Repentance (Al-Tawbah)
Verses 94-96 GROUP_355 9.94-96
94
يَعْتَذِرُونَ إِلَيْكُمْ إِذَا رَجَعْتُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ قُل لاَّ تَعْتَذِرُواْ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكُمْ قَدْ نَبَّأَنَا اللّهُ مِنْ أَخْبَارِكُمْ وَسَيَرَى اللّهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُ ثُمَّ تُرَدُّونَ إِلَى عَالِمِ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
They will make excuses to you when you return to them. Say, ‘Do not make excuses, we will not believe you. God has already informed us about you. God will see your actions, as will His Messenger. Then you will be returned to the One who knows the seen and the unseen and He will tell you all that you used to do.’
95
سَيَحْلِفُونَ بِاللّهِ لَكُمْ إِذَا انقَلَبْتُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ لِتُعْرِضُواْ عَنْهُمْ فَأَعْرِضُواْ عَنْهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ رِجْسٌ وَمَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ جَزَاء بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكْسِبُونَ
When you return, they will swear to you by God so that you may leave them alone, so leave them alone. They are unclean, and Hell will be their home as a reward for their actions—
96
يَحْلِفُونَ لَكُمْ لِتَرْضَوْاْ عَنْهُمْ فَإِن تَرْضَوْاْ عَنْهُمْ فَإِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَرْضَى عَنِ الْقَوْمِ الْفَاسِقِينَ
they will swear to you, so that you may be pleased with them. But [even] if you are pleased with them, God is not pleased with rebellious people.
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Commentary
(a) Now, who are those fortunate people whose inaction is regarded as action and who are therefore rewarded for it? They are those who, while not physically participating because of some incapacity, give proof of three things—heartfelt solidarity with the participants (nush); doing at least by word of mouth whatever is possible for them to do (ihsan); and, sorrowfulness about their shortcomings that is so intense that it gushes out in the form of tears (huzn). If an individual relegates something to an unimportant category in his life and does so again and again, it can happen that the very consciousness of its importance vanishes from his heart. The demands of that task keep coming before him, but there being no urge left in his heart to accomplish it, he fails to come to grips with it. This growing insensitivity is termed in the Quran ‘the sealing of hearts’. ‘God has already informed us about you.’ This statement makes it clear that the hypocrites referred to here are those present at the time of revelation of the Quran, that is, the Prophet’s contemporaries. According to Tabaqat ibn Sa‘d, there were eighty individuals about whose hypocritical character God had informed the Prophet through His revelation. However, in spite of this knowledge, the behaviour which the companions of the Prophet were allowed to adopt towards them was to overlook and ignore them. The issue of meting out punishment to them was kept by God in His own Hands. However, the only severity shown to the hypocrites of Madinah was that the excuses they offered were not accepted. So much so that when Tha‘laba ibn Hatib Ansari, a hyprocite, offered zakat, it was not accepted from him. ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy’s son wanted to take drastic action against his father for his hypocritical actions, but the Prophet restrained him, saying, ‘Leave him. By God, as long as he is amongst us, we will treat him properly.’ (Tabaqat ibn Sa‘d). (a) The orders regarding the hypocrites of later periods were the same. However, there was one difference. The treatment given to the hypocrites of the early period was based on the state of their hearts. But the treatment given to the later hypocrites will be based on external proof. The approach of overlooking and ignoring them will be proper only if external proof of their hypocrisy is available. No action will be taken against them on the basis of their intention or the condition of their hearts. If the later hypocrites present any excuses, their excuses and their charities, etc., will also be accepted. Leaving their fate to be decided by God, such action will be taken against them as is warranted in the normal course of law. Paradise is attainable on the basis of personal deeds and not on the basis of having joined any class or group of Muslims. All the hypocrites were a part of the Mulsim ummah; they used to offer prayers and observe the ritual of fasting along with the Muslims, but in spite of that, God decalred them to be bound for Hell.