Verses 97–106

Chapter 9: Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) · Printed edition: Volume 18, pp. 282–306

This section of verses continues in the same vein as the previous one, now turning to address the state of the Bedouins, speaking about their disbelief and hypocrisy, but also their faith. This section also contains the Verse of Charity (Āyat al-Ṣadaqa).

الْأَعْرَابُ أَشَدُّ كُفْرًا وَنِفَاقًا وَأَجْدَرُ أَلَّا يَعْلَمُوا حُدُودَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ ٩٧

(9:97) The Bedouins (Aʿrāb) are more obdurate in unfaith and hypocrisy, and more apt to be ignorant of the precepts that God has sent down to His Messenger, and God is all-knowing, all-wise.

In his Mufradāt, al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī writes: ‘The Arabs are the descendants of Ishmael, and the term Aʿrāb (“Bedouins”) is the plural form of ʿArab. Over time, however, this plural came to denote the desert-dwellers. See the verses: The Bedouins say, “We have faith” (); The Bedouins are more obdurate in unfaith and hypocrisy (); Yet among the Bedouins are those who believe in God and the Last Day ().

Some have said that the plural of Aʿrāb is Aʿārīb. See, for example, the verses of poetry:

Bedouins (Aʿārīb) proud of falsehood / and eloquent in speech

In everyday parlance, the term Aʿrābī (sing. ‘Bedouin’) denotes a desert-dweller, while ʿArabī signifies proper speech, while iʿrāb means explanation.’

In this verse, God addresses the condition of the desert-dwellers, saying that they are worse in disbelief and hypocrisy because they live far from Medina and from urban society. This isolation also means that they are also more deprived of humanistic blessings such as knowledge and morals. Therefore, it is only to be expected that they are ignorant of the bounds of what God has sent down in the form of divine teachings and religious ordinances concerning duties, practices, and permitted and prohibited things.

وَمِنَ الْأَعْرَابِ مَنْ يَتَّخِذُ مَا يُنْفِقُ مَغْرَمًا وَيَتَرَبَّصُ بِكُمُ الدَّوَائِرَ ۚ عَلَيْهِمْ دَائِرَةُ السَّوْءِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ٩٨

(9:98) Among the Bedouins are those who regard what they spend as a loss (maghram), and they watch for a reversal of your fortunes (dawāʾir). Theirs shall be an adverse turn of fortune, and God is all-hearing, all-knowing.

In Majmaʿ al-bayān, we read: ‘Maghram (“loss”) refers to a misfortune that affects one’s wealth without there being any underhandedness involved. The root meaning of gharām (of which maghram is a cognate) is “something bound to happen.” For example, see the verse, indeed its punishment is enduring (gharāman), or the saying that love is gharām (“inescapable”). The cognate gharīm denotes both parties in a loan agreement, because each is bound to the other. Therefore, the verb gharama can be used to signify the existence of a financial obligation between one party and another.’

Dawāʾir is the plural of dāʾira (‘reversal’), which can refer to any significant event, but is typically employed to denote misfortunes and calamities. It is derived from the root d-w-r, meaning ‘to circulate’, as though such misfortunes circulate amongst people and each day a different people are afflicted by something. Therefore, when God says that the Bedouins are watching for a reversal of the faithful’s fortunes, it means they are awaiting some calamity or misfortune to befall them so that they can free themselves from their authority and return to their idolatrous and erroneous customs.

…who regard what they spend as a loss—meaning they think of spending in the way of God as a waste of money. According to some commentators, this is referring not only to money spent for jihād but on any good cause. It could also be referring to money spent in the form of charities, which would make this verse a prelude to the discussion of collecting charities from the Bedouin’s wealth that occurs in a few verses’ time. This reading is supported by the content of the following verse, and regard what they spend as nearness to God and the blessings of the Messenger (), and it looks like a prelude to the part of the verse that reads, and bless them. Indeed your blessing is a comfort to them ().

Therefore, the meaning of the verse is as follows: ‘There are desert-dwellers who think that way they spend in the way of goodness—or what they give as charity—is a loss and a forfeiture. They are awaiting for some misfortune to befall you. However, it is they who shall suffer misfortune—this can be read either as a divine decree or an imprecation—and God hears what they say and knows the contents of their hearts.’

وَمِنَ الْأَعْرَابِ مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَيَتَّخِذُ مَا يُنْفِقُ قُرُبَاتٍ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَصَلَوَاتِ الرَّسُولِ ۚ أَلَا إِنَّهَا قُرْبَةٌ لَهُمْ ۚ سَيُدْخِلُهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي رَحْمَتِهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ٩٩

(9:99) Yet among the Bedouins are those who believe in God and the Last Day, and regard what they spend as nearness to God and the blessings of the Messenger. Look! It shall indeed bring them nearness, and God will admit them into His mercy. Indeed God is all-forgiving, all-merciful.

It seems that the phrase, the blessings of the Messenger, is joined to the statement, what they spend, and the pronoun ‘it’ in It shall bring them nearness refers jointly to what they spend and the blessings of the Messenger.

Therefore, the meaning of the verse is: ‘There are desert-dwellers who believe in God and in His monotheism, without associating partners with Him. They also believe in the Last Day, and in being held accountable for their deeds and recompensed for them. Therefore, they see spending their wealth in the way of God and the blessings and prayers of the Messenger that this engenders as a source of nearness to God for them. Furthermore God promises them that He will admit them to His mercy, because He is all-forgiving of sins, most merciful to the faithful and those who obey Him.

وَالسَّابِقُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْأَنْصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ ١٠٠

(9:100) The early vanguard (al-sābiqūn al-awwalūn) of the Emigrants (Muhājirīn) and the Helpers (Anṣār) and those who followed them in virtue—God is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them forever. That is the great success.

The standard recitation (qirāʾa) of this verse is that ‘the Helpers’ takes a kasra (-i) as its final vowel because it is joined to ‘the Emigrants.’ This means ‘the early vanguard of the Emigrants and the early vanguard of the Helpers and those who followed them in virtue…’ An alternative recitation from Yaʿqūb sees the word Helpers take a ḍamma (-u), which would indicate that it refers to all of the Helpers and not only ‘the early vanguard’ of them.

Key Debate: The Early Vanguard →

There is some disagreement about the meaning of al-sābiqūn al-awwalūn in this verse. Some have said this refers to those who had converted to Islam early enough to have offered prays towards both Jerusalem and Mecca. Others have said it refers to those who were present at the Pledge of Ḥudaybiyya. Still others have said it refers specifically to those who fought at the Battle of Badr. Then there are those who say it refers to those who converted to Islam before the Emigration to Medina. However, none of these interpretations find strong support in the wording of the verse itself.

What the wording of the verse suggests, however, is that the term sābiqūn awwalūn—which uses two adjectives to describe this group of believers without specifically identifying them—refers to the Emigration and fighting for the Prophet, and it is these two traits that make them the ‘early vanguard.’

Then, the phrase that follows this, namely, and those who followed them in virtue, introduces another group, identified by the fact that they followed the first group and that they did so virtuously. Now, when God describes them as followers, this links them to the first of the two previously mentioned adjectives—sābiqūn (‘vanguard’)—as one does not speak of ‘the early and the followers’, but rather ‘the vanguard and the followers.’ This is confirmed by the verses, for the poor Emigrants who have been expelled from their homes and [wrested of] their possessions… and for those who were settled in the land and [abided] in faith before them… And [also for] those who came in after them, who say, ‘Our Lord, forgive us and our brethren who were our forerunners in the faith…’ ().

Therefore, the meaning of ‘vanguard’ (sābiqūn) here are those Muslims who hastened to faith from the dawn of Islam until the Day of Judgement.

However, the idea of some going ahead and that of others following them are relational concepts. Therefore the Muslims of each era are—relatively speaking—‘ahead’ of those who come after them in subsequent eras, just as they are ‘following’ those who have gone ahead of them in earlier eras. Therefore, God uses the adjective awwalūn (‘early’) to show that these are the very first generation of them.

Therefore, God describes the third of the three classes as those who followed them in virtue. Note that He does not limit those who followed them to any particular age or generation, nor does he describe them as ‘going ahead’, being ‘first’, or the like thereof. This means that the phrase is general and encompasses all of those who follow the early vanguard. Therefore, according to this verse, all of the believers who are not hypocrites from the dawn of Islam until the Day of Judgement fall into three classes: The early vanguard from the Emigrants, the early vanguard from the Helpers, and those who followed them in virtue. The first two classes are not described as following anyone else; they are the ones being followed by everyone else, whereas the third category are only followed in relative terms, as we have already discussed.

This analysis is the best evidence for the fact that the early vanguard refers to those who laid the foundations of the religion and raised its supports before its edifice was erected and its flags were held high. Some of these were the ones who believed and joined the Prophet, who endured harassment and persecution, who left behind their homes and possessions when they emigrated to Ethiopia and Medina; others were the ones who believed in the Prophet and came to his aid, who granted him and those believers who emigrated with him to their city shelter, and defended the religion before it was powerful and triumphant.

This applies to all of those who believed in the Prophet before he emigrated to Medina and all of those who emigrated to Medina with him before the Battle of Badr, as this marked the beginning of Islam’s triumph over faithlessness; and to those who believed in the Prophet, sheltered him, and were prepared to fight for him when he emigrated to Medina.

As for the third group, and those who followed them in virtue, they are distinguished by the fact that the followed the early vanguard in virtue. When the verse says, ‘in virtue’, this does not mean that those being followed were virtuous and then those who followed them followed their example and imitated them in virtue. It also does not mean that they followed them by way of virtue or because of virtue. Instead, what we notice is that the word ‘virtue’ (iḥsān) in this verse appears indefinite. What this suggests is that they followed them with virtue, meaning that the way in which they followed them was virtuous.

When we read the Qurʾan, we see that God does not blame anyone for following anyone else except when this is done out of ignorance or prejudice—as is the case with the idolaters following their forefathers or the People of the Book following their monks, scribes, and forebears out of their own desires—or when they follow their own whims or follow the Devil. Whoever follows any of these things has followed wickedly. On the other hand, whoever follows the truth not on the basis of their own whims or prejudices has followed virtuously. That is why God says, who listen to the word and follow the best of it. They are the ones whom God has guided, and it is they who possess intellect (). Part of following virtuously is that the follower ensures their actions correspond fully to those of what they are following. By contrast, failing to do this is another example of following wickedly.

Therefore, the apparent meaning of the phrase, and those who followed them in virtue, is that they followed them in a virtuous manner, namely that they followed them in the truth—in other words, they followed them because the truth was with them—which is the same as following the truth directly. This is the opposite of following them because of one’s own whims or because of some benefit one wishes to derive from them or from following them. The same is true of imitating their actions.

This is what the apparent meaning of the verse conveys about the idea ‘following in virtue.’ Some have suggested that it means to follow them and to be virtuous, namely that the follower should follow them with good deeds and righteous acts. However, this reading is not in keeping with the Arabic of the verse, in which the word ‘virtue’ is kept indefinite (without the use of al-), which points to a specific kind of virtuousness. Moreover, even if we accept that this is the intended meaning of the verse, it can only be understood in the sense that this is part and parcel of following the truth for the sake of the truth, which naturally entails the performance of good and righteous deeds. However, doing good deeds does not necessarily entail following the truth, as is self-evident.

In short, then, the verse reduces the true believers within the community of the faithful to three groups: The first two groups are the early vanguard of the Emigrants and the Helpers, while the third group are those who followed them in virtue.

Based on the above, the following becomes evident:

First, that the verse praises the first two categories for being the first to believe and the foremost in championing the religion and laying its foundations. The context and tone of the verse make it clear that they have superiority over all others.

Second, that the use of the preposition ‘of’ (min) in the phrase, of the Emigrants and the Helpers is used in the sense of division (tabʿīḍ) rather than exposition (bayān)—meaning that ‘some of’ the Emigrants and Helpers are the early vanguard, rather than all of them. This is based on the superiority the verse assigns to them and the fact that it says that God is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, while the Qurʾan itself also mentions that there are Emigrants and Helpers who have a sickness in their hearts, that there others who are spies for the hypocrites, and others still whom it describes as transgressors, and there are also those whose behavior the Prophet disavowed. It is meaningless to say that God is pleased with such people, for God will never be pleased with transgressors.

Third, when the verse speaks about the superiority of this group and God being pleased with them, its context shows that this is contingent upon their having faith and doing righteous deeds. After all, the verse is praising the believers in the same context as the hypocrites are being criticized for their disbelief and evil conduct. This means that wherever God praises the faithful, mentions them in a good way, or promises them a beautiful reward, all of this is contingent upon their faith and righteous deeds. For example, consider the following verse: …for the poor Emigrants who have been expelled from their homes and [wrested of] their possessions, who seek grace from God and [His] pleasure and help God and His Apostle. It is they who are the truthful (), and the three that come after it.

Or the verse in which He relates the supplication of the angels for the believers: and they plead for forgiveness for the faithful: ‘Our Lord! You comprehend all things in mercy and knowledge. So forgive those who repent and follow Your way and save them from the punishment of hell. Our Lord! Admit them into the Gardens of Eden, which You have promised them, along with whoever is righteous among their forebears, their spouses and their descendants…’ ().

Or the verse: Muhammad, the Messenger of God, and those who are with him are hard against the faithless and merciful amongst themselves… God has promised those of them who have faith and do righteous deeds forgiveness and a great reward ().

Or the verse: The faithful and their descendants who followed them in faith—We will make their descendants join them, and We will not stint anything from their deeds. Every man is a hostage to what he has earned (). Note in this verse particularly the phrases ‘in faith’ and ‘every man.’

Now, if the statement in the present verse was not qualified by the conditions of faith and righteous conduct, and these persons had God’s pleasure and forgiveness regardless of whether their conduct was virtuous or not and whether they were pious or dissolute, this would explicitly contradict the verses, God shall not be reconciled to the transgressing lot (); and God does not guide the transgressing lot (); and God does not like the wrongdoers (), along with the many other verses of the Qurʾan that state directly or indirectly that God is never pleased with wrongdoers or transgressors or anyone who does not obey His commands and prohibitions. Moreover, none of these verses are phrased in a way that admits qualification or abrogation. The same is true of what God says directly to the believers: It will be neither after your hopes nor the hopes of the People of the Book: whoever commits evil shall be requited for it ().

Therefore, the absence of any qualification in this verse would mean qualifying all of the other verses—and these are many indeed—that deal with divine recompense or contain threats and warnings of punishment. To qualify all of these verses in this way would completely undermine the system of divine reward and punishment, which, in turn, would render the majority of religious rulings and ordinances futile, and, by extension, invalidate the divine wisdom in sending down revelation to humankind. This would also render the distinction we made above concerning the preposition ‘of’ between division and exposition moot as, in this case, it obviously would not matter whether some of the Emigrants and Helpers were superior in status and recipients of God’s forgiveness or whether all of them were.

God is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him: To be pleased with something (al-riḍā) means that our hearts find an action agreeable without feeling any internal conflict or contradiction about this. When a person is pleased with something, this means they consent to it and do not refuse it. Someone is pleased with something so long as they do not actively dislike it, but this does not mean that they like it either. It is possible they feel neither like nor dislike towards it. Therefore, God’s servant is pleased with Him so long as He does not dislike anything that God wishes or like anything that God detests. And one can only be pleased with God in this sense if they are pleased with His decree (qadāʾ) and His actions as they become manifest in the cosmos, and equally with His ordinances and will as expressed through the promulgation of His religion. In other words, if a person submits to God’s cosmic and moral will, then this is submission and surrender to God.

This is yet another piece of evidence that the praise and reward given in this verse is contingent upon faith and righteous conduct, in the sense that God only praises the Emigrants, the Helpers, and the Followers so long as they believe in Him and act righteously. The verse says that He is pleased with such persons and has prepared for them gardens in the Hereafter beneath which rivers flow.

Therefore, the verse should not be understood as indicating that God is automatically pleased with anyone who can be called an Emigrant, a Helper, or a Follower, as this would mean that once God is pleased with someone He can never be displeased by them again, and that He owes them forgiveness and paradise regardless of how they behave thereafter, whether righteously or wickedly, piously or dissolutely.

Then, what does it mean to say that God is pleased with someone? When God is described as being pleased, this is an attribute of action (ṣifat al-fiʿl) rather than an attribute of essence (ṣifat al-dhāt). This is because if it was an attribute of essence, this would expose the Divine Essence to changeability or alteration in the event that a person who God was pleased with earned His wrath by disobeying Him, or that a person with whom God was displeased with earned His pleasure by repenting to Him. Therefore, when we say that God is pleased or displeased with someone, we are referring to how He treats them: When God is pleased with someone, this means He treats them in the manner of one who is pleased by admitting them to His mercy and sending down blessings upon them. Equally, when God is displeased with someone, He treats them in the manner of one who is displeased by denying them his mercy and submitting them to tribulation and adversity.

Therefore, it is possible that God could be pleased with someone only to become displeased with them at some future point, or vice versa. However, the context of the verse suggests that when it describes God as being pleased with them, this is a kind of pleasure after which there is no anger or wrath. This is because it is speaking about the character of the very best members of the Muslim community from both earlier and later generations, who have faith and do righteous deeds. Therefore, this is not referring to a specific group of people at a specific time such that we can conceive of God becoming displeased with them at a later date, because this is not something related to time. This is in contrast to the verse about the pledge given at Ḥudaybiyya, in which God says, God was certainly pleased with the faithful when they swore allegiance to you under the tree (). Note that in this verse, God’s pleasure is qualified by a specific time. Therefore, it is conceivable that God could become displeased with some of the persons this verse refers to at a later time.

وَمِمَّنْ حَوْلَكُمْ مِنَ الْأَعْرَابِ مُنَافِقُونَ ۖ وَمِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ ۖ مَرَدُوا عَلَى النِّفَاقِ لَا تَعْلَمُهُمْ ۖ نَحْنُ نَعْلَمُهُمْ ۚ سَنُعَذِّبُهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ ثُمَّ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ عَذَابٍ عَظِيمٍ ١٠١

(9:101) There are hypocrites among the Bedouins around (ḥawl) you and among the townspeople of Medina, steeped (maradū) in hypocrisy. You do not know them; We know them, and We will punish them twice, then they shall be consigned to a great punishment.

When one thing is described as being ‘around’ (ḥawl) another, this means that it is adjacent to it on a number of sides and contains it.

Maradū means to be recalcitrant or disobedient, and to persistently practice evil deeds. Hence, when the verse says that they are steeped in hypocrisy, this means that they repeatedly practice it to the point where they have become accustomed to it.

Based on this, the meaning of the verse is as follows: ‘Amongst the Bedouins who live in the deserts around Medina are hypocrites who persist in their hypocrisy, and there are hypocrites amongst the inhabitants of Medina who have become accustomed to it as well. You do not know who they are, O Muḥammad, but We know them well and We will punish them twofold before we consign them to a painful torment.’

Commentators have disagreed about the meaning of the phrase, We will punish them twice—what are these two occasions on which they will be punished? Some have said it means once in this world through being taken prisoner, killed, or the like, and once when they are punished in their graves. Others have suggested that it means they will be punished in this world through their payment of zakāt and in the next world through the punishment of the grave. Still others have argued that it means they will be punished by having the penalty for treason applied to them in this life and they will be punished in their graves in the next. Some have said it means they will be punished by being exposed and shamed in this world and once by being punished in their graves. Other opinions have been given but there is no evidence for any of them in the verse itself, and if we must choose one of them, then the first seems the most appropriate explanation.

وَآخَرُونَ اعْتَرَفُوا بِذُنُوبِهِمْ خَلَطُوا عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَآخَرَ سَيِّئًا عَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ ١٠٢

(9:102) And others who have confessed to their sins, having mixed up righteous conduct with other that was evil. Maybe God will accept their repentance. Indeed God is all-forgiving, all-merciful.

In other words, amongst the Bedouins there are another group of people who are sinful but are not hypocrites like the others. On the contrary, they admit to their sins: They do some righteous deeds and some unrighteous ones and mix the two together. It is hoped that God will accept their repentance and forgive them, for He is all-forgiving and all-merciful.

Maybe God will accept their repentance: This statement gives hope to their hearts that they might be caught between this hope and the fear of punishment rather than despairing of salvation and giving up. The verse’s coda, Indeed God is all-forgiving, all-merciful, emphasizes the side of hope.

خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ صَدَقَةً تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِمْ بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ إِنَّ صَلَاتَكَ سَكَنٌ لَهُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ١٠٣

(9:103) Take charity from their possessions to cleanse them (tuṭahhiruhum) and purify them (tuzakkīhim) thereby, and bless them. Indeed your blessing is a comfort (sakan) to them, and God is all-hearing, all-knowing.

The verb tuṭahhir (‘cleanse’) means to remove dirt and pollutants from something so that its being becomes clean and ready to grow, flourish, and display its blessings. The verb tuzakkī (‘purify’) means to cause something to grow and flourish by bringing out its goodness and blessings. For example, when a gardener prunes the excess branches from a tree, this aids its growth and increases the amount of fruit it produces. Therefore, the reader should pay attention to the subtle wording of the verse, which combines the two actions of cleansing and purifying.

The phrase, Take charity from their possessions (amwāl), is a command to the Prophet to take charity out of people’s wealth. Note that the verse uses the plural amwāl (‘possessions’) rather than the singular māl (‘property’) to show that charity is taken on many different kinds of property and wealth: The two precious metals of gold and silver; the three species of cattle, namely camels, cows, and sheep; and the four varieties of crop, namely wheat, barley, dates, and grapes.

…to cleanse them and purify them thereby: This is also addressed to the Prophet and should not be read as an adverb of the word ‘charity’ (ṣadaqa), because the adverb ‘thereby’ refers back to charity. In other words, it means: ‘O Muḥammad, take charity from all the kinds of wealth that they possess, so that you may cleanse them and purify them by taking this charity.’

…and bless them: To bless them means to supplicate for them. The context of the verse indicates that this supplication is for both their persons and their property to be blessed by God. Indeed, it was part of the Prophetic practice to invoke God to bless those who gave zakāt and to bless their wealth.

Indeed your blessing is a comfort to them: A sakan (‘comfort’) is something in which one finds rest and security. In other words, your supplications on their behalf put their hearts at rest and they place their trust in them. This blessing is a form of expressing gratitude for their efforts for the sake of God. Equally, the verse’s coda, and God is all-hearing, all-knowing, is also meant to provide comfort to those who pay zakāt and hear the verse being recited or recite it themselves.

Note that, based on its apparent meaning, this verse contains the ordinance of the zakāt tax on people’s property, which is one of the pillars of Islam. This has been explained in numerous traditions that have come down from the Imams of the Prophet’s Household and from others as well.

أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَأْخُذُ الصَّدَقَاتِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ ١٠٤

(9:104) Do they not know that it is God who accepts the repentance of His servants and receives the charities, and that it is God who is the All-clement, the All-merciful?

This is a rhetorical question, intended to motivate people to give the zakāt willingly and enthusiastically. It is as if to say they are really giving this charity to God, and the Messenger or the tax agent is merely the one who receives it on His behalf. Therefore, when one gives charity, it is as though they are giving it directly to Him. Conversely, the one who takes these payments is really God as well. We find similar ideas expressed in the verses: Indeed those who swear allegiance to you, swear allegiance only to God: the hand of God is above their hands (); …and you did not throw when you threw, rather it was God who threw (); Whoever obeys the Messenger certainly obeys God ().

So, the way this verse has been phrased is intended to inspire people to deal directly with their Lord, as though when they deliver their charities their hands are touching His, even though He is utterly free from physicality and transcendent above time and space.

Note how the giving of charity is associated with repentance, as repentance is a form of purification and paying charity is also a form of purification. Therefore, when one pays charity, this is like an act of financial repentance and, by the same token, when one repents to God, this is an act of charity with one’s deeds and movements. Hence, when God adds a second part to the question in this verse, and that it is God who is the All-clement, the All-merciful? He reminds His servants of His two divine names of the All-clement and the All-merciful, under whose purview both charity and repentance fall.

From this, it is evident that giving charity and paying zakāt are forms of repentance.

وَقُلِ اعْمَلُوا فَسَيَرَى اللَّهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۖ وَسَتُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ عَالِمِ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ١٠٥

(9:105) And say, ‘Go on working: God will see your conduct, and His Apostle and the faithful, and you will be returned to the Knower of the sensible and the Unseen, and He will inform you concerning what you used to do.’

This verse appears to follow on from the preceding one but addresses the faithful directly, as though to motivate and inspire them to give charity.

It is important to note that the wording of the verse is general, and there is nothing to suggest that it is only addressed to those of the faithful who give charity, nor even to the totality of the faithful. In fact, the verse encompasses everyone who does any deed whatsoever, whether they are disbelievers, hypocrites, or believers. At the least, it includes both the hypocrites and the believers together.

However, we can see similarities between this verse and the earlier one in this chapter, God and His Messenger will observe your conduct, then you will be returned to the Knower of the sensible and the Unseen, and He will inform you concerning what you used to do (), insomuch as both of them say that God and the Messenger will see the addressee’s conduct. And, while the verse we are discussing does not explicitly mention the faithful, there are some indications that it is primarily addressed to them. After all, when we read these two verses together, they seem to say that while the true nature of the hypocrites’ conduct—meaning the aims and goals that underlie them—were hidden from the majority of people, God knew them and, through His revelation, His Messenger knew them as well. On the other hand, according to the present verse, the true nature of the faithful’s deeds—their goals, their effects, and the benefits that derive from them, such as the spread of Godwariness, the reformation of Islamic society, support for the poor and needy, and the purification and multiplication of wealth—was known to God and His Messenger, and the faithful could witness them amongst themselves.

On the other hand, we see that actions manifest their true nature, their effects, and the benefits and harms they cause in the environment in which they are performed. The outward appearance and representation of these actions change from one time to another. These are not specific to the deeds of one people or another, rather the deeds of every nation and people will one day have their effects and everyone will eventually see those effects.

Therefore, when the verse says that the faithful will witness the conduct of those who do deeds, if this meant that they will witness the appearance of their effects and outcomes—or, to put it another way, they will see their true nature in the garb of the effects they produce—this kind of witnessing is not specific to one people rather than another, nor is it specific to the deeds of one people rather than the deeds of another. So, why is it that the faithful will see this but the hypocrites will not, even though they are both members of the same society? And why will the believers not see the conduct of the hypocrites, even while this is taking place in their community and amongst their own actions?

This, along with the context of the verse, leads me to believe that it should be understood in another way. God says, and you will be returned to the Knower of the sensible and the Unseen, and He will inform you concerning what you used to do ().

This shows, first of all, that the phrase, God will see your conduct, relates to everything that takes place in this world before the Resurrection, as evinced by the phrase, and you will be returned…, as this is a reference to the Day of Resurrection. Everything before the Day of Resurrection is part of this world.

Second, it shows that they will only see the reality of their deeds on the Day of Resurrection. As for before this time, they will only see the outward appearance thereof. This is an idea we have repeatedly called attention to in our previous discussions. Therefore, their knowledge of the reality of their deeds is restricted to the Day of Judgement when God informs them of this. However, the verse says that God, His Messenger, and the faithful will see their conduct in this world before the Day of Resurrection. Furthermore, God is mentioned alongside His Messenger and, while He is the one who knows the realities of these deeds, He can reveal this to His Prophet. Therefore, when the verse speaks about the faithful, it is talking about those who witness the deeds of others, not the faithful in their entirety, as per the verse, Thus We have made you a middle nation that you may be witnesses to the people, and that the Messenger may be a witness to you (), which we have already discussed in detail in the relevant chapter of this commentary.

Based on the above, the meaning of the verse is as follows: ‘Say, O Muḥammad, do whatever deeds you please—good or bad—for God will surely see the reality of your conduct, and His Messenger and the faithful—who are the witnesses to deeds—will see them too, then on the Day of Judgement you will be returned to God, who is the Knower of the sensible and the unseen, and He will show you the reality of your deeds.’

In other words: ‘Whatever good or evil you do, its true nature is fully visible to God, who is the Knower of the sensible and the unseen, then to His Messenger and the faithful in this world, then to you yourselves, O doers of deeds, on the Day of Resurrection.’

Therefore, this aim of this verse is to tell people to be mindful of their own conduct. It does this by reminding them that their deeds—whether good or evil—have realities that are not hidden behind any veil, and that there are those who are observing them and witnessing these deeds and who will become aware of the true nature of them. These are the Messenger of God, and the faithful who are witnesses to the deeds of others. Beyond them is God, who encompasses all things in knowledge: He sees these deeds, and the witnesses also see them. Then, it is God who will draw back the veil from them on the Day of Judgement so that those who did the deeds can perceive them for what they really are, as per the verse: You were certainly oblivious of this. We have removed your veil from you, and so your sight is acute today (). So there is a great difference between someone who does a deed in private where none can see him and between someone who does the same act publicly in full sight of onlookers and knowing that this is the case.

This, so far, has been about the present verse. Now, let us turn to the earlier verse: They will offer you excuses when you return to them. Say, ‘Do not make excuses; we will never believe you. God has informed us of your state of affairs. God and His Messenger will observe your conduct, then you will be returned to the Knower of the sensible and the Unseen, and He will inform you concerning what you used to do’ ().

This verse appears to be directed towards specific individuals among the hypocrites. In it, God bids the Prophet to reject their excuses and tell them, first of all, that God has informed him and the faithful who were with him on the expedition to Tabūk of their activities through the revelation of these verses that relate information about them, and that He has made known their evil deeds.

Then, the verse tells the hypocrites that the reality of their deeds is not veiled or hidden from God, nor from His Messenger—although the verse does not mention anything about the faithful who are witnesses to deeds—and that God will reveal the reality of their own deeds to them on the Day of Resurrection.

This is the key difference between the two verses, even though they appear to occur in the same context as one another. The present verse mentions God, His Messenger, and the faithful. By contrast, the previous verse only mentions God, His Messenger, and no one else. This is the conclusion we have drawn from reflecting on the meaning of these verses. Someone who is not convinced by this and instead wishes to read the verse in a more literal way might argue that God only mentions Himself and His Messenger when speaking to the hypocrites because they are plotting against God and His Messenger rather than the faithful. On the other hand, God mentions Himself, His Messenger, as well as the faithful when speaking to everyone in order to encourage people to do righteous deeds in the company of the righteous and not to concern themselves with the opinions of the disbelievers and hypocrites. The reader should ponder on this further.

وَآخَرُونَ مُرْجَوْنَ لِأَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِمَّا يُعَذِّبُهُمْ وَإِمَّا يَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ ١٠٦

(9:106) And others awaiting God’s edict: either He shall punish them, or turn to them clemently, and God is all-knowing, all-wise.

This verse follows on from the earlier verse, And others who have confessed to their sins… ().

The meaning of awaiting God’s edict is that they are neither closer to punishment or forgiveness. Therefore, their matter devolves to whatever God wills for them, and He can do as He wishes.

Looked at on its own, this verse seems to apply to those who are abased in the land (mustaḍʿafīn), who occupy a middle position between the virtuous and the wicked. Traditions concerning the occasion of this verse’s revelation have come down saying that it was originally revealed about three men who stayed back from Tabūk but then repented, and God revealed to His Messenger that He had accepted their repentance. We shall discuss this below.

In any case, the verse does not state what will ultimately become of these persons, and even its coda seems ambiguous, as it invokes the names of God the All-knowing and All-wise. This shows that God will judge them according to His knowledge and His wisdom. Compare this to the coda of the previous verse, And others who have confessed to their sins… (), where God says, Maybe God will accept their repentance. Indeed God is all-forgiving, all-merciful.

Examining Narrations

1. In Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, Dāwūd b. al-Ḥusayn narrates that he asked Imām al-Ṣādiq about the verse, Yet among the Bedouins are those who believe in God and the Last Day, and regard what they spend as nearness to God… (): ‘Will they be rewarded for this?’ The Imām responded, ‘Yes.’

In the same source, Abū ʿAmr al-Zubayrī narrates that Imām al-Ṣādiq told him: ‘God races the believers against one another just as horses are raced against one another.’

He asked, ‘Tell me about how God has bid the faithful to vie with one another for faith.’

He said, ‘And hasten towards your Lord’s forgiveness and a paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth ()’;

‘And the Foremost Ones are the foremost ones: they are the ones brought near’ ();

Then, he said, ‘The early vanguard of the Emigrants and the Helpers and those who followed them in virtue—God is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him (). See how He begins with the early Emigrants because of their priority, then He follows with the Helpers second, then He follows with the followers and bids them to be virtuous. So, He has placed each group according to their specific level and station in His eyes.’

2. In Tafsīr al-Burhān, it is narrated from Mālik b. Anas from Abū Ṣāliḥ, from Ibn ʿAbbās: ‘The early vanguard was revealed about the Commander of the Faithful, for he was the first person of all mankind to believe, and he prayed to both qiblas, and gave the two pledges at Badr and Ḥudaybiyya, and he made the emigrations, with Jaʿfar from Mecca to Ethiopia, and from Ethiopia to Medina.’

Author’s comments: There are other narrations with the same meaning.

3. In al-Durr al-manthūr, Ibn Mardawayh narrates via al-Awzāʿī, from Yaḥyā b. Kathīr, al-Qāsim, Makḥūl, ʿAbda b. Abī Labāba, and Ḥassān b. ʿAṭiya that they heard a group of the Prophet’s Companions say: ‘When the verse was revealed, The early vanguard… and they are pleased with Him, the Messenger of God said, “This is for all of my nation, and there is no wrath after God’s pleasure.”’

Author’s comments: This means that those whom God is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him are the ones included in this verse, not that God is pleased with the entirety of the Muslim community, as this is in explicit contradiction with the Qurʾan itself. Equally, when the Prophet says, ‘there is no wrath after God’s pleasure’, this does not mean that God could not be displeased with someone after the revelation of this verse. As we have already discussed, this does not refer to all cases where God is pleased with someone, because this is incongruous with other verses of the Qurʾan.

4. In the same source, it is narrated by Abū al-Shaykh and Ibn ʿAsākir from Abū Ṣakhr Ḥamīd b. Ziyād: ‘I said to Muḥammad b. Kaʿb al-Qaraẓī, “Tell me about the Companions of the Messenger of God”, and I was referring to the divisions that took place after the Prophet. He said, “God has forgiven all of the Companions of the Prophet and made paradise incumbent for them in His Book, regardless of whether they behaved virtuously or wickedly.” I said, “Where has God guaranteed them paradise in His Book?” He said, “Do you not recite the verse, The early vanguard…? He has guaranteed paradise and His pleasure to all of the Companions of the Prophet, for He stipulated a condition for the followers that He did not stipulate for them.”

‘I said, “What condition did He stipulate for them?”

‘He said, “He stipulated that they should follow them in virtue, meaning that they should imitate them in the performance of good deeds and not in anything else.”’

‘Abū Ṣakhr remarked, ‘By God, I felt as though I had not properly read this verse nor grasped its explanation before Muḥammad b. Kaʿb had recited it to me.’

Author’s comments: As you can see, this tradition accepts that the Companions’ deeds were both good and evil, obedient and sinful, but says that God was still pleased with them nevertheless and forgave them for all of their misdeeds. However, as we have already explained above, the logical conclusion of such a reading is to deny the many verses of the Qurʾan that make clear that God is never pleased with a people who transgress or do wrong and that He neither loves them nor guides them. In fact, this tradition would restrict even more of the Qurʾan’s verses than this, including those that indicate that all people will be rewarded for their good and evil deeds accordingly, upon which the validity of all of the commands and prohibitions of the Qurʾan and other legal verses ultimately rest.

If the verse did, in fact, mean what this tradition claims it means, then the Companions, who were native Arabic speakers who lived at the time of the Prophet and heard the revelation as it was revealed, would have understood these verses in this manner. And had the Companions indeed understood the verses in this manner, they would not have treated one another in the way that history has recorded.

How could all of the Companions be included within the Qurʾanic verse, God is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and understand the verse in this manner, only for them not to be pleased with one another while knowing that God was pleased with them all. After all, the one who is pleased with God is pleased with everything that pleases God. This problem is not resolved by the claim that the Companions differed in their interpretations (ijtihād), for even if that were the case, that is only an excuse in practical affairs. It does not resolve the contradiction between being pleased with God while not being pleased with all that God is pleased with. However, this is a lengthy discussion and one that is beyond the scope of the present work.

5. In the same source, it is narrated by Abū ʿUbayd, Sunayd, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Mardawayh from Ḥabīb al-Shahīd, from ʿAmr b. ʿĀmir al-Anṣārī that ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb recited the verse, The early vanguard of the Emigrants and the Helpers and those who followed them in virtue, but without the ‘and those’ after Helpers, so that it read ‘The early vanguard of the Emigrants and the Helpers who followed them in virtue.’ Zayd b. Thābit corrected him, ‘it is and those who…’, but ʿUmar insisted ‘it is “who…”’, to which Zayd responded, ‘The Commander of the Faithful knows better.’ ʿUmar said, ‘Bring me Ubayy b. Kaʿb!’ So Ubayy came and ʿUmar asked him about this. Ubayy said, ‘It is, and those who…’ ʿUmar said, ‘Yes, then we shall follow Ubayy.’

Author’s comments: The effect of ʿUmar’s reading was to restrict the virtues of ‘the vanguard’ to the Emigrants and add to that the merit of being followed by the Helpers, as the tradition below illustrates.

6. In the same source, Ibn Jarīr and Abū al-Shaykh narrate from Muḥammad b. Kaʿb al-Qaraẓī: ‘ʿUmar passed by a man reciting the verse, The early vanguard of the Emigrants and the Helpers…’, so ʿUmar grabbed his arm and said, “Who taught you to recite it this way?” The man replied, “Ubayy b. Kaʿb.” ʿUmar said, “I will not let you go until I take you to him.” So when they came to him, ʿUmar said, “Did you teach this man to recite the verse in this way?” Ubayy replied, “Yes.” ʿUmar asked, “Did you hear this from the Messenger of God?” Ubayy said, “Yes.” He said, “Until now, I thought that the Emigrants were the group with the highest merit and that no one after us shared that.”

‘Ubayy said, “The confirmation of my reading can be found at the beginning of Sūrah al-Jumuʿa: And to others from among them who have not yet joined them (); in Sūrah al-Ḥashr: Our Lord, forgive us and our brethren who were our forerunners in the faith (); and in Sūrah al-Anfāl: And those who believed afterwards and migrated, and strived beside you, they belong to you… ().”’

7. In al-Kāfī, al-Kulaynī narrates via Mūsā b. Bakr, from a man, from Imām al-Bāqir: ‘Those who have mixed up righteous conduct with other that was evil () are a group of believers who pollute their faith with sins—which the truly faithful consider shameful and detestable—so perhaps God will accept their repentance.’

Author’s comments: Al-ʿAyyāshī narrates the same tradition in his Tafsīr from Zurāra, from Imām al-Bāqir, except that he describes them as ‘a group of sinners’ rather than ‘a group of believers.’

8. In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, concerning the verse, and others who have confessed to their sins (), it is narrated from Abū Ḥamza al-Thumālī: ‘It has reached us that these were three members of the Helpers: Abū Kināna b. ʿAbd al-Mundhir, Thaʿlaba b. Wadīʿa, and Aws b. Hidhām, who stayed back when the Messenger of God set forth for Tabūk. However, when they heard what God had sent down about those who did not accompany His Prophet, they were sure they were ruined, so they tied themselves to the pillars of the mosque and remained there until the Messenger of God returned and asked about them. He was told that they had sworn to remain like this until the Messenger of God untied them, to which the Messenger of God replied, “I swear that I will not be the one to untie them unless I am given some commandment concerning them.”

‘So, when the verse came down, maybe God will accept their repentance, the Messenger of God went and untied them. They went away and returned with their property to the Messenger of God, saying, “These are our properties that we withheld from you, so take them and give them as charity.” The Prophet replied, “I have not been given any instructions regarding this.” Then the verse came down, Take charity from their possessions ().’

Author’s comments: There are other traditions with the same meaning found in al-Durr al-manthūr, although the names of the men mentioned differ in them. One problem with these traditions is that it makes out that the verse of charity was revealed specifically concerning their wealth, and this runs contrary to a multitude of narrations that state that this verse was revealed about the obligatory charity of zakāt.

9. In the same source, it is narrated from Imām al-Bāqir: ‘This verse was revealed about Abū Lubāba and no one else. The occasion of its revelation was with regard to the Banū Qurayẓa tribe, namely his decision to execute them.’
10. In al-Kāfī, al-Kulaynī narrates via a chain of narrators from ʿAbd Allāh b. Sinān, from Imām al-Ṣādiq: ‘When the verse was revealed, Take charity from their possessions to cleanse them and purify them thereby—which was sent down in the month of Ramaḍān—the Messenger of God appointed a caller to announce to the people that God had imposed zakāt upon them as He had imposed prayer previously, and that God had stipulated that they pay a share of their gold and silver, and give over a share of their camels, cows, and sheep, and from their crops of wheat, barley, dates, and raisins. This was announced to them in the month of Ramaḍān and they were forgiven for anything before that time… then they were not required to pay anything else from their wealth until a full year had passed and they had fasted to the end of the month and celebrated ʿĪd al-Fiṭr. Whereupon a caller announced, “O Muslims! Cleanse your wealth through charity so that your prayers might be accepted!” Then there came the collectors of charity and land tax.’
11. In al-Durr al-manthūr, it is narrated from Ibn Abī Shayba, al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasāʾī, Ibn Māja, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Mardawayh, from ʿAbd Allāh b. Abī Awfā: ‘When the Messenger of God was brought some charity, he would say, “O God, bless the family of so-and-so.” When So Ubayy brought him some charity, he said, “O Allāh, bless the family of Abū Awfā.”’
12. In Tafsīr al-Burhān, it is narrated from al-Ṣadūq, via a chain of narrators from Sulaymān b. Mihrān, from Imām al-Ṣādiq, about the verse, Do they not know that it is God who accepts the repentance of His servants and receives the charities… (): ‘He accepts them from those who deliver them and rewards them for them.’
13. In Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, it is narrated from Mālik b. ʿAṭiyya, from Imām al-Ṣādiq that ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn said: ‘I have a guarantee from my Lord that charity does not reach the hand of the servant before it has reached the hand of the Lord. This is the verse, it is God who accepts the repentance of His servants and receives the charities.’

Author’s comments: There are numerous other traditions with the same meaning narrated from the Prophet, ʿAlī, Imām al-Bāqir, and Imām al-Ṣādiq.

14. In Baṣāʾir al-darajāt, it is narrated via a chain of narrators from Muḥammad b. Muslim, from Imām al-Bāqir: ‘I asked about whether our deeds are displayed to the Messenger of God. He said, “Is there any doubt? Have you seen the words of God, Go on working: God will see your conduct, and His Apostle and the faithful? God has witnesses amongst His creatures.”’

Author’s comments: There is a veritable multitude of traditions with the same meaning narrated in Shīʿī collections from the Imams of the Prophet’s Household. Most of them assert that ‘the faithful’ in this verse is a reference to the Imams. How this correlates with the explanation we have already given for the verse is clear.

15. In al-Kāfī, al-Kulaynī narrates via a chain of narrators from Zurāra, from Imām al-Bāqir, concerning the verse, And others awaiting God’s edict (): ‘This concerns people who were idolaters and killed the likes of Ḥamza, Jaʿfar, and other Muslims, only later to convert to Islam, affirm the oneness of God, and forsake idolatry. However, they did not fully embrace faith with their hearts, such that they would be believers and therefore guaranteed paradise, but nor did they persist in pre-Islamic ignorance, in which case they would have been consigned to Hellfire. Therefore, in this state, they are awaiting God’s edict, whether He will punish them or turn to them clemently.’

Author’s comments: Al-ʿAyyāshī narrates this in his commentary from Zurāra, from the Imām, and there are other narrations with the same meaning.

16. In Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, it is narrated from Ḥumrān: ‘I asked Imām al-Ṣādiq about those who are abased in the land (mustaḍʿafīn). He said, “They are neither true believers or disbelievers, so they are awaiting God’s edict.”’
17. In al-Durr al-manthūr, Ibn a-Mundhir narrates from ʿIkrima, concerning the verse, And others awaiting God’s edict: ‘They are the three who stayed behind [on the Prophet’s mission to Tabūk].’

Author’s comments: Similar interpretations have been reported from Mujāhid and Qatāda, and the names of the three men who stayed behind are Hilāl b. Umayya, Marāra b. al-Rabīʿ, and Kaʿb b. Mālik, from the Aws and the Khazraj tribes. However, as we will discuss later, their story does not match the contents of the verse.

Discourse

The discussion “A Discourse on Zakāt and Other Charities” appears here in the printed volume. Read it in the Al-Mizan App.