Volume 8 Surah 9 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) | RELATIONS WITH OTHER RELIGIONS(Verse 35) As we listen we wait for the heating up to be completed, then we see it redhot and gathered in readiness. Now the suffering starts with foreheads beingbranded with all that gold and silver. When all foreheads have been branded, thosewho are being punished are made to turn on their sides so that they can be brandedthere as well. With that over, they are made to turn yet again in order to brand thema third time with the red hot gold and silver on their backs. When this type of theirpunishment is completed, they are severely rebuked: “This is what you have hoarded upfor yourselves.” (Verse 35) It is the very thing you were keen to have and keep for yourpleasure and enjoyment. It is now a means to inflict on you this grievous suffering:“Taste, then, what you have been hoarding.” (Verse 35) Taste it in reality, because it is thevery thing which is branding your foreheads, sides and backs.It is a horrifying scene, portrayed at length, in full detail, so as to bring the image itdescribes in sharp relief. The scene is portrayed here in order to explain first thedestiny that awaits many of the rabbis and monks. It also describes in detail thedestiny of those who hoard gold and silver without spending to serve God’s cause.Portraying it at this juncture also serves as a prelude to the ‘expedition of hardship’,which is the subject matter of the longer part of the sūrah.We need to pause a little here to comment on God’s statement which explains thetrue nature of the faith of the people of earlier revelations, the religion to which theyadhere, the moral values they adopt and also their practices. We have referred tothese previously, but we need to add more here.Making the reality of the people of earlier revelations clear is a more pressing needthan showing the truth of the idolaters who openly admit their idolatry, andparticipate in rituals based on such beliefs. Exposing the reality that those people ofearlier revelations are devoid of any true belief in God is necessary because theMuslims will not wholeheartedly confront jāhiliyyah unless they are aware of itsabsolute reality. Such a reality is well known in the case of the idolaters, but it is notso commonly accepted in the case of the people of earlier revelations. (This alsoapplies to people who similarly claim to follow the divine faith, as is the case withthe majority of today’s Muslims.)Setting out to confront the idolaters has required that a long portion of this sūrahbe devoted to explaining their true situation and attitude. We have explained thereasons for this in the Prologue and in the Overview of Chapter 1. In the openingpassage, God says to the believers:How can there be a treaty with God and His Messenger for the idolaters, unless it bethose of them with whom you have made a treaty at the Sacred Mosque? So long asthey are true to you, be true to them; for God loves those who are God-fearing. How[else could it be] when, should they prevail over you, they will respect neither115