Surah At-Tawbah 9:111-118 - Quran Translation Commentary

111. Verily Allah has bought from the believers their lives and their properties in return for the Paradise¹⁹⁹ (that will be theirs). They fight in the cause of Allah, and they slay and are slain.²⁰⁰ It is a true promise binding on Allah, (made) in the Torah, Injeel²⁰¹ and Quran. And who is more true to his promise than Allah? Rejoice then in your bargain that you have concluded. That is the supreme success.

112. Those that repent,²⁰² those that worship²⁰³ (Allah), those that praise Him,²⁰⁴ those that move in the land²⁰⁵ (in His cause), those that bow down, those that prostrate themselves (in prayer),²⁰⁶ those that enjoin the good and forbid the evil,²⁰⁷ and observe the limits set by Allah²⁰⁸ -And (O Prophet!) give glad tidings to the believers.

113. It is not for the Prophet and those who believe to pray for the forgiveness of the polytheists even if they be of kin, after it has become manifest that they are the people of the Hell.²⁰⁹

114. And the prayer of Ibrahim for the forgiveness of his father was only because of a promise he (Ibrahim) had made to him (his father), but when it became manifest to him that he (his father) was an enemy to Allah he (Ibrahim) disowned him ²¹⁰. Verily, Ibrahim was soft-hearted, forbearing.²¹¹

115. And Allah is not to cause a people to go astray after He had given them guidance until He had made manifest to them what they should guard against.²¹² Verily Allah knows everything.

116. Surely Allah’s is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He ordains life and death. Except for Allah you have no protector nor helper.²¹³

117. Allah granted pardon to the prophet, and the Muhajireen and the Ansar, who followed him in the hour of adversity,²¹⁴ when the hearts of a group of them were on the point of swerving, then Allah granted them pardon.²¹⁵ Verily He is to them Most Affectionate, Most Merciful.

118. And to the three also (He granted pardon), whose case was kept pending,²¹⁶ until the earth, despite its vastness, was straitened for them, and their lives became suffocating for them, and they realized that there was no refuge from Allah except towards Him. Then Allah granted acceptance to their repentance, so that they might turn to Him.²¹⁷ Verily Allah is the Great Acceptor of Repentance, Most Merciful.

Commentary

199. Here the covenant that the believers make with Allah by believing in Him, in His messenger and the Last Day has been termed as an act of transaction. Life and property are in reality gifts granted by Allah alone and He really is their Master, but in this life of testing the sacrifices of lives and properties that the believer tenders in the way of Allah is appreciated by Him in such a way as if it is a business deal which takes place between God and His slave. The slave has sold his life and worldly goods to his God and the price which God who promises his slave paradise.

200. That is: They do not hesitate to fight in the cause of Allah and they fight with utmost courage. and spare no pains in destroying Allah’s enemies, to the extent that even they taste the cup of martyrdom.

201. Means the real Torah and Injeel in their original forms as revealed by Allah. If in the present day Torah and the Bible this subject is not found in this form, it does not mean that this subject was not there at all in these scriptures, because the existing Torah and the Bible have been revised and altered, and only few parts of the original scriptures are found in them. Even then somewhat similar subject is found in the present Torah and Injeel, for example:

“Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD, and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul. and with all your might. (Deut 6: 4,5)

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake for their is the kingdom of heaven”

(Mat, 5:10)

He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.( Mat , 10: 39)

202. In this verse the qualities of the true believers have been described, and their first quality that has been mentioned is that for the wrongs done by them they repent, whenever they commit any mistake or sin, they feel sorry for it and turn towards Allah and beg for his pardon. The explanation of repentance has been given in Notes Nos. 45 and 46 in Surah An-Nisa.

203. They worship the one and only God and are very active in worship. They do not worship Him as if it is a heavy task to be performed unwillingly, but they worship Him from the depths of their hearts, with sincerity.

204. That is: They are grateful to Him and sing His praises only.

205. They do not ignore the demand of the religion and stick to their homes and native places, but whenever necessary they undertake the hardships of journeys and travels in order to fulfil the demands of the religion, they wander all over the earth for performing jihad in the cause of Allah, hijrat (migration), Hajj, Umrah, tabligh (spread of religion), seeking religious knowledge, observation of the Divine signs, service and propagation of the religion, etc.

206. That is: Bowing down and prostrating oneself in prayer (Ruku’ and Sajda). The position of ruku’ is standing with both the hands on both the knees, keeping the back straight and bending the head, and the position of Sajda (prostrating oneself) is: the forehead should be placed on the ground, along with the nose, palms and the toes of both the feet touching the ground. Bowing down and prostrating oneself (Ruku’ and sajda) are two important items of salat and here they are mentioned to connote offering prayers or salat.

207. They do not merely reform themselves. They perform the duty of reforming other fellow humans also. For further explanation, please Note No.137, Surah Aal-e-Imran.

208. “Hudoodullah” means limits set by Allah, the Shariah commands and laws as culled from the Quran, and their protection means observing them. Besides, it also means that a man should avoid supporting the non-Shariah commands and laws and their enforcement. The qualities that have been mentioned here bring into sharp focus the contrast between characters of the faithful Muslim and the hypocrites.

209. A Mushrik (polytheist) refuses to be faithful to the one and only Allah. For this reason, he is Allah’s rebel and His enemy. So the man who remained a polytheist till his death, has proved himself to be the enemy of Allah. About polytheism Allah has made it clear that it is an unforgivable crime and the destination of such criminals is Hell. After this how can it be proper for the believers to pray for forgiveness of the polytheists even though they may be their next of kin and very dear to them. Friendship with Allah demands that the believers must consider His enemies as their own enemies.

It may be noted that prayer for forgiveness for the polytheists is forbidden as it is forbidden in the case of disbelievers and apostates, because their common crime is disbelief, which is unforgivable.

As for determining who is a polytheist, it will be based on a person’s outward or apparent belief and acts, as a person’s being a Muslim is determined by the fact of his outward appearance as a Muslim in matters of belief and acts, otherwise only Allah knows who died as a Muslim or who died as a disbeliever, who is to go to paradise and who to Hell.

And the prayer of Ibrahim for the forgiveness of his father was only because of a promise he (Ibrahim) had made to him (his father), but when it became manifest to him that he (his father) was an enemy to Allah he (Ibrahim) disowned him. Verily, Ibrahim was soft-hearted, forbearing. (Al-Quran)

210. Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) had promised his father that he would pray for forgiveness for him, which has been mentioned in the Quran at other places. In Surah Maryam it is stated:

“Be peace on you. I will pray to my Lord for forgiveness for you. He is very kind to me.”

(Surah Maryam-47).

It is likely to create a misunderstanding that a Muslim can pray for forgiveness for his near relatives, who may be polytheists. This misunderstanding is removed here, that Prophet Ibrahim prayed for forgiveness for his father because he had earlier promised him to do so, and that when he came to know that his father was an enemy’ to Allah, he stopped praying for him. It means that Ibrahim prayed for forgiveness for his father, according to his promise, until it was made manifest to him that his father was an enemy to Allah. When this aspect came to his view, he realised that it was not proper to pray for forgiveness for any polytheist, even though he was his father. On this realisation he stopped praying for him. This subsequent action of Prophet Ibrahim is the guiding model.

211. That is: Since Prophet Ibrahim was a tender- hearted and forbearing man, he sympathized with his father without minding his tyrannical treatment and repaid his ill-treatment with a prayer for his forgiveness, until it became clear to him that his father would not give up polytheism, and polytheism is synonymous with enmity to God.

212. This is a warning for Muslims that Allah, after giving you guidance, has made manifest to you all the things which you should avoid, which includes the instruction that you should not regard Allah’s enemies as your friends, and do not pray for forgiveness for them even if they may be your near relatives. If even after these clear directions you did not pay heed then remember Allah’s law of straying can come into action and you can fall into the pit of misguidance.

213. When these are Allah’s qualities, then in all matters you must turn towards Him, you must strictly follow His directions, and with Him only should be your deep attachment.

214. In the text the word ‘Taba’ is used which, when used in this way, means to grant pardon to accept repentance, to turn with mercy, and to be kind. Here this word is used in its wider sense, but for translation we could not get an exact word to convey its full meaning, therefore, we have been content with translating it as ‘granted pardon.’

The faults committed by the believers at the time of the Tabuk Expedition were criticised in the foregoing verses. But when they realised their mistakes and they begged for pardon, then the glad tidings of the acceptance of their repentance was given to them. And the circle of this pardon was so wide that whatever omissions and commissions that were there of their earlier career were also pardoned. This was the shower of mercy which cooled the suffocating air then prevalent.

The miscalculation of the prophet (Peace be upon him) has been mentioned in Verse No.43. which was that those who were capable of participating in the Tabuk Expedition but did not do so when requested him to exempt them, he readily agreed on account of his kindness and soft-heartedness. This was a very insignificant miscalculation, but as an Urdu poet has remarked: “Those whose ranks are high have greater difficulties”. Or in Shakespeare’s words: Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

When Allah turned to Muhajireen and Ansar with His mercy. He first of all turned His attention to His prophet.

By the hour of adversity is meant the Tabuk Expedition. The hardships involved in this expedition can be imagined: in the severest hot climate. a long journey of seven hundred kilometers. scarcity of water and food: one camel to be used by many persons by turns for riding, and then the enemy was none other than the mighty Roman Emperor. At such a difficult time those who remained faithful to the Prophet and passed through the trials successfully, were rewarded by the Divine Mercy which was waiting to receive them. All, their faults were forgiven and their repentance was accepted.

215. That is: In this severe test it was very likely that some sincere Muslims might have fallen a prey to weaknesses, but their sincerity overcame their weakness, and Allah also forgave them.

216. These three persons were Ka’b bin Malik, Murarah bin Rabi’ and Hilal bin Umayyah. They were sincere Muslims, but due to their laziness and, negligence they were unable to participate in the Tabuk Expedition. Therefore, their case, as has been stated in the Verse No. 106, was postponed. This verse also gave the glad tidings about the acceptance of their repentance.

217. Ka’b bin Malik (R) who is included in these three companions of the prophet, has narrated his story in sufficient details which has been recorded in the Bukhari and other books of traditions. Here we give a summary of the narrative as recorded in Bukhari:

The fault of these three was that they did not participate in the Tabuk Expedition without any valid excuse. When the Prophet (Peace be upon him) returned from Tabuk, those that had remained behind went to him and offered their excuses for not participating in the Expedition, but Ka’b bin Malik presented himself before the Prophet and stated that he had no valid reason for not participating. The Prophet told him that he stated the truth. He advised him to wait for the decree from Allah. Ka’b (R) states that he went away, and later on learnt that the cases of Murarah bin Rabi’ and Hilal bin Umayyah, who were fighters in the Battle of Badr, were also similar. These two went home and kept on shedding tears, but Ka‘b bin Malik used to go out as per routine. The Prophet had forbidden Muslims to speak to them, so none was on speaking terms with him. One day in the market place a person gave him a letter from the King of Ghassan in which it was stated that his friend had committed excesses against him and that if he went to the king, he would get his due appreciation and honour. Ka’b (R) says that when he read this letter he felt that it was also a trial, and he threw the letter into the stove. After forty days, the Prophet ordered that he should keep away from his wife. He bade his wife to go to her parents and stay there till Allah gave His decision in his case. In this condition, fifty days passed, when life had become a burden for him and the earth with all its vastness had become a narrow place. Then suddenly he heard the voice of a crier who had come to give the glad tidings of the acceptance of his repentance. People had gone to his two companions also for giving them the glad tidings of the acceptance of their repentance. Ka’b (R) went to the Prophet and saluted him. The Prophet’s face was shining with happiness. Giving him the good news the Prophet informed him that day was the best day of his life. He said that acceptance of his repentance demands that he should give in charity all his wealth. The prophet replied: “It is better, keep something for yourself.” He said that he would keep the part near Khaibar for himself. He again said to the prophet: “O Messenger of Allah! I am granted salvation by Allah because I spoke the truth. In my repentance is also included the fact that as long as I would live I will speak nothing but truth.” - (Bukhari, Kitabul Maghazi).

It may be noted that forbidding other Muslims to speak with these three persons was a special and an exceptional case, and all this happened under the direction of the Divine inspiration. Therefore, this event cannot be made an example for enforcing social boycott against other Muslims. Weaknesses were shown by other Muslims also, and whoever committed a crime was also punished, but the method of not replying to the salute and not speaking with them was not adopted in any other case, and therefore it is the proof of the fact that the treatment meted out to Ka’b bin Malik (R) and his other two companions was a specific case, and it would not be correct to derive the principle of social boycott from this example.

The second point is this that the companions of the prophet committed mistakes and they were also forgiven. Therefore, they cannot and should not be condemned for their past errors nor can and should they be declared innocent of all errors. When the companions of the prophet are not ‘masoom’ (innocent), how can the belief in the innocence of Imams, which a particular sect among Muslims persistently proclaims, be right?

The falsehood of this belief is quite clear from the teachings of Quran.