Appearance
Verses 75–80
These verses discuss another group of the hypocrites who disobeyed the ordinance on charities and refused to deliver their zakāt to the Messenger; they had been poor, but had sworn to God that if He enriched them and extended His grace to them, they would give charity and be amongst the righteous, but when He gave them wealth, they became stingy and refused.
They also mention yet other hypocrites who criticized the wealthy believers for giving charity, while also reproaching those who were poor and mocking them. God refers to all of these people as hypocrites and decrees that they shall never be forgiven for their deeds.
وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ عَاهَدَ اللَّهَ لَئِنْ آتَانَا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ ٧٥ فَلَمَّا آتَاهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ بَخِلُوا بِهِ وَتَوَلَّوْا وَهُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ ٧٦
(9:75-76) Among them are those who made a pledge with Allah: ‘If He gives us (ītāʾ) out of His grace, we will surely give charity and we will surely be among the righteous.’ But when He gave them out of His grace, they begrudged it and turned away, being disregardful.
The verb ītāʾ means to give (like iʿtāʾ), however ītāʾ is commonly used for God’s grace (faḍl), while iʿṭāʾ is used for wealth. However, here it is clearly being used in the sense of wealth, because they say, we will surely give charity, meaning we will give charity out of the wealth He has given them. The same is true in the following verse, which discusses stinginess.
The context of the verse suggests that it is discussing something that has actually taken place, and the narrations about these verses indicate that they were revealed about Thaʿlaba in the course of events that we will discuss in our treatment of the narrations below. However, the overall meaning of the verses is clear.
فَأَعْقَبَهُمْ نِفَاقًا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يَلْقَوْنَهُ بِمَا أَخْلَفُوا اللَّهَ مَا وَعَدُوهُ وَبِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ ٧٧
(9:77) So it caused hypocrisy to ensue (aʿqaba) in their hearts until the day they will encounter it, because of their going back on what they had promised Allah and because of the lies they used to tell.
The verb aʿqba means ‘to bequeath.’ In Majmaʿ al-bayān, we read: ‘Aʿqaba (to cause to ensue) is synonymous with awratha (to bequeath) and adā (to deliver), although it can also be used in the sense of jazā (to recompense).’ It is derived from ʿaqab, meaning to bring one thing after another thing.
The pronoun ‘it’ in the phrase, so it caused hypocrisy to ensue in their hearts refers to their stinginess or to their miserly behavior. Therefore, the meaning of, until the day they will encounter it, is until they encounter their stinginess, meaning the day they encounter its recompense.
However, the pronouns could also be read as ‘He’ and ‘Him’ in reference to God, in which case, they day they will encounter Him is the Day of Judgement, as the Qurʾan frequently refers to the Day of Judgement as the Day people encounter God, or it refers to the day on which they die, as we see in the verse, Whoever expects to encounter Allah, Allah’s time will indeed come ().
This second meaning—that it is the day they die—seems more plausible, as this would imply that they will remain stingy until the day they die, which makes more sense than saying that they will remain stingy until the day they are resurrected, as it is known that their condition will not change after their death.
…because of their going back on what they had promised Allah and because of the lies they used to tell: In other words, this stinginess bequeathed hypocrisy to them because it entailed them breaking their promise to God and persistently telling lies, both of which lead to a disjunction between their inner and outer states, which is the definition of hypocrisy.
Therefore, the meaning of the verse is: ‘Their stinginess and refusal to give charity planted hypocrisy in their hearts, which will endure in them and never leave them until the day they die. This stinginess gave rise to their hypocrisy because it led them to break their promise to God and to persist in telling lies.’
Alternatively, the meaning of the verse could be read as follows: ‘God requited them by allowing the trait of hypocrisy to take root in their hearts until the Day they encounter Him, which is the day on which they die, because they had broken their promises to Him and told lies.’
This verse shows, first, that breaking promises and uttering lies are both causes of hypocrisy and signs of it.
Second, that hypocrisy is something that afflicts a person after belief, just as apostasy is something that occurs when a person disbelieves after believing. God says, Then the fate of those who committed misdeeds was that they denied the signs of Allah and they used to deride them (). This shows that sinning can lead a person to deny the signs of God, and this denial might be both inward and outward, in which case it is disbelief, or it might be only inward, in which case it is hypocrisy.
أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَاهُمْ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ ٧٨
(9:78) Do they not know that Allah knows their secret and their secret talks (najwā), and that Allah is knower of all that is Unseen?
Najwā refers to hidden communications; the question posed by this verse is rhetorical and intended to convey a rebuke or reprimand.
الَّذِينَ يَلْمِزُونَ الْمُطَّوِّعِينَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَجِدُونَ إِلَّا جُهْدَهُمْ فَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنْهُمْ ۙ سَخِرَ اللَّهُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ٧٩
(9:79) Those who blame the voluntary donors (muṭawwiʿīn) from among the faithful concerning the charities—and as for those who do not find except what their means allow, they ridicule them—Allah shall put them to ridicule, and there is a painful punishment for them.
Muṭawwiʿīn is derived from taṭawwuʿ, which means to do something that one’s soul does not dislike and does not find difficult. Therefore, it is normally used to refer to supererogatory or recommended acts, as the soul tends to feel compelled to perform obligatory acts as it dislikes abandoning them.
Note that the voluntary donors from among the faithful are contrasted with those who do not find except what their means allow, which shows that the voluntary donors are a reference to those who give charities because they are wealthy and prosperous, as though the fact of their wealth makes it possible for them to give charities by choice without this being difficult for them. This is unlike those who do not find except what their means allow, as this means they were only able to acquire a certain sum of wealth through their efforts or that it is difficult for them to be satisfied with what little they have acquired in this way.
This verse represents either a new discussion or—according to some commentators—a further description of those who made a pledge with Allah (), mentioned previously. The meaning of the verse is as follows: ‘There are ones who criticise those who give charities voluntarily from amongst the wealthy members of the faithful and those who do not find much wealth save what their efforts allow from amongst the poor and impoverished. They criticise both the rich and the poor and the prosperous and the impoverished for giving charities and mock them. However, God mocks them and has a painful punishment in store for them.’ This is a response to their mockery and a threat of terrible punishment.
اسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ أَوْ لَا تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ إِنْ تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً فَلَنْ يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ ٨٠
(9:80) Whether you plead forgiveness for them or do not plead forgiveness for them, even if you plead forgiveness for them seventy times, Allah shall never forgive them because they defied Allah and His Messenger; and Allah does not guide the transgressing lot.
This verse begins with an equivocation between the command plead forgiveness and the prohibition do not plead forgiveness. This shows that both doing the action and abstaining from it are the same, which means that the act is itself pointless. This is akin to the verse, spend willingly or unwillingly, it shall never be accepted from you ().
The meaning is that these hypocrites will never be forgiven by God and it makes no difference whether you plead forgiveness for them or do not, because pleading forgiveness for them is pointless and will have no effect.
…even if you plead forgiveness for them seventy times: This emphasizes what has already been said about the pointlessness of pleading forgiveness for them and showing that they will never attain the essence of forgiveness, whether you pray for them to be forgiven or you do not, and whether you pray once or seventy times, a little or a lot.
Note that the use of the number ‘seventy’ here is to signify an abundance of something rather than the actual number seventy, such that if one asked for their forgiveness once or more times beyond seventy, it might have some effect. That is why God explains the ineffectiveness of such prayers for forgiveness with the phrase, Allah shall never forgive them because they defied Allah and His Messenger. In other words, what prevents them from receiving forgiveness is their disbelief in God and His Messenger. Therefore, because of this barrier, not asking God to forgive them is exactly the same as asking Him to do so, and it does not matter how many times one prays for their forgiveness, they are in a state of disbelief.
This shows that the coda of the verse, and Allah does not guide the transgressing lot, is intended to complement the meaning of what came before it. In fact, the statement reads almost like a syllogism: They disbelieved in God and His Messenger, so they are transgressors who have forsaken the service of the Divine, and God does not guide a transgressing lot. At the same time, forgiveness means to be guided to God’s proximity and to paradise. Therefore, this forgiveness will never encompass them and they will never be able to obtain it.
Note also that using the number seventy to signify a general abundance of something in Qurʾanic Arabic, is like the use of ‘hundreds’ or ‘thousands’ in everyday speech today.
Examining Narrations
- In Majmaʿ al-bayān, we read:
Some have said that these verses were revealed about Thaʿlaba b. Ḥāṭib, a member of the Helpers. He said to the Prophet, ‘Ask God to provide me with wealth!’ The Prophet said, ‘O Thaʿlaba! A little that you give thanks for is better than a lot that you cannot manage. Do you not have a goodly exemplar in the Messenger of God? By He in whose hand is my soul, if I wished for mountains of gold and silver to move with me, they would.’
Then Thaʿlaba returned to him again and said, ‘O Messenger of God! Ask God to provide me with wealth, for by He who sent you with the truth, if God provides me with wealth, I will give each person their due!’ The Messenger of God said: ‘O God! Provide Thaʿaba with wealth.’ Thaʿlaba bought a sheep, and its offspring multiplied like worms until they were too numerous to graze in Medina, so he departed with his flock and settled in a valley, and his sheep needed so much pasture that he was kept too busy to attend Friday prayers or congregational prayers in general. God’s Messenger sent a charity collector to him to take the charity due on the sheep, but he refused and was stingy. Thaʿlaba said, ‘This charity is naught but the sister of the tribute due from Jews and Christians!’ So the Messenger of God said, ‘Woe to Thaʿlaba! Woe to Thaʿlaba!’ Then God sent down these verses. This account is narrated by Abū Umāma, but it is transmitted with an incomplete chain of narrators.
Others have said that Thaʿlaba came to a gathering of the Helpers and made them bear witness as he said: ‘I swear, if God bestows His grace upon me, I will give charity out of it, ensure that each person receives their due, and look after my relatives with it.’ So God tested him. His cousin died and left him an inheritance, but he did not keep his promise, so this verse was revealed. This is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās, Saʿīd b. Jubayr, and Qatāda.
Some have said it was revealed about Thaʿlaba b. Ḥāṭib and Muʿattab b. Qushayr, both of whom were from the Banū ʿAmr b. ʿAwf tribe and both of whom said, ‘If God provides us with wealth, we will surely give charity. But when God provided them with wealth, they became stingy with it.’ This is narrated from al-Ḥasan and Mujāhid.
Author’s comments: These narrations do not contradict one another, as it is entirely possible that Thaʿlaba made a pledge to the Prophet to this effect, then had a group of the Helpers bear witness to it, and that someone else may have also made the same pledge with him. Therefore, the narrations support one another.
The account narrated by al-Ḍaḥḥāk also supports the idea that these verses were revealed about some of the hypocrites: Nabtal b. al-Ḥārith, Jadd b. Qays, Thaʿlaba b. Ḥāṭib, and Muʿattab b. Qushayr.
There is a narration in Majmaʿ al-bayān, transmitted from al-Kalbī, that the verses were revealed about Ḥāṭib b. Abī Baltaʿa, who had some property that was held up in Syria, and he swore that if God granted it to him, he would give some as charity. Then, when God granted it to him, but he did not keep his oath. However, this narration does not cohere with the contents of the verse, as conveying some property to its rightful owner is not called ‘giving out of one’s grace’ in the sense of ītāʾ (which is the verb used in the verse), but rather this is providing (rizq) or bestowing (iʿtāʾ).
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, it is narrated by Abū al-Jārūd from Imām al-Bāqir about this verse: ‘It refers to Thaʿlaba b. Ḥāṭib b. ʿAmr b. ʿAwf, who was needy and made a pledge to God that he would give charity if God granted him wealth, but when God granted him wealth, he was stingy with it.’
- In al-Durr al-manthūr, al-Bukhārī, Muslim, al-Tirmidhī, and al-Nasāʾī all narrate from Abū Hurayra from the Prophet: ‘The hypocrite has three marks: When he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is given a trust, he betrays it.’
Author’s comments: This is narrated from the Imāms of the Prophet’s Household via multiple chains of transmission, and we have discussed some of these narrations already.
- In the same source, concerning the verse, those who blame the voluntary donors (), al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Ibn Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Abū al-Shaykh, Ibn Mardawayh, and Abū Naʿīm in al-Maʿrifa all narrate from Ibn Masʿūd: ‘When the verse of charity (ṣadaqa) was revealed, we used to struggle to give anything. When a man came and gave a lot of charity, they called him a show-off. When Abū ʿAqīl brought a half-measure as charity, the hypocrites said, “Surely God has no need of this charity!” Then the verse was revealed, those who blame the voluntary donors from among the faithful concerning the charities—and as for those who do not find except what their means allow.’
Author’s comments: There are many narrations reported concerning the occasion of this verse’s revelation that are similar in content to the ones we have already presented here. There are other narrations with a similar meaning too. All of them treat the verse as being detached from the context of the verses immediately before it.
- In al-Durr al-manthūr, Ibn Jarīr and Ibn Abī Ḥātim narrate from ʿUrwa: ‘ʿAbd Allāh b. Ubayy told his associates, “If only you would stop spending your wealth on Muḥammad and his Companions, they would all surely desert him!” It was he who said the words, the mighty will surely expel the abased (). So, God revealed the verse, Whether you plead forgiveness for them or do not plead forgiveness for them, even if you plead forgiveness for them seventy times, Allah shall never forgive them (). The Prophet said, “I will plead forgiveness for them more than seventy times!” Then God revealed the verse, it is the same for them whether you plead for forgiveness for them, or do not plead for forgiveness for them: Allah will never forgive them ().’
- In the same source, Ibn Abī Shayba, Ibn Jarīr, and Ibn Mundhir narrate from Mujāhid: ‘When God sent down the verse, even if you plead forgiveness for them seventy times, Allah shall never forgive them, the Prophet said, “I shall plead forgiveness for them more than seventy times!” So, God revealed in the chapter of the Qurʾan about the hypocrites, It is the same for them whether you plead for forgiveness for them, or do not plead for forgiveness for them: Allah will never forgive them. Indeed Allah does not guide the transgressing lot ().’
Author’s comments: There is no doubt that these verses were revealed towards the end of the Prophet’s mission, and that they were definitely preceded by all of the Meccan chapters and verses and the majority of the Medinan chapters and verses. Someone who ponders on the meaning of the Book of God will also not have any doubt that there is no hope of salvation for the disbelievers or the hypocrites—who are worse than the disbelievers—should they die in a state of unbelief or hypocrisy, and there is no possibility of them receiving God’s forgiveness. There are many Meccan and Medinan verses that are explicit in stating this.
So, how could someone in the Prophet’s position be unaware of what God had revealed to him or not believe in the eternal punishment that God has promised the hypocrites with certainty, such that he could hope to undo God’s definitive decree by obstinately pleading to God for their forgiveness?
Or how could he be unaware that the hesitation between the command and prohibition in the verse is for rhetorical effect, or that the number seventy is merely being used to signify an abundance of something here, such that he thinks they might be forgiven if he pleads more than seventy times?
It is also hard to see what, if anything, the verse from Sūrah al-Munāfiqūn that is quoted in the narrations— It is the same for them whether you plead for forgiveness for them, or do not plead for forgiveness for them: Allah will never forgive them. Indeed Allah does not guide the transgressing lot—adds to the meaning already expressed in the verse we are presently discussing, as it already makes clear, whether you plead forgiveness for them or do not plead forgiveness for them, even if you plead forgiveness for them seventy times, Allah shall never forgive them because they defied Allah and His Messenger; and Allah does not guide the transgressing lot. In both of these verses, God explains that He will never forgive the hypocrites because they are transgressors and God does not guide people who transgress.
Therefore, we can conclude that these narrations and others like them are probably fabrications and should be discounted.
- In al-Durr al-manthūr, Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, al-Bukhārī, al-Tirmidhī, al-Nasāʾī, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, al-Naḥḥās, Ibn Ḥibān, Ibn Mardawayh, and Abū Naʿīm in Ḥilya all narrate from Ibn ʿAbbās, ‘I heard ʿUmar say, “When ʿAbd Allāh b. Ubayy died, the Messenger of God was called to offer funerary prayers for him. So he got up and, as he stood over him, I said: ‘Will you pray over the enemy of God, ʿAbd Allāh b. Ubayy who said such-and-such and such-and-such?’ Then I began to enumerate everything he had done. The Messenger of God kept smiling until I had gone on for a while, then said, ‘O ʿUmar, leave me be, for I have been given a say in this, as I have been told, plead forgiveness for them or do not plead forgiveness for them, even if you plead forgiveness for them seventy times (), so if I knew that by pleading more than seventy times for him, he would be forgiven, I would ask more than seventy times for him!’
‘“Then the Messenger of God offered prayers over him, walked with his procession, and stood over his grave until he was buried. I was surprised by my boldness towards the Messenger of God, and God and His Messenger know best, but by God it was not long before the verse was revealed, And never pray over any of them when he dies, nor stand at his graveside (). The Messenger of God did not pray over any hypocrite again, until God took him from us.’”’
Author’s comments: When the Messenger of God says in the narration, ‘so if I knew that by pleading more than seventy times for him, he would be forgiven, I would ask more than seventy times for him’, this shows that he had indeed given up any hope of ʿAbd Allāh b. Ubayy being forgiven. This shows that the statement ‘I have been given a say in this, as I have been told, plead forgiveness for them or do not plead forgiveness for them, even if you plead forgiveness for them seventy times’ means that God has given him the choice between pleading for forgiveness or not pleading for forgiveness, not that he has any real say in the matter of whether God will forgive him, such that it can be concluded that his pleading forgiveness will have any impact on whether ʿAbd Allāh b. Ubayy is forgiven or not.
From this, we can conclude that even if it is established that the Messenger of God asked forgiveness for ʿAbd Allāh b. Ubayy, performed funerary prayers for him, and stood over his grave, none of that was done with the earnest intent of seeking forgiveness for him or supplicating on his behalf, as we shall see in the narration of al-Qummī. There is also a discussion to be had about these narrations, which we shall come to shortly.
- In the same source, Ibn Abī Ḥātim narrates from al-Shaʿbī that ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb said, ‘I once made an error in Islam the likes of which I have never made! The Messenger of God wanted to perform funerary prayers over the body of ʿAbd Allāh b. Ubayy, so I tugged on his robe and said, “By God, God has not commanded you to do this! God has said, whether you plead forgiveness for them or do not plead forgiveness for them, even if you plead forgiveness for them seventy times, Allah shall never forgive them ().” The Messenger of God replied, “My Lord has given me a choice in this, for he has said, plead forgiveness for them or do not plead forgiveness for them.” The Messenger of God sat down at the edge of the grave, and people were telling the deceased’s son, “O Ḥabbāb, do this” or “O Ḥabbāb, do that.” The Messenger of God said, “Ḥabbāb is the name of Satan, you are ʿAbd Allāh.”’
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, concerning the verse, whether you plead forgiveness for them or do not plead forgiveness for them, we read: ‘It was revealed when the Messenger of God returned to Medina and ʿAbd Allāh b. Ubayy fell seriously ill. His son, ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbd Allāh was a believer, so he came to the Messenger of God as his father lay dying, and said, “O Messenger of God, may my father and mother be your ransom, surely if you do not come to my father it will be shameful for us.” So the Messenger of God went to see him while the hypocrites were with him, and his son ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbd Allāh said, “Pray for his forgiveness, pray for his forgiveness!”
‘Then ʿUmar said, “O Messenger of God! Did God not prohibit you from praying over any of them or asking forgiveness on behalf of any of them?” The Messenger of God turned away from him, but he continued, so he said, “Woe to you! I have been given the choice, so I have chosen. Surely God says, whether you plead forgiveness for them or do not plead forgiveness for them, even if you plead forgiveness for them seventy times, Allah shall never forgive them!”
‘When ʿAbd Allāh b. Ubayy died, his son came to the Messenger of God and said: “May my father and my mother be your ransom, O Messenger of God, would you come to his funeral?” So, the Messenger came to his funeral and stood over his grave. ʿUmar said to him, “O Messenger of God! Did Got not prohibit you from ever praying over one of them when they die or standing by their grave?” God’s Messenger responded, “Woe to you! Do you even know what I said? I only said, ‘O God, fill his grave with fire, fill his insides with fire, and send him to the Fire!’” And the Messenger of God was forced to say something that he had not wished disclosed.’
Author’s comments: There is more to say about this narration. We will discuss it in the verses that follow.