away. t﴾the Most Merciful﴿ Whose mercy encompasses all things, and He has decreed it for those who fear Him, give zakah, believe in His revelations and follow His Messenger (ﷺ).

9:105. And say: Do [as you will]; Allah will see what you do, and so will His Messenger and the believers, then in the end you will be brought back to the Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He will inform you about what you used to do.

﴾And say﴿ to these hypocrites: ﴾Do [as you will]﴿ and carry on with your falsehood, and do not think that this will be hidden from Allah.

﴾Allah will see what you do, and so will His Messenger and the believers﴿ that is, your deeds will inevitably become clearly known ﴾then in the end you will be brought back to the Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He will inform you about what you used to do﴿, both good and bad. This is a warning and threat to those who persist in falsehood, transgression, misguidance and sin.

It may be that what is meant is: no matter what you do, good or bad, Allah is watching you and He will inform His Messenger (ﷺ) and His believing slaves of your deeds, even if they were hidden.

-JJLr-'O

9:106. And there are yet others who must await Allah’s decree; He will either punish them or turn to them in mercy. And Allah is All-Knowing, Most Wise.

﴾And there are yet others﴿ who will be decided about at a later time

﴾who must await Allah’s decree; He will either punish them or turn to them in mercy﴿. This is intended to scare those who stayed behind (from the Tabook campaign) and to encourage them to repent and feel remorse.

﴾And Allah is All-Knowing﴿ of people’s situations and intentions ﴾Most Wise﴿ and He does what is appropriate. If His wisdom dictates that He should forgive them and accept their repentance, then He will forgive them and accept their repentance, but if His wisdom dictatesthat He should forsake them and not enable them to repent, then He will do that.

9:107. Then there are those who built a mosque for the purpose of spreading mischief, promoting disbelief and creating division among the believers, and as an outpost for those who previously made war on Allah and His Messenger. They will surely swear that they intended nothing but good, but Allah bears witness that they are indeed liars.

9:108. Never stand [to pray] there. A mosque that was founded upon piety from the first day is more deserving of your standing therein [to pray]. In it are men who love to keep themselves pure and Allah loves those who purify themselves.

9:109. Who then is better the one who lays his foundation on piety and fear of Allah, and [pursuit of] His good pleasure, or the one who lays his foundation on the brink of a crumbling precipice, which then collapses with him into the fire of hell? And Allah does not guide people who are wrongdoers.

9:110. The structure they have built will remain a cause of doubt in their hearts until their hearts are cut to pieces. And Allah is All- Knowing, Most Wise.

Some of the hypocrites among the people of Quba’ built a mosque beside Masjid Quba’, intending thereby to cause harm and create division among the believers. They prepared it for those who they hoped would fight Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), so that it could be a fortress for them if the need arose. So Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) exposed their disgraceful intention and made known their secret.

﴾Then there are those who built a mosque for the purpose of spreading mischief﴿ that is, causing harm to the believers and their mosque, in which they gathered

﴾promoting disbelief﴿ that is, their aim was to promote disbelief, whereas the aim of others was to promote faith, ffand creating division among the believers﴿ that is, so that they would split and be divided, and would differ with one another ffand as an outpost for those who previously made war on Allah and His Messenger﴿ that is, they prepared it to help those who already had a precedent of fighting Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), and whose enmity had become very strong. This refers to people such as Abu ‘Amir ar-Rahib, who was one of the people of Madinah. When the Prophet came and migrated to Madinah, Abu ‘Amir disbelieved in him; he had been a devoted worshipper during the jahiliyah. He went to the polytheists, seeking their help to wage war against the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). When he did not achieve what he wanted with them, he set out to go to Caesar, thinking that he would support him, but this accursed one died on the way. He had been in contact with the hypocrites, and had conspired with them, and they had prepared for him this mosque that was built for the purpose of spreading mischief. Revelation was sent down concerning that, so the Prophet (ﷺ) sent people to demolish it and bum it, which was done, and after that the site became a garbage dump.

After explaining their evil goals in building that mosque, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says: ﴾They will surely swear that they intended nothing but good﴿ in building it, and that it was built to help the weak, incapacitated and blind.

﴾but Allah bears witness that they are indeed liars﴿ and Allah’s testimony against them is more true than their oaths.

﴾Never stand [to pray] there﴿ that is, never pray in that mosque that was built for the purpose of spreading mischief, for Allah has sufficed you and you have no need of it.

﴾A mosque that was founded upon piety from the first day﴿ and in which Islam prevailed. This refers to the mosque of Quba’, which was built on a foundation of sincere devotion to Allah, and for the purpose of establishing remembrance of Allah and the symbols of His religion, and it had a lengthy history of such. This good mosque ﴾is more deserving of your standing therein [to pray]﴿ and worship and remember Allah (tte), for it is good and its people are good. Hence Allah praised them by saying: ﴾In it are men who love to keep themselves pure﴿ from sin, and they purify themselves from dirt and impurities.

It is well known that the one who loves a thing will inevitably strive for it, hence it is inevitable that they would be keen to keep themselves pure of sin, dirt and impurities. Hence they were among the people who came to Islam early on; they established prayer, constantly fought in jihad alongside the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), established the teachings of Islam and were among those who took care not to go against the commands of Allah and His Messenger

After this verse was revealed praising them for their purity, the Prophet asked them about that, and they told him that after using stones to clean themselves (after relieving themselves), they would also use water, and he praised them for what they did.

﴾and Allah loves those who purify themselves﴿ this refers to metaphorical purity, such as rejecting all ascription of partners to Allah and bad characteristics, as well as physical purity such as removing dirt and impurities both minor and major.

Then Allah highlights the difference between these mosques, according to the aims of their people and whether those aims are in accordance with that which pleases Allah:

?﴾Who then is better - the one who lays his foundation on piety and fear of Allah﴿ that is, good intentions and sincerity ﴾and [pursuit of] His good pleasure﴿, by doing that which is in accordance with His commands, thus combining sincerity with following the commands of Allah

﴾or the one who lays his foundation on the brink﴿ that is, the edge ﴾of a crumbling precipice﴿ that is about to fall ﴾which then collapses with him into the fire of hell? And Allah does not guide people who are wrongdoers﴿ to that which is in their best interests in both religious and worldly terms.

﴾The structure they have built will remain a cause of doubt in their hearts﴿ that is, doubts that will take root in their hearts ﴾until their hearts are cut to pieces﴿ with extreme regret, and they repent to their Lord and fear Him greatly, and thus Allah will forgive them. Otherwise, their structure will only increase them in doubt and hypocrisy.

?[And Allah is All-Knowing﴿ and has knowledge of all things, apparent and hidden, secret and open, and all that people may conceal or disclose.

﴾Most Wise﴿ - so He does not do, create, enjoin or forbid anything but what His wisdom dictates. To Allah be all praise.

From these verses we learn a number of things, including the following:

• That building a mosque for the purpose of causing harm to a nearby mosque is prohibited, and the mosque that was built forthe purpose of mischief and harm must be demolished if the intentions of its builders become known.

• Even if a deed is good, it may be changed by the intention behind it and thus become something prohibited, as the intention of those who built that mosque for the purpose of mischief changed their deed, as you can see.

• Any action that leads to the creation of division among the believers comes under the heading of sins that must be refrained from and stopped.

By the same token, any action that leads to bringing the believers together and creating harmony among them must be followed, enjoined and encouraged, because Allah criticised them for building that mosque for the purpose of mischief, and because of that intention it became prohibited. This also implied that they were disbelievers who intended to wage war against Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ).

• It is prohibited to pray in places of sin, and we should keep away from them and not come near them.

• Sin has an impact on places, as the sin of the hypocrites had an impact on that mosque that was built for the purpose of mischief, and thus it was prohibited to pray therein. By the same token, obedience has an impact on places, as was the case with regard to the mosque of Quba’, of which Allah said: ﴾A mosque that was founded upon piety from the first day is more deserving of your standing therein [to pray]﴿ (9. 108).

Hence Masjid Quba’ enjoys special standing that is not shared with any other mosque, as the Prophet (ﷺ) used to visit Quba’ every Saturday to pray there, and he encouraged the Muslims to pray there.

• From the reasons for prohibition mentioned in this verse, we learn an important principle, which is that every deed that is harmful to a Muslim or involves disobedience to Allah - forsins are branches of disbelief - or it involves dividing the believers, or helping those who are hostile towards Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), is prohibited and forbidden.

• Physical deeds that stem from disobedience to Allah will continue to push the doer away from Him, as is the case with persisting in sin, unless he gives it up and repents from it completely, in the sense that his heart is cut to pieces with regret and remorse.

• If the mosque of Quba’ is described as being a mosque that was founded upon piety, this description is even more apt in the case of the Mosque of the Prophet (ﷺ) that he founded with his own blessed hands and took part in the construction thereof, and Allah chose it for him.

• A deed that is based on sincerity and following Allah’s commands is a deed that is founded on piety and fear of Allah, that will help the doer to enter paradise.

But the deed that is based on bad intentions, innovation and misguidance is the deed that is founded on the brink of a crumbling precipice, which will then collapse with him into the fire of hell, and Allah does not guide people who are wrongdoers.

9:111. Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth, in return for which paradise will be theirs; they fightin His cause, and they slay and are slain. It is a true promise, given by Him in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur’an, and who is more faithful to His promise than Allah? Rejoice, then, in the bargain you have made; that is the supreme triumph.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us something true and makes a true promise of a great transaction, which is that He Himself ﴾has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth﴿ and the item of which that price is announced is no less than paradise.

﴾in return for which paradise will be theirs﴿ in which there is all that hearts may long for and that may delight the eyes, of all kinds of pleasure, joy, happiness, beautiful spouses and splendid dwellings.

What this transaction involves is that they give their lives and their wealth to Allah, striving in jihad against His enemies and to make His word supreme and support His religion, so ﴾they fight in His cause, and they slay and are slain﴿. This transaction is offered by Allah with complete surety and all kinds of guarantees, ﴾lt is a true promise, given by Him in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur’an﴿ which are the noblest, most sublime and most perfect Books ever sent to the world, that were revealed to the noblest and greatest of the Messengers, the Messengers of strong will. All of them are agreed that this is a true promise.

﴾and who is more faithful to His promise than Allah? Rejoice, then﴿ O believers who have responded to the call and the promise of Allah ﴾in the bargain you have made﴿ that is, rejoice in that and give one another glad tidings, and encourage one another. ﴾that is the supreme triumph﴿ and there is no greater or better triumph, because it is a guarantee of eternal happiness, everlasting bliss, and the good pleasure of Allah which is greater than all the delights of paradise.

If you want to know how great this deal is, then look at who the purchaser is: it is Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). Look at the price, for it is the greatest of prices, the gardens of eternal bliss. Look at what you pay for it, namely your lives and your wealth, which are the dearest of all things to man. Look at the one at whose hands this transaction was done, for he is the noblest of the Messengers (jig). Look at the Books in which it was written down, for they are the great Books of Allah that were sent down to the best of creation.

9:112. [Those believers] are the ones who repent to Allah, worship Him, praise Him, fast, bow and prostrate, enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and observe the limits set by Allah. So give glad tidings to the believers.

It is as if it was said: Who are the believers who have glad tidings from Allah of admission to paradise and attaining honour? So He said: They are ﴾the ones who repent to Allah﴿ constantly and at all times from all kinds of sin

﴾worship Him﴿ that is, their characteristic is servitude to Allah and constantly obeying Him by doing obligatory and recommended acts at all times; thus a person becomes one of those who worship Allah, ﴾praise Him﴿ at times of hardship and of ease, and they acknowledge the rights that Allah has over them because of the blessings He bestows, both apparent and hidden; they praise Allah by remembering His blessings and they remember Him during the night and during the day.﴾fast﴿ - the word translated here as ‘fasting’ may also refer to travelling in pursuit of knowledge; thus it is understood as referring to the heart taking a spiritual journey to know Allah and love Him, turning constantly to Him. However the correct view is that what is meant is travelling for the purpose of doing good deeds, such as Hajj and ‘umrah, jihad, seeking knowledge, upholding ties of kinship, and the like.

﴾bow and prostrate﴿ that is, they pray a great deal, for the prayer includes bowing and prostrating ﴾enjoin what is right﴿ which includes all obligatory and recommended acts ffand forbid what is wrong﴿ which includes everything that Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) have forbidden.

﴾and observe the limits set by Allah﴿ by learning the content of that which Allah has revealed to His Messenger (ﷺ) and what it includes of commands, prohibitions and rulings, and what it does not include, so that they adhere to it by doing what it enjoins and refraining from what it forbids.

﴾So give glad tidings to the believers﴿. No mention is made of what the glad tidings refer to, hence it includes everything that results from faith of reward in this world and the hereafter. Hence the glad tidings are applicable to every believer.

As for the amount and nature of that reward, that is according to each believer’s degree of faith, how strong or weak it is, and the extent to which he acts upon it.

9:113. It is not fitting for the Prophet and those who believe to pray for forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they are near of kin, after it has become clear to them that they are inhabitants of the blazing fire.

9:114. Ibraheem’s prayer for his father’s forgiveness was only because of a promise he had made to him. But when it became clear to him that he was an enemy to Allah, he disavowed him. Verily Ibraheem was humble in supplication, forbearing.

That is, it is not befitting or good for the Prophet (ﷺ) or those who believe in him ﴾to pray for forgiveness for the polytheists﴿ that is, for those who disbelieve in Allah and worship someone else besides Him ﴾even if they are near of kin, after it has become clear to them that they are inhabitants of the blazing fire﴿. Praying for forgiveness for them in this case is wrong and is of no benefit. Therefore it is not appropriate for the Prophet (ﷺ) and the believers to do that, because if they die ascribing partners to Allah, or it is known that they died with that belief, then they deserve the punishment and they are bound to remain in hell for eternity; the intercession of those who intercede and the prayers for forgiveness of those who pray for them will be of no benefit.

Moreover, the Prophet (ﷺ) and those who believed with him are required to go along with their Lord with regard to whatever He is pleased or angry with, and to take as allies those whom Allah takes as allies, and take as enemies those whom Allah takes as enemies. So their praying for forgiveness for one who is clearly doomed to hell is contrary to that. Even though the close friend of the Most Gracious, Ibraheem (HO, did that, it was ﴾only because of a promise he had made to him﴿, as Allah tells us elsewhere that he said:﴾.. .1 will pray to my Lord to forgive you, for indeed He has always been very kind to me.﴿ (Maryam 19: 47)

That was before he knew his father’s fate, but when it became clear to Ibraheem that his father was an enemy of Allah who would die in a state of disbelief, and no exhortation not admonition would be of any avail, ﴾he disavowed him﴿ so as to be in harmony with his Lord’s will and show respect to Him.

﴾Verily Ibraheem was humble in supplication﴿ that is, he constantly turned to Allah in all his affairs, frequently remembering Him, calling upon Him, asking Him for forgiveness and turning to his Lord ﴾forbearing﴿ that is, he was compassionate towards people, forgiving towards those who made mistakes in their dealing with him, not provoked by the ignorance of the ignorant and he did not respond in kind to those who committed offences against him. His father said to him:

﴾...! will surely Stone you...﴿ (Maryam 19: 46)

- but he said to him:

﴾f...Peace be upon you. I will pray to my Lord to forgive you...﴿

So you should emulate him and follow the path of Ibraheem in all things:

﴾]... But [do not emulate]^{1It is not allowed for believers to pray for forgiveness for disbelievers. In Ibraheem’s case, he did that because of a promise he had made to his father, until it became clear that his father was an enemy of Allah. Therefore with regard to this particular issue, his example is not to be followed.} the words of Ibraheem to his father: I will surely pray for forgiveness for you.. .﴿ (al-Mumtah'mah 60: 4)

- as Allah has pointed that and other things out to you. Hence He says:

9:115. Allah will never let people go astray after having guided them, until He has made clear to them what they should guard against. And Allah has knowledge of all things.

9:116. Verily to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He gives life and causes death, and besides Him you have neither protector nor helper.

What is meant is that if Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) blesses people with guidance and commands them to follow the straight path. He will complete His favour to them and explain to them all that they need to know; He will not leave them astray, ignorant about matters of their religion. This is indicative of the perfect nature of His mercy, and that the teachings of His religion are comprehensive and include all that people need to know of fundamental and minor issues.

It may be that what is meant by these words - ﴾Allah will never let people go astray after having guided them, until He has made clear to them what they should guard against﴿ - is that once that which they should guard against has become clear to them, if they do not follow that guidance. He will punish them by letting them go astray, as recompense to them for their rejection of the clear truth. But the first interpretation is more likely to be correct.

And Allah has knowledge of all things﴿. Because His knowledge is perfect and all encompassing, He has taught you that which you did not know and He has explained to you that which will benefit you.

﴾Verily to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He gives life and causes death﴿ that is, He is the Sovereign of all that, and He controls His slaves in terms of giving life, causing death and other matters of divine control. As He is perfect in the way He controls the universe, how could he fall short with regard to religious matters that have to do with His divinity, and leave His slaves to their own devices, neglected, or leave them to go astray in their ignorance, when He cares so much for His slaves?

Hence He says: ﴾and besides Him you have neither protector﴿ to ward off harm from you

﴾nor helper﴿ to take care of you by bringing that which will benefit you.

9:117. Indeed Allah has turned in mercy to the Prophet, the Muhajireen and the Ansar who followed him in the hour of hardship, after some of them were on the brink of losing heart. Then He turned to them in mercy, for He is to them Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.

9:118. [And He also turned in mercy to] the three who were left behind, until the land, despite its vastness, seemed to close in on them and their very souls closed in on them, and they realised that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him. Then He turned to them in mercy, so that they might repent, for Allah is the Accepter of repentance, the Most Merciful.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us that by His kindness, ﴾Indeed Allah has turned in mercy to the Prophet﴿, Muhammad (ﷺ), *fthe Muhajireen and the Ansar﴿, and He forgave them for their mistakes and saved their good deeds for them (so that they were not in vain), and He raised them to the highest ranks. That was because of their undertaking difficult deeds, hence He says: ﴾who followed him in the hour of hardship﴿ that is, they went out with him to fight the enemy on the campaign to Tabook, which occurred at a time when it was very hot, provisions and mounts were scarce, and the enemy was great in number, which prompted some people to stay behind.

So they sought the help of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and they did that Rafter some of them were on the brink of losing heart﴿ that is, their hearts were inclined to cling to comfort and a life of ease, but Allah made them steadfast, supported them and gave them strength. Losing heart means drifting away from the straight path, and if the drifting away is from the fundamentals of the faith, that constitutes disbelief; if it is drifting away from minor issues or some teachings, then the matter has to do with what those teachings are and the manner in which the person drifted - either he fell short and did not do something, or he did it in a manner other than that which was prescribed.

﴾Then He turned to them in mercy﴿ that is, before they repented ﴾for He is to them Most Compassionate, Most Merciful﴿ and by His kindness and mercy He blessed them by enabling them to repent, accepting it from them and making them steadfast in adhering to it.

﴾[And He also turned in mercy to] the three who were left behind﴿ and did not go out with the Muslims on that campaign. They were Ka'b ibn Malik and his two companions, and their story is well known in Saheehs and Sunans.

﴾until﴿ they felt great sorrow and ﴾the land, despite its vastness, seemed to close in on them and their very souls﴿ which were dearer to them than ail other things {(closed in on them﴿. So wide-open spaces and their own beloved souls, which do not usually close in on people.closed in on them, and that could only result from some disturbing matter that reached an inexpressible level. That was a sign of their regret for what they had done.

﴾and they realised that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him﴿ that is, they came to know with certainty the situation they were in, that no one could save them from hardship, and they had no one to turn to, except Allah alone, with no partner or associate. Thus they severed all their attachment to people and placed all their hopes in Allah, their Lord, and they fled from Him to Him, and they remained in that distressing situation for fifty days.

﴾Then He turned to them in mercy﴿ that is. He gave permission for them to repent and enabled them to do that ﴾so that they might repent﴿, and Allah accepted their repentance. ﴾for Allah is the Accepter of repentance﴿ that is. He is very merciful and forgiving, and He forgives mistakes and sins.

﴾Most Merciful﴿; He is characterised by great mercy that He constantly sends down upon His slaves at all times, so that their religious and worldly affairs may be in good order.

These verses indicate that Allah’s forgiveness is one of the most important aims to which one may aspire, for Allah has made it the ultimate goal to which the elite among His slaves may aspire, and He blessed them with it, when they do the deeds that He loves and is pleased with.

Other things that we learn from these verses include the following:

• Allah is kind towards them, as He makes them steadfast in their faith at times of distress and calamity.

• Worship that is hard to do has a virtue like no other; the greater the hardship, the greater the reward.

• Allah’s turning in mercy towards His slave is commensurate with his remorse and great regret. If a person does not care about sin and does not feel any shame if he does it, then there is doubt as to whether his repentance is accepted, even if he claims that it is acceptable.• The sign of relief and the end of hardship is when a person puts his hope completely in Allah and he loses hope in all created beings.

• By His kindness towards the three, Allah referred to them in terms that did not shame them, as He said: ﴾who were left behind﴿. This suggests that the believers left them behind, or that they were left behind in the sense that they were delayed with regard to acceptance or rejection of their excuse, and that the fact that they were left behind was not because they had no desire to do good. Hence Allah did not say that they ‘stayed behind’.

• Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) blessed them when they spoke the truth, hence He enjoined following their example, as He said:

9:119. O you who believe, fear Allah and be with the truthful.

That is, (fO you who believe﴿ in Allah, and in what Allah enjoins you to believe in, do what faith requires, which is to fear Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), and avoid and keep away from that which Allah forbids.

﴾and be with the truthful﴿ that is, those who are true in word, deed and conduct, those whose words are true and whose deeds and conduct cannot be but based on truth, devoid of laziness and apathy, free of bad intentions, and based on sincerity and good intentions. For truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to paradise.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:﴾Allah will say: This is the day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness... b (al-Ma 'idah 5: 119)

9:120. It was not fitting for the people of Madinah and the Bedouin around them to stay behind [after the departure of] the Messenger of Allah, or to prefer their own comfort and well-being to his. That is because whenever they suffer any thirst, weariness or hunger in Allah’s cause, or they take any step that angers the disbelievers, or inflict any loss on an enemy, a righteous deed is recorded to their credit thereby. For Allah will not cause the reward of those who do good to be lost.

9:121. Nor do they spend anything [for Allah’s cause], small or great, or cross any valley, but it is recorded to their credit, so that Allah may reward them in accordance with the best of their deeds.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says - encouraging the people of Madinah al-Munawwarah, the Muhajireen and Ansar, and those who lived in its vicinity, the Bedouin who had entered Islam and become good Muslims: ﴾It was not fitting for the people of Madinah and the Bedouin around them to stay behind [after the departure of] the Messenger of Allah﴿ that is, they should not have done that and it was not appropriate in the circumstances.

﴾for to prefer their own comfort and well-being to his﴿ by staying home in ease and comfort. Rather the Prophet (ﷺ) is dearer to the believers than their own selves, and every Muslim should be ready to sacrifice himself for the Prophet (ﷺ) and give him precedence over himself. The sign of veneration and love for the Messenger (ﷺ), and complete belief in him, is that one should not stay behind after his departure.

Then Allah mentions the reward that should motivate them to go out: ﴾(That is because whenever they﴿ that is, the mujahideen who are striving in Allah’s cause

﴾suffer any thirst, weariness﴿ that is, exhaustion and hardship ﴾or hunger in Allah’s cause, or they take any step that angers the disbelievers﴿ by stepping in their territory or capturing their land ﴾or inflict any loss on an enemy﴿ such as defeating an army or detachment, or capturing any of their wealth as booty t(a righteous deed is recorded to their credit thereby﴿ because this is the outcome of their deeds.

﴾For Allah will not cause the reward of those who do good to be lost﴿ - this refers to those who do good by hastening to obey the command of Allah and do what is required of them of duties to Him and to other people.

﴾Nor do they spend anything [for Allah’s cause], small or great, or cross any valley﴿ on their way to confront their enemy ﴾but it is recorded to their credit, so that Allah may reward them in accordance with the best of their deeds﴿ - that includes these deeds, if they are sincere towards Allah in their intention.

These verses offer the strongest encouragement and inspiration to go out in jihad in Allah’s cause and to seek reward with Him for whatever befalls them of hardship, for that is a means of attaining higher rank, and the outcome of the person’s deeds will bring him great reward.

9:122. It is not right for all the believers to go out together; from every community, a group should go out to acquire deeper knowledge of the faith, in order to admonish their people when they return to them, so that they may be cautious.

Here Allah (te) points out to His believing slaves what they should do: ﴾It is not right for all the believers to go out together﴿ that is, for all of them to go out to fight their enemy, because that may cause them hardship and may be detrimental to many other interests.

﴾from every community﴿ that is, from every city, tribe and clan ﴾fa group should go out﴿ who could achieve the purpose, and that would be preferable.

Then Allah points out that if some stay behind and do not go out, that will serve interests that would be missed if they did go out, as He says that those who stay behind should ﴾acquire deeper knowledge of the faith, in order to admonish their people when they return to them﴿ that is, let them acquire Islamic knowledge, understand its meanings and study it in depth, so that they can teach others and admonish their people when they return to them.

This highlights the virtue of knowledge, especially understanding of religion, and shows us that it is the most important matter. Whoever acquires knowledge should share it and spread it among people, and he should be sincere towards them in doing so, for the spread of knowledge by the knowledgeable person will bring him blessing and reward that will grow for him.

But if he keeps that knowledge to himself, and does not call people to the path of Allah with wisdom and beautiful exhortation, and he fails to teach the ignorant that which they do not know, what benefit will that bring to the Muslims? What result will come from his knowledge? Ultimately he will die, and his knowledge and the benefits thereof will die with him, and this is the utmost deprivation for one to whom Allah has granted the blessing of knowledge and understanding.

This verse also offers proof, advice and a subtle recommendation that may serve a great interest, which is that the Muslims should appoint, for each of their public interests, someone who will take care of it, devote his time to it and work hard at it, and will not be distracted by other activities, so that all public interests will be taken care of and their benefits will be harnessed, so that they will all be striving together to achieve one purpose, which is taking care of that which will fulfil their religious and worldly interests, even if everyone has a different role and a different approach. The actions may be different but the aim is one. This is a smart approach that helps to achieve all aims.

9:123. O you who believe, fight those disbelievers who are nearest to you, and let them find toughness in you; and know that Allah is with those who fear Him.

This verse offers further advice: after instructing them as to who should be engaged in fighting, Allah now advises them that they should start with those disbelievers who are closest, then the nextclosest, and they should be tough and harsh in fighting, and should be courageous and steadfast.

﴾fand know that Allah is with those who fear Him﴿ that is, you should know that help from Allah is commensurate with your level of piety and the extent to which you fear Him, so you should adhere to fear of Allah, and He will help you and support you against your enemies.

The general instruction given in this verse - ﴾fight those disbelievers who are nearest to you﴿ - may be restricted if there is a greater interest to be served by fighting those who are not close, and the kinds of interest that may be served by that are many.

9:124. Whenever a soorah is revealed, some of them say: Which of you has this increased in faith? As for those who believe, it does indeed increase their faith and they rejoice.

9:125. As for those in whose hearts is a disease, it will add doubt to their doubt, and they will die while they are still disbelievers.

9:126. Do they not see that they are being tested once or twice every year? Yet they do not repent and they do not pay heed.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) describes the attitudes of the hypocrites and of the believers when Qur’an is revealed, and the difference in the reactions of each group.

﴾Whenever a soorah is revealed﴿ in which there are commands and prohibitions, or Allah speaks of Himself or of matters of the unseen, or urges the Muslims to engage in jihad,

﴾some of them say: Which of you has this increased in faith?﴿ That is, this question enquires as to whose faith has been bolstered by it and which of the two groups has benefited.

Then Allah describes what really happens:

﴾As for those who believe, it does indeed increase their faith﴿ by coming to know of this, understanding it, believing in it and acting upon it, seeking to do good and refraining from doing evil.

﴾and they rejoice﴿ that is, they share the glad tidings with one another of what Allah has blessed them with of His revelations, and His enabling them to understand them and act upon them. This indicates that their hearts are open to the revelations of Allah, and they are reassured and hasten to comply with what the verses urge them to do.

﴾As for those in whose hearts is a disease﴿ namely doubt and hypocrisy

﴾fit will add doubt to their doubt﴿ that is, sickness to their sickness, doubt to their doubt, in the sense that they disbelieve in it, stubbornly oppose it and turn away from it. Hence the sickness in their hearts is increased and it leads to that doom.

﴾and﴿ Allah places a seal on their hearts until tfthey will die while they are still disbelievers﴿.

This is a punishment for them, because they disbelieve in the verses of Allah and they disobey His Messenger (ﷺ), hence He punishes them by planting hypocrisy in their hearts, to remain until the day when they will meet Him (cf. 9. 77).

So Allah says, rebuking them for persisting in their disbelief and hypocrisy:

﴾fDo they not see that they are being tested once or twice every year?﴿ By means of the calamities and physical sickness that befall them, and they may be tested with divine commands that are meant to try them.

﴾Yet they do not repent﴿ from their evil ways ﴾fand they do not pay heed﴿ to that which would benefit them, so that they do it, or to that which would harm them, so they refrain from it.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tests them - as is His way with all nations - with ease and hardship, commands and prohibitions, so that they will come back to Him, yet they do not repent and they do not pay heed.

This verse indicates that faith may increase and decrease, and that the believer should check the level of his faith and pay attention to it, so that he may renew it and make it grow, and seek to ensure that it will always be on the increase.

9:127. Whenever a soorah is revealed, they look at one another [as if to say]: Is anyone watching? Then they turn away. Allah has turned their hearts away, for they are a people who do not understand.

The hypocrites are afraid that a soorah may be revealed pointing out what is in their hearts. So when a soorah is revealed so that they may believe in it and act upon it,

﴾they look at one another﴿, resolving not to act upon it; rather they look for an opportunity to hide from the view of the believers, and they say:

﴾fls anyone watching? Then they turn away﴿; they sneak away and leave, turning away from it. Allah will requite them with a punishment that fits their deed: just as they turned away from action, ff Allah has turned their hearts away﴿ that is. He has barred them from the truth and has forsaken them.﴾for they are a people who do not understand﴿ in any way that benefits them, for if they did understand, then when a soorah was revealed, they would believe in it and put it into practice.

The aim here is to explain how averse they were to jihad and other teachings of Islam, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says of them elsewhere:

﴾...But when an unambiguous soorah is sent down, in which fighting is mentioned, you see those in whose hearts is a disease staring fixedly at you like one who is about to die...﴿ (Muhammad47:20)

9:128. There has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves; it grieves him that you suffer, and he is full of concern for you; and towards the believers he is compassionate and merciful.

9:129. But if they turn away, then say: Allah is sufficient forme; there is no god but He; in Him I put my trust and He is Lord of the mighty Throne.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) reminds His believing slaves of how He sent to them the unlettered Prophet (ﷺ) who was one of their own; they knew him and were able to learn from him, and they would not refrain from following him. He was very sincere towards them and strove hard in their best interests.

it grieves him that you suffer﴿ that is, whatever upsets you and makes you suffer upsets him

﴾and he is full of concern for you﴿. He loves good for you, strives his utmost to achieve it for you, and is very keen that you should be guided to faith. He hates evil for you and strives to turn you away from it.﴾fand towards the believers he is compassionate and merciful﴿ that is, he is extremely kind to them, and is more compassionate towards them than their parents. Hence his rights take precedence over the rights of all other people. The Ummah is obliged to believe in him, venerate him, respect him and honour him.

If they believe, then they are indeed fortunate, by the help of Allah. ﴾But if they turn away﴿ from faith and acting accordingly, then go on your way and continue with your call, and say: ﴾Allah is sufficient for me﴿ and will help me with all that concerns me ﴾there is no god but He﴿ that is, there is none that is rightfully worshipped except Him

﴾in Him I put my trust﴿ that is, I rely on Him and depend on Him to bring that which will benefit me and ward off that which will harm me. f(and He is Lord of the mighty Throne﴿ which is the greatest of all created things.

As He is the Lord of the mighty Throne, which encompasses all of creation, then it is more appropriate to say that He is definitely Lord of all that is less than the Throne.

This is the end of the commentary on Soorat at-Tawbah.

All praise and thanks are for Allah, and may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.