Surah 9. Al-Tawba

But as soon as He has given them [aught] out of His bounty, they cling to it niggardly, and turn away in their obstinacy [from all that they have vowed]:

  - Mohammad Asad

But when He did bestow of His bounty they became stingy, turned back from their covenant and became evasive.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Yet when He gave them of His bounty, they boarded it and turned away, averse;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

whereupon He causes hypocrisy to take root in their hearts, [therein to remain] until the Day on which they shall meet Him¹⁰⁵ - because they have failed to fulfil the vow which they had made unto God, and because they were wont to lie.¹⁰⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "He has caused hypocrisy to become for them consequence (a'qabahum) in their hearts until the Day on which they shall meet Him" (i.e., until their resurrection). Thus, the Qur'an states that it is excessive love of worldly possessions which gives rise, in a certain type of man, to the attitude of mind described as "hypocrisy" - and not vice versa (see also 29:11 and the corresponding note [7]). Cf. in this connection the Prophet's saying, reported by Abu Hurayrah: "The mark (ayah) of the hypocrite is threefold: when he speaks, he lies; and when he promises, he breaks his promise; and when he is trusted, he betrays" (Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi and Nasa'i; similar Traditions, on the authority of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr, are quoted by Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Da'ud, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and Ibn Hanbal).

I.e., to themselves, trying to find excuses for their breaking their vow.

He put hypocrisy into their hearts to last till the Day wherein they shall meet Him as a consequence of their breach of covenant with Allah and the lies they told.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So He hath made the consequence (to be) hypocrisy in their hearts until the day when they shall meet Him, because they broke their word to Allah that they promised Him, and because they lied.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Do they not know that God knows [all] their hidden thoughts and their secret confabulations, and that God knows fully all the things that are beyond the reach of human perception?

  - Mohammad Asad

Are they not aware that Allah knows their secret thoughts and their secret counsels, and that Allah knows fully well all that is hidden?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Know they not that Allah knoweth both their secret and the thought that they confide, and that Allah is the Knower of Things Hidden?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[It is these hypocrites] who find fault with such of the believers as give for the sake of God¹⁰⁷ more than they are duty-bound to give, as well as with such as find nothing [to give] beyond [the meagre fruits of] their toil, and who scoff at them [all].¹⁰⁸ God will cause their scoffing to rebound on themselves,¹⁰⁹ and grievous suffering awaits them.

  - Mohammad Asad

Regarding my rendering of sadaqat as "that which is given for the sake of God", see [note 81] above.

There are many authentic Traditions to the effect that the hypocrites at Medina used to deride the offerings which the believers brought to the Prophet (as head of the community and the state) in response to the Qur'anic ordinance that they should "give for the sake of God". For instance, the Companion Abu Mas'ud reports: "[When] a man brought an ample offering, they [i.e., the hypocrites] would say, 'He [only] wants to be seen and praised by men'; and when a man brought an offering of a small measure [of dates or grain], they would say, 'God does not stand in need of such an offering'" (Bukhari and Muslim, and many similar versions in other hadith compilations). The above verse, however, does not allude merely to these historical incidents but serves to illustrate the mentality of the hypocrite whose own insincerity colours his view of all other people.

Lit., "God will scoff at them": a turn of phrase often occurring in the Qur'an (e.g., in 2:15 ), indicating God's requital.

As for those that taunt the believers who give freely and ridicule those who find nothing to give except the fruits of their labor; Allah will throw back their ridicule on them and they shall have a painful punishment.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who point at such of the believers as give the alms willingly and such as can find naught to give but their endeavors, and deride them Allah (Himself) derideth them. Theirs will be a painful doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And] whether thou dost pray [unto God] that they be forgiven or dost not pray for them - [it will all be the same: for even] if thou wert to pray seventy times¹¹⁰ that they be forgiven, God will not forgive them, seeing that they are bent on denying God and His Apostle. And God does not bestow His guidance upon such iniquitous folk.¹¹¹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., many times. In Arabic usage, the number "seventy" often stands for "many", just as "seven" is a synonym for "several" (see Lisan al-'Arab and Taj al-'Arus). It is evident from many authentic Traditions (recorded, among others, by Bukhari and Muslim) that the Prophet often prayed to God that He pardon his enemies.

I.e., "those who are so deeply rooted in their iniquity and in their insolent persistence in evildoing (tamarrud)... [that] they have lost all disposition for repentance and belief" (Manar X, 657).

O Prophet! It is the same, whether you ask forgiveness for them or not; even if you ask for their forgiveness seventy times, Allah is not going to forgive them: because they have disbelieved Allah and His Rasool. Allah does not guide those who are transgressors.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Ask forgiveness for them (O Muhammad), or ask not forgiveness for them; though thou ask forgiveness for them seventy times Allah will not forgive them. That is because they disbelieved in Allah and His messenger, and Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

THOSE [hypocrites] who were left behind rejoiced in their staying away [from war]¹¹² after [the departure of] God s Apostle, for they hated the thought of striving with their possessions and their lives in God's cause; and they had [even] said [to the others], "Do not go forth to war in this heat!" Say: "The fire of hell is hotter by far!" Had they but grasped this truth!

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "rejoiced in their sitting [at home]" - a reference to those who, under one pretext or another, excused themselves from participating in the expedition to Tabuk (see notes [59] and [66] above). As is evident from the sequence - and clearly stated in many authentic Traditions - one of the excuses advanced was the extreme heat of the season.

Those who remained behind (did not join the Tabuk expedition) were delighted to sit inactive behind Allah's Rasool, and they hated to make Jihad with their goods and their persons in the cause of Allah. They said to each other "Do not go forth in the heat." Say to them: "The fire of hell is much more severe in heat." If only they could understand!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who were left behind rejoiced at sitting still behind the messenger of Allah, and were averse to striving with their wealth and their lives in Allah's way. And they said: Go not forth in the heat! Say: The heat of hell is more intense of heat, if they but understood.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Let them, then, laugh a little - for they will weep a lot¹¹³ in return for what they have earned.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "and let them weep a lot".

Let them laugh a little; much will they weep as a recompense for what they have earned.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then let them laugh a little: they will weep much, as the award of what they used to earn.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Hence, [O Prophet,] if God brings thee again face to face with some of them,¹¹⁴ and then they ask thy leave to go forth [to war with thee], say: "Never shall you go forth with me, nor shall you fight an enemy together with me! Behold, you were well-pleased to stay at home on that first occasion: stay at home, then, with those who [are obliged to] remain behind!"¹¹⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "if God brings thee back [from the campaign] to a group of them" - i.e., to those hypocrites who remained at home under false pretences.

I.e., with the old men, the women, the children and the sick, who are not able or not expected to go to war (Manar X, 662).

From now on, if Allah brings you among them and any of them ask your permission to go forth for Jihad, say: "You shall never be allowed to go forth with me nor fight an enemy in my company. You chose to sit inactive on the first occasion, therefore you shall now stay with those who stay behind."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

If Allah bring thee back (from the campaign) unto a party of them and they ask of thee leave to go out (to fight), then say unto them: Ye shall never more go out with me nor fight with me against a foe. Ye were content with sitting still the first time. So sit still, with the useless.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And never shalt thou pray over any of them that has died, and never shalt thou stand by his grave:¹¹⁶ for, behold, they were bent on denying God and His Apostle, and they died in this their iniquity.¹¹⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., unless he has repented before his death. It is reported that when the life-long opponent of the Prophet and leader of the hypocrites of Medina,'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy was dying, he sent his son to the Prophet with the request that the latter give him his (the Prophet's) shirt, so that he might be buried in it, and that the Prophet should pray over him after his death. The Prophet took this request as a sign of Ibn Ubayy's repentance, and gave him his shirt and later led the funeral prayers over his body. When 'Umar ibn al-Khattab vehemently protested against this clemency towards the man whom all the believers had regarded as "God's enemy", the Prophet answered, "God has granted me a choice in this matter [a reference to verse {80} of this surah, "whether thou dost pray that they be forgiven or dost not pray...", etc.], and so I shall pray [for him] more than seventy times." Several variants of this Tradition are to be found in Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, Ibn Hanbal. on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas; Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Ibn 'Umar; Muslim, on the authority of Jabir ibn'Abd Allah; and in various other hadith compilations. Since 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy died some time after the Prophet's return from Tabuk, while verse {84} - like most of this surah - was revealed during the campaign, it is clear that the prohibition expressed in this verse relates only (as the sequence shows) to those who "were bent on denying God and His Apostle, and [who] died in this their iniquity" - that is, to unrepentant sinners.

Lit., "while they were iniquitous".

You shall never offer funeral prayer for any of them who dies, nor shall you attend their burial, for they have denied Allah and His Rasool and died while they were transgressors.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And never (O Muhammad) pray for one of them who dieth, nor stand by his grave. Lo! they disbelieved in Allah and His messenger, and they died while they were evil-doers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And let not their worldly goods and [the happiness which they may derive from] their children excite thy admiration: God but wants to chastise them by these means in [the life of] this world, and [to cause] their souls to depart while they are [still] denying the truth.¹¹⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 3:178 and 8:28 , as well as the corresponding notes. This (almost literal) repetition of {verse 55} above is meant to stress the psychological importance of this problem (Zamakhshari) - namely, the insignificance of worldly happiness as compared with spiritual righteousness or the absence of it.

Let neither their wealth nor their children dazzle you. Through these Allah wants to punish them in this world and let their souls depart while they are still disbelievers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Let not their wealth nor their children please thee! Allah purposeth only to punish them thereby in the world, and that their souls shall pass away while they are disbelievers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[They are indeed denying it:] for, when they were called upon through revelation,¹¹⁹ "Believe in God, and strive hard [in His cause] together with His Apostle," [even] such of them as were well able [to go to war] asked thee for exemption, saying, "Allow us to stay behind with those who remain at home!"¹²⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "when a surah was bestowed from on high": the word surah being here synonymous with "revealed message" (see note [25] on 47:20 ).

I.e., with those who were either not expected to go to war - like women and children - or were handicapped by old age or illness.

Whenever a Surah is revealed, saying: " Believe in Allah and make Jihad along with His Rasool," capable people among them ask you for exemption, saying: "Please leave us with those who are to stay at home."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when a surah is revealed (which saith ): Believe in Allah and strive along with His messenger, the men of wealth among them still ask leave of thee and say: Suffer us to be with those who sit (at home).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

They were well-pleased to remain with those who were left behind - wherefor their hearts have been sealed,¹²¹ so that they cannot grasp the truth.

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. 2:7 and the corresponding note, as well as {7:100-101}.

They preferred to be with those who remain behind, as a result, a seal was set upon their hearts so that they do not understand.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They are content that they should be with the useless and their hearts are sealed, so that they apprehend not.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

The Apostle, however, and all who share his faith strive hard [in God's cause] with their possessions and their lives: and it is they whom the most excellent things await [in the life to come], and it is they, they who shall attain to a happy state!

  - Mohammad Asad

But the Rasool and those who believe with him, make Jihad with their wealth and their persons. They are the ones who will have all the goodness, and they are the ones who will be successful.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But the messenger and those who believe with him strive with their wealth and their lives. Such are they for whom are the good things. Such are they who are the successful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

God has readied for them gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide: and this is the triumph supreme!

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, to live therein forever: that is the greatest achievement.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Allah hath made ready for them Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide. That is the supreme triumph.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND THERE came [unto the Apostle] such of the bedouin as had some excuse to offer, [with the request] that they be granted exemption,¹²² whereas those who were bent on giving the lie to God and His Apostle [simply] remained at home.¹²³ [And] grievous suffering is bound to befall such of them as are bent on denying the truth!

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., from participating in the expedition to Tabuk. The term al-mu'adhdhirun connotes both "those having a valid excuse ('udhr)" and "those offering false excuses"; it is, therefore, best rendered as "such as had some excuse to offer". The specific mention of the a'rab ("bedouin") in this and the following passages probably arises from the fact that their attitude - positive or negative - towards Islam was of the greatest importance within the context of early Muslim history, inasmuch as the message of Muhammad could not obtain a real, lasting foothold in Arabia without first securing the allegiance of those warlike nomads and half-nomads, who constituted the great majority of the Peninsula's population. At the time when the Prophet was preparing to set out towards Tabuk, many of the already-converted tribesmen were willing to go to war under his leadership (and, in fact, did so), while others were afraid lest in their absence their encampments, denuded of man-power, be raided by hostile, as yet unconverted tribes (Razi); others, again, were simply averse to exposing themselves to the hardships of a campaign in distant lands, which did not seem to them to have any bearing on their own, immediate interests.

I.e., without even caring to come to Medina and to excuse themselves.

Some from among the desert Arabs also came with their excuses, begging exemption to stay behind; thus, those who lied to Allah and His Rasool sat inactive. Soon a painful punishment shall seize those of them who disbelieved.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And those among the wandering Arabs who had an excuse came in order that permission might be granted them. And those who lied to Allah and His messenger sat at home. A painful doom will fall on those of them who disbelieve.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall