At-Tawbah

This is a declaration of dissociation from Allah and His Messenger and an announcement of the termination of the treaties that you, O Muslims, had made with the idolaters.

So travel freely - O idolaters - on earth for a period of four months after which there will be no treaty nor any indemnity. Be certain that you will never escape Allah’s punishment and retribution if you continue to disbelieve in Him. Also be certain that Allah will humiliate the disbelievers, by their being killed or taken captive in the world, and by their entering the fire on the Day of Rising. This includes those who broke their treaties as well as those who had open treaties without any fixed period. As for those with whom you made a treaty for a fixed period their treaty will be honoured until the end of the specified period, even if this is longer than four months.

A notification from Allah and His Messenger to all people on the Day of Sacrifice that Allah, may He be glorified, and His Messenger are free of the idolaters. If you, O idolaters, repent from your idolatry, then such repentance will be better for you. If you turn away from repentance, then be certain that you will never get away from Allah and you will never escape His punishment. O Messenger, give the disbelievers news that will upset them: the painful punishment that awaits them.

The idolaters who are excluded from the previous ruling are those with whom you entered into a treaty and they honoured the treaty in full. So there will be a complete fulfilment of the treaty with them until the end of the period. Allah loves those who are mindful of Him by obeying His sacred law, which includes fulfilment of treaties, and by avoiding His prohibitions, which include the prohibition of treachery.

With the ending of the sacred months (Dhū Al-Qa‘dah, Dhū Al-Ḥijjah, Muḥarram and Rajab), during which you assured your enemies of safety, kill the idolaters wherever you meet them. Besiege them in their fortresses and lie in wait for them on their paths. If they repent to Allah from their idolatry, establish the prayer and give the Zakat from their wealth, they become your brothers in Islam and you must not fight them any longer. Allah is Forgiving and Compassionate towards those of His servants who repent to Him.

If any of the idolaters, whose blood and wealth is permissible, comes to you, O Messenger, and requests your protection, then accept their request so that they can listen to the Qur’ān. Then take them to a place where they will be safe. That is because the disbelievers are a people who do not know the realities of this religion. When they come to know of it by listening to the recitation of the Qur’ān, they may come on to the right path.

It is not correct for those who associate partners with Allah to have a treaty and an assurance of protection from Allah and His Messenger, except for the treaty you made with those idolaters at the Sacred Mosque in the Treaty of Al-Ḥudaybiyyah. As long as they uphold the treaty with you and do not break it, then you should also not break it. Allah loves those of His servants who are mindful of Him by fulfilling His instructions and avoiding His prohibitions.

How can they have a treaty with you and an assurance of protection when they are your enemies? If they gain the upper hand over you they will not be mindful of Allah in relation to you, nor will they respect any relationship or any treaty. Instead, they will impose the worst punishment on you. They please you with fancy speech uttered by their tongues, but their hearts do not agree with their tongues. They will not fulfil what they promise and most of them deviate from following Allah by breaking the treaty.

In order to satisfy their passions and desires, they took a trivial price of the things of this world in exchange for following Allah’s words, which includes fulfilment of treaties. They prevented themselves from following the truth and they turned away from it. They also prevented others from the truth. Such actions are most certainly evil.

Due to their hatred, they do not have any consideration for Allah in how they deal with the believers, nor do they respect any relationship or treaty. They overstep Allah’s limits because they are oppressive and hostile.

If they repent to Allah from their disbelief, pronounce the two declarations of faith, establish the prayer, give the Zakat of their wealth, then they will become Muslims and they will be your brothers in religion. They will then have the same rights and duties as you and it will not be lawful for you to fight them. Their acceptance of Islam will protect their lives, wealth and honour. Allah explains the verses clearly to a people who know, as they are the ones who will benefit from them and will cause others to benefit as well.

If these idolaters, with whom you entered into a treaty not to fight for a set period, break their oaths and promises and insult your religion and attack it, then fight them, because they are the leaders of disbelief and there are no treaties or promises that can protect their lives. Fight them in the hope that they will stop their disbelief, violation of their treaties and speaking badly of the religion.

Why do you, O believers, not fight a people who have broken their treaties and promises and who have attempted, in their meeting at Dār Al-Nadwah, to expel the Messenger (peace be upon him) from Makkah? They started the fight against you in the first place when they assisted the Children of Bakr, who were the allies of the Quraysh, against the Children of Khuzā‘ah, who were the allies of the Messenger (peace be upon him). Is it because you are afraid of them that you do not go forward to fight them? It is Allah, may He be glorified, that you should fear, if you are truly believers.

Fight then O believers, the idolaters, so that Allah may punish them by your hands by you killing, humiliating, defeating and capturing them. He also wants to help you making you overcome the idolaters and to heal the hearts of a believing people who had not seen fighting, through the believers killing, capturing, defeating and overcoming their enemies.

In this way, He will also remove the anger in the hearts of His believing servants by giving them victory. Allah turns in mercy to whomever He wills among those who were stubborn, if they repent to Him, asking for forgiveness. The last part of this verse describes the case of some of the people of Makkah on the day it was conquered by the Muslims. Allah knows the truth about those who repent to Him, and is Wise in His creation and His administration and law-giving.

Do the believers think that Allah would leave them without testing them? Testing is one of Allah’s customs, and they will be tested until Allah clearly proves those who strive with sincerity for Him, who do not take protectors apart from Allah, His Messenger and the believers, and do not make intimate friends with the disbelievers. Allah is aware of everything you do – nothing is hidden from Him – and you will be repaid for your actions.

It is not right for the idolaters to attend or care for Allah’s places of worship, worshipping in them, or doing good actions in them, while confirming their disbelief through their displaying of polytheism and the like. Their actions are wasted because they do not have faith, and faith is the condition for actions being accepted. On the Day of Judgement, they will enter the fire of Hell, living in it eternally, unless they repent from idolatry before their death.

It is only right that places of worship should be supported and cared for by those who have faith in Allah alone, who do not associate partners with Him, who have faith in the Day of Judgement, who establish the prayer, and give the Zakat from their wealth, and who do not fear anyone except for Allah, glory be to Him. Such people will be guided to the right path, while the idolaters are the farthest away from it.

Do the idolaters think that giving water to the pilgrims and caring for the Sacred Mosque is like someone who has faith in Allah, not associating any partners with Him, having faith in the Day of Judgement, striving with their self and their wealth to make the Word of Allah supreme, and the word of the disbelievers lowest? Do they consider them to be equal in virtue before Allah? They will never be equal before Allah, and Allah will not give success to those who do wrong by being idolaters, even if they do good actions, such as giving water to the pilgrims.

Those who have faith in Allah and emigrate from the lands of disbelief to the lands of Islam, striving for Allah’s sake with their wealth and their selves, have the greatest rank with Allah. Such people will succeed in achieving what they desire, and avoiding what they fear.

Their Lord gives them good news to gladden their hearts, of His mercy and His contentment with them, so that He is never angry with them, and of entering them into gardens in which there is eternal bliss.

They will live in these gardens eternally as a reward for the good actions that they would do in the world. Allah has a great reward for those who follow what He instructs and who stay away from what He has prohibited, who lived in devotion to Him.

O you who have faith in Allah and follow His Messenger, do not take your fathers and brothers, relatives and other relations, as intimates and protectors, telling them the secrets of the believers and consulting them, if they prefer disbelief to faith in Allah alone. Whoever makes them protectors despite their disbelief, drawing close to them, disobeys Allah, wrongs themselves and brings destruction upon themselves because of their disobedience.

Say O Messenger to the believers, if their fathers, sons, brothers, wives and relatives, the wealth which they have gained, the trade which they want to grow and fear its reduction, and the houses which they like to live in are more beloved to them than Allah and His Messenger and striving for His sake, then they should wait for the punishment that Allah will send down upon them. Allah does not make it easy for those who disobey Him to do actions which please Him.

Allah helped the believers against their enemies, the idolaters, in many battles, despite their small numbers and shortage of weapons, when they trusted in Allah and took appropriate measures. The believers should not be simply pleased by being a great number, because this is not the reason for them beating their enemy. On the day of Ḥunayn, when they were pleased by their great numbers, they said that they would not be defeated on that day because of small numbers; but their great numbers which pleased them did them no good, with their enemies overcoming them, and the earth becoming narrow for them despite its vastness. Then they turned from their enemies, fleeing in defeat.

Then, after they ran away from their enemy, Allah sent down calm upon His Messenger and the believers, so that they became patient in fighting; and He sent angels they could not see, and punished the disbelievers with death, capture and seizure of their wealth, women and children. These disbelievers were repaid in this way for their rejection of the Messenger.

Then whoever rejects disbelief and misguidance after that affliction, Allah will accept their repentance. Allah is Forgiving and Merciful to those of His servants who repent to Him, accepting their repentance after their denial of the truth and their disobedience.

Those who have faith in Allah and His Messenger, and follow the sacred law that He established for them, are told that the idolaters are unclean because of their disbelief, disobedience and blameworthy character traits, and evil customs. So they were not to enter the sacred area of Makkah, containing the Sacred Mosque, as pilgrims for the Hajj or Umrah after that year, which was the ninth year of the Hijrah. If the believers fear poverty, because of the idolaters no longer bringing different foods and merchandise, Allah will be sufficient for them from His bounty, if He wills. Allah knows the situation, and is Wise in His plan.

Fight then O believers, against the disbelievers who do not have faith in Allah as their Lord without any partner, do not believe in the Day of Judgement, do not avoid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden (such as carrion, the meat of pigs, alcohol and usury), and who do not submit themselves to what Allah has made sacred law, among the Jews and Christians – until they pay the jizyah tax with their own hands and are humble and subdued.

The Jews and the Christians associate partners with Allah: the Jews do so by claiming that ‘Uzayr is the son of Allah; and the Christians do so by claiming that the Messiah, Jesus, is the son of Allah. What they say with their own mouths is simply made up without any proof from Allah. By saying such things, they are similar to the idolaters before them, who said that the angels were the daughters of Allah. Allah is far above such things – may Allah destroy them! How can they turn away from the clear truth to falsehood?

The Jews made their rabbis lords instead of Allah, as did the Christians with their monks, by allowing them to permit what Allah had forbidden them and forbidding what Allah had allowed for them; and the Christians made the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, a god next to Allah. as well as ‘Uzayr and Jesus the son of Mary, to worship Him alone, and not to associate anything with Him. He, glory be to Him, is the only God, and there is nothing worthy of worship except Him. He is, glory be to Him, sacred, far above having any partner that these idolaters and others claim.

The disbelievers from all the various religious groups who disbelieve by making up wrong beliefs and rejecting Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), wish to eradicate Islam. So they undermine the clear proofs establishing that there is only one God and that His Messenger has brought the truth. However, Allah will not allow anything to stop His sacred path being perfected and being made clear. He will raise His Religion above everything else, even if the disbelievers hate that, and if Allah wills something, others are powerless to prevent it.

It is Allah, glory be to Him, Who sent His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him)with the Qur’ān as the guidance for all people and the path of truth – establishing the religion of Islam – so as to raise it above all other religions through its proof, evidence and laws, even if the idolaters hate this.

Those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, acting in obedience to the sacred law, are told that many of the Jewish rabbis and the Christian monks unjustly take the wealth of people, through things such as taking bribes, and prevent people from entering the path of Allah; they also collect gold and silver without purifying it by giving charity. The Messenger is told to inform them of the painful punishment that they will be given on the Day of Judgement.

On the Day of Judgement, what they hoarded and did not give its right will be heated in the fire of Hell; and when it is greatly heated, it will be placed on their foreheads, sides and backs, then reheated when it cools, on a day lasting fifty thousand years. It will be said to them, by way of blame, that this is the wealth they hoarded for themselves, not paying the Zakat from it, or spending it in the way they were ordered; and they will be told to taste the evil consequences of what they hoarded and did not use correctly.

There are twelve months of the year decreed by Allah, no more or less, which Allah established in the Preserved Tablet when He created the heavens and the earth. Of these twelve months, four are sacred, during which Allah has forbidden fighting. Three of them consecutive (Dhū Al-Qa‘dah, Dhū Al-Ḥijjah and Muḥarram), and one is on its own (Rajab). The twelve months of the year, and respecting the sacredness of four of them, is the correct way of life. Allah tells the believers not to wrong themselves during these sacred months by fighting, violating their sacredness. Also, the believers are instructed to fight the idolaters all together as they fight them all together, and to know that Allah is with those who are Mindful, who follow what He instructs and stay away from what He has prohibited, and He helps and supports them. If Allah supports anyone, no one will be able to defeat them.

Postponing the sacredness of the month of Muḥarram to another month, as the Arabs of the time of ignorance before Islam used to do, was another example of their disbelief and rejection of His laws. Satan led the disbelievers further astray through this, when he made them adopt this evil practice. They would declare a sacred month not to be sacred one year, exchanging it for one of the other months, and honoured its sacredness another year, making up the same number of months that Allah made sacred, but changing which months, in opposition to Allah’s law. Satan made their evil actions seems attractive to them so that they did them, and one such action was postponing sacred months through their invention. Allah does not give success to the disbelievers and those who persist in disbelief.

O you who have faith in Allah and His Messenger, and follow His sacred law, what is wrong with you that when you are called to strive for Allah’s sake, fighting against your enemy, tyou become reluctant, desiring to remain in your houses. Do you prefer the passing life of this world and its pleasures, which are short-lived, to the eternal bliss of the Afterlife, which Allah has prepared for those who strive for His sake? The enjoyment of the life of this world is insignificant in comparison to that of the Afterlife. How can anyone with sense choose something passing over something eternal, or something miserable over something amazing?

If you do not go forward, striving for the sake of Allah to fight against the enemy, Allah will repay you with defeat and humiliation, and He will replace you with another people who are devoted to Allah, who rush to fight when they are called to do so. You do not harm Him in any way by going against His command, because He has no need of you, while you are in need of Him. Allah has power over all things, nothing weakens Him, and it is easy for Him to make His path and His Prophet triumph without you.

If you O believers, do not help the Messenger (peace be upon him) and respond to his call to strive for the sake of Allah, then Allah has already helped him when you were not with him; when the idolaters drove him away from Mecca with Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him), and the two of them hid in the cave of Thawr from the disbelievers who were chasing them. On that occasion, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) told his companion Abū Bakr, who was scared that the idolaters would discover him, not to worry, because Allah was with them, supporting and helping them. Allah sent down His reassurance and tranquility upon the heart of His Messenger, and sent angels which they could not see to support them, making the word of the idolaters the lowest, and the word of Allah the highest by aiding His Religion. Allah is Mighty in His essence, power and force – nothing can overcome Him – and He Wise in His planning, decree and laws.

March forth O believers, striving for the cause of Allah in hardship and in ease, whether you are young or old, striving with your wealth and selves, because going out and striving with your wealth and your selves is of more benefit in the life of this world and in the Afterlife than sitting at home and becoming attached to your wealth and persons. If you truly know this, then be eager to obey.

If the Prophet had called the hypocrites who asked for permission to stay behind to an easy reward and a journey that was not difficult, they would have followed him; but the distance he called them to cover to get to the enemy was too great for them, so they stayed behind. These hypocrites who asked for permission to stay behind would swear by Allah when the Prophet returned to them, saying that if they could have gone out to fight with them they would have done so. They destroy themselves by exposing themselves to Allah’s punishment, because they stayed behind and then swore a lie. Of course, Allah knew they were lying in what they claimed and in what they swore.

May Allah forgive the Messenger for his decision to permit them to stay behind! Why did he do so before it became apparent to him who had real excuses and who was lying? Then he could have excused those who were telling the truth, not those who were lying.

It is not the characteristic of those who truly have faith in Allah and the Day of Judgement to ask the Messenger (peace be upon him)for permission to stay behind from striving for Allah’s sake with their wealth and their selves. Rather, it is their characteristic to rally when they are called to fight, and to strive with their wealth and their persons. Allah knows those among His servants who are Mindful, who do not ask to be excused except for genuine reasons that really prevent them from going with the Messenger.

Those who ask the Messenger (peace be upon him)for permission to stay behind from striving for the sake of Allah are the hypocrites who do not believe in Allah and the Day of Judgement, and whose hearts are full of doubt about the sacred path of Allah. In their doubt they waver, confused, and they are not guided to the truth.

If they had been telling the truth in their claim that they wanted to go out with the Messenger (peace be upon him), striving for the sake of Allah, they would have made preparations for it; but Allah did not want them to go with the Prophet, and stopped them from doing so. They were disgraced because they were told to stay behind with those who were ordered to stay behind, such as the women, children and the sick.

It was a blessing that these hypocrites did not go with them, because if they had gone they would only have increased them in problems: demoralising people and making them doubt, hurrying between their lines, spreading rumours to divide them. Some of the believers would listen to such lies, believing and repeating them, causing arguments amongst them. Allah knows the wrongdoers among the hypocrites, who try to spread conspiracies and doubts among the believers.

These hypocrites had already tried to cause trouble by creating division amongst the believers before the Battle of Tabūk, by making things difficult for the Messenger (peace be upon him) through their schemes and plots, so that they might affect the Prophet’s determination to fight. This was until the help and support of Allah arrived, and He strengthened His path and overcame His enemies, although they hated this, because they wanted what was false to overcome the truth.

Among the hypocrites were those who used various excuses, asking the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to permit them to stay behind from fighting, for fear of being tested by the women of the Roman enemy and hence falling into sin. But they fell into a greater sin than the one they claimed they feared: the sin of hypocrisy, and staying behind. On the Day of Judgement, Hell will surround the disbelievers, none of them escaping it or getting away from it.

If the Messenger of Allah receives a blessing from Allah that pleases him, such as victory or some gains, they dislike this, and it grieves them. If a misfortune befalls him in the form of some hardship or loss in battle, these hypocrites say that they had taken precautions for themselves, making the right decision when they did not go out to fight as the believers did, which led to them being killed or captured. They, then, turn away to their people, rejoicing in their own safety.

O Messenger, tell these hypocrites: 'Nothing will afflict us except what Allah has written for us, He is our Protector, the one whom we take refuge in, and we put our trust in Him in all our affairs. Let the believers place their trust in Him for He is sufficient for them and the best of guardians.

O Messenger, say to them: 'Are you waiting for anything other than victory or martyrdom to befall us – which are both good outcomes – while we expect Allah to send down a misfortune upon you: a punishment from Allah which would destroy you, or that you are punished at our hands with either death or being captured, if Allah permits us to fight against you? Wait to see then what our outcome will be, for we are also waiting to see your outcome.'

Tell them O Messenger, : 'Spend of your wealth willingly or unwillingly, for it will not be accepted from you because of your disbelief and disloyalty to Allah.'

What the hypocrites spend in charity will not be accepted from them due to three matters: their disbelief in Allah and His Messenger; their reluctance and lack of interest in praying; and not spending their wealth willingly, but only unwillingly – because they do not expect to get any benefit from their prayer, or from what they spend.

So do not be impressed by the wealth and children of these hypocrites, or think it to be something good. The end result of their wealth and children will be grievous: Allah will make them a form of punishment for the hypocrites, causing them difficulty and hardship, and send misfortune through them until Allah takes their souls while they still disbelieve; and are given an eternal punishment in the lowest depths of the fire of Hell.

The hypocrites swear to the believers, lying to them, that they are with them, when they are secretly not, although they make it look as if they were. But they are a scared people, cowards in fighting, and fear that what happened to the idolaters who were killed and captured will happen to them, so they pretend to be Muslim.

If these hypocrites find a shelter, such as a fort, to protect themselves in, or caves in the mountains to hide in, or an underground tunnel they could go into to shelter in, they would rush away immediately.

Among the hypocrites are those who criticise the Messenger for how he distributes charity. If they are given what they want from it, they are happy with the Messenger; but if he does not give them what they want from it, they start to complain.

If only these hypocrites who criticize you in the distribution of charity had been pleased with their portion that Allah had assigned for them and with what the Messenger gave them, saying: 'Allah is sufficient for us and He will grant us more from His Grace, and the Messenger will also give us from what Allah has given him, and we ask Allah alone to enrich us!'-had they said this it would have been better for them then criticising the Messenger.

Obligatory charity should be distributed to: 1) the poor, those who hardly own anything and this is not hidden from people, either because of the obvious distress of their situation or because of what they tell people about their problems 2) the needy who have some money from working, but not enough for them to live well, whose situation is not drawn attention to; 3) those employed and sent by the Imam to collect it 4) disbelievers, as a sign of friendship, in order to bring them closer to Islam, and those of weak faith, so as to strengthen their faith and prevent evil 5) freeing captives 6) people in debt – who find themselves in debt due to reasonable conditions and not because of extravagance – if they cannot find a way of repaying their debts 7) those striving for the sake of Allah and 8) the traveller who has run out of money. Limiting the distribution of zakat to these people is a duty established by Allah. Allah knows what is in the best interests of His servants, Wise in His planning and law-making.

Among the hypocrites are those who hurt the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) through their words, saying, because of his great kindness, that he listens to everyone and believes whatever they say, and does not distinguish between what is true and what is not. The Messenger (peace be upon him) is told to say to them that he only listens to what is best for them. He has faith in Allah and believes what the believers tell him. Those who harm the Messenger (peace be upon him), in any way, will receive a painful punishment.

The hypocrites swear by Allah to you, O believers, that they did not say anything to hurt the Prophet (peace be upon him). They do this so that you may become pleased with them; but Allah and His Messenger are more deserving of being pleased by their accepting faith and performing good actions, if they are truly believers.

Do these hypocrites not know that by their doing such actions they are opposing Allah and His Messenger; and that whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger will enter the fire of Hell on the Day of Judgement, to live there eternally? That is the worst disgrace and humiliation.