9. Sūrat al-Tawbah

٩۔ سُورَةُ التوبَة

9.26 Categories of hypocrites. Commandment for the collection of Charity. The hypocrites built a masjid, called "Masjid Ḍirār," for mischievous motives.

٩۔٢٦ مقطع في سُورَةُ التوبَة

quran:9:100

And the first forerunners ˹in the faith˺ among the Muhajireen and the Ansar and those who followed them with good conduct - Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment.  

And the first to lead the way, of the Emigrants and the Helpers, namely, those who were present at ˹the battle of˺ Badr, or ˹it means˺ all the Companions, and those who follow them, up to the Day of Resurrection, by being virtuous, in deeds, God will be pleased with them, for their obedience of Him, and they will be pleased with Him, for His reward ˹to them˺; and He has prepared for them Gardens — with rivers flowing beneath them (a variant reading adds min ˹min tahtihā, ‘beneath which’˺) — to abide therein forever: that is the supreme triumph.
القرآن:٩:١٠٠

وَالسَّابِقُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْأَنْصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ  

{والسابقون الأولون من المهاجرين والأنصار} وهم من شهد بدرا أو جميع الصحابة {والذين اتبعوهم} إلى يوم القيامة {بإحسان} في العمل {رضي الله عنهم} بطاعته {ورضوا عنه} بثوابه {وأعد لهم جنات تجري تحتها الأنهار} وفي قراءة بزيادة من {خالدين فيها أبدا ذلك الفوز العظيم}.
quran:9:101

And among those around you of the bedouins are hypocrites, and ˹also˺ from the people of Madinah. They have become accustomed to hypocrisy. You, ˹O Muhammad˺, do not know them, ˹but˺ We know them. We will punish them twice ˹in this world˺; then they will be returned to a great punishment.  

And among those around you, O inhabitants of Medina, of the Bedouins there are hypocrites, such as ˹the tribes of˺ Aslam, Ashja‘ and Ghifār, and among the townspeople of Medina, there are also hypocrites, who are obstinate in hypocrisy, engrossed in it and persisting ˹in it˺. You do not know them — an address to the Prophet (s) — but We know them, and We shall chastise them twice, by disgracing them or having them killed in this world, and by way of punishment in the grave, then they will be returned, in the Hereafter, to a terrible chastisement, namely, the Fire.
القرآن:٩:١٠١

وَمِمَّنْ حَوْلَكُمْ مِنَ الْأَعْرَابِ مُنَافِقُونَ ۖ وَمِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ ۖ مَرَدُوا عَلَى النِّفَاقِ لَا تَعْلَمُهُمْ ۖ نَحْنُ نَعْلَمُهُمْ ۚ سَنُعَذِّبُهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ ثُمَّ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ عَذَابٍ عَظِيمٍ  

{وممن حولكم} يا أهل المدينة {من الأعراب منافقون} كأسلم وأشجع وغفار {ومن أهل المدينة} منافقون أيضا {مردوا على النفاق} لُّجوا فيه واستمروا {لا تعلمهم نحن نعلمهم سنعذبهم مرتين} بالفضيحة أو القتل في الدنيا وعذاب القبر {ثم يردون} في الآخرة {إلى عذاب عظيم} هو النار.
quran:9:102

And ˹there are˺ others who have acknowledged their sins. They had mixed a righteous deed with another that was bad. Perhaps Allah will turn to them in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.  

And ˹there are˺ others (ākharūn is the subject), ˹another˺ folk, who have confessed their sins, for having stayed behind (i‘tarafū bi-dhunūbihim is an adjectival qualification of it ˹the subject˺ and the predicate is ˹the following, khalatū ‘amalan sālihan˺) they have mixed a righteous deed, that is, their former ˹participation in the˺ struggle, or the their confession of their sins, or otherwise, with another that was bad, which is their having stayed behind. It may be that God will relent to them. Truly God is Forgiving, Merciful: this was revealed regarding Abū Lubāba and a group of men who tied themselves to the walls of the mosque after they heard what had been revealed regarding those who stayed behind; they swore that only the Prophet (s) would untie them, which he did when this ˹verse˺ was revealed.
القرآن:٩:١٠٢

وَآخَرُونَ اعْتَرَفُوا بِذُنُوبِهِمْ خَلَطُوا عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَآخَرَ سَيِّئًا عَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ  

{و} قوم {آخرون} مبتدأ {اعترفوا بذنوبهم} من التخلف نعته والخبر {خلطوا عملا صالحا} وهو جهادهم قبل ذلك أو اعترافهم بذنوبهم أو غير ذلك {وآخر سيئا} وهو تخلفهم {عسى الله أن يتوب عليهم إن الله غفور رحيم} نزلت في أبي لبابة وجماعة أوثقوا أنفسهم في سواري المسجد لما بلغهم ما نزل في المتخلفين وحلفوا لا يحلهم إلا النبي ﷺ فحلُّهم لما نزلت.
quran:9:103

Take, ˹O, Muhammad˺, from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke ˹Allah 's blessings˺ upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.  

Take of their wealth some alms, to purify them and to cleanse them thereby, of their sins; he thus took a third of their wealth and gave it away as charity; and pray for them, that is, supplicate for them; truly your prayers are a comfort, a mercy, for them: it is also said ˹to mean˺ reassurance ˹for them˺, that their repentance has been accepted. And God is Hearer, Knower.
القرآن:٩:١٠٣

خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِمْ بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ إِنَّ صَلَاتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَهُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ  

{خذ من أموالهم صدقة تطهرهم وتزكيهم بها} من ذنوبهم فأخذ ثلث أموالهم وتصدق بها {وصل عليهم} أي ادع لهم {إن صلاتك سكن} رحمة {لهم} وقيل طمأنينة بقبول توبتهم {والله سميع عليم}.
quran:9:104

Do they not know that it is Allah who accepts repentance from His servants and receives charities and that it is Allah who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful?  

Do they not know that God is He Who accepts repentance from His servants and takes, accepts, the voluntary alms, and that God is He Who is the Relenting, to His servants, by accepting their repentance, and the Merciful?, to them (the interrogative is intended as an affirmative ˹statement˺ and is meant to incite them to ˹offer˺ repentance and charity).
القرآن:٩:١٠٤

أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَأْخُذُ الصَّدَقَاتِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ  

{ألم يعلموا أن الله هو يقبل التوبة عن عباده ويأخذ} يقبل {الصدقات وأن الله هو التواب} على عباده بقبول توبتهم {الرحيم} بهم، والاستفهام للتقرير، والقصد به هو تهييجهم إلى التوبة والصدقة.
quran:9:105

And say, "Do ˹as you will˺, for Allah will see your deeds, and ˹so, will˺ His Messenger and the believers. And you will be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, and He will inform you of what you used to do."  

And say, to them, or to people ˹in general˺: ‘Act, as you will, for God will surely see your actions, and ˹so will˺ His Messenger and the believers, and you will be returned, through resurrection, to the Knower of the unseen and the visible, that is, ˹to˺ God, and He will tell you what you used to do’, and so requite you for it.
القرآن:٩:١٠٥

وَقُلِ اعْمَلُوا فَسَيَرَى اللَّهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۖ وَسَتُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ عَالِمِ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ  

{وقل} لهم أو للناس {اعملوا} ما شئتم {فسيرى الله عملكم ورسوله والمؤمنون وستردون} بالبعث {إلى عالم الغيب والشهادة} أي الله {فينبئكم بما كنتم تعملون} فيجازيكم به.
quran:9:106

And ˹there are˺ others deferred until the command of Allah - whether He will punish them or whether He will forgive them. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.  

And ˹there are˺ others, from among those who stayed behind, who are deferred (read murja’ūna or murjawna), whose repentance is delayed, to God’s command, concerning them, according to His will, whether He chastises them, by causing them to die without ˹their having made any˺ repentance, or relents to them; and God is Knower, of His creatures, Wise, in what He does with them. These ˹others mentioned˺ are the three, who will be mentioned afterwards: Murāra b. al-Rabī‘, Ka‘b b. Mālik and Hilāl b. Umayya. They stayed behind out of laziness and their inclination for peace and quiet, not out of hypocrisy. Unlike the others, however, they did not excuse themselves before the Prophet (s), and so the matter regarding them was suspended for fifty days, during which time people avoided them, until it was later revealed that God had relented to them.
القرآن:٩:١٠٦

وَآخَرُونَ مُرْجَوْنَ لِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِمَّا يُعَذِّبُهُمْ وَإِمَّا يَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ  

{وآخرون} من المتخلفين {مُرْجَؤُن} بالهمز وتركه: مؤخرون عن التوبة {لأمر الله} فيهم بما يشاء {إما يعذبهم} بأن يميتهم بلا توبة {وإما يتوب عليهم والله عليم} بخلقه {حكيم} في صنعه بهم، وهم الثلاثة الآتون بعد: مرارة بن الربيع وكعب بن مالك وهلال بن أمية، تخلفوا كسلا وميلا إلى الدعة، لا نفاقا ولم يعتذروا إلى النبي ﷺ كغيرهم فوقف أمرهم خمسين ليلة وهجرهم الناس حتى نزلت توبتهم بعد.
quran:9:107

And ˹there are˺ those ˹hypocrites˺ who took for themselves a mosque for causing harm and disbelief and division among the believers and as a station for whoever had warred against Allah and His Messenger before. And they will surely swear, "We intended only the best." And Allah testifies that indeed they are liars.  

And, among them, those who have chosen a mosque — these were twelve men from among the hypocrites — by way of harm, to cause distress for those of the mosque of Qubā’, and disbelief, since they built it on the orders of the monk Abū ‘Āmir, as a sanctuary for him, so that whoever comes from his side may stay there: he had gone to the Byzantine Emperor (qaysar) to bring troops to fight against the Prophet (s), and to cause division among the believers, who pray in the mosque of Qubā’, by having some of these pray in their ˹the hypocrites’˺ mosque, and as an outpost, an observation post, for those who waged war against God and His Messenger before, that is, before it was built — meaning the above-mentioned Abū ‘Āmir — they will swear: ‘We desired nothing, by building it, but, to do, good’, by way of kindness towards the poor in times of ˹heavy˺ rain or ˹extreme˺ heat and in order to provide ˹a place of worship˺ for the Muslims; and God bears witness that they are truly liars, in this ˹claim of theirs˺. They had asked the Prophet (s) to perform prayers in it, and so the following was revealed:
القرآن:٩:١٠٧

وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مَسْجِدًا ضِرَارًا وَكُفْرًا وَتَفْرِيقًا بَيْنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَإِرْصَادًا لِمَنْ حَارَبَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ ۚ وَلَيَحْلِفُنَّ إِنْ أَرَدْنَا إِلَّا الْحُسْنَىٰ ۖ وَاللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ إِنَّهُمْ لَكَاذِبُونَ  

{و} منهم {الذين اتخذوا مسجدا} وهم اثنا عشر من المنافقين {ضرارا} مضارة لأهل مسجد قباء {وكفرا} لأنهم بنوه بأمر أبي عامر الراهب ليكون معقلا له يقدم فيه من يأتي من عنده وكان ذهب ليأتي بجنود من قيصر لقتال النبي ﷺ {وتفريقا بين المؤمنين} الذين يصلون بقباء بصلاة بعضهم في مسجدهم {وإرصادا} ترقبا {لمن حارب الله ورسوله من قبل} أي قبل بنائه، وهو أبو عامر المذكور {وليحلفن إن} ما {أردنا} ببنائه {إلا} الفعلة {الحسنى} من الرفق بالمسكين في المطر والحر والتوسعة على المسلمين {والله يشهد إنهم لكاذبون} في ذلك، وكانوا سألوا النبي ﷺ أن يصلي فيه فنزل.
quran:9:108

Do not stand ˹for prayer˺ within it - ever. A mosque founded on righteousness from the first day is more worthy for you to stand in. Within it are men who love to purify themselves; and Allah loves those who purify themselves.  

Never stand, ˹never˺ perform prayer, there: and so he sent a group of men to destroy and burn it, and in its place they left a refuse pit where decaying cadavers would be dumped. A mosque which was founded, one whose foundations were built, upon piety from the first day, constructed the day you arrived in Medina (dār al-hijra) — this was the mosque of Qubā’, as mentioned in Bukhārī — is worthier, than that ˹other one˺, for you to stand, to perform prayer, therein; in it are men, namely, the Ansār, who love to purify themselves; and God loves those who purify themselves (muttahhirīn: the original tā’ ˹of mutatahhirūn˺ has been assimilated with the tā’) that is, He will reward them. Ibn Khuzayma reported in his Sahīh ˹by way of an isnād˺ from ˹‘Uwaym˺ b. Sā‘ida that: ‘The Prophet (s) came to them at the mosque of Qubā’ and said, “God, exalted be He, has praised handsomely the way you purify yourselves in the story about your mosque, so what is this purification which you perform?” They said, “By God, O Messenger of God, all that we know is that we used to have Jews in our vicinity and they used to wash their behinds after defecation, and so we began to wash in the way they did”’. According to one hadīth reported by al-Bazzār ˹they said˺: ‘We use stones ˹to scrape off remnants˺ and follow this with water’; to which he ˹the Prophet˺ said, ‘That is the way ˹for proper purification˺. Let this be your way’.
القرآن:٩:١٠٨

لَا تَقُمْ فِيهِ أَبَدًا ۚ لَمَسْجِدٌ أُسِّسَ عَلَى التَّقْوَىٰ مِنْ أَوَّلِ يَوْمٍ أَحَقُّ أَنْ تَقُومَ فِيهِ ۚ فِيهِ رِجَالٌ يُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يَتَطَهَّرُوا ۚ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُطَّهِّرِينَ  

(لا تقم) تصل (فيه أبدا) فأرسل جماعة هدموه وحرقوه وجعلوا مكانه كناسة تلقى فيها الجيف (لمسجد أسس) بنيت قواعده (على التقوى من أول يوم) وضع يوم حللت بدار الهجرة، وهو مسجد قباء كما في البخاري (أحق) منه (أن) أي بأن (تقوم) تصلي (فيه، فيه رجال) هم الأنصار (يحبون أن يتطهروا والله يحب المطهرين) أي يثيبهم، فيه إدغام التاء في الأصل في الطاء، روي ابن خزيمة في صحيحه عن عويمر بن ساعدة: "" أنه ﷺ أتاهم في مسجد قباء فقال: إن الله تعالى قد أحسن عليكم الثناء في الطهور في قصة مسجدكم فما هذا الطهور الذي تطهرون به؟ قالوا: والله يا رسول الله ما نعلم شيئا إلا أنه كان لنا جيران من اليهود وكانوا يغسلون أدبارهم من الغائط فغسلنا كما غسلوا "" وفي حديث رواه البزار فقالوا نتبع الحجارة بالماء "" فقال هو ذاك فعليكموه "".
quran:9:109

Then is one who laid the foundation of his building on righteousness ˹with fear˺ from Allah and ˹seeking˺ His approval better or one who laid the foundation of his building on the edge of a bank about to collapse, so it collapsed with him into the fire of Hell? And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.  

Is he who founded his building upon fear of God and, in hope of, beatitude, from Him, better, or he who founded his building upon the brink, the edge, of a bank, an overhang, that is crumbling, about to collapse (read juruf or jurf) so that it toppled with him, so that it collapsed ˹taking˺ with it the one who built it, into the fire of Hell?: ˹this is˺ an excellent similitude for building upon that which constitutes the opposite of fear of God and ˹for˺ what it leads to; the interrogative is meant as an affirmative: in other words, the former is the better, which is the likeness of the ˹building of the˺ mosque of Qubā’, while the latter is the likeness of the mosque of ‘harm’ (masjid al-dirār). And God guides not the evildoing folk.
القرآن:٩:١٠٩

أَفَمَنْ أَسَّسَ بُنْيَانَهُ عَلَىٰ تَقْوَىٰ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانٍ خَيْرٌ أَمْ مَنْ أَسَّسَ بُنْيَانَهُ عَلَىٰ شَفَا جُرُفٍ هَارٍ فَانْهَارَ بِهِ فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ ۗ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ  

{أفمن أسَّس بنيانه على تقوى} مخافة {من الله} رجاء {ورضوان} منه {خيرٌ أم من أسَّس بنيانه على شفا} طرف {جُرُفِ} بضم الراء وسكونها، جانب {هارِ} مشرف على السقوط {فانهار به} سقط مع بانيه {في نار جهنم} خير تمثيل لبناء على ضد التقوى بما يؤول إليه، والاستفهام للتقرير، أي الأول خير وهو مثال مسجد قباء، والثاني مثال مسجد الضرار {والله لا يهدي القوم الظالمين}.
quran:9:110

Their building which they built will not cease to be a ˹cause of˺ skepticism in their hearts until their hearts are stopped. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.  

The buildings which they have built will never cease to be a misgiving, a point of doubt, in their hearts unless their hearts are cut, torn, to pieces, such that they die; and God is Knower, of His creatures, Wise, in what He does with them.
القرآن:٩:١١٠

لَا يَزَالُ بُنْيَانُهُمُ الَّذِي بَنَوْا رِيبَةً فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ إِلَّا أَنْ تَقَطَّعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ  

{لا يزال بنيانهم الذي بنوا ريبة} شكا {في قلوبهم إلاً أن تقطَّع} تنفصل {قلوبهم} بأن يموتوا {والله عليم} بخلقه {حكيم} في صنعه بهم.