At-Tawba 9:75 · The Repentance · Arabic, translation, recitation

Other English translations

Abdel Haleem (Oxford)+

"There are some among them who pledged themselves to God, saying, ‘If God gives us some of His bounty, we shall certainly give alms and be righteous,’"

Pickthall (classic)+

"And of them is he who made a covenant with Allah (saying): If He give us of His bounty we will give alms and become of the righteous."

Yusuf Ali (classic)+

"Amongst them are men who made a covenant with Allah, that if He bestowed on them of His bounty, they would give (largely) in charity, and be truly amongst those who are righteous."

Tafsīr · classical commentary

Ibn Kathir

Abridged English, public domain

Hypocrites seek Wealth but are Stingy with Alms

Allah says, some hypocrites give Allah their strongest oaths that if He enriches them from His bounty, they will give away alms and be among the righteous. However, they did not fulfill their vows or say the truth with their words. The consequence of this action is that hypocrisy was placed in their hearts until the Day they meet Allah the Exalted, on the Day of Resurrection. We seek refuge with Allah from such an end. Allah said,

بِمَآ أَخْلَفُواْ اللَّهَ مَا وَعَدُوهُ

(...because they broke that (covenant) with Allah which they had promised to Him) He placed hypocrisy in their hearts because they broke their promise and lied. In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«آيَةُ الْمُنَافِقِ ثَلَاثٌ: إِذَا حَدَّثَ كَذَبَ، وَإِذَا وَعَدَ أَخْلَفَ، وَإِذَا ائْتُمِنَ خَان»

(There are three signs for a hypocrite: if he speaks, he lies; if he promises, he breaks the promise; and if he is entrusted, he betrays the trust.) Allah said,

أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَاهُمْ

(Know they not that Allah knows their secret ideas, and their Najwa,) Allah states that He knows the secret and what is more hidden than the secret. He has full knowledge of what is in their hearts, even when they pretend that they will give away alms, if they acquire wealth, and will be grateful to Allah for it. Truly, Allah knows them better than they know themselves, for He is the All-Knower of all unseen and apparent things, every secret, every session of counsel, and all that is seen and hidden.

Tafsir Saʿdi

English translation, public domain

Лицемеры клянутся, что не говорили ничего плохого, хотя в действительности они насмехались над исламской религией и Божьим посланником, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует. Один из них даже обещал, что могущественные богачи непременно выгонят из Медины униженных мусульман. Когда же они узнали о том, что до посланника Аллаха, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует, дошли некоторые из их высказываний, они явились к нему и стали клясться Аллахом, что не говорили ничего подобного. Всевышний опроверг их лживые утверждения и возвестил, что они произнесли слово неверия и стали неверующими. По их поведению ранее можно было судить, что они обратились в ислам и покинули лоно неверия, однако их последующие слова разрушили их веру и вернули их в лоно безбожия. Когда Пророк Мухаммад, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует, отправился в поход на Табук, лицемеры вознамерились убить его, но Всевышний Аллах поведал ему об их намерениях, и он принял меры, помешав им добиться желаемого. Они не имели никаких оснований для того, чтобы мстить Посланнику, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует, или выискивать в нем недостатки. Они мстили ему только за то, что Аллах и Его посланник, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует, избавили их от нищеты и оказали им милость. И удивительно, как люди могут насмехаться над тем, благодаря кому они выбрались из мрака невежества к свету и разбогатели после того, как влачили жалкое существование. Разве не полагалось им уверовать в такого человека и почитать его надлежащим образом?!! Затем Всевышний Аллах предложил лицемерам принести покаяние и сообщил, что оно принесет им много добра, поскольку именно покаяние является залогом счастья как при жизни на земле, так и после смерти. Но если они откажутся покаяться и вернуться на путь Аллаха, то будут подвергнуты мучительному наказанию как в мирской, так и в будущей жизнях. В мирской жизни они будут печалиться и страдать от того, что Аллах поддерживает Свою религию и превозносит Своего пророка, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует, не позволяя лицемерам добиться желаемого, а в Последней жизни они вкусят наказание в огненной Геенне. Никто из обитателей земли не станет покровительствовать им, устраивая их дела и помогая им свершить свои коварные планы, и никто не станет помогать им, оберегая их от несчастий и неприятностей. Воистину, если человек лишается покровительства Всевышнего Аллаха, то его уделом становятся зло и убыток, несчастья и лишения.

The second verse: وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ عَاهَدَ اللَّـهَ (And among them there are those who made a pledge with Allah - 75) is also connected with a particular event which has been reported by Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Marduwayh, Al-Tabarani and Al-Baihaqi on the authority of a narration from Sayyidna Abu Umamah Bahili ؓ . According to this report, a person called Tha'labah ibn Hatib al-Ansari presented himself before the Holy Prophet ﷺ and requested him to pray that he becomes rich. He said, ` Is it that you do not like my way? By the Being that holds my life in his His hands, if I had wished, mountains of Madinah would have turned into solid gold following behind me on my walkways. But, I do not like being that wealthy.' The man went away. But, he returned later and repeated his request for the same prayer with the pledge that, should he get the wealth prayed for, he would give every deserving person his share from it. The Holy Prophet ﷺ made the prayer. The effect of the prayer showed up in an unprecedented increase in the number of goats he owned. When the number increased further, the space in Madinah became too small for him. So, he moved out into the outskirts from where he used to come to Madinah where he offered the Sa1ah of Zuhr and ` Asr with the Holy Prophet ﷺ As for the rest of the prayers, he used to perform these in the wilderness where his herd of goats, his prized possession, was located.

Then, this very flock of goats became so large that even that area on the outskirts became insufficient. He moved farther away from Madinah coming there only on Fridays for the Jumu'ah Sa1ah. As for the five daily prayers, he did them where he was stationed. Then came further increases in his wealth and he had to leave that spot too, only to go far away from Madinah where he sat deprived of his Jumu'ah and Jama'ah both.

After the passage of some time, the Holy Prophet ﷺ asked people about him. They told him that his ` wealth' had increased to such proportions that he had to go far away from Madinah and that is why he is not seen in the city. On hearing this, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: ویحَ ثَعلَبَۃ (Alas for Thalabah) three times.

By chance, it was the time when came the revelation of the verse of Sadaqat (60) where the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been commanded to collect Sadaqat from Muslims - (خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صدقَۃً ). He had the whole law of Sadaqat committed to writing, appointed two persons as the collectors of Sadaqah and sent them to collect the Sadaqat due on livestock owned by Muslims. They were ordered to go to Tha'labah ibn Hatib as well, and to another person from the tribe of Bani Sulaym also.

When the two collectors reached Tha'labah and presented the order of the Holy Prophet ﷺ he said that this thing had be-come a sort of Jizyah which is taken from non-Muslims. Then he hedged and asked them to leave on that occasion, however, they could call on him on their way back. The two of them left.

Something different happened in the case of the other person from the tribe of Bahl Sulaym. When he heard about the order of the Holy Prophet ﷺ he himself called on the two emissaries of his master carrying with him the best from out of his livestock of camels and goats, precisely according to his Zakatable nisab of Sadaqah. They told him that they have orders not to pick out the best among animals, in fact, they were supposed to take the average ones, therefore, they could not take these. The man from Bahl Sulaym insisted that it was his pleasure to present those very animals and requested that they be accepted as they were.

After that, when these two emissaries had completed their circuit of Sadaqah collection, they returned to Tha'labah. He told them that he wanted to see that Law of Sadaqah they were talking about. He looked at it and said no more than what he had said earlier - ` this thing has become a sort of Jizyah that should not be taken from Muslims.' ` All right,' he said, ` you can go for now. I have to think about it first. I will decide later.'

When these two gentlemen reached Madinah, they went to see the Holy Prophet ﷺ . At that time he, before hearing their report on the mission, repeated the words he had said earlier: یَا وَیحَ ثَعلَبَۃ یَا وَیحَ ثَعلَبَۃ یَا وَیحَ ثَعلَبَۃ (Alas for Tha'labah). He said it three times. After that, he was pleased to hear about the Sulaymi deal and prayed for him. Thereupon, came the verse: وَمِنْهُم مَّنْ عَاهَدَ اللَّـهَ (And among them there are those who made a pledge with Allah - 75). It means: ` if Allah gave them wealth, they would give out alms and charities and fulfill the rights of all de-serving people, the relatives and the poor, as done by the righteous people of the community. But, when Allah blessed them with wealth, out of His grace, they became misers overnight and turned away from their pledge of obedience to Allah and His Messenger.'