Repentance (Al-Tawbah)
Verses 81-84 GROUP_352 9.81-84
81
فَرِحَ الْمُخَلَّفُونَ بِمَقْعَدِهِمْ خِلاَفَ رَسُولِ اللّهِ وَكَرِهُواْ أَن يُجَاهِدُواْ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَقَالُواْ لاَ تَنفِرُواْ فِي الْحَرِّ قُلْ نَارُ جَهَنَّمَ أَشَدُّ حَرًّا لَّوْ كَانُوا يَفْقَهُونَ
Those who stayed at home were glad that they were left behind by God’s Messenger. They hated the thought of striving for God’s cause with their possessions and their persons. They said, ‘Do not go forth in this heat.’ Say, ‘The Fire of Hell is far hotter.’ If only they could understand.
82
فَلْيَضْحَكُواْ قَلِيلاً وَلْيَبْكُواْ كَثِيرًا جَزَاء بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكْسِبُونَ
Let them laugh a little and weep much in return for their misdeeds.
83
فَإِن رَّجَعَكَ اللّهُ إِلَى طَآئِفَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ فَاسْتَأْذَنُوكَ لِلْخُرُوجِ فَقُل لَّن تَخْرُجُواْ مَعِيَ أَبَدًا وَلَن تُقَاتِلُواْ مَعِيَ عَدُوًّا إِنَّكُمْ رَضِيتُم بِالْقُعُودِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ فَاقْعُدُواْ مَعَ الْخَالِفِينَ
So [Prophet], if God brings you back to a group of them, and should they ask your leave to go forth with you, say, ‘You shall never go forth with me and shall never fight an enemy with me. You chose to sit at home the first time, so sit now with those who remain behind.’
84
وَلاَ تُصَلِّ عَلَى أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُم مَّاتَ أَبَدًا وَلاَ تَقُمْ عَلَىَ قَبْرِهِ إِنَّهُمْ كَفَرُواْ بِاللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَمَاتُواْ وَهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ
And never [O Muhammad] pray for one of them who dies, nor stand by his grave. For they denied God and His Messenger, and died rebellious.
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Commentary
(a) The battle of Tabuk occurred in an extremely hot season. From Madinah to the Syrian border three hundred miles had to be travelled. The hypocritical Muslims asked others not to undertake such a long journey in such extremely hot weather. In saying this they forgot that, after hearing the call of God, refusal to set out for fear of some danger amounted to putting oneself in greater danger. It was like running away from the sun and taking refuge in the flames of a fire. Those who are fonder of themselves and their wealth than God are very pleased with themselves if, by their attractive devices, they manage to remain ‘Muslims’ and at the same time there is no danger to their lives and property. They consider themselves wise and treat those people as foolish who struggle so hard for the cause of God that they have no time for themselves. But this is absolute nonsense. They may laugh now, but they will end up crying, because in the life to come after death, their ‘cleverness’ is going to prove to be the worst type of foolishness. At that time they will feel extremely sorry that, though they wanted paradise, they refused to part with the very asset which whould have gained them entry into it.