Surah At-Tawba: The Perfect Prayer for Seeking Guidance and Blessings

Al Quran: Discover the beautiful words and profound meaning of surah At-Tawba, and learn how to recite it with proper Arabic and its translation.

Surah At-Tawba

At-Tawbah, also known as Bara'ah, is the ninth chapter of the Quran. It contains 129 verses and is one of the last Medinan surahs.This Surah is reported to have been revealed at the time of the Battle of Tabuk in Madinah in the 9th year of the Hijrah. The Sanaa manuscript preserves some verses, on parchment radiocarbon dated to between 578/44bh and 669/49ah.It is the only Surah of the Quran that does not begin with Bismillah, the usual opening formula, In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate. It deals with almost the same topics as those dealt with in Surat al-Anfal. In contrast to all other surahs, Muhammad did not order that this formula should be put at the beginning of this surah.According to Zayd ibn Thabit, when the Qu'ran was first being compiled, he found the last verses of this Surah in the possession of Abu al-h al-Ansari and no one else. In another account, Ubay ibn Ka'b informed Zayd that Muhammad taught him the end of this sūrah and recited the same verses. Some, like Ibn Hazm, suggested that Abu Khuzayma was the only one to have the last verses in written form, as Zayd and others had memorized them. In a continuum of Surah Al-Anfal, this Surah additionally manages the issues of harmony and war and puts together the subject with respect to the Tabuk Expedition.The Significant Issues, Divine Laws and pieces of Guidance incorporated in this surah are as followsThis Surah is known by two names - At-Taubah and Al-Bara'at. It is called At-Taubah in light of the fact that it articulates taubah and informs about the conditions of its acceptance.. The second name Bara'at is taken from the opening word of the Surah.Out of all 114 Surahs of the Quran this is the only one to which Bismillah is not prefixed. Among the explanations put forward for his not doing so, the most commonly accepted according to Unal is that, like the Islamic salutation, Peace be upon you, the expression, In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate conveys security and giving of quarter to those addressed. However, Surat at-Tawbah begins with an ultimatum to certain polytheists in Arabia. It deals, for the most part, with a re-evaluation of the relations with the polytheists who were frequently violating their agreements, the campaign to Tabuk, a disclosure of the intrigues of the hypocrites in Madinah, the importance of jihad in God's cause, and relationships with the People of the Book.This Surah includes three Discourses :-From opening up to the 37th ayat, the initial talk, was uncovered in Zil-Qa'adah A.H. 9. As the significance of the subject of the talk required its affirmation on the event of Hajj Muhammad dispatched Ali to follow Abu Bakr, who had just left for Makkah to lead the Pilgrims to the Ka'abah. He trained Ali to convey the talk before the representatives of the various clans of Arabia in order to advise them regarding the new policy guidelines pertinent to the mushriks.Starting from ayat 38 up to 72nd ayat the subsequent talk was revealed during Rajab A.H. 9 or a little before this, when Muhammad was occupied with getting ready for the Campaign of Tabuk. The Believers were encouraged to take a dynamic part in Jihad, and the shirkers were seriously reproached for keeping down their riches and for wavering to forfeit their lives in the path for Allah due to their hypocrisy, powerless belief or carelessness.The final section of ayaat 73rd to last, was uncovered on his return from the Campaign of Tabuk. There are a few pieces revealed in different events during the same time frame and were incorporated by Muhammad into the Surah as per instructions from Allah. This talk cautions the hypocrites of their malevolent deeds and censures those Believers who had remained behind in the Campaign of Tabuk. At that point in the wake of berating them, Allah exculpates those genuine Believers who had not partaken in the Jihad in the Way of Allah for one explanation or the other.The Quran, chapter 9, verses 2–6:Quran 9:5 is termed as the Sword Verse. The journalist Arun Shourie has criticized this and many other verses from the Quran contending that the Sunnah and the Hadith are equally evocative in their support of Jihad. Many mainstream Islamic scholars, however, assert that this verse relates to a very specific event in early Islamic history i.e. the covenant that was made and consecutively broken by the polytheist tribes of Mecca:74-91 , while they very easily bypass the fact that Quran is often quoted by Islamic scholars to be the book perfect for all times and all places and all humans., and if it is so, it's verses never need a historical context at all. On the other hand, even if the Quran are not supposed to have a historic contextual explanation the context provided are mentioned in the previous verses, thus a part of the Quran itself instead of an "out-world" context relations. According to Asma Afsaruddin, citing various early exegetes' opinions regarding the Arab polytheists, the consensus among the earliest commentators has been that this does not translate into indiscriminate killing.:88-89Mujāhid said that this verse guarantees the safety of people in general who came to listen to the Prophet recite from the Qurān until they had returned to the place of refuge whence they came.The Tanwīr al-miqbās says that the verse commands the Prophet to grant safe conduct to anyone from among the polytheists who asks for it, so that he may hear the recitation of the speech of God. If he does not believe, then he is to be granted safe passage back to his land. This is so because they are people ignorant of the commandments of God and His oneness.Similarly, Western Islam-scholar Rudolph F. Peters also asserts that indiscriminate killing is not supported in this verse.At-Tawbah also contains:Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth among the People of the Scripture, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.Al-Rāzī, on this occasion quoted an early exegetical authority, Abū Rawq, who explained that this verse was not a unilateral condemnation of all Jews and Christians, but those "who do not heed the prescriptions contained in the Torah and the Gospel, respectively". Similarly Al-Qurṭubī "did not read into Qurān 9:29 a wholesale denunciation of the People of the Book as an undifferentiated collectivity".:278 Modern Muslim scholars like Muhammad Abduh shared similar views, agreeing that this verse was revealed on the occasion of the military campaign in Tabuk, and this verse specifically deals with the People of the Book", and also that "the only kind of legitimate war on which there is unanimity among Muslim scholars is the defensive war when proclaimed by the Imām in the event of an attack upon Muslim territory". The Grand Imam of al-Azhar from 1935 to 1945, Mustafa Al-Maraghi, notes that 9:29 means: "fight those mentioned when the conditions which necessitate fighting are present, namely, aggression against you or your country, oppression and persecution against you on account of your faith, or threatening your safety and security, as was committed against you by the Byzantines, which was what led to Tabuk."In Kitab al-Kafi, Ja'far al-Sadiq has narrated that Imams are not needy to what people own but rather collect religious tax on accord that Allah said, "Take from their wealth and charity by which you purify them and cause them to increase and invoke blessings upon them." Therefore, it is the people who need that the Imam accepts from them.Verses 122-129 are preserved in Folio 22 of the Sanaa manuscript. The sequence of Sanaa 1 chapters do not follow any other known quranic order and folio 22 is shared with Chapter 19. Saudi-based experts in Quranic history emphasize that while Muhammad was alive, Quranic texts did not follow any standard sequence of surahs.The first and foremost exegesis/tafsir of the Qur'an is found in hadith of Muhammad. Ḥadīth is literally "speech" or "report", that is a recorded saying or tradition of Muhammad validated by isnad; with Sirah Rasul Allah these comprise the sunnah and reveal shariah. According to Aishah, the life of Muhammad was practical implementation of Qur'an. Therefore, higher count of hadith elevates the importance of the pertinent surah from a certain perspective. This surah was held in special esteem in hadith, which can be observed by these related narratives.

Yunus

Al-Anfal

At-Tawba

واعلموا

تفسير :  this is: a declaration of immunity from god and his messenger to, reach, the idolaters with whom you made a pact, a pact for an indefinite period of time, or one for [a period of] less than, or more than, four months; the annulment of the pact shall be as god mentions in his saying:

Baraatun mina Allahi warasoolihi ila allatheena AAahadtum mina almushrikeena

تفسير :  ‘journey freely, travel in security, o idolaters, in the land for four months — beginning with [the month of] shawwāl, on the basis of what will come shortly — after which there will be no security for you, and know that you cannot escape god, that is, you shall [not] elude his punishment, and that god degrades the disbelievers’, humiliating them in this world by having them killed, and in the hereafter, by [sending them to] the fire.

Faseehoo fee alardi arbaAAata ashhurin waiAAlamoo annakum ghayru muAAjizee Allahi waanna Allaha mukhzee alkafireena

تفسير : a proclamation, a notification, from god and his messenger to mankind on the day of the greater pilgrimage, the day of sacrifice (yawm al-nahr), that god is free from obligation to the idolaters, and their pacts, and [so is] his messenger, also free from obligation: in that same year, year 9 [of the hijra], the prophet (s) sent forth ‘alī, who proclaimed these verses on the day of sacrifice at minā, and also [he proclaimed] that after this year no idolater will [be allowed to] make pilgrimage or circumambulate the house naked, as reported by al-bukhārī. so, if you repent, of unbelief, it will be better for you; but if you turn away, from belief, then know that you cannot escape god. and give tidings to — inform — those who disbelieve of a painful chastisement, namely, [of] slaughter or capture in this world, and of [punishment in] the fire in the hereafter.

Waathanun mina Allahi warasoolihi ila alnnasi yawma alhajji alakbari anna Allaha bareeon mina almushrikeena warasooluhu fain tubtum fahuwa khayrun lakum wain tawallaytum faiAAlamoo annakum ghayru muAAjizee Allahi wabashshiri allatheena kafaroo biAAathabin aleemin

تفسير :  excepting those of the idolaters with whom you have made a pact, and who have not diminished [their commitment to] you in anyway, with regard to the terms of the pact, nor supported, assisted, anyone, from among the disbelievers, against you; [as for these] fulfil your pact with them until, the completion of, the term, to which you have agreed. truly god loves those who fear [him], by fulfilling pacts.

Illa allatheena AAahadtum mina almushrikeena thumma lam yanqusookum shayan walam yuthahiroo AAalaykum ahadan faatimmoo ilayhim AAahdahum ila muddatihim inna Allaha yuhibbu almuttaqeena

تفسير : then, when the sacred months have passed — that is, [at] the end of the period of deferment — slay the idolaters wherever you find them, be it during a lawful [period] or a sacred [one], and take them, captive, and confine them, to castles and forts, until they have no choice except [being put to] death or [acceptance of] islam; and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush, [at every] route that they use (kulla, ‘every’, is in the accusative because a [preceding] genitive-taking preposition has been removed). but if they repent, of unbelief, and establish prayer and pay the alms, then leave their way free, and do not interfere with them. god is forgiving, merciful, to those who repent.

Faitha insalakha alashhuru alhurumu faoqtuloo almushrikeena haythu wajadtumoohum wakhuthoohum waohsuroohum waoqAAudoo lahum kulla marsadin fain taboo waaqamoo alssalata waatawoo alzzakata fakhalloo sabeelahum inna Allaha ghafoorun raheemun

تفسير :  and if any one of the idolaters (ahadun, ‘one’, is in the nominative because of the [following] verb [istajāraka, ‘seeks your protection’] that validates it) seeks your protection, requests security from you against being killed, then grant him protection, provide security for him, so that he might hear the words of god — the qur’ān — and afterward convey him to his place of security, that is, the dwelling-places of his folk, if he does not believe, so that he might reflect upon his situation — that, which is mentioned, is because they are a people who do not know, the religion of god, and so they must [be made to] hear the qur’ān in order to [come to] know [religion].

Wain ahadun mina almushrikeena istajaraka faajirhu hatta yasmaAAa kalama Allahi thumma ablighhu mamanahu thalika biannahum qawmun la yaAAlamoona

تفسير :  how can the idolaters have a pact with god and his messenger — they cannot —while they disbelieve in god and his messenger, acting treacherously; except for those with whom you made a pact at the sacred mosque?, the day of al-hudaybiyya — these were quraysh, for whom an exception was made earlier [q. 9:4]. so long as they are true to you, keeping to the pact and not breaking it, be true to them, by fulfilling it (fa-mā, ‘so long as’: the mā is a conditional particle). truly god loves the god-fearing: the prophet (s) had kept to the pact made with them until they broke it by supporting the banū bakr against khuzā‘a.

Kayfa yakoonu lilmushrikeena AAahdun AAinda Allahi waAAinda rasoolihi illa allatheena AAahadtum AAinda almasjidi alharami fama istaqamoo lakum faistaqeemoo lahum inna Allaha yuhibbu almuttaqeena

تفسير :  how, can they have a pact, when, if they get the better of you, [if] they have the upper hand over you, they do not respect, [they do not] take into consideration, any bond, kinship, or treaty, pact, with regard to you, but will instead harm you as much as they can (the conditional sentence [‘if they …’] is [also] a circumstantial qualifier), pleasing you with their tongues, with charming words, while their hearts refuse, to be true to these [words]; and most of them are wicked, violators of pacts.

Kayfa wain yathharoo AAalaykum la yarquboo feekum illan wala thimmatan yurdoonakum biafwahihim wataba quloobuhum waaktharuhum fasiqoona

تفسير : they have purchased with the signs of god, the qur’ān, a small price, of this world, that is, they have refrained from following them in favour of passions and whims, and have barred [people] from his way, his religion. truly evil is that, deed of theirs, which they are wont to do.

Ishtaraw biayati Allahi thamanan qaleelan fasaddoo AAan sabeelihi innahum saa ma kanoo yaAAmaloona

تفسير :  they respect neither bond [of kinship] nor treaty with regard to a believer; those, they are the transgressors.

La yarquboona fee muminin illan wala thimmatan waolaika humu almuAAtadoona