Repentance (Al-Tawbah) التوبة 117–118
117
لَقَد تَّابَ الله عَلَى النَّبِيِّ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالأَنصَارِ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ فِي سَاعَةِ الْعُسْرَةِ مِن بَعْدِ مَا كَادَ يَزِيغُ قُلُوبُ فَرِيقٍ مِّنْهُمْ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّهُ بِهِمْ رَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
God turned in mercy to the Prophet, and the emigrants and the helpers who followed him in the hour of hardship. After the hearts of a group of them had almost faltered, He turned towards them, for He was compassionate and merciful towards them.
118
وَعَلَى الثَّلاَثَةِ الَّذِينَ خُلِّفُواْ حَتَّى إِذَا ضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ وَظَنُّواْ أَن لاَّ مَلْجَأَ مِنَ اللّهِ إِلاَّ إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُواْ إِنَّ اللّهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
He has turned with mercy to the three whose case was deferred, when the earth, for all its spaciousness, closed in upon them, and their own souls seemed straitened to them and they realised that there was no refuge from God except in Him. He turned to them so that they might turn to Him. God is the Ever Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
(a) On the occasion of the battle of Tabuk, there was a group which surrendered its best asset to Islam: their crops. It was harvest time, but they left everything behind and set out on a journey which involved a march of three hundred miles in intense heat in order to face the most powerful empire of the time. The shortage of mounts, equipment and goods was so acute that several men had to take turns on each camel, and for food they had often to rest content with one date per person. However, they were only being tested for their resolve and dedication to the cause of God. After God had seen their mettle, He caused the enemy to fall a prey to terror. They retreated from the battlefield without any confrontation and the Muslims returned victorious without having shed any blood. There was another group which consisted of the confessors (9:102). These people could not set out on this journey due to their engagement in worldly activities. However, they very soon realised that they had made a serious mistake, to which they unreservedly confessed. They were truly ashamed of their misdeed and sincerely repented of it. The flood of tears flowing from their eyes compensated for their shortcomings. God enveloped them in His mercy, because they had admitted their mistake in all sincerity. (a) A third group consisted of those who were left behind. These were three youths, Ka‘b ibn Malik, Mararah ibn Rubay and Hilal ibn Umayyah. Though they regarded their inability to proceed on this journey as a shortcoming, their feelings of repentance and turning towards God had not been as intense as was required in this first stage. That is why they were punished by a social boycott. Now even with this boycott these three had a number of options. They could have remained happy and contented; they could have remained engrossed in their homes and gardens; they could have become rebellious; they could have formed their own separate group in collaboration with disgruntled elements, thus forming an island, a happy world cut off from the general body of Muslims. But they refrained from doing so. The thought of having earned the displeasure of God and His Prophet disturbed their minds so greatly that they failed to find a moment’s peace. For them this was an option, not a compulsion. For they could have escaped by rebelling against this boycott and joining any other group. But their response being positive, they naturally turned to God for forgiveness. They repented and prayed to God. Their hearts were truly softened. After a period of 50 days of prayer God showed them His mercy and they were pardoned.