Surah 9. At-Tauba, Ayah 28
| يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْمُشْرِكُونَ نَجَسٌ فَلَا يَقْرَبُوا الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ بَعْدَ عَامِهِمْ هَٰذَا ۚ وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ عَيْلَةً فَسَوْفَ يُغْنِيكُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ إِنْ شَاءَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ |
| Transliteration | : | yaa 'ayyuhaa 'alladhena 'aamano 'inna-maa al- mushrikon najas fa- laa yaqrabo al- masjid al- h.araam bacda caam -hum haadhaa wa- 'in khiftum caylah fa- sawfa yughne -kum 'allaah min fad.l -hi 'in shaa'a 'inna 'allaah calem h.akem |
| Pickthall | : | O ye who believe! The idolaters only are unclean. So let them not come near the Inviolable Place of Worship after this their year. If ye fear poverty (from the loss of their merchandise) Allah shall preserve you of His bounty if He will. Lo! Allah is Knower, Wise. |
| Asad | : | O YOU who have attained to faith! Those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God are nothing but impure:37 and so they shall not approach the Inviolable House of Worship from this year onwards.38 And should you fear poverty, then [know that] in time God will enrich you out of His bounty, if He so wills:39 for, verily, God is all-knowing, wise! |
| Malik | : | O believers! Know that mushrikin are unclean; therefore, do not let them come near the Masjid-al-Haram after this year's pilgrimage. If you fear poverty, soon Allah - if He so wills - enrich you out of His bounty. Allah is All-Knowledgeable, All-Wise. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | O ye who believe! truly the pagans are unclean; so let them not after this year of theirs approach the Sacred Mosque. And if ye fear poverty soon will Allah enrich you if He wills out of his bounty for Allah is All-Knowing All-Wise. 1278 1279 1280 |
Note - 37The term najas ("impure") occurs in the Qur'an only in
this one instance, and carries an exclusively spiritual
meaning (see Manar X, 322ff.). To this day, the bedouin
of Central and Eastern Arabia - who, contrary to the
modern town-dwellers, have preserved the purity of the
Arabic idiom to a high degree - describe a person who is
immoral, faithless or wicked as najas. "The Inviolable
House of Worship" (al-masjid al-haram) is, of course, the
Ka'bah and, by implication, the whole of the territory of
Mecca: which explains the next sentence.
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Note - 38Lit., "after this their year" - i.e., after the year 9
H., in which this surah was revealed.
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Note - 39This is an allusion to the apprehension on the part of
some Muslims (and not only at the time of the revelation
of this verse) that an exclusion of unbelievers from
living in or visiting Mecca might lead to a loss of its
position as a centre of trade and commerce, and thus to
an impoverishment of its inhabitants.
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Note - 1278Unclean: because Muslims are enjoined to be strict in
cleanliness, as well as in purity of mind and heart, so
that their word can be relied upon.
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Note - 1279This year of theirs: there is a two-fold meaning: (1) now
that you have complete control of Makkah and are, charged
with the purity of worship there, shut out all impurity
from this year: (2) you have seen how the Pagans have
behaved this year; their year of power and misuse of that
power may be called their year; it is over, and now you
Muslims are responsible.
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Note - 1280The concourse in Makkah added to the profits of trade and
commerce. "But fear not," we are told: "the Pagans are a
waning power, bound to disappear, and you should
strengthen your own community, that they may more than
counter-balance the apparent loss of custom; and Allah
has other means of improving your economic position."
This actually happened. The Pagans were extinguished from
Arabia, and the concourse of pilgrims from all parts of
the world increased the numbers more than a hundred-fold.
Here is commonsense, wisdom, and statesmanship, even if
we look at it from a purely human point of view.
|
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The term najas ("impure") occurs in the Qur'an only in this one instance, and carries an exclusively spiritual meaning (see Manar X, 322ff.). To this day, the bedouin of Central and Eastern Arabia - who, contrary to the modern town-dwellers, have preserved the purity of the Arabic idiom to a high degree - describe a person who is immoral, faithless or wicked as najas. "The Inviolable House of Worship" (al-masjid al-haram) is, of course, the Ka'bah and, by implication, the whole of the territory of Mecca: which explains the next sentence. |
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Lit., "after this their year" - i.e., after the year 9 H., in which this surah was revealed. |
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This is an allusion to the apprehension on the part of some Muslims (and not only at the time of the revelation of this verse) that an exclusion of unbelievers from living in or visiting Mecca might lead to a loss of its position as a centre of trade and commerce, and thus to an impoverishment of its inhabitants. |
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Unclean: because Muslims are enjoined to be strict in cleanliness, as well as in purity of mind and heart, so that their word can be relied upon. |
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This year of theirs: there is a two-fold meaning: (1) now that you have complete control of Makkah and are, charged with the purity of worship there, shut out all impurity from this year: (2) you have seen how the Pagans have behaved this year; their year of power and misuse of that power may be called their year; it is over, and now you Muslims are responsible. |
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The concourse in Makkah added to the profits of trade and commerce. "But fear not," we are told: "the Pagans are a waning power, bound to disappear, and you should strengthen your own community, that they may more than counter-balance the apparent loss of custom; and Allah has other means of improving your economic position." This actually happened. The Pagans were extinguished from Arabia, and the concourse of pilgrims from all parts of the world increased the numbers more than a hundred-fold. Here is commonsense, wisdom, and statesmanship, even if we look at it from a purely human point of view. |
