Appearance
Summaries of Sūrat al-Tawbah
The summary with which Āyatullāh Jawādī Āmulī opens his commentary on each verse of Sūrat al-Tawbah, in the order of the verses. To read the summary of one verse, type it on the Summary page.
9:1 — [This is] a [declaration of] repudiation by Allah and His Apostle [addressed] to the…
[This is] a [declaration of] repudiation by Allah and His Apostle [addressed] to the polytheists with whom you had made a treaty:
A covenant was made between the Muslims and the polytheists to establish security and give up fighting; but a group of the polytheists kept breaking the covenant, which put the lives of the Muslims in danger and caused unrest in society. Then the command came to the Muslims to disown these polytheists, declare their disavowal of them and break the covenant with them, because God (s.w.t.) and His Messenger are free of them. Breaking a covenant is permitted, by way of specification, in three cases, and by way of exclusion in one case.
Disavowal of the polytheists is not particular to the infallible (a.s.). The verse mentioned commands the Muslims, in the form of a report meant as a command, to act by the way of Ibrāhīm (a.s.) in disowning the polytheists.
9:2 — Travel [unmolested] in the land for four months
Travel [unmolested] in the land for four months, but know that you cannot frustrate Allah, and that Allah shall disgrace the faithless.
God, Glorified and Exalted is He, after the declaration of disavowal was heard, gave the polytheists a respite of four months, in which they could investigate and think, in safety and complete freedom, about their fate and their happiness. They must know that if they plan a conspiracy, they will not be able to defeat God and the true religion, just as God will disgrace the faithless. The address in the verse is directed to the polytheists, not the Muslims, and the command to travel indicates permission, not obligation or recommendation.
What is meant by “four months” is the months of travelling, not the well-known sacred months.
The cause of the disgrace of the polytheists is their unbelief, for God abases every faithless one.
9:3 — [This is] an announcement from Allah and His Apostle to all the people on the day of the…
[This is] an announcement from Allah and His Apostle to all the people on the day of the greater Hajj: that Allah and His Apostle repudiate the polytheists: If you repent that is better for you; but if you turn your backs [on Allah], know that you cannot frustrate Allah, and inform the faithless of a painful punishment
Declaring the disavowal of God and His Messenger from the polytheists before fighting them, in a place where everyone gathers, such as ʿArafāt and Minā, shows the perfect freedom and magnanimity of the religion of Islam and its distance from the vice of hypocrisy.
The content of this verse differs essentially from the first verse of the sūrah, for many reasons:
The first verse expresses a particular historical stage, and is “an individual proposition”, that is, it concerns an external commitment and agreement between the Islamic state and the leaders of polytheism; while the verse under discussion counts as a basic law and “a real proposition”, for it declares the disavowal of God and His Messenger from all the polytheists, indeed from polytheism and idol worship in general, and is not limited to a particular group, time or place; it is a comprehensive disavowal. So the “individual proposition” concerns the “disavowal”, while the “proclamation” is a “real proposition”.
In the verse of disavowal, those to whom the disavowal is addressed and those disowned, mentioned implicitly, are the polytheists who broke the covenant; while in the verse under discussion, those to whom the proclamation is addressed are people at large, and those disowned are mentioned explicitly, namely all the polytheists.
The “disavowal” could be in the presence of the leaders of polytheism, but the “proclamation” must be in the presence of the people.
This “proclamation” is a legal and juristic disavowal, not a theological one. The reading “and His Messenger” in the nominative is the more likely, not the accusative or genitive.
What is meant by “the day of the greater pilgrimage” is the day of ʿĪd al-Aḍḥā, when all the pilgrims gather in the land of Minā. The pilgrimage is described as “greater” for reasons:
a. The pilgrimage is of two kinds, greater and lesser.
b. In the year the verse came down and was conveyed, all groups took part in the pilgrimage.
c. The most important element of the pilgrimage is the day of ʿArafah, when the pilgrims gather in ʿArafāt and Minā.
In the verse good tidings and warning come together, and the word “better” is a form of fixing, not of preference; that is, the polytheists must repent, or they will meet a painful punishment.
The verse’s being content to mention the name of God at its close aims to safeguard tawḥīd.
The text of the proclamation is: “God and His Messenger are free of the polytheists. If they repent, leave the filth of polytheism and idol worship and become Muslim, that is better for them” (this is expressed by turning from the third person to address); “and if they persist in their polytheism, they must know that God is the absolutely Powerful, whom they have no power to face or to frustrate, and a painful punishment will strike them.”
9:4 — (barring the polytheists with whom you have made a treaty
(barring the polytheists with whom you have made a treaty, and who did not violate any [of its terms] with you, nor backed anyone against you. So fulfill the treaty with them until [the end of] its term. Indeed Allah loves the Godwary).
Abandoning part of a covenant counts as breaking it. The polytheists who keep the covenant, who have not broken any of its terms themselves or through others, and have not supported the enemies of Islam, are not covered by the general disavowal, nor by worldly punishment such as war, captivity, siege or other things. From these two conditions the central elements relating to polytheism are drawn:
That the polytheists under covenant have not in practice broken any term of the covenant.
That no signs of breaking the covenant appear from them.
That they have not in practice supported foreigners or incited them against the Muslims.
That no signs of support or incitement appear from them.
Keeping a political and social covenant is obligatory when there is mutual commitment, and political Godwariness lies in completing the remaining term of the covenant, for God loves the Godwary, whether that covenant is four months, less or more. The pivot of the exception in the verse is the political and social ruling of disavowal and worldly punishment, not the theological ruling of disavowal and spiritual punishment and punishment in the Hereafter.
9:5 — Then, when the sacred months have passed
Then, when the sacred months have passed, kill the polytheists wherever you find them, capture them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them at every ambush. But if they repent, and maintain the prayer and give the zakat, then let them alone. Indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.
When the respite of four months granted to the polytheists for security and freedom in time and place comes to an end, the Muslims, in defence of the Islamic domain and to put a complete end to the fitnah of the faithless, must kill them wherever they are found; otherwise they take them captive; and if this is not within the power of the Muslims or in the interest of Islam, they besiege them; and if none of these three is possible, they lie in wait for them and make every road unsafe for them. The rulings mentioned are introduced and closed with generality.
If the polytheists repent, become Muslim and show their Islam by establishing the prayer and giving the zakāh, the way of inquiry must be opened for them, and the other rulings mentioned do not cover them, because their bitter past is wiped away by their entering Islam, and God is Forgiving, Merciful. Establishing the prayer and giving the zakāh, contrary to what some imagine, are conditions of the completeness of repentance, not the basic conditions for the blood of the polytheists no longer being lawful.
9:6 — If any of the polytheists seeks asylum from you
If any of the polytheists seeks asylum from you, grant him asylum until he hears the Word of Allah. Then convey him to his place of safety. That is because they are a people who do not know.
This verse is a parenthetical sentence giving a direction: “If one of the polytheists asks the Islamic government for refuge in order to inquire into the teachings of Islam, the government must grant him refuge and safety until he hears the word of God, then convey him to his place of safety, even if he does not believe, or was earlier treacherous, or broke or fell short of a covenant; for the indefinite noun in the context of the condition, “if anyone”, conveys generality.” On this basis the ruling of refuge is joined to two earlier exceptions to the disavowal of the polytheists, namely the polytheists who repent and believe, and those under covenant with the Islamic government who stay true to their covenant.
What is certain is that it is obligatory to accept the refuge of polytheists who come to inquire into the teachings of religion. Hearing the word of God from the tongue of the Prophet (s.a.w.) is real listening to the word of God, and “the word of God” covers the verses of the Qur’an and the divine teachings drawn from them, whether in the form of the Qur’an or of the _ḥadīth_s of the Prophet and of ʿAlī, by a rational or transmitted proof, in Arabic or another language; for the proof of the verse is that the polytheists do not know Islam and learn it by these ways.
The verse does not mention the length of the polytheists’ respite for inquiry and hearing the word of God, because it differs according to the strength of their understanding, and because many of the teachings of religion are theoretical matters that need research and thought. So the polytheists have the right to inquire into the signs of God and the teachings of Islam until they reach certainty, whether by rational proof, by seeing the miracles of the Prophet, or by other means.
From the expression “that is because they are a people who do not know” it is understood that the polytheists are an ignorant people, because the one of reason is he who knows God (s.w.t.) in His Oneness and acts on his divine and human obligations.
This verse is one of the firm verses of the Qur’an because of its importance; so it can specify or qualify the earlier general or unqualified statements, and it is protected from abrogation by later verses.
9:7 — How shall the polytheists have any [valid] treaty with Allah and His Apostle?
How shall the polytheists have any [valid] treaty with Allah and His Apostle?! (Barring those with whom you made a treaty at the Holy Mosque; so long as they are steadfast with you, be steadfast with them. Indeed Allah loves the Godwary.)
The question in this verse is one of denial and unlikelihood, concerning the polytheists’ continuing in their covenant at the stage of its lasting: the polytheists have no lasting covenant-sanctity with God and His Messenger, because, given their arrogant natures, they do not stay firm in their covenants. The exception in the verse concerns that group of the polytheists (the tribe of Banū Khuzāʿah) who made a covenant with the most noble Prophet (s.a.w.) and the Muslims near the Sacred Mosque (at al-Ḥudaybiyah) and stayed true to their covenant. As long as they keep to it, the Muslims too must keep their covenant, for God counts those who keep their covenants among the Godwary, and He without doubt loves the Godwary. Godwariness in this verse is political and social Godwariness.
9:8 — How? For if, they get the better of you
How? For if, they get the better of you, they will observe toward you neither kinship nor covenant. They please you with their mouths while their hearts spurn you; and most of them are transgressors.
Observing the divine teachings and the social, political and family ones is among the first duties of every person of reason. The polytheists, because they did not believe in the Origin and the Return, respected no sanctity in divine matters. If they won in war, they kept no kinship or covenant and trampled on these things; and if the Muslims won, the defeated polytheists, by their hypocritical conduct, tried to please the Muslims with their deceiving and attractive tongues, though they did not believe in their hearts what they said. So if some of them kept their covenant or pleased the Muslims outwardly, that was in times of their weakness; otherwise, in times of strength and victory they do not act so. Hence all the polytheists, when they prevail, are afflicted with human iniquity, and in times of helplessness most of them are iniquitous.
The iniquity in this verse is human and popular iniquity, not divine, because all the polytheists have religious iniquity, not only most of them.
9:9 — They have sold the signs of Allah for a paltry gain
They have sold the signs of Allah for a paltry gain, and have barred [the people] from His way. Evil indeed is what they have been doing.
The polytheists, because they did not believe in the Resurrection, and the People of the Book, because they forgot it, preferred the ready pleasure of the world to the Hereafter and sold the signs of God for a paltry price. The world, compared with the Hereafter, is little; and keeping up the practice of selling the signs of God and the heavenly teachings for a trifling price, at the cost of losing the capital of the Hereafter, without gaining any worldly benefit from it, is a great loss!
The polytheists showed mercy to no one and prevented access to the way of God; so they themselves turned aside from the way of God and barred others from it.
The last sentence of the verse, since it comes without a conjunction, counts as an independent reason for all the earlier claims and statements about them; that is, selling the signs of God for a paltry price is not only an evil deed: breaking the covenant, iniquity in faith and in humanity, barring others from the way of God, and their other deeds came and still come from their ugly conduct and practice. That is why God, by the expression “used to”, disclosed the continuation of their evil deeds.
9:10 — They observe toward a believer neither kinship nor covenant
They observe toward a believer neither kinship nor covenant, and it is they who are the transgressors.
The polytheists are at root hostile to the religion of Islam, not to the Muslims; that is why they keep no kinship or political and social commitment toward the faithful. This hostility is not from the zealotry of the age of ignorance or of nationality; rather they opposed the religious beliefs of the Muslims at their very foundation. Because of this breaking of commitments and their arrogant natures, God (s.w.t.) called them the real transgressors; that is why “they are the transgressors” was used of them instead of “they are the faithless”.
9:11 — Yet if they repent and maintain the prayer and give the zakat
Yet if they repent and maintain the prayer and give the zakat, then they are your brethren in faith. We elaborate the signs for a people who have knowledge.
This verse says, to encourage and urge the polytheists to faith: “If the covenant-breaking polytheists repent of their former evil conduct (breaking the covenant and hostile natures), become Muslim, establish the prayer and give the zakāh, they become the brothers of the Muslims in religion.”
Setting out the rulings in detail and giving their reasons is one of the prominent features of Islam, so that those who seek inquiry and understanding may grasp the deep rulings and teachings of religion well on the one hand, and the proof may be established against the polytheists on the other. In truth, God, Glorified is He, by setting out the verses in detail and explaining them, removes any vagueness or brevity from this section of the verses, and answers the inner questions of the Muslims, such as: “Why does He declare disavowal of the transgressing, covenant-breaking polytheists and command breaking the covenant with them?” Besides, explaining and setting out the verses in detail means making clear deep matters of practical wisdom, so that the scholars understand them by careful study.
9:12 — But if they break their pledges after their having made a treaty and revile your religion
But if they break their pledges after their having made a treaty and revile your religion, then fight the leaders of unfaith—indeed, they have no [commitment to] pledges,—maybe they will desist.
This verse is one of the finest political verses in Islam. It warns everyone (even the polytheists and the godless who deny God (s.w.t.) and the Resurrection) against breaking oaths, indeed against any breach of covenants. It says: “If the polytheists break their commitment, which they confirmed with oaths, and that is breaking oaths, and set about propaganda against religion, that is, regard any attack on or insult to religion as permitted, then the Muslims must fight them, especially the leaders of unbelief and polytheism; for they do not believe in covenant and oaths, but make covenants and swear with the tongue only, or outwardly place their hands in the hands of the other side when making the covenant; so their covenant is not real.”
The criterion for fighting the leaders of unbelief is the breaking of the covenant; it is not necessary for “breaking oaths” and “attacking religion” to come together; each of them alone permits fighting them. The importance of the matter of war with covenant-breakers, and setting out the reason for the ruling to fight, required the explicit noun to come instead of the pronoun; and it commands the Muslims to fight the leaders of unbelief so that perhaps the polytheists will leave polytheism and accept Islam in the end.
What is meant by the polytheists’ desisting is their leaving polytheism and accepting Islam, not stopping fighting the Muslims.
9:13 — Will you not make war on a people who broke their pledges and resolved to expel the…
Will you not make war on a people who broke their pledges and resolved to expel the Apostle, and opened [hostilities] against you initially? Do you fear them? But Allah is worthier of being feared by you, should you be faithful.
It points to the evil history of the polytheists in breaking covenants, conspiring to banish the Prophet and starting wars, which encourages the Muslims to fight against them. It asks: why do you not fight these people who broke their covenants, sought to banish the Prophet from his city and started the wars? Do you fear them? God (s.w.t.) has more right that you fear Him, if you believe in God and the Last Day with real faith. That is: if you are truly faithful, you must fear God alone and act according to your faith.
9:14–15 — Make war on them so that Allah may punish them by your hands and humiliate them
(14) Make war on them so that Allah may punish them by your hands and humiliate them, and help you against them, and heal the hearts of a faithful folk, (15) and remove rage from their hearts, and Allah turns clemently to whomever He wishes, and Allah is all-knowing, all-wise
The five outcomes of fighting the polytheists, namely the punishment of the polytheists at the hands of the Muslims, the disgrace of the polytheists, the victory of the Muslims over them, the bringing of calm to the hearts of the Muslims, and the cooling of their inner anger, strengthen the spirit of hope and victory in the Muslims and reinforce their motive to fight against the polytheists.
The present-tense verb “turns” is not tied to the fighting; otherwise it would be the answer to the command and would take the jussive like the other verbs of the verse. The door of repentance stays open, even for the polytheists at the very last; and “whom He wills” has a comprehensive sense, for it covers, besides the polytheists, the iniquitous Muslims too. Naturally, God, Glorified and Exalted is He, acts in sending down this mercy according to His wise and all-aware will.
9:16 — Do you suppose that you will be let off while Allah has not yet ascertained those of you…
Do you suppose that you will be let off while Allah has not yet ascertained those of you who wage jihad and those who do not take anyone as [their] confidant besides Allah and His Apostle and the faithful? Allah is well aware of what you do.
Some Muslims used to boast on the basis of certain outward religious features, such as their attending the gathering of the Prophet and taking part in the congregational prayer. In this verse God (s.w.t.) urges them to more fighting against the polytheists, saying: “Do you think you will be left alone while your state has not yet become clear in two divine tests: jihād, and giving up secret contact with outsiders?” The knowledge mentioned in this verse is knowledge in act, drawn from the divine act. Among the most prominent manifestations of obedience to God is striving in His way, and among the most prominent manifestations of disobedience to God is relying on outsiders; and this expresses two important principles: attachment and disavowal.
The secret of the repetition of the word “nor” in this verse lies in making clear that each of the three violations (going against God, the Prophet and the faithful by establishing a secret relation with outsiders) counts as an independent and separate prohibition.
9:17 — The polytheists may not maintain Allah’s mosques while they are witness to their own…
The polytheists may not maintain Allah’s mosques while they are witness to their own unfaith. Their works have failed, and they shall remain in the Fire [forever].
From the verse that says “for the polytheists” before the plural “mosques”, we understand that the polytheists have no right to take part in building or repairing any mosque, because they bear witness to their unbelief, whether by speech or by deeds such as idol worship. Witness in words is clear; witness in deeds appears when the polytheists perform acts of polytheism, such as making idols, worshipping them and selling them, which bears witness to their unbelief of heart.
For this reason the faithless were deprived of the right to build and repair mosques, because their deeds are void and produce no effect acceptable to God, since their motives and aims are not right; rather they act to please the idols or out of hypocrisy. The result of their deeds is abiding in the Fire.
9:18 — Only those shall maintain Allah’s mosques who believe in Allah and the Last Day
Only those shall maintain Allah’s mosques who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and maintain the prayer, and give the zakat, and fear no one except Allah. They, hopefully, will be among the guided.
The one who can be a maintainer of the mosques of God is he who holds faith in God and the Last Day, establishes the prayer, gives the zakāh and fears God (s.w.t.) alone. These five qualities lead to happiness and guidance and are not merely the product of faith; that is why they were expressed with the word “it may be”.
9:19 — Do you regard the providing of water to Hajj pilgrims and the maintenance of the Holy…
Do you regard the providing of water to Hajj pilgrims and the maintenance of the Holy Mosque as similar [in worth] to someone who has faith in Allah and [believes in] the Last Day and wages jihad in the way of Allah? They are not equal with Allah, and Allah does not guide the wrongdoing lot.
Giving drink to the pilgrims and maintaining and renewing the Sacred Mosque were important values before Islam and after it; but they were never on the level of faith in God and the Last Day and striving in the way of God. Since giving drink and maintaining the Mosque were done by the polytheists, despite their outward goodness they have no value, because the doer is not righteous. All the deeds of the polytheist are void and lost in view of the Resurrection and the Hereafter. The verse indeed makes clear that the doers are not on the same level, because some of them are just and guided, and others are wrongdoers and astray.
9:20 — Those who have believed and migrated
Those who have believed and migrated, and waged jihad in the way of Allah with their possessions and persons have a greater rank near Allah, and it is they who are the triumphant.
The faithful, who believe in God, the Last Day and prophethood, who bore the hardship of emigration and distance from their homeland, and fought with their wealth and their selves in the way of God, have a greater degree with God, and they are the successful.
9:21–22 — Their Lord gives them the good news of His mercy and [His] pleasure
(21) Their Lord gives them the good news of His mercy and [His] pleasure, and for them there will be gardens with lasting bliss, (22) to remain in them forever. With Allah indeed is a great reward.
The reward of faith, emigration and striving in the way of God is enjoying the divine good tidings, which God (s.w.t.) gives Himself, not the angels or others; and these good tidings are enjoying mercy, good pleasure, and abiding forever in bliss and the Garden, for the great reward is with God.
9:23 — O you who have faith! Do not befriend your fathers and brothers if they prefer…
O you who have faith! Do not befriend your fathers and brothers if they prefer faithlessness to faith. Those of you who befriend them—it is they who are the wrongdoers.
The faithful must not accept the guardianship of fathers and brothers who love unbelief and are hostile to faith; otherwise they are wrongdoers, and their wrongdoing is greater than the wrongdoing of others.
9:24 — Say, ‘If your fathers and your sons
Say, ‘If your fathers and your sons, your brethren, your spouses, and your kinsfolk, the possessions that you have acquired, the business you fear may suffer, and the dwellings you are fond of, are dearer to you than Allah and His Apostle and to waging jihad in His way, then wait until Allah issues His edict, and Allah does not guide the transgressing lot.
If any of your relatives, whether by blood or by marriage, such as fathers, sons, brothers, spouses and other relatives, and likewise the property you have acquired, the trade whose slackness you fear, and the dwellings you are pleased with, are dearer to you than God, His Messenger and striving in His way, then the end of this deviation and iniquity is deserving divine punishment, and God’s guidance will not reach the rebellious among these iniquitous people.
9:25 — Allah has certainly helped you in many situations
Allah has certainly helped you in many situations, and on the day of Hunayn, when your great number impressed you, but it did not avail you in any way, and the earth became narrow for you in spite of its expanse, whereupon you turned your backs [to flee].
Divine guidance helped the Muslims in many places, and they enjoyed good action and good intention. But in the battle of Ḥunayn the Muslims were heedless of the help and power of God and lost their good intention, because they relied on their great numbers and boasted of them. So in the first encounter with the enemy their numbers did not avail them, and because of their intense fear of the enemy the earth, for all its breadth, became narrow for them, and in the end they turned their backs and fled.
9:26–27 — Then Allah sent down His composure upon His Apostle and upon the faithful
(26) Then Allah sent down His composure upon His Apostle and upon the faithful, and He sent down hosts you did not see, and He punished the faithless, and that is the requital of the faithless. (27) Then Allah shall turn clemently after that to whomever He wishes. Indeed Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.
In the battle of Ḥunayn God’s mercy and help reached out to the Prophet (s.a.w.) and the faithful. God, Glorified is He, sent down calm on His Messenger and on the faithful, and sent unseen soldiers to help them, whether angels or by way of resolve, practical strength and the lifting of fear. On the other side, God punished the polytheists and made them taste defeat, and that is the recompense of the faithless.
The door of repentance and divine mercy is always open for iniquitous Muslims and for non-Muslims, and the acceptance of this repentance depends on God’s will; and God is Forgiving, Merciful.
9:28 — O you who have faith! The polytheists are indeed unclean
O you who have faith! The polytheists are indeed unclean: so let them not approach the Holy Mosque after this year. Should you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you out of His grace, if He wishes. Indeed Allah is all-knowing, all-wise.
The polytheists, because of their polytheism, have spiritual filth and outward impurity, and the faithful must prevent them from entering the Sacred Mosque. The people of Makkah feared that poverty would strike them because of this ruling; so God (s.w.t.) promised them that He would remove the hardship from them and enrich them from His bounty. All these divine rulings concerning the polytheists are grounded in knowledge and wisdom.
9:29 — Fight those who do not have faith in Allah nor [believe] in the Last Day
Fight those who do not have faith in Allah nor [believe] in the Last Day, nor forbid what Allah and His Apostle have forbidden, nor practise the true religion, from among those who were given the Book, until they pay the tribute out of hand, degraded.
When the People of the Book do not believe in God and the Last Day, do not forbid what God (s.w.t.) and His Messenger have forbidden, and do not act by the beliefs of the true religion, fight them until they submit to the Islamic government and pay the jizyah in a state of submission and humility.
9:30 — The Jews say, ‘Ezra is the son of Allah,’ and the Christians say
The Jews say, ‘Ezra is the son of Allah,’ and the Christians say, ‘Christ is the son of Allah.’ That is an opinion that they mouth, imitating the opinions of the faithless of former times. May Allah assail them, where do they stray?!
The cultural fitnah of ascribing ʿUzayr and the Messiah to God as sons was widespread among the Jews and the Christians. These claims and sayings were in keeping with their feelings, but what they believed in this regard had no basis or proof. What the Jews and Christians said on this subject was like what the polytheists said of the angels, that they are the daughters of God, or like the sayings of their forebears; and these claims were not built on any firm basis.
Because of these claims the Jews and Christians fell under the divine curse, which leaves their fate unknown, and where they will be cast away from the mercy of God.
9:31 — They have taken their scribes and their monks as lords besides Allah
They have taken their scribes and their monks as lords besides Allah, and also Christ, Mary’s son; though they were commanded to worship only the One God, there is no god except Him; He is far too immaculate to have any partners that they ascribe [to Him]!
The rabbis and monks made lawful what God (s.w.t.) had forbidden and forbade what God had made lawful. The People of the Book took their religious leaders as lords besides God, with complete acceptance and total submission, as the Christians did with the Messiah son of Maryam. Yet God had commanded them to worship none but Him. Godhood belongs to God alone, and He is free of any partner in legal judgment, in management grounded in knowledge, and in legislation.
9:32 — They desire to put out the light of Allah with their mouths
They desire to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah is intent on perfecting His light though the faithless should be averse.
The motive of the faithless and the polytheists in their baseless words is to put out the light of the divine religion. They strive by every means to put out the light of God, but God (s.w.t.) completes His light and realises it in practice and in knowledge. This light does not go out; it grows and reaches its perfection, even if that displeases the faithless.
9:33 — It is He who has sent His Apostle with the guidance and the religion of truth that He may…
It is He who has sent His Apostle with the guidance and the religion of truth that He may make it prevail over all religions, though the polytheists should be averse.
God (s.w.t.) sent His Messenger accompanied by guidance, or in the form of guidance, and the religion of the truth, to make it prevail over all religions and to be all-embracing, universal and everlasting, even if that displeases the polytheists.
9:34 — O you who have faith! Indeed many of the scribes and monks wrongfully eat up the people’s…
O you who have faith! Indeed many of the scribes and monks wrongfully eat up the people’s wealth, and bar [them] from the way of Allah. Those who treasure up gold and silver, and do not spend it in the way of Allah, inform them of a painful punishment
The source of corruption and its spread in the society of the People of the Book must be sought in two groups:
The evil religious leaders who, through intellectual and cultural deviation and practical crimes, are the cause of people’s deviation, of barring them from the way of God, and of corruption and the loss of their trust in religion.
The hoarders and accumulators who do not spend their wealth in the way of God (to spread religion and defend it).
God (s.w.t.) gives these two groups the tidings of a painful punishment.
9:35 — on the day when these shall be heated in hellfire and therewith branded on their foreheads
on the day when these shall be heated in hellfire and therewith branded on their foreheads, their sides, and their backs [and told]: ‘This is what you treasured up for yourselves! So taste what you have treasured!’
The wealth the rich store up and do not spend in the way of God will be melted on the Day of Resurrection and used to brand their foreheads, sides and backs, as punishment for what they hoarded for themselves. This punishment will surround their whole bodies, as the fire of Hell surrounds the bodies of the faithless, so that they may feel the heat of what they used to hoard.
9:36 — Indeed the number of months with Allah is twelve months in Allah’s Book
Indeed the number of months with Allah is twelve months in Allah’s Book, the day when He created the heavens and the earth. Of these, four are sacred. That is the upright religion. So do not wrong yourselves during them. Fight all the polytheists, just as they fight you all, and know that Allah is with the Godwary.
Some divine rulings are fixed and cannot be changed, such as the number of months of the lunar Hijri year, which God (s.w.t.) set in His Book from the beginning of the creation of the heavens and the earth: twelve months, four of them sacred. This order and this sanctity are part of the upright religion and rest on the interests of the servants; so it is not permitted to change the order of these months, or to commit sins and fight in them. If the polytheists attack the lands of the Muslims in these sacred months, defensive fighting is obligatory; and even so, Godwariness must be kept, with the awareness that God is with the Godwary.
9:37 — Indeed nasee is an increase in unfaith
Indeed nasee is an increase in unfaith, whereby the faithless are led [further] astray. They allow it in one year and forbid it another year, so as to fit in with the number, which Allah has made inviolable, thus permitting what Allah has forbidden. Their evil deeds appear to them as decorous, and Allah does not guide the faithless lot.
Postponing and shifting the sacred months (al-nasīʾ), which was an unlawful practice in the age of ignorance, increases unbelief and was a cause of the misguidance of the faithless. It led to the committing of two innovations and two crimes: making lawful what God (s.w.t.) had forbidden (the sacred months), and forbidding what God had made lawful (the months that are not sacred).
They used to make a lawful month sacred in place of the sacred month they had made permissible, believing that this was in keeping with their national traditions, which preserve the sanctity of four months in the year. They regarded this practice as one of the signs of civilisation, whereas it was an ugly deed made to seem fair to them. In the end God does not guide the faithless to the straight path, because they are infatuated with their evil deeds, which they see as beautiful and justified.