Volume 8 Surah 9 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) | THE EARTH’S SUFFOCATING EXPANSEwhich outlines the final shape of the relationship between the Muslim communityand other communities. It was not permissible to pray to God to forgive those whodied unbelievers. This is meant to purge the hearts of believers from any lingeringbonds. The only tie to unite the advocates of Islam is that of faith. It is an aspect oftheir conceptual beliefs and also of their method of action. This is made abundantlyclear in this sūrah.Acceptance of RepentanceWith the nature of the deal between God and the believers being such, to refrainfrom joining a jihād campaign by people who are able to do so is a very seriousmatter indeed. Hence it was necessary to examine why some people were reluctantto join such an expedition. The passage we are looking at explains how much graceGod bestows on the believers, overlooking their hesitation and their slips, serious asthese may be. It also speaks of the three people whose cases were deferred forjudgement.God has assuredly turned in His mercy to the Prophet, the Muhājirīn and the Anşār,who followed him in the hour of hardship, when the hearts of a group of them hadalmost faltered. Then again He turned to them in mercy; for He is compassionatetowards them, merciful. And [so too] to the three who were left behind: when the earth,vast as it is, seemed to close in upon them, and their own souls had become tooconstricted, they realized that there was no refuge from God except by returning toHim. He then turned to them in mercy, so that they might repent. God is indeed theOne who accepts repentance, the merciful. (Verses 117-118)That God turned in His mercy to the Prophet should be understood with referenceto the events of this expedition as a whole. It seems to be in line with what God saidearlier to the Prophet: “May God forgive you [Prophet]! Why did you grant thempermission [to stay behind] before you had come to know who were speaking the truth andwho were the liars?” (Verse 43) That was when some of them who were really able tojoin the expedition came to him with fabricated excuses and he allowed them to staybehind. God pardoned him for his attitude which was based on his own discretion.He is told that it would have been better to wait until he had learnt who really hadvalid reasons for staying behind.As for turning in mercy to the Muhājirīn and the Anşār, the verse outlines itscauses. They are the ones “who followed him in the hour of hardship, when the hearts of agroup of them had almost faltered.” (Verse 117) Some of them were slow to join theMuslim army, but they joined as it marched, as will be given in detail. These wereamong the most sincere of believers. Others listened to the hypocrites as they tried to221